48th Field Battery , Royal Australian Artillery The 48th Field Battery , Royal Australian Artillery was an artillery battery of the Australian Army . The battery traced its lineage back to a unit that was formed for service during the First World War . Assigned to the 9th Brigade , it was located at Keswick Barracks in South Australia until mid - 2013 when it was amalgamated with the Launceston based 16th Field Battery , to form the 6th / 13th Light Battery . Role . The 48th Field Battery is a part of the Australian Army ' s 9th Brigade , located at Keswick Barracks South Australia . It is tasked with providing indirect fire support to 9th Brigade units . The battery recently replaced its six 105 mm M2A2 Howitzer s with the 81 mm mortar . The unit still maintains a number of M2A2s for ceremonial purposes . History . The 48th Field Battery was formed at Tel el Kebir , Egypt , on 6 March 1916 as part of the expansion of the Australian Imperial Force ( AIF ) that took place following the end of the Gallipoli campaign during the First World War . Assigned to the 12th Field Artillery Brigade , 4th Division , the battery was transferred to Europe where it saw action in France with the 24th Field Artillery Brigade , employing the Ordnance QF 18 pounder . The battery saw action on the Western Front between June 1916 and January 1917 , when it was disbanded . In 1921 , the battery was re - raised as a part - time field artillery unit in South Australia . As part of a wide - scale reorganisation of Australia ' s part - time military forces that saw units of the Citizens Force adopt the numerical designations of the AIF , the battery was formed from the previously existing 45th Battery that had been established . Under the command of Major H . J . Copley , at this time the battery was mounted on horses and organised into two sections , each consisting of two guns , with a total strength of around 60 personnel . At this time , it was assigned to the 6th Cavalry Brigade ' s 22nd Australian Field Artillery Brigade , but was attached to the 13th Field Brigade for administration purposes . Initially the battery was manned through the compulsory training scheme , but after this was suspended in 1929 , recruitment into the Citizens Force became voluntary . In 1936 , Captain R . J . Harvey took over command of the battery and in 1939 it was relocated to the Torrens Training Depot , where it was co - located with the 10th Battalion . Throughout this time , the battery continued its role as horse artillery . In July of that year , the battery ' s personnel were used to raise the 51st Battery . The 48th Battery was subsequently re - raised under the command of Captain V . S . Kneebone , shortly after which it relocated to Keswick Barracks . Following the outbreak of the Second World War , the battery contributed a number of personnel to the Second Australian Imperial Force that was raised for overseas service and , as a result , during the early period of the war , its establishment declined . In late 1941 , following Japan ' s entry into the war , the battery contributed personnel to the 13th Field Artillery Regiment upon its mobilisation . During the first half of 1942 , the battery undertook coastal defence duties in South Australia before losing its horses and re - equipping with eight Ordnance QF 25 pounder artillery pieces and moving to Frankston , Victoria . Later in the year , the battery moved to Holsworthy , New South Wales . In December 1942 , the battery was gazetted as an AIF unit , which meant that because its personnel had volunteered for overseas service , it could be sent anywhere to fight during the war . In 1943 , the battery moved to Queensland before being sent to Port Moresby in New Guinea where it became part of the 13th Field Regiment . They remained in New Guinea until October 1943 when the regiment was withdrawn back to Australia . Throughout 1944 , the battery undertook training on the Atherton Tablelands as the 13th Field Regiment was re - assigned to the 11th Division . They remained in Australia until the end of the war , when the regiment ' s personnel were demobilised and the regiment disbanded . Following the war , Australia ' s part - time military force was not re - raised until 1948 . At this time , the 13th Field Regiment was re - raised in South Australia , but it was not until June 1966 that the 48th Battery returned to the order of battle when the regiment ' s battery designations were changed . In 1968 , the battery was under the command of Captain D . J . Stoba and it was equipped with 25 pounders . These remained the battery ' s weapon until 1973 when they were replaced by 105 mm pieces . Two years later , the 13th Field Regiment was disbanded and the battery , under the command of Major G . S . Laurie , became independent once more . That year , the battery received four M2A2 pieces to replace some of the L5s . In 1988 , the battery became part of the amalgamated 6th / 13th Field Regiment . Following the disbandment of the 6th / 13th Field Regiment in 1997 , the 48th Field Battery has served as an independent battery under the command of the 9th Brigade . In mid - 2013 , the battery was amalgamated with the Launceston - based 16th Field Battery to form the 6th / 13th Light Battery .