185th Paratroopers Artillery Regiment "Folgore"

The 185th Paratroopers Artillery Regiment "Folgore (Italian: 185° Reggimento Artiglieria Paracadutisti "Folgore") is an artillery regiment of the Italian Army, specializing in airborne operations. The regiment was raised in March 1942 to support the Paratroopers of the 185th Paratroopers Division "Folgore". The division served with distinction the Western Desert Campaign and was destroyed in November 1942 during the Second Battle of El Alamein. Between 2000 and 2013 the regiment was named 185th Paratroopers Reconnaissance Target Acquisition Regiment "Folgore" and a Special Operations unit, tasked with reconnaissance and target acquisition. On 1 July 2013 the regiment was reformed as artillery unit in Bracciano and received war flag of the 185th Paratroopers Artillery Regiment "Folgore", while the 185th Paratroopers Reconnaissance Target Acquisition Regiment "Folgore" received the war flag of the 185th Paratroopers Regiment "Nembo",[3] which had been disbanded in September 1944 after serving with the Italian Co-Belligerent Army.[4] Today the regiment is based in Bracciano near Rome and operationally assigned to the Paratroopers Brigade "Folgore".[5]

185th Paratroopers Artillery Regiment "Folgore"
185° Reggimento Artiglieria Paracadutisti "Folgore"
Regimental coat of arms
Active10 March 1942 - 8 December 1942
16 December 1966 - 31 August 2000
21 June 2013 - today[1]
Country Italy
BranchItalian Army
RoleAirborne artillery
Part ofParatroopers Brigade "Folgore"
Garrison/HQBracciano
Nickname(s)"Diavoli Gialli" (Yellow Devils)
Motto(s)"Come folgore sempre e dovunque"
AnniversariesParatroopers: 23 October 1942 - Second Battle of El Alamein
Artillery: 15 June 1918 - Second Battle of the Piave River
Decorations
1x Gold Medal of Military Valour
1x Silver Medal of Army Valour[2]
Commanders
Current
commander		Colonel Cristiano De Chigi
Insignia
185th Paratroopers Artillery Regiment "Folgore" gorget patches

History

The Regiment traces its origins back to the 185th Artillery Regiment "Folgore", framed within the "Folgore" Division established in 1941. The artillery regiment fought at the Second Battle of El Alamein and was disbanded on 8 December 1942 because of the losses suffered.[6]

During the Italian Army 1975 reform the regiment was raised again on 1 October 1975 as the 185th Paratroopers Field Artillery Group "Viterbo". On September 8, 1992, the group was renamed 1st Paratroopers Artillery Group, within the re-established 185th Paratroopers Artillery Regiment "Folgore".

In winter 1999-2000, the unit was transformed into a special operations reconnaissance unit, and in 2004 it changed its name to 185th Reconnaissance Target Acquisition Regiment "Folgore" (185th RAO "Folgore"), while maintaining traditions and War Flag of the old 185th Artillery Regiment. In 2013, the 185th regiment was "doubled": the 185th Paratroopers Artillery Regiment "Folgore" was reconstituted with men and materiel of the 33rd Field Artillery Regiment "Acqui" in Bracciano (RM) and entered the Folgore Parachute Brigade, while the 185th RAO "Folgore" entered the Italian special operations command COMFOSE.

Deployments
Paratroopers of the 185th ready their mortar during exercise Summer Tempest 2016

During World War II, the Regiment was deployed in El Alamein, where it fought valiantly alongside its parent formation and the "Pavia" and "Trento" Divisions.

The activity abroad of 185th Regiment, after the World War II, began with the first overseas mission of the Italian Army in 1982: a battery participated in the mission in Lebanon.

In 1991, as part of the Italfor Airone Mission, the Group contributes to the establishment of the Paratroopers Tactical Group sending its personnel to Iraq. The 185th Regiment was the first unit involved in the national operation "Vespri Siciliani", and immediately afterwards was sent into the operational cycles of Somalia, maintaining a mortar battery there. Then it was the turn of former Yugoslavia: the 185th Regiment was present in all the missions that involve the Parachute Brigade in Bosnia and Kosovo.

Current Structure

As of 2019 the 185th Paratroopers Artillery Regiment consists of:

  • Regimental Command, in Bracciano
    • Command and Logistic Support Battery
    • Surveillance, Target Acquisition and Tactical Liaison Battery
    • 1st Paratroopers Artillery Group
      • 1st Heavy Mortar Battery
      • 2nd Heavy Mortar Battery
      • 3rd Heavy Mortar Battery

The Command and Logistic Support Battery fields the following sections: C3 Section, Transport and Materiel Section, Medical Section, and Commissariat Section. The regiment is equipped with 120mm mortars.

See also

References
  1. "185° Reggimento Artiglieria Paracadutisti "Folgore" - La Storia". Italian Army. Retrieved 21 December 2019.
  2. "185° Reggimento Artiglieria Paracadutisti "Folgore" - Il Medagliere". Italian Army. Retrieved 21 December 2019.
  3. "RINASCE IL 185MO REGGIMENTO ART PAR E RICEVE LA BANDIERA DAL 185mo RRAO". home.maistrac.it (in Italian). Archived from the original on 2014-08-05. Retrieved 28 July 2014.
  4. "185° Reparto Autonomo Paracadutisti "Nembo"". Esercito Italiano. Retrieved 21 December 2019.
  5. "1° Reggimento Artiglieria Terrestre (mon.)". Italian Army. Retrieved 19 December 2019.
  6. "185º Reggimento Artiglieria Paracadutisti "Folgore" - La Storia". esercito.difesa.it (in Italian). Archived from the original on 2014-02-04. Retrieved 28 July 2014.
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