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{{Infobox military unit
|unit_name=20 SATA Regiment
|image=
|caption=
|dates= 1942 – present
|country=[[India]]
|allegiance={{flag|British India}}<br />{{flag|India}}
|branch= {{army|British India|23px}}<br />[[File:Flag of Indian Army.svg|23px]] [[Indian Army]]
|type= [[File:Regiment of Artillery Insignia (India).svg|20px]] [[Artillery]]
|role=
|size= Regiment
|command_structure=
|equipment=

|Past Commanders=
|ceremonial_chief=
|colonel_of_the_regiment=
|notable_commanders=Col E. R. Culverwell, Maj Gen H. D. W. Sitwell, Maj Gen K. F. Mackay Lewis, [[Om Prakash Malhotra|Gen O. P. Malhotra]], [[Madan Mohan Lakhera|Lt Gen MM Lakhera]]

|identification_symbol=20 SATA Regt
|identification_symbol_label=Abbreviation

|nickname=Alma mater of Locators
|patron=
|motto=''SARVATRA, IZZAT-O-IQBAL'' “Everywhere with Honour and Glory”.
|colors= "Red & Navy Blue"
|march=
|mascot=
|battles=
|anniversaries=
|decorations=
|battle_honours=
}}

'''20 SATA Regiment''', nicknamed the ‘Alma Mater of Locators’ is a [[Surveillance and Target Acquisition]] (SATA) artillery regiment which is part of the [[Regiment of Artillery (India)|Regiment of Artillery]] of the [[Indian Army]].

== Formation ==

The Regiment was raised on August 4, 1924 at the School of Artillery in [[Kakol, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa|Kakul]] (now in [[Pakistan]]) as 1 Survey Section [[Royal Indian Artillery]] under Captain E. R. Culverwell. Upon establishment, it consisted of only nine personnel, which included two British officers, as well as several [[Viceroy's commissioned officer|V.C.Os]], Indian Officers and Other Ranks. These nine persons, later to be known as the ‘Nine Originals’, had passed a [[Royal Engineers]] survey course at [[Roorkee]]. They were selected from Mountain Artillery, Cavalry and Infantry Units to form the nucleus of Survey Section [[Royal Indian Artillery]].<ref name=" Graham 1957">{{cite book|last= Graham|first= C. A. L.|title= The History Of The Indian Mountain Artillery|date=1957|publisher= Aldershot Gale & Polden Ltd|isbn=|page=}}</ref>

== History ==
Captain Culverwell commanded the section for several years and was followed by Captains H. D. W. Sitwell, C. L. Ferard, K. F. Mackay Lewis, W. J. Gyde and R. MacCaig. 1 Survey Section was reorganised in 1941 as the ‘Survey Troop’ and carried out the survey of the [[Khyber Pass]]. In January 1942, it was re-designated as 1 Survey Battery under Major J. H. C. Hunter, and shortly afterwards re-joined the School of Artillery at [[Deolali]].{{Citation needed|date=October 2020}}

In August, 1942, the 1st Battery and a new Regimental Headquarters (R.H.Q.) were combined to form the 1st Indian Survey Regiment. The first Commanding Officer was Lieutenant-Colonel J. F. S. Rendall, with Major J. H. C. Hunter as Second-in -Command and Captain Matthews as Adjutant.<ref name=" Graham 1957">{{cite book|last= Graham|first= C. A. L.|title= The History Of The Indian Mountain Artillery|date=1957|publisher= Aldershot Gale & Polden Ltd|isbn=|page=}}</ref> Major S. A. Brighty commanded No. 1 Battery. In June, 1943, No. 2 Battery was formed under Major F. A. von Goldstein. A radar troop was raised in 1943 as part of the Regiment.{{Citation needed|date=October 2020}}

