70 Armoured Regiment is an armoured regiment of the

Indian Army The Indian Army is the land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), who is a four- ...

Formation

The regiment was raised on February 11, 1968 at Ahmednagar by Lieutenant Colonel (later Brigadier) R Christian as 70 Guided Missile Regiment. Brigadier AN Jatar, MVC, AVSM was the first Colonel Commandant. It was the first anti-tank guided missile regiment of the Indian Army. It also has the distinction of being the first armoured regiment with a “mixed class” composition, drawing troops from various castes and religions.

Equipment

At the time of raising, the Regiment was equipped with the SS11B1 anti-tank missiles. In 1975, the Regiment handed over its missile equipment, along with some officers and other ranks to 15 Guards and was reorganised as a tank regiment and was equipped with

T-55 The T-54 and T-55 tanks are a series of Soviet main battle tanks introduced in the years following the Second World War. The first T-54 prototype was completed at Nizhny Tagil by the end of 1945.Steven Zaloga, T-54 and T-55 Main Battle Tank ...

tanks. It converted to MBT

T-90 The T-90 is a third-generation Russian main battle tank. It uses a 125mm 2A46 smoothbore main gun, the 1A45T fire-control system, an upgraded engine, and gunner's thermal sight. Standard protective measures include a blend of steel and comp ...

in 2010.

Operations

;

Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 The Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 was a military confrontation between India and Pakistan that occurred during the Bangladesh Liberation War in East Pakistan from 3 December 1971 until the Pakistani capitulation in Dhaka on 16 Decem ...

: The regiment took part in the 1971 Indo-Pak war on the western front. Sub-units of the Regiment saw action in

Jaisalmer Jaisalmer , nicknamed "The Golden city", is a city in the Indian state of Rajasthan, located west of the state capital Jaipur. The town stands on a ridge of yellowish sandstone and is crowned by the ancient Jaisalmer Fort. This fort contains a ...

Rann of Kutch The Rann of Kutch (alternately spelled as Kuchchh) is a large area of salt marshes that span the border between India and Pakistan. It is located in Gujarat (primarily the Kutch district), India, and in Sindh, Pakistan. It is divided into ...

Ganganagar Sri Ganganagar is a planned city and the northernmost city of the Indian state of Rajasthan, near the international border of India and Pakistan. It is the administrative headquarters of Sri Ganganagar district. It is named after Maharaja Shri ...

and

Fazilka Fazilka, also known as Bangla, is a city and a municipal council in Fazilka district of Punjab, India. In 2011, it was made the headquarter of the newly created Fazilka district. The Trans-Afghanistan Pipeline (TAPI) project originating in Tu ...

sectors. It achieved its first tank kill on the Sabuna drain in the Fazilka sector on December 7, 1971. Dafadar Uttam Singh was awarded the

Sena Medal The Sena Medal is awarded to members of the Indian army, of all ranks, "for such individual acts of exceptional devotion to duty or courage as have special significance for the Army." Awards may be made posthumously and a bar is authorized for s ...

for his bravery in the Fazilka sector. The Regiment was presented the President's Standard on 27 November 2011 by the then President of India Mrs

Prathiba Patil Prathibha DeviSingh Patil (born 19 December 1934) is an Indian politician and lawyer who served as the 12th president of India spanning from 2007 to 2012. She is the first woman to become the president of India. A member of the Indian National ...

. 70 Armoured Regiment along with four other Armoured Regiments of the 1 Armoured Division got their colours in

Patiala Patiala () is a city in southeastern Punjab, northwestern India. It is the fourth largest city in the state and is the administrative capital of Patiala district. Patiala is located around the '' Qila Mubarak'' (the 'Fortunate Castle') construct ...

Regimental Insignia

The regiment has a unique cap badge for an armoured unit - it consists of a SS11B1 anti-tank missile with the numeral "70" inscribed over it. The Regiment chose Black and Red as its colours, signifying 'Death (Black) to the Enemy, at any cost (Red)'. The motto of the Regiment is करके रहेंगे ''Karke Rahenge'' (We shall do it).

References

{{Indian Army Armoured Corps , state=expanded Military units and formations established in 1968 Armoured and cavalry regiments of the Indian Army from 1947