The 3rd Army Tank Brigade was an armoured brigade of the

Australian Army The Australian Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of Australia, a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. The Army is commanded by the Chief of Army (Austral ...

during 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 ...

. The

brigade A brigade is a major tactical military formation that typically comprises three to six battalions plus supporting elements. It is roughly equivalent to an enlarged or reinforced regiment. Two or more brigades may constitute a division. Br ...

was formed in May 1942 and disbanded in September 1943 without seeing combat.

History

The 3rd Army Tank Brigade was formed on 6 May 1942 to provide armoured support to infantry formations. The brigade headquarters was formed from the previously existing 4th Motor Brigade, although its constituent motor regiments (6th, 7th and 14th) were either disbanded or transferred to the 2nd Motor Brigade. It comprised three regiments which had previously formed part of the 1st Cavalry Division; the 1st Machine Gun Regiment, 2nd Armoured Regiment and 3rd Armoured Regiment. For consistency with similar British units, these regiments were renamed the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Army Tank Battalions respectively. The brigade was equipped with

Matilda II The Infantry Tank Mark II, best known as the Matilda, was a British infantry tank of the Second World War.Jentz, p. 11. The design began as the A12 specification in 1936, as a gun-armed counterpart to the first British infantry tank, the machin ...

infantry tanks which had previously been issued to the 1st Armoured Brigade. The 3rd Army Tank Brigade was also placed under the overall command of the 1st Armoured Division. Upon formation, the headquarters of the 3rd Army Tank Brigade was located at

Greta, New South Wales Greta is a small town in the Hunter Region of New South Wales, Australia. History The Traditional Owners and Custodians of the Maitland area are the Wonnarua people. The Greta area was first colonized by Europeans around Anvil Creek in the 183 ...

. The 1st and 2nd Army Tank Battalions were stationed in the nearby towns of

Dungog Dungog is a country town on the Williams River in the Hunter Region of New South Wales, Australia. Located in the middle of dairy and timber country, it is the centre of the Dungog Shire local government area and at the 2016 census it had a po ...

and

Largs Largs ( gd, An Leargaidh Ghallda) is a town on the Firth of Clyde in North Ayrshire, Scotland, about from Glasgow. The original name means "the slopes" (''An Leargaidh'') in Scottish Gaelic. A popular seaside resort with a pier, the town mark ...

, and the 3rd Army Tank Battalion was in the process of moving from

Goulburn, New South Wales Goulburn ( ) is a regional city in the Southern Tablelands of the Australian state of New South Wales, approximately south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Canberra. It was proclaimed as Australia's first inland city through letters patent ...

to Greta. By July 1942 the brigade was located at

Singleton, New South Wales Singleton is a town on the banks of the Hunter River in New South Wales, Australia. Singleton is 197 km (89 mi) north-north-west of Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city ...

. As part of a restructure of the Army's armoured units, the 1st Army Tank Battalion was transferred from the 3rd Army Tank Brigade to the newly-formed 4th Armoured Brigade in February 1943. This battalion was not replaced, and the 3rd Army Tank Brigade was reorganised as a two battalion brigade. On 16 July 1943 it was decided to convert the 3rd Army Tank Brigade into two independent battalion groups as part of broad reforms to the structure of the Army, through which units not considered likely to see combat were disbanded to free up manpower and other resources. The brigade was gradually disbanded between 6 August and 26 September 1943. Elements of the 3rd Army Tank Brigade's support units were attached to the 2nd and 3rd Army Tank Battalions to form self-sustaining battalion groups. The 2nd Army Tank Battalion was also re-equipped with

M3 Grant The M3 Lee, officially Medium Tank, M3, was an American medium tank used during World War II. The turret was produced in two forms, one for US needs and one modified to British requirements to place the radio next to the commander. In British C ...

medium tanks in September 1943. Both of the tank battalion groups were disbanded in March 1944. The 3rd Army Tank Brigade was commanded by Brigadier J.A. Clarebrough throughout its brief history.

References

Works consulted

* * * {{cite book , last=McKenzie-Smith , first=Graham , year= 2018, title=The Unit Guide: The Australian Army 1939–1945, Volume 2 , publisher=Big Sky Publishing , location=Warriewood, New South Wales , isbn=978-1-925675-146 Armoured brigades of Australia Military units and formations established in 1942 1942 establishments in Australia Military units and formations disestablished in 1943

History

See also

References

Works consulted