1 Field Radar Regiment - Italy 1945

Just wondering if anyone knew anything about the above unit?

They appear to have only been around for a brief time before VE-Day, being formed in Italy around Mar/Apr 1945. My understanding is they were employed in the counter mortar role, using radar to detect rounds in flight and track back the position of the hostile weapons to allow counter battery fire to be brought on them. The Counter Mortar Organization in Italy predated that used in NWE, but the developments in 21AG tend to get the attention.

Anyone have anything on 1 Field Radar Regt itself, as opposed to the general background of CMO work?

Thanks,

Gary

 

There was a 1 Radar 'Battery' in the Canadian 1st Army It was in Italy then NWE Theatre at the end of the war .

these Mortar locating Batteries worked within the Survey Regiments , as Canadian regimental system mirrored the British army perhaps the answer lies within the Survey Regiments of the British Army

John

 

Thanks for the response, I think the Field Radar Regt I'm looking for background on evolved separately to the Field Radar Btys in 21AG.

I've only got the WEs to go on, which show a Field Radar Section from late 1944 of 123 all ranks, under command of a Lt-Col no less. I suspect this might be the unit mentioned here -

BBC - WW2 People's War - An Innocent Abroad

Unfortunately the WE gives no indication of equipment, but mentions the unit was expected to work alongside a US unit on the same duties.

The full Field Radar Regiment WEs don't appear until March 1945, about the same time as the unit shows up in Joslen's Orders of Battle for Italy. The component Batteries (three it seems from the REME Section) were 119 all ranks, and the only hint of equipment is they had three 2-ton, 15 KVA, 230 volt AC trailers, which I presume means three radar sets? Oddly enough they only had two heavy tractors, so I'm not sure they could displace all sets at once, assuming of course they had three.

There was also a WE for a HQ Field Radar Group, again expected to work in conjunction with the US Army, with the Lt-Col acting as XO (not 2-in-C).

It seems the unit came in too late to get much attention, and Italy has always enjoyed less coverage than NWE anyway. I'm reasonably sure it mirrored the counter mortar work being done by the RA/RCA in 21AG, but would have been nice to get a bit more background on it.

Gary