List of Royal Armoured Corps Regiments in World War II

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This is a list of regiments within the British Army's Royal Armoured Corps during the Second World War.

On the creation of the corps in 1939, just before the outbreak of the Second World War, it comprised those regular cavalry and Territorial Army Yeomanry regiments that had been mechanised,[1] together with the Royal Tank Regiment.[2] As the war progressed and further horsed regiments were mechanised, they joined the corps, together with new (armoured) cavalry regiments that were raised for the hostilities. The RAC created its own training and support regiments, and in 1941 and 1942 a number of infantry battalions were converted to armoured regiments and joined the RAC.[3] Lastly, the RAC subsumed the Reconnaissance Corps in 1944.[4][5]

In the list below, the date refers to the date when the regiment joined the RAC.

Cavalry[edit]

Regular[edit]

1939

1940

1941

Hostilities-only[edit]

1940

1941

Special Reserve[edit]

1939

Yeomanry[edit]

1939

1940

1941

1944

Royal Tank Regiment[edit]

Royal Tank Regiment nomenclature during the Second World War: the regiments were referred to as battalions and used Bn in the title. Post-war Bn was dropped and titles used Royal Tank Regiment without Bn.[7]

Regular[edit]

Hostilities-only[edit]

Dummy tanks[edit]

The following "regiments" were formed to construct and move dummy tanks. These were intended to deceive the enemy as to the disposition and strength of British armour.[8] The 3rd Royal Gloucestershire Hussars[9] and the 4th Northamptonshire Yeomanry[10] were formed in a similar manner.

Territorial[edit]

RAC regiments[edit]

RAC regiments converted from infantry[edit]

All personnel in these units wore the black RAC beret with their own infantry regimental badge.[3]

1941

1942

1943

1944

Reconnaissance regiments[edit]

The Reconnaissance Regiments had mainly been formed in 1941–3 from infantry battalions and/or brigade anti-tank companies. They usually took their numbers from the infantry divisions in which they were formed, but retained them if transferred to another division. Some had been disbanded before transfer to the RAC in 1944, some had been converted from RAC regiments and consequently returned to the corps in 1944.[19]

See also[edit]

Notes[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b "Royal Armoured Corps at regiments.org by T.F.Mills". Archived from the original on 3 January 2006. Retrieved 2006-03-10.
  2. ^ "The Royal Tank Regiment at regiments.org by T.F.Mills". Archived from the original on 3 January 2006. Retrieved 2016-01-09.
  3. ^ a b Forty 1998, pp. 50–51
  4. ^ Forty 1998, p. 63
  5. ^ "Reconnaissance Corps at regiments.org by T.F.Mills". Archived from the original on 3 January 2006. Retrieved 2012-07-09.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Forty 1998, p. 15
  7. ^ Smith 2014, p. 73
  8. ^ Bellis 1994, pp. 26–27
  9. ^ Bellis 1994, p. 18
  10. ^ Bellis 1994, p. 19
  11. ^ a b c d e f Joslen 2003, p. 173
  12. ^ a b Joslen 2003, p. 186
  13. ^ a b Joslen 2003, p. 187
  14. ^ a b Joslen 2003, p. 571
  15. ^ "The Reconnaissance Training Centre". Archived from the original on 23 December 2012. Retrieved 22 April 2014.
  16. ^ "Museum of the Manchester Regiment". 7 March 2011. Retrieved 22 April 2014.
  17. ^ Ellis 2004, p. 368
  18. ^ Joslen 2003, pp. 184, 204
  19. ^ a b "Regiments of the Corps". Archived from the original on 22 April 2014. Retrieved 22 April 2014.

Bibliography[edit]

  • Bellis, Malcolm A. (1994). Regiments of the British Army 1939–1945 (Armour & Infantry). London: Military Press International. ISBN 0-85420-999-9.
  • Ellis, L.F. (2004) [1st. Pub. HMSO:1968]. History of the Second World War: United Kingdom Military Series: Victory in the West. Vol. II: The Defeat of Germany. Uckfield: Naval & Military. ISBN 1-845740-59-9.
  • Forty, George (1998). British Army Handbook 1939–1945. Stroud, Gloucestershire: Sutton Publishing Limited. ISBN 0-7509-1403-3.
  • Joslen, H. F. (2003) [1960]. Orders of Battle: Second World War, 1939–1945. Uckfield, East Sussex: Naval and Military Press. ISBN 978-1-84342-474-1.
  • Smith, John A. (2014). British Armoured Formations 1939 - 1945 - A Bibliography. Woking: TankFactory. ISBN 978-0-9930228-0-7.

External links[edit]

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