The regiment was raised in May 1940 in
Ingleburn, New South Wales, as part of the all volunteer
Second Australian Imperial Force. Its first commanding officer was Lieutenant Colonel E.J.W Pope. Upon formation it consisted of two batteries: the 1st and 2nd Medium Batteries. Training was undertaken at Ingleburn with six-inch
howitzers. In October 1940, the regiment was converted into a field regiment due to a shortage of medium artillery pieces, designated as the 2/13th Army Field Regiment. As a field regiment, it consisted of the 25th and 26th Batteries. As a corps-level unit, it was assigned directly to
I Corps. In February 1941, the regiment deployed two detachments of around 50 personnel and two
18-pounders to
Nauru and
Ocean Island as garrison troops as part of Heron Force and Wren Force; they were relieved in August 1941 and returned to Australia. Meanwhile, the rest of the regiment was deployed to
Darwin, Northern Territory from in
Cowra, New South Wales, The regiment deployed to the Middle East in September 1941. The regiment was initially based at Hill 93 in Palestine. In October 1941, the regiment reverted to a medium regiment. At that time it received sixteen US-made, French-designed 155 mm howitzers. They moved to
Beit Jirja and then later
Beir Suneid, but did not see combat before being brought back to Australia in March 1942 and saw no further active service throughout the war. ==Notes==