The Royal Armoured Corps is the component 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 ...

, that together with the

Household Cavalry The Household Cