From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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
Regular
1939
1940
1941
Hostilities-only
1940
1941
Special Reserve
1939
Yeomanry
1939
1940
1941
1944
Royal Tank Regiment
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
Hostilities-only
Dummy tanks
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.
37th Bn, Royal Tank Regiment (Dummy tanks)
38th Bn, Royal Tank Regiment (Dummy tanks)
39th Bn, Royal Tank Regiment (Dummy tanks)
[11]
[12]
60th Bn, Royal Tank Regiment (Dummy tanks)
[11]
[13]
62nd Bn, Royal Tank Regiment (Dummy tanks)
[11]
[13]
65th Bn, Royal Tank Regiment (Dummy tanks)
[11]
101st Bn, Royal Tank Regiment (Dummy tanks)
[11]
[12]
102nd Bn, Royal Tank Regiment (Dummy tanks)
[11]
118th Bn, Royal Tank Regiment (Dummy tanks)
[14]
124th Bn, Royal Tank Regiment (Dummy tanks)
[14]
Territorial
40th (The King's) Bn, Royal Tank Regiment converted from 7th Battalion,
King's Regiment (Liverpool)
41st (Oldham) Bn, Royal Tank Regiment converted from 10th Battalion,
Manchester Regiment
42nd Royal Tank Regiment (7th (23rd London) Battalion, East Surrey Regiment) Bn, Royal Tank Regiment converted from 7th Battalion,
East Surrey Regiment
43rd Royal Tank Regiment (6th (City) Battalion, Royal Northumberland Fusiliers) Bn, Royal Tank Regiment converted from 6th Battalion,
Royal Northumberland Fusiliers
44th Bn, Royal Tank Regiment converted from 6th Battalion,
Gloucestershire Regiment
45th (Leeds Rifles) Bn, Royal Tank Regiment converted from
7th Battalion ,
West Yorkshire Regiment
46th (Liverpool Welsh) Bn, Royal Tank Regiment duplicate of 40th RTR
47th (Oldham) Bn, Royal Tank Regiment duplicate of 41st RTR
48th Bn, Royal Tank Regiment duplicate of 42nd RTR
49th Bn, Royal Tank Regiment duplicate of 43rd RTR
50th Bn, Royal Tank Regiment duplicate of 44th RTR
51st (Leeds Rifles) Bn, Royal Tank Regiment duplicate of 45th RTR
RAC regiments
1st Armoured Delivery Regiment RAC
1st Armoured Reinforcement Regiment RAC
2nd Armoured Delivery Regiment RAC
21st Training Regiment RAC – 1944–45
[1]
51st Training Regiment RAC – Cavalry Depot,
Catterick , closed 1945
[6]
52nd Training Regiment RAC – RTR Depot, Bovington, closed 1945
[6]
53rd Training Regiment RAC – Tidworth, closed 1945
[6]
54th Training Regiment RAC – Perham Down (Barnard Castle from 1943)
[6]
55th Training Regiment RAC – Farnborough, closed 1945
[6]
56th Training Regiment RAC – Catterick, closed 1945
[6]
57th Training Regiment RAC – Warminster (Catterick from 1943)
[6]
58th (Young Soldiers) Training Regiment RAC – Bovington, closed 1945
[6]
59th Training Regiment RAC – Armoured Cars, Tidworth
[6]
60th Training Regiment RAC – Tidworth, closed 1945
[6]
61st Training Regiment RAC – Tidworth
[6]
62nd Training Regiment RAC – Recce Training Centre, Catterick
[6]
[15]
200th Armoured Delivery Regiment RAC
RAC regiments converted from infantry
All personnel in these units wore the black RAC beret with their own infantry regimental badge.
[3]
1941
107th Regiment RAC (King's Own) from 5th Battalion,
King's Own Royal Regiment (Lancaster)
108th Regiment RAC (Lancashire Fusiliers) from 1/5th Battalion,
Lancashire Fusiliers
109th Regiment RAC (Lancashire Fusiliers) from 1/6th Battalion,
Lancashire Fusiliers
110th Regiment RAC (Border Regiment) from 5th Battalion,
Border Regiment
111th Regiment RAC (Manchester Regiment) from 5th Battalion,
Manchester Regiment
112th Regiment RAC (Foresters) from 9th Battalion,
Sherwood Foresters – armoured cars
141st Regiment RAC from 7th Battalion,
Buffs (Royal East Kent Regiment)
142nd (Suffolk) Regiment RAC from 7th Battalion,
Suffolk Regiment
143rd Regiment RAC (Lancashire Fusiliers) from 9th Battalion,
Lancashire Fusiliers
144th Regiment RAC from 8th Battalion,
East Lancashire Regiment
145th Regiment RAC (8DWR) from 8th Battalion,
Duke of Wellington's Regiment
146th Regiment RAC from 9th Battalion,
Duke of Wellington's Regiment
147th Regiment RAC from 10th Battalion,
Hampshire Regiment
148th Regiment RAC from 9th Battalion,
Loyal Regiment (North Lancashire)
149th Regiment RAC from 7th Battalion,
King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry
150th Regiment RAC from 10th Battalion,
York and Lancaster Regiment
151st Regiment RAC from 10th Battalion,
King's Own Royal Regiment (Lancaster)
152nd Regiment RAC from 11th Battalion,
King's Regiment (Liverpool)
153rd Regiment RAC from 8th Battalion,
Essex Regiment
1942
113th Regiment RAC from 2/5th Battalion,
West Yorkshire Regiment
114th Regiment RAC from 2/6th Battalion,
Duke of Wellington's Regiment
115th Regiment RAC from 2/7th Battalion,
Duke of Wellington's Regiment
116th Regiment RAC from 9th Battalion,
Gordon Highlanders
154th Regiment RAC from 9th Battalion,
North Staffordshire Regiment
155th Regiment RAC from 15th Battalion,
Durham Light Infantry
156th Regiment RAC from 11th Battalion,
Highland Light Infantry
157th Regiment RAC from 9th Battalion,
Hampshire Regiment
158th Regiment RAC from 6th Battalion,
South Wales Borderers
159th Regiment RAC from 10th Battalion,
Gloucestershire Regiment
160th Regiment RAC from 9th Battalion,
Royal Sussex Regiment
161st Regiment RAC from 12th Battalion,
Green Howards
162nd Regiment RAC from 9th Battalion,
Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment
163rd Regiment RAC from 13th Battalion,
Sherwood Foresters
1943
1944
Reconnaissance regiments
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
Notes
References
^
a
b
"Royal Armoured Corps at regiments.org by T.F.Mills" . Archived from
the original on 3 January 2006. Retrieved 2006-03-10 .
^
"The Royal Tank Regiment at regiments.org by T.F.Mills" . Archived from
the original on 3 January 2006. Retrieved 2016-01-09 .
^
a
b
Forty 1998 , pp. 50–51
^
Forty 1998 , p. 63
^
"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 )
^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
i
j
k
l
m
n
o
p
Forty 1998 , p. 15
^
Smith 2014 , p. 73
^
Bellis 1994 , pp. 26–27
^
Bellis 1994 , p. 18
^
Bellis 1994 , p. 19
^
a
b
c
d
e
f
Joslen 2003 , p. 173
^
a
b
Joslen 2003 , p. 186
^
a
b
Joslen 2003 , p. 187
^
a
b
Joslen 2003 , p. 571
^
"The Reconnaissance Training Centre" . Archived from
the original on 23 December 2012. Retrieved 22 April 2014 .
^
"Museum of the Manchester Regiment" . 7 March 2011. Retrieved 22 April 2014 .
^
Ellis 2004 , p. 368
^
Joslen 2003 , pp. 184, 204
^
a
b
"Regiments of the Corps" . Archived from
the original on 22 April 2014. Retrieved 22 April 2014 .
Bibliography
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
Regular
Dragoons Hussars Lancers Royal Tank Regiments Regiments RAC
Reserve