In July 1944, the Regiment moved by road to [[Ranchi]] and in August to the [[Imphal]] area to join the [[Burma campaign]] of [[World War II]]. It came under command of [[XXXIII Corps (British India)|33 Corps]], which had begun the pursuit to the [[Chindwin River]] line in [[Myanmar|Burma]]. No. 2 Survey Battery under Major von Goldstein joined the [[11th (East Africa) Division]], which was pressing down the [[Kabaw Valley]]. The No. 1 Survey Battery under Major B. C. Slater joined the [[2nd Infantry Division (United Kingdom)|2 British Division]] and moved south to take part in the corps artillery concentration covering the crossing of the [[Irrawaddy River]]. After the crossings the survey battery joined [[20th Infantry Division (India)|20 Division]]. No. 2 Survey Battery joined [[19th Infantry Division (India)|19 Indian Division]] for the northern crossings of the Irrawaddy.<ref name=" Graham 1957">{{cite book|last= Graham|first= C. A. L.|title= The History Of The Indian Mountain Artillery|date=1957|publisher= Aldershot Gale & Polden Ltd|isbn=|page=}}</ref> One [[Military Cross]] and three [[Military Medal]]s were awarded to personnel from the regiment.<ref name="Gulati 1972">{{cite book|last=Gulati|first=YB|title=History of the Regiment of Artillery, Indian Army|date=1972|publisher=Leo Cooper|isbn=978-0850521184|page=81}}</ref><ref name="Hav Abdullah Khan Military Medal">{{cite web |url= http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/D7366218|title= Hav Abdullah Khan Military Medal in the UK National Archives|date= |accessdate=2020-09-14}}</ref><ref name="Hav Girdhara Singh Military Medal">{{cite web |url= http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/D7366219|title= Hav Girdhara Singh Military Medal in the UK National Archives|date= |accessdate=2020-09-14}}</ref><ref name="Hav Anwar Hussain Military Medal">{{cite web |url= http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/D7367231|title= Hav Anwar Hussain Military Medal in the UK National Archives|date= |accessdate=2020-09-14}}</ref>

Orders had been issued that units not urgently required were to return to India and on 13 May 1945, the 1st Indian Survey Regiment was flown to [[Comilla]]. Lieutenant-Colonel H. G. Croly was now in command and repatriation had begun, and many changes of all ranks were taking place. The regiment eventually moved to [[Hyderabad, Sindh|Hyderabad]] (Sind) under Lieutenant-Colonel von Goldstein as commanding officer.<ref name=" Graham 1957">{{cite book|last= Graham|first= C. A. L.|title= The History Of The Indian Mountain Artillery|date=1957|publisher= Aldershot Gale & Polden Ltd|isbn=|page=}}</ref> On 25 January 1947, as a result of the [[Partition of India|Partition]], the 1st Indian Survey Regiment became 20th Survey Regiment, R.I. A., under command of Lieutenant-Colonel Rajbahadur, having shed 2nd Survey Battery. This became the 2nd Survey Battery, R.P.A. (later 13th Survey Battery, R.P.A.).<ref name=" Graham 1957">{{cite book|last= Graham|first= C. A. L.|title= The History Of The Indian Mountain Artillery|date=1957|publisher= Aldershot Gale & Polden Ltd|isbn=|page=}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/bitstream/10603/203255/5/chapter%203.pdf|title=Anjan Mukherjee in Evolution of Indian Artillery and its Impact on India’s Comprehensive Military Power, chapter3, page 79, 86 |date= |accessdate=2020-09-14}}</ref><ref name="Mangilli-Climpson 2007">{{cite book|last=Mangilli-Climpson|first=Massimo|title=Larkhill's Wartime Locators: Royal Artillery Survey in the Second World War|date=2007|publisher=Pen & Sword Military|isbn=978-1844155149|page=}}</ref>

In 1948, the Regiment took part in the [[Annexation of Hyderabad|Hyderabad Police Action]]<ref name="Operation Polo: The Liberation Of Hyderabad">{{cite web |url=http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/archives/MONITOR/ISSUE2-3/lns.html|title= Operation Polo: The Liberation Of Hyderabad at Bharat Rakshak Volume 2-3, November-December 1999|date= |accessdate=2020-09-15}}</ref> and [[Indo-Pakistani War of 1947–1948]].{{Citation needed|date=October 2020}}

In July 1952, the Regiment was reorganised as the 20 Locating Regiment.<ref name="Sainik Samachar, Aug 7-15 2007">{{cite web |url=http://sainiksamachar.nic.in/englisharchives/2007/aug15-07/h10.htm|title= Sainik Samachar, Aug 7-15 2007 - 84th raising day|date= |accessdate=2020-09-14}}</ref> In 1962, it took part in the Indo-China war and saw action in [[Sikkim]] and [[North East Frontier Agency|NEFA]].{{Citation needed|date=October 2020}}

