Today, the RHA is operationally part of the Royal Regiment of Artillery (Royal Artillery) order of battle; there are currently four separate regiments that wear the cypher (cap badge) of the RHA:
- King's Troop, Royal Horse Artillery is primarily a ceremonial unit and uses vintage 13-pounder guns for firing salutes. However, it also has an operational role as part of the territorial defence of the United Kingdom. The King’s Troop is located in St John's Wood, convenient for firing gun salutes in Hyde Park.
- 1st Regiment Royal Horse Artillery
- 3rd Regiment Royal Horse Artillery (The Liverpool and Manchester Gunners)
- 7th (Parachute) Regiment Royal Horse Artillery - this was formed in 1962 from the 33rd Parachute Light Regiment Royal Artillery and served until 1977 as the artillery regiment of 16th Parachute Brigade. After a spell in Germany as a non-airborne unit, it returned to Aldershot where it joined 5th Airborne Brigade and once again assumed the airmobile role. It is currently part of 16th Air Assault Brigade based in Colchester, armed with the L118 105-mm light gun which is air-droppable from the C-130 Hercules.
Within the Royal Artillery structure, posting between the RA and the RHA is fairly common. However, the Royal Horse Artillery regiments are perceived as élite, and a posting to an RHA unit is regarded as a significant career advancement.
The Royal Horse Artillery has provided the Queen's Guard on three occasions:
The King's Troop provides the Queen's Life Guard in Whitehall for three weeks in August each year while the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment goes away for summer training.
Affiliations
Order of Precedence
When on parade with its guns, the Royal Horse Artillery takes precedence over every other regiment and corps in the British Army, and parades at the right of the line. Otherwise, it immediately follows the Household Cavalry.External links
- King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery (Official MoD page)
- 1st Regiment Royal Horse Artillery (Official MoD page)
- 3rd Regiment Royal Horse Artillery (Official MoD page)
- 7th Parachute Regiment Royal Horse Artillery (Official MoD page)
- Royal Artillery of the Napoleonic Wars
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Last updated on Monday June 23, 2008 at 03:24:10 PDT (GMT -0700)
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