Royal Armoured Corps
| Royal Armoured Corps | |
|---|---|
 Badge of the Royal Armoured Corps |
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| Active | 1939 to present |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Branch | British Army |
| Type | Corps |
| Role | Armoured |
| Size | 5 armoured regiments and 5 reconnaissance regiments |
| Equipment | Challenger II, FV107 Scimitar |
The Royal Armoured Corps (RAC) is currently a collection of ten regular regiments, mostly converted from old horse cavalry regiments, and four Yeomanry regiments of the Territorial Army. It provides the armour capability of the British Army, with vehicles such as the Challenger 2 Tank and the Scimitar Reconnaissance Vehicle.
Contents |
[edit] History
| British Army Arms and Services |
|---|
 |
| Combat Arms |
| Royal Armoured Corps |
| Infantry |
| Army Air Corps |
| Combat Support Arms |
| Royal Artillery |
| Royal Engineers |
| Royal Corps of Signals |
| Intelligence Corps |
| Combat Services |
| Royal Army Chaplains Department |
| Royal Logistic Corps |
| Army Medical Services |
| Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers |
| Adjutant General's Corps |
| Small Arms School Corps |
| Royal Army Physical Training Corps |
| General Service Corps |
| Corps of Army Music |
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The RAC was created on 4 April 1939, just before World War II started, by combining the cavalry wing (cavalry units that had mechanised), and the Royal Tank Corps (which was thereupon renamed the Royal Tank Regiment within the new corps). As the war went on, many other units became mechanised and joined this corps. In 1944, the RAC absorbed the Reconnaissance Corps.
The regiments (like the Royal Tank Regiments, battalion-sized) of the RAC during the war were numbered in the range from 1 to 200. These included training regiments and battalions of infantry converted. For example the 5th Bn of the Gordon Highlanders became the 116th Regiment RAC
[edit] Units
The Royal Armoured Corps is divided into those regiments that operate main battle tanks (armoured regiments) and those that operate reconnaissance tanks (formation reconnaissance regiments). Of these, three regiments are designated as Dragoon Guards, two as Hussars, two as Lancers and one as Dragoons. The remaining two are the two regiments of the Royal Tank Regiment. In the regular army there are five armoured regiments and five formation reconnaissance regiments:
- Regular Army
- 1st The Queen's Dragoon Guards - Formation Reconnaissance
- The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards (Carabiniers and Greys) - Armoured
- The Royal Dragoon Guards - Armoured
- The Queen's Royal Hussars (The Queen's Own and Royal Irish) - Armoured
- 9th/12th Royal Lancers (Prince of Wales's) - Formation Reconnaissance
- The King's Royal Hussars - Armoured
- The Light Dragoons - Formation Reconnaissance
- The Queen's Royal Lancers - Formation Reconnaissance
- 1st Royal Tank Regiment - NBC and training/demonstration
- 2nd Royal Tank Regiment - Armoured
The 1st Royal Tank Regiment forms approximately two thirds of the regular establishment of the Joint CBRN Regiment.
The Household Cavalry Regiment (consisting of the Life Guards and the Blues and Royals) is not part of the RAC; instead it is part of the Household Cavalry, which is classed as a corps in its own right. However, for operational purposes, the Household Cavalry Regiment is considered to be part of the RAC and constitutes the fifth formation reconnaissance regiment.
- Territorial Army
- The Royal Yeomanry - CBRN Reconnaissance
- The Royal Wessex Yeomanry - MBT crew replacement
- The Royal Mercian and Lancastrian Yeomanry - MBT crew replacement
- The Queen's Own Yeomanry - Formation Reconnaissance
- Role Affiliations - The four TA regiments are affiliated to the regular army regiments by role:
- RY - SCOTS DG, QRL, RTR
- R WX Y - RDG, KRH, RTR
- RMLY - QRH, RTR
- QOY - HCR, QDG, 9/12 L, LD
The RAC armoured regiments are supported by 32 Armoured Engineer Regiment (Royal Engineers) which operates tank based AVRE and AVLB equipment.
[edit] Deployments
Regiments of the Royal Armoured Corps are deployed primarily in the UK and Germany:
[edit] UK regiments
- Tidworth - 2nd Royal Tank Regiment (Armoured)
- Catterick - The Royal Dragoon Guards (Armoured); Queen's Royal Lancers (Formation Reconnaissance)
- Windsor - Household Cavalry Regiment (Formation Reconnaissance)
- Swanton Morley - Light Dragoons (Formation Reconnaissance)
- Honington - 1st Royal Tank Regiment (Armoured)
[edit] Overseas regiments
- Fallingbostel - The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards (Carabiniers and Greys) (Armoured)
- Sennelager - The Queen's Royal Hussars (The Queen's Own and Royal Irish) (Armoured)
- Sennelager - 1st The Queen's Dragoon Guards (Formation Reconnaissance)
- Hohne - 9th/12th Royal Lancers (Prince of Wales's) (Formation Reconnaissance)
[edit] Bands
The Corps of Army Music is responsible for the administration and training of the two RAC bands:
- The Heavy Cavalry and Cambrai Band - this band represents the regiments of The Royal Dragoon Guards, Queens Dragoon Guards, Royal Scots Dragoon Guards and the Royal Tank Regiments, and was formed in 2006 by the amalgamation of the Band of the Dragoon Guards and the Royal Tank Regiment Cambrai Band.
- The Light Cavalry Band - this band represents the regiments of Light Dragoons (classed as hussars), Kings Royal Hussars, Queens Royal Hussars, Queens Royal Lancers and 9th/12th Lancers, and was formed in 2006 by the amalgamation of the Band of the Hussars and Light Dragoons and the Band of the Royal Lancers.
- In addition, there is a TA band within the RAC, the Regimental Band (Inns of Court and City Yeomanry) of the Royal Yeomanry.
[edit] Reorganisation
The reorganisation of the Army announced in 2004 led to significant changes to the Royal Armoured Corps. Reorganisation that began in 2003 would see three armoured regiments removed from Germany to the UK, with one re-roled as an FR regiment. In addition, three Challenger 2 squadrons will be converted to Interim Medium Armour Squadrons, while each FR regiment will gain a Command and Support Squadron.
[edit] Future deployments
As part of the reorganisation, postings will be realigned:
[edit] UK regiments
- Catterick: Armoured Regiment (RDG) (4th Mechanised Brigade), Formation Reconnaissance Regiment (QRL) (19th Light Brigade)
- Tidworth: 2 x Armoured Regiment (2RTR, KRH), (1st Mechanised Brigade, 12th Mechanised Brigade,)
- Windsor: Formation Reconnaissance Regiment (HCR) (Theatre Troops)
- Swanton Morley: Formation Reconnaissance Regiment (LD) (Theatre Troops)
- Warminster: 2 x squadrons (1RTR)
- Honington: JCBRN Regiment (1RTR)
- Bovington: HQ RAC
[edit] Overseas regiments
[edit] Order of precedence
| Preceded by Household Cavalry |
Order of Precedence | Succeeded by Royal Regiment of Artillery |
[edit] Related units
This unit is allied with the following:
- Kor Armor Diraja (Royal Armoured Corps) - Malaysia
[edit] See also
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Royal Armoured Corps |
[edit] Notes and references
[edit] External links
- Royal Armoured Corps homepage
- Royal Armoured Corps News
- Merseyside RTR (Brian Gills website)