The Regiment fought in the [[Indo-Pakistani War of 1965]] in the Western Sector.<ref name=" Khullar 2017">{{cite book|last= Khullar|first= Darshan |title= Themes of Glory: Indian Artillery in War|date=2017|publisher= VIJ Books (India) Pty Ltd|isbn=978-9385563973|page=}}</ref><ref name="The Print 15-09-2020">{{cite web |url=https://theprint.in/pageturner/excerpt/as-brig-nisar-passes-away-read-how-he-led-pak-artillery-to-break-indian-attack-in-chawinda/272662/|title= The Print 15-09-2020 article “As Brig Nisar passes away, read how he led Pak artillery to break Indian attack in Chawinda”|date=2020-09-15|accessdate=2020-09-14}}</ref>

It was part of the [[15th Infantry Division (India)|15th Infantry Division]] in the [[Indo-Pakistani War of 1971]], again in the Western Sector. It was part of the force tasked to defend the [[Amritsar]] and [[Dera Baba Nanak]] sectors. Commenting on the artillery support, Maj Gen Sukhwant Singh (Deputy Director Military Operations, Army Headquarters), writes in his book ‘India's Wars Since Independence: Defence of the western border’,<ref name="Sukhwant Singh 1998">{{cite book|last=Singh|first=Sukhwant|title= India's Wars Since Independence: Defence of the western border|date=1998|publisher= Spantech|isbn= 978-1897829424|page=}}</ref> ''“The Independent Artillery Brigade supported the operation with intimate, timely and abundant artillery fire. So effective was the brigade’s counter-battery programme that there was no interference by the enemy artillery, “The performance of the Flash Spotting Troop of 20 Locating Regiment in particular, had been commendable. It had started “fixing’ the Pakistani gun areas from Day One, when Pakistan attacked [[Kassowal|Kasowal]]. Thereafter, whenever and from wherever the enemy artillery opened up, the eyes and instruments of the flash spotters kept updating its latest locations, enabling effective counter bombardment''.<ref name="Jagjit Singh 1994">{{cite book|last=Singh|first=Jagjit |title=Indian Gunners at War: The Western Front 1971|date=1994|publisher= Spantech & Lancer|isbn=978-1897829554|page=}}</ref> The four personnel from the regiment were [[Mention in Despatches|Mentioned in Despatches]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.egazette.nic.in/WriteReadData/1974/O-1253-1974-0019-55503.pdf|title=Gazette of India, No 19|date=1974-05-11|access-date=2022-02-05}}</ref>

In June 1987, the Regiment was redesignated as the 20 Surveillance and Target Acquisition (SATA) Regiment with the role of carrying out all weather surveillance of targets including enemy guns and mortars.<ref name="Sainik Samachar, Aug 7-15 2007">{{cite web |url=http://sainiksamachar.nic.in/englisharchives/2007/aug15-07/h10.htm|title= Sainik Samachar, Aug 7-15 2007 - 84th raising day|date= |accessdate=2020-09-14}}</ref> The Regiment has also participated in operations [[Operation Blue Star|Blue Star]] in [[Punjab]] in 1984, [[Indian Army operations in Jammu and Kashmir|Rakshak]], [[Kargil War|Vijay]] and [[2001–02 India–Pakistan standoff|Operation Parakram]] (all in J&K).<ref name="SATA Regiment celebrates 58th Raising Day">{{cite web |url=https://www.oneindia.com/2008/08/01/sata-regiment-celebrates-85th-raising-day-1217585179.html|title= SATA Regiment celebrates 58th Raising Day|date=2018-08-01 |accessdate=2020-09-14}}</ref> The regiment had the honour to participate in the [[Delhi Republic Day parade|Republic Day Parade]] in 1993.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ENslPF0Z1I4|title=Republic day parade 1993|date=|access-date=2021-06-12}}</ref>
==See also==
[[List of regiments of the Indian Army#Artillery|List of artillery regiments of Indian Army]]
== References ==
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
* ''Larkhill's Wartime Locators: Royal Artillery Survey in the Second World War'' by Massimo Mangilli-Climpson. Published by Pen & Sword, 2007. {{ISBN|978-1844155149}}.

==External links==
* [https://www.alpinejournal.org.uk/Contents/Contents_1958_files/AJ63%201958%20102-116%20In%20Memoriam.pdf ''Obituary – Col E. R. Culverwell, pages 103-5 – The Alpine Journal, Vol 63, 1958'']
* [http://warfare.gq/dutcheastindies/sitwell.html ''Major-General Hervey Degge Wilmot Sitwell at Forgotten Campaign: The Dutch East Indies Campaign 1941-1942'']

[[Category:Military units and formations established in 1942]]
[[Category:Artillery regiments of the Indian Army after 1947]]

20 SATA Regiment India - Revision history

Bot at 20:17, 29 August 2022