Timeline
21Bty R.A.21Bty revised timeline, showing major events and posting to those theatres of conflict and where able the role 21Bty played within that conflict.
| Formation | 1st Jan 1758 |
| North America | |
| Canada | |
| Havana | |
| Woolwich | 1769 |
| Gibraltar | 1772 |
| French & Spanish Siege | 1779-83 |
| Sortie – Honour Title Awarded | 27th Nov 1781 |
| Corsica | |
| Elba | |
| Lisbon | |
| Minorca | |
| Egypt | |
| Battle of Alexandria | |
| Malta | |
| Gibraltar | 1802 – 1810 |
| Battle of Barossa in Spain | 1811 |
| West Indies | |
| Canada | |
| Re-designated 2 Company 2nd Battalion Royal Artillery | 1859 |
| Based in England & Channel Islands | |
| Malta | 1891 – 1896 |
| South Africa (active service) | |
| Far Eastern service in north China (active service) | |
| Far East | |
| Hong Kong | |
| India | |
| Burma | – 1914 |
| Aden & formed into a Camel Battery and joined the Indian Expedition Force | 03/1914 |
| Battery was renamed Number 1 15 Pounder Camel Battery | |
| Sgt Curtis was awarded the DCM for saving his gun. | July 1915 |
| India | 1918 – 1927 |
| Capture of Hatum | 05/01/1918 |
| Gnr J Fairclough was awarded the Albert Medal (GC) | 8th May 1928 |
| Gibraltar | 1927 – 1947 |
| WWII – Gibraltar | |
| During WWII the Battery were assigned to RHQ 3rd Coast Reg, R.A. retitled to RHQ 28th Coast Reg R.A. equipped with 9.2″ Guns | |
| Re-designated as 21 Battery | 1947 |
| Battery was placed into suspended animation | 1956 |
| 21 (Gibraltar 1779-83) Battery joined 50 Medium Regiment | 1957 |
| Scotland Dundonald Camp, Troon | 01-06-1958 |
| listed as 21 Med Bty of 28th Fld Reg | |
| Germany Northumberland Bks, Menden | 1959 |
| listed as 21 Med Bty equipped with 5.5″ Gun (source) | |
| Battery converted to the Honest John surface to surface missile in the nuclear role, the first and only nuclear weapon fielded by the British Army. | 1960 |
| Battery moved across to 27 Medium Regt in Churchill Bks, Lippstadt and re-rolled in air defence using Blowpipe | 1976 |
| First Battery in BAOR to be equipped with Blowpipe | |
| Northern Ireland, Belfast (Ardoyne/City Centre) | 1977 |
| Northern Ireland | Jan – May 1980 |
| 21 Battery joins 47th Fld Reg R.A. at Mensergh Bks, Gutersloh | Apr 1982 |
| Falklands conflict providing Close Air Defence for the Task Force | May 1982 |
| Germany | Sept 1984 |
| B-Troop, 111 Dragon Battery joined the Battery on its move to 47 Field Regiment in Gutersloh | |
| Battery converted to the Javelin Air Defence Missile System | 1985 |
| England Baker Bks, Thorney Island | 1989 |
| Northern Ireland | 1990 |
| The Gulf Conflict | Oct 1990 – ? |
| Troop of 21 Battery assigned in the Gulf Conflict providing air defence for RN vessels | |
| 21 Bty equipped with SP HVM and LML HVM | Dec 1992 |
| Operations with 24 Airmobile Brigade | 1992 |
| 47th Fld Reg R.A. expands now housing 3, 4, 21, 31 & 3 Fld Btys | 1993 |
| 47 Field Regt converted from a Field Regt to a dedicated Close Air Defence Regiment | 1993 |
| Northern Ireland | 1994 |
| Bosnia | July 1995 – ? |
| Northern Ireland – full Regimental tour | July 1996 – ? |
| Cyprus | 1998 |
| The Regiment then completed a tour of Cyprus serving with UNFICYP | |
| 21 Battery attached to the newly formed 16 Air Assault Brigade under the command of HQ 16AA Bde Colchester | Aug 1999 |
| This move saw a number of changes; ‘P-Troop’, the airborne air defence troop of 5 Airborne Brigade, joined 47 Regiment as party of 31 (HQ) Bty, and then subsequently 21 Battery | |
| Battery converted to the latest air defence weapon system, the High Velocity Missile in the light deployable mode | 2000 |
| Battery awarded its new title, 21 (Gibraltar 1779-83) Air Assault Battery | Feb 2001 |
| Afghanistan Op Fingal | Dec 2001 – Mar 2002 |
| Battery deployed with 16 AA Bde to Afghanistan as part of the International Stabilisation and Assistance Force in Kabul | |
| Iraq Op Telic | Feb – July 2003 |
| Afghanistan | 2006 |
| Deployed as Infantry as the Operations Company of the Helmand Provincial Reconstructions Team.During this period the Battery sustained two casualties and fired over 12,000 rounds in fire fights with the Taleban, in what has been described as the fiercest fighting involving British Troops since Kosovo War. | |
| Iraq/Afghanistan | 2008 |
| Deployed simultaneously to Op Telic (Iraq) and Op Herrick (Afghanistan) providing Surveillance and Target Acquisition to both 7 Armoured and 16 Air Assault Brigades using Desert Hawk Mini Unmanned Aerial Vehicle. | |
| Assigned to 47Regt. Horne Barracks, Wiltshire | 2014 |
| Equipped with TUAS Drones | |
| Joint exercise as part of 16 AAB with French 11e Brigade Parachutiste | Sept 2015 |