The 2nd Royal Tank Regiment (2 RTR) was an

armoured Armour (British English) or armor (American English; see spelling differences) is a covering used to protect an object, individual, or vehicle from physical injury or damage, especially direct contact weapons or projectiles during combat, or fr ...

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, service and/or a specialisation. In Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of front-line soldiers, recruited or conscripted ...

of the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

. It was part of the

Royal Tank Regiment The Royal Tank Regiment (RTR) is the oldest tank unit in the world, being formed by the British Army in 1916 during the First World War. Today, it is the armoured regiment of the British Army's 12th Armoured Infantry Brigade. Formerly known as th ...

, itself part of the

Royal Armoured Corps The Royal Armoured Corps is the component of the British Army, that together with the Household Cavalry provides its armour capability, with vehicles such as the Challenger 2 Tank and the Scimitar Reconnaissance Vehicle. It includes most of the A ...

and the 1st Mechanized Brigade.

History

Founded as B Battalion, Tank Corps in 1917, the 2 RTR first saw action in the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

with the advent of tank technology. It later fought in the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. In 1992, it merged with the 3rd Royal Tank Regiment, keeping their own original title. It became the second regiment to be equipped with the

Challenger 2 The FV4034 Challenger 2 (MOD designation "CR2") is a third generation British main battle tank (MBT) in service with the armies of the United Kingdom and Oman. It was designed and built by the British company Vickers Defence Systems (now known as ...

in 1998. Sabre squadrons were deployed by the regiment to

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

Operation Telic Operation Telic (Op TELIC) was the codename under which all of the United Kingdom's military operations in Iraq were conducted between the start of the invasion of Iraq on 19 March 2003 and the withdrawal of the last remaining British forces on ...

in 2003 and 2007. After a long period in

Fallingbostel Bad Fallingbostel (Northern Low Saxon: ''Bad Fambossel'') is the district town (''Kreisstadt'') of the Heidekreis district in the German state of Lower Saxony. Since 1976 the town has had a state-recognised Kneipp spa and has held the title of ...

, Germany, the regiment moved back to Aliwal Barracks in

Tidworth Tidworth is a garrison town and civil parish in south-east Wiltshire, England, on the eastern edge of Salisbury Plain. Lying on both sides of the A338 about north of the A303 primary route, the town is approximately west of Andover, south o ...

in July 2007. On 25 June 2008 at

Buckingham Palace Buckingham Palace () is a London royal residence and the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and royal hospitality. It ...

, both 1RTR and 2RTR were presented with their new Standard by

The Queen In the English-speaking world, The Queen most commonly refers to: * Elizabeth II (1926–2022), Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 1952 until her death The Queen may also refer to: * Camilla, Queen Consort (born 1947), ...

, which included the new Battle Honour of Al Basrah 2003. Units were deployed to

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

Operation Herrick Operation Herrick was the codename under which all British operations in the War in Afghanistan were conducted from 2002 to the end of combat operations in 2014. It consisted of the British contribution to the NATO-led International Security Assis ...

in 2010. In August 2014 the regiment merged with 1RTR to form the

. The new regiment is based at Aliwal Barracks in Tidworth and is one of three armoured regiments equipped with the Challenger II tank.

Organisation

The Armoured Regiment consisted of 5 Squadrons: * Nero Squadron - Headquarters and Support * Cyclops Squadron - Armoured Squadron * Badger Squadron - Armoured Squadron * Egypt Squadron - Armoured Squadron * Falcon Squadron - Armoured Reconnaissance Squadron

Commanding Officers

The Commanding Officers have been: , style="text-align:left; width:50%; vertical-align:top;", *1958–1960: Lt.-Col. Patrick R.C. Hobart: *1960–1963: Lt.-Col. A.R.E. Davis *1963–1965: Lt.-Col. John G.R. Allen *1965–1967: Lt.-Col. Douglas W.A. Ambidge *1967–1970: Lt.-Col. Thomas S.M. Welch *1970–1973: Lt.-Col. Geoffrey L.D. Duckworth *1973–1975: Lt.-Col. Michael J. Evans *1975–1977: Lt.-Col. Keith R. Ecclestone *1977–1979: Lt.-Col. Peter D. Bentley *1979–1980: Lt.-Col. William S. Bale *1980–1982: Lt.-Col. David A. Williams *1982–1984: Lt.-Col. Robert W.M. McAfee *1984–1987: Lt.-Col. Christopher J.A. Hammerbeck , style="text-align:left; width:50%; vertical-align:top;", *1987–1988: Lt.-Col. David W. Lloyd-Edwards *1988–1991: Lt.-Col. Andrew C.I. Gadsby *1991–1993: Lt.-Col. A. David Leakey *1993–1995: Lt.-Col. Stephen J.B. White *1995–1997: Lt.-Col. Nigel R.F. Aylwin-Foster *1997–2000: Lt.-Col. Simon Caraffi *2000–2002: Lt.-Col. Patrick J. Allison *2002–2004: Lt.-Col. Piers D.P. Hankinson *2004–2006: Lt.-Col. John R. Patterson *2006–2008: Lt.-Col. David A. Catmur *2008–2010: Lt.-Col. T. Marcus L. Simson *2010–2012: Lt.-Col. Marcus H. Evans *2012–2014: Lt.-Col. Jason M. Williams

References

External links

Official site

RTR Website

British Army Locations from 1945
British Army Locations from 1945.
Merseyside RTR
(Brian Gills website) {{Use dmy dates, date=June 2017 2-002 Royal Tank Regiment Military units and formations established in 1917 Military units and formations disestablished in 2014