| Sri Lanka Artillery | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Active | 20 April 1888 - present 137 years old |
| Country |  Sri Lanka |
| Branch |  Sri Lanka Army |
| Type | Artillery |
| Role | Artillery gun warfare |
| Size | 10 regular regiments, 2 volunteer regiments |
| Regimental Headquarters | Panagoda |
| Nickname | Gunners |
| Mottos | On the Way to Justice and Glory |
| Colors | |
| March | The British Grenadiers |
| Anniversaries | 20 April |
| Engagements | Second Boer War World War I World War II 1971 Insurrection Insurrection 1987-89 Sri Lankan Civil War |
| Commanders | |
| Colonel Commandant | Maj Gen W A S S Wanasinghe RSP USP VSV ndc |
| Centre Commandant | Brig B G S Fernando USP Hdmc psc |
| Brigade Commander | Brig S P Malawarage RSP USP IG |
| Regimental Sergeant Major | WO1 B M G G S A Basnayaka |
| Notable commanders | ColonelF. C. de SaramOBE |
| Insignia | |
| Flag |  |
TheSri Lanka Artillery (SLA) is theartillery arm of theSri Lanka Army. It is made up of ten regular regiments and twovolunteer regiments. The SLA is headquartered atPanagoda Cantonment, Panagoda.
The emblem of the SLA is modeled after that used by theRoyal Artillery, but with the lion from both the flag and emblem instead of the crown, with the lion depicted holding theKastane sabre.
Unlike other artillery units in the Commonwealth the SLA is entitled to a strand of Colours.
The roots of the Sri Lanka Artillery goes back to 1888, when on 12 April 1888 theCeylon Artillery Volunteers was formed as agun battery under the command of Captain C.E.H Symons of theRoyal Artillery to man a gun battery equipped withBL 12-pounder 6 cwt guns. By 1901 it numbered a strength of 162.[1] In 1910, its headquarters was moved to Galle Buck Road inColombo Fort (which is now part ofSLNS Parakrama). DuringWorld War I the Ceylon Artillery Volunteers were mobilised, along with theTown Guard Artillery ofColombo, for the defence of Colombo againstGerman commerce raiders.
In 1918, theCeylon Garrison Artillery (CGA) was formed by amalgamating the Ceylon Artillery Volunteers and the Town Guard Artillery, coming under theCeylon Defence Force. During the colonial period the main responsibility of the Ceylon Garrison Artillery was to assist the Royal Artillery manning the coastal defence ofCeylon, by operatingCoastal artillerybatteries in Colombo andTrincomalee.
With the onset ofWorld War II, the CGA was mobilised and expanded. The expansion saw the 1st Coast Regiment raising one field and four coast batteries. Heavy coastal batteries around Colombo atBattenburg,Galle Face andMutwal were manned by the 1st Coast Regiment equipped withBL 9.2-inch guns andBL 6 inch Mk VII naval guns.[2] The 2nd Heavy Anti-Aircraft Regiment, was formed and headquartered inTrincomalee equipped withQF 3.7-inch AA guns, followed by the 3rd Searchlight/Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment based in Colombo equipped with40mm Bofors guns. These formations defended Colombo and Trincomalee during the air attacks that occurred as part of theIndian Ocean raid by theImperial Japanese Navy.[3][4] The CGA was also deployed overseas to support the Allied andCommonwealth forces in the Indian Ocean. A detachment of CGA was deployed in defence of theSeychelles and theCocos Islands manning6 inch Coastal Guns. There on the night of 8 May 1942, 30 out of 56 personnel of the CGA detachment onHorsburgh Island mutinied in what was known as theCocos Islands mutiny. Following the mutiny, no combat units from Ceylon were deployed overseas, support units were deployed with Commonwealth forces. With the end of the war CGA was demobilized.
In 1948, Ceylon gained self-rule and theCeylon Army was formed on 1 October 1949 under the Army Act of 1949 and the Ceylon Defence Force disbanded. The Ceylon Garrison Artillery became theCeylon Artillery with some of its personal transferring to the regular force and others continuing as volunteers. That year the 1st Heavy Anti-Aircraft Regiment (HAA) of the Ceylon Artillery was formed under the command of Lt. Col. (later Colonel)F. C. de Saram,OBE equipped with40 mm anti-aircraft guns and3.7 inch heavy anti-aircraft guns atRock House. The 2nd Volunteer Coastal Artillery / Anti-Aircraft Regiment was formed in 1949, under the command of Lt. Col. J.A.T. Perera,ED manning theBL 6 inchcoastal guns, made up of officers and men of the Ceylon Garrison Artillery. In 1953 the 1st HAA was renamed the 1st Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment (LAA). In the same year the 3rd Field Artillery Regiment was formed equipped withML 4.2-inch heavy mortars.
In 1962, anattempted military coup by senior military and police officers took place, with many officers of the Ceylon Artillery, including Colonel De Saram being implicated. The government purged military of officers and other ranks found to be associated with the coup. The Ceylon Artillery suffered badly, with the all three of its regiments being disbanded. Remaining officers and other ranks of the 1st Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment and the 3rd Field Artillery Regiment were amalgamated to form the 4th Regiment, Ceylon Artillery on 26 April 1963, thus reducing the Ceylon Artillery to a single regiment. Thecoastal artillerybatteries were decommissioned.
In April 1971, the Ceylon Army was mobilized to faced the1971 JVP insurrection. Lacking field artillery, the 4th Regiment deployed its troops as infantry for counter insurgency operations until it received 1476 mm mountain guns fromYugoslav and 3085 mm Type 60 anti-tank guns from China. These were used to bombard insurgent holdouts.
The CA was renamed in 1972 as theSri Lanka Artillery when Ceylon became a republic. The 4th Regiment, Sri Lanka Artillery transitioned into afield artillery role as it decommissioned its anti-aircraft guns. Several years later theair defence role of the Sri Lankan military was taken over by theSri Lanka Air Force Regiment, which it carries out to this day.
In 1980 a new volunteer regiment, the 5th (V) Artillery Regiment was formed from the 2nd Battalion of theCeylon National Guard. With the onset of theSri Lankan Civil War, SLA grew in size and addedBritishOrdnance QF 25 pounder Mark III field guns to its inventory.[5] These were used in major military operations in the 1980s such as theVadamarachchi Operation. 24 3.7-inch AA guns were in service till the early 1990s[6] New regiments were formed with new sources of weaponry in the 1990s and 2000s fromChina and theCzech Republic. With the escalation of theSri Lankan civil war85 mm Type 56 field guns,122 mm howitzers,152 mm gun-howitzers,130 mm field guns and120 mm mortars,82 mm mortars were introduced, and in 2000RM-70 Multiple rocket launchers were added, increasing SLA's firepower.Target acquisition was carried out to locate enemy guns usingAN/TPQ-36 Firefinder radars andSLC-2 Radar ascounter-battery radars by its Independent Locating Battery.[7]
At present the Sri Lanka Artillery has nine regular regiments, two volunteer regiments and a regimental band. These units form the Artillery Brigade. During the civil war, SLA has provided fire support for almost all military operations carried out by the Sri Lanka Army. At times the SLA has deployed one regular (RFT) and two volunteer regiments in an infantry role to meet the shortage ofinfantry. In 2020, the SLA raised the 15th Drone Regiment for surveillance and target acquisition, deployingUAVs to monitorisolated areas during theCOVID-19 pandemic.[8]
In 1957, an Instructor Gunnery (IG) section was formed under Chief Instructor Major B. I. Loyela for training on the use of anti-aircraft guns. On 16 September 1985, the IG section based at thePanagoda Cantonment was reorganized as the School of Artillery to facilitate the expansion of the Regiment of Artillery. It was moved to theMinneriya Garrison in October 1990.
Its programs include:
| Preceded by | Order of Precedence | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by Mechanized Infantry Regiment (with armored vehicles) | Order of Precedence (with guns) | Succeeded by Sri Lanka Engineers (with engineering vehicles) |
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