| 10th Coast Regiment, Royal New Zealand Artillery | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Active | 1940–1967 |
| Country |  New Zealand |
| Branch | New Zealand Army |
| Type | Coastal Artillery |
| Garrison/HQ | Wellington |
The10th Coast Regiment,Royal New Zealand Artillery was a territorialcoastal artillery regiment of theNew Zealand Army. The regiment was formed in 1940 as10th Heavy Regiment, New Zealand Artillery and controlled the coastal defence batteries aroundWellington Harbour.[1] The regiment was progressively expanded and by the end of the war had batteries all over the lowerNorth Island.[2] The regiment was reduced to acadre in 1957 and disbanded in 1967, along with the other coastal artillery regiments (9th and11th).[3][4]
Since theFirst World War, the coastal defences ofWellington had come under a single battery, 15 Heavy Battery (15 Coast Battery prior to 1934). In March 1940, 15 Heavy Battery was broken up into three batteries and the overall force increased in manpower. The 10th Heavy Regiment was formed in July 1940 to command the Wellington defence batteries, which included both coastal artillery and anti-aircraft artillery. In 1941, the regiment was expanded to include the coastal artillery batteries which covered other ports in the lowerNorth Island. At its peak size in 1943, the regiment consisted of eight batteries in nine locations:[5][2]
The regiment name was changed to 10th Coast Regiment in October 1944[6] and in the same year, the coastal defences were effectively mothballed. After the war it was decided that only the defences at Wellington should be kept in an operational state by a small peacetime garrison.[7] In 1948 the territorial force was reorganised. All the New Zealand Artillery became part of the Royal New Zealand Artillery[8] and the batteries were renumbered as:[9]
It was decided in 1957 that the coastal artillery regiments were no longer necessary. The armament and equipment were placed on a care and maintenance basis, while the regiment was reduced to acadre. Over the coming years, the equipment was scrapped and much of the facilities and land were sold off. The regiment eventually dropped to a singlequartermaster sergeant, but continued to exist on paper until it was formally disbanded in 1967.[3][4]
 | This article about themilitary of New Zealand is astub. You can help Wikipedia byexpanding it. |
 | This article about a specific military unit is astub. You can help Wikipedia byexpanding it. |