List of Royal Armoured Corps Regiments in World War II

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

British Army lists
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Field armies in the First World War
Field armies in the Second World War
Corps in the First World War
Corps in the Second World War
Divisions in the First World War
Divisions in the Second World War
Brigades in the First World War
Brigades in the Second World War
Regiments of Cavalry
Royal Armoured Corps Regiments in Second World War
Royal Artillery Batteries
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Regiments in 1881
Territorial Force Units in 1908
Yeomanry Regiments converted to Royal Artillery
Regiments in 1962
Regiments in 1994
Regiments in 2008
Territorial Army units in 2012
List of British Army Reserve Units (2020)
Present-day Regiments
Nicknames of regiments

On the creation of the corps in 1939, just before the outbreak of World War II, 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

  • 1st Derbyshire Yeomanry
  • 2nd Derbyshire Yeomanry
  • 1st Royal Gloucestershire Hussars
  • 2nd Royal Gloucestershire Hussars
  • 1st Lothians and Border Horse
  • 2nd Lothians and Border Horse
  • 1st Fife and Forfar Yeomanry
  • 2nd Fife and Forfar Yeomanry
  • 3rd County of London Yeomanry (Sharpshooters)
  • 4th County of London Yeomanry (Sharpshooters)
  • 1st Northamptonshire Yeomanry
  • 2nd Northamptonshire Yeomanry
  • 1st East Riding Yeomanry
  • 2nd East Riding Yeomanry

1940

1941

1944

Royal Tank Regiment

Royal Tank Regiment nomenclature during World War II: 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

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

1942

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]

  • 1st Reconnaissance Regiment RAC
  • 2nd Reconnaissance Regiment RAC
  • 3rd (Royal Northumberland Fusiliers) Reconnaissance Regiment RAC
  • 4th Reconnaissance Regiment RAC
  • 5th Reconnaissance Regiment RAC
  • 15th (Scottish) Reconnaissance Regiment RAC
  • 38th (Welsh) Reconnaissance Regiment RAC
  • 43rd (Wessex) Reconnaissance Regiment (The Gloucestershire Regiment) RAC
  • 44th Reconnaissance Regiment RAC
  • 45th Reconnaissance Regiment RAC
  • 46th Reconnaissance Regiment RAC
  • 49th (West Riding) Reconnaissance Regiment RAC
  • 52nd (Lowland) Reconnaissance Regiment RAC
  • 53rd (Welsh) Reconnaissance Regiment RAC
  • 54th Reconnaissance Regiment RAC
  • 56th Reconnaissance Regiment RAC
  • 59th Reconnaissance Regiment RAC
  • 61st Reconnaissance Regiment RAC
  • 63rd Reconnaissance Training Centre (became 62nd Training Regiment RAC)[6][19]
  • 80th Reconnaissance Regiment RAC (Holding and training regiment)
  • 81st (West African) Reconnaissance Regiment RAC
  • 82nd (West African) Reconnaissance Regiment RAC
  • 161st (Green Howards) Reconnaissance Regiment RAC (converted from 161st Regiment RAC)
  • 1st Airborne Reconnaissance Squadron
  • 6th Airborne Armoured Reconnaissance Regiment RAC
  • 2nd Derbyshire Yeomanry
  • GHQ Liaison Regiment (Phantom)

Notes

    References
    1. "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. 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.CS1 maint: BOT: original-url status unknown (link)
    6. 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. Joslen 2003, p. 173
    12. Joslen 2003, p. 186
    13. Joslen 2003, p. 187
    14. 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. "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.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
    • Ellis, Major L.F. (2004) [1st. Pub. HMSO:1968]. History of the Second World War: United Kingdom Military Series: Victory in the West. Volume II: The Defeat of Germany. Uckfield: Naval & Military. ISBN 1-845740-59-9.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
    • Forty, George (1998). British Army Handbook 1939–1945. Stroud, Gloucestershire: Sutton Publishing Limited. ISBN 0-7509-1403-3.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
    • Joslen, Lt-Col H.F. (2003) [1st. Pub. HMSO:1960]. Orders of Battle, United Kingdom and Colonial Formations and Units in the Second World War, 1939–1945. Uckfield: Naval & Military. ISBN 1-843424-74-6.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
    • Smith, John A. (2014). British Armoured Formations 1939 - 1945 - A Bibliography. Woking: TankFactory. ISBN 978-0-9930228-0-7.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
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