The Indian Army Armoured Corps is one of the combat arms 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- ...

. Tracing its origins from the first regiment formed in 1776, the present corps was formed in 1947 from two-thirds of the personnel and assets of the

British Indian Army The British Indian Army, commonly referred to as the Indian Army, was the main military of the British Raj before its dissolution in 1947. It was responsible for the defence of the British Indian Empire, including the princely states, which co ...

Indian Armoured Corps The Indian Armoured Corps was a unit of the British Empire's Indian Army. The Corps was formed on 1 May 1941 to administer existing armoured units within the Indian Army. Its headquarters was located at Ferozepore. Upon partition in 1947, the unit's ...

. It currently consists of 67 armoured regiments, including the President's Bodyguards. Indian Lancers near Vraignes 1917

School and Centre

The Armoured Corps School and Centre (ACC&S) is located in

Ahmednagar Ahmednagar (), is a city located in the Ahmednagar district in the state of Maharashtra, India, about 120 km northeast of Pune and 114 km from Aurangabad. Ahmednagar takes its name from Ahmad Nizam Shah I, who founded the town in 1494 ...

, Maharashtra. In 1921, six Armoured Car companies arrived and in 1924 the Royal Tank Corps School was established at Ahmednagar to train the personnel of the Royal Tank Corps. This school was the forerunner of the Fighting Vehicle School, which began to impart to driving & maintenance training. The Fighting Vehicle School along with the Machine Gun School, the training regiments, the recruit training centre, Armoured Corps Depot and Armoured Corps Records were amalgamated to form the present school and centre in 1948. Indian Armoured Corps in the Middle East 1944

Indian Armoured Corps in the Middle East 1944

Armour Day

The Armoured Corps of Indian Army celebrates 'Armour Day' on 1 May. It was on this day in 1938 that

Scinde Horse The Scinde Horse is an armoured regiment in the Armoured Corps of the Indian Army. The regiment, known before independence as the 14th Prince of Wales's Own Scinde Horse was a regular cavalry regiment of the Bombay Army, and later the British Ind ...

became the first regiment to dismount from their horses and move to tanks. The first equipment inducted were Vickers Light Tanks and Chevrolet Armoured Cars. The War in the Far East- the Burma Campaign 1941-1945 IND4650

The War in the Far East- the Burma Campaign 1941-1945 IND4650

Naming Convention of the Armoured Regiments

The naming of the regiments reflects its historical origins. The terms ''Cavalry'', ''Horse'' and ''Lancers'', which have been dispensed with in the case of units raised post-independence, are historical legacies from the raising and renaming of these units when part of the

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Southea ...

's army and/or later the

Composition of an Armoured Regiment

An armoured corps regiment is commanded by a

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

ranked officer, who is known as the Commandant of the Unit. An armoured regiment comprises 3 ''Sabre Squadrons'' and a ''Headquarter Squadron''. Each squadron is commanded by a

Major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

ranked officer. He holds the appointment of a Squadron Commander. An Armoured Regiment has around 45 to 50 tanks in all. Each Sabre Squadron consists of 14-15 tanks and one Armoured Recovery Vehicle. 3 tanks are assigned to the Headquarter Squadron, including that of the commandant. Each squadron consists of four ''troops'', each consisting of 3 tanks. Indian Army Armoured Corps

Black Beret

The officers and troops of Armoured Corps regiments wear the

Black Berets The black beret is a type of headgear. It is commonly worn by paramilitaries and militaries around the world, particularly armored forces such as the British Army's Royal Tank Regiment (RTR), the Royal Canadian Armoured Corps (RCAC), and Royal Aus ...

as opposed to the rifle green and blue coloured berets which are worn by the regiments of other arms and services respectively. The Black Beret gives the Tankman a distinct identity of their own within the Army fold. Arjun MK1A field trials

Equipment

The Armoured Corps of the Indian Army is currently equipped with the following tanks- *

Arjun MBT Arjun or Arjuna may refer to People * Arjun (name), a male given name (including a list of persons with the name) * Arjuna, a character of the Hindu epic '' Mahabharata'' * Kartavirya Arjuna, a character in Hindu mythology * Arjun (Firoz Khan) ...

– Mk.1 variant in use and Mk.1A under order. *

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 compos ...

– M and S variants with

DRDO The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) (IAST: ''Raksā Anūsandhān Evam Vikās Sangaṭhan'') is the premier agency under the Department of Defence Research and Development in Ministry of Defence of the Government of India, ...

made upgrades. *

T-72 The T-72 is a family of Soviet/Russian main battle tanks that entered production in 1969. The T-72 was a development of the T-64, which was troubled by high costs and its reliance on immature developmental technology. About 25,000 T-72 tanks ha ...

– M1 variant with upgrades namely Ajeya MK1/MK2 and Combat Improved Ajeya. Indian Army T-90

List of regiments

The list of regiments forming part of the Armoured Corps of the Indian Army is as follows. This list is as per unit serial number but not as per the order of precedence of the Indian Army. In that list, The President's Bodyguard is first, but is followed by 16 Light Cavalry, 7 Light Cavalry, 8 Cavalry and 1st Horse. As a matter of tradition, each Armoured Regiment has its own "Colonel of the Regiment", an honorary post for a senior officer who oversees the regimental issues concerning the unit. ** The original 5th Horse (Probyn's) was transferred to Pakistan in 1947. *** Original 6th Duke of Connaught's Own Lancers was transferred to Pakistan in 1947.

Notes

External links

Army official website
{{Indian Army Armoured Corps , state=expanded Administrative corps of the Indian Army Nationstate armoured warfare branches Military units and formations established in 1947 Ahmednagar 1947 establishments in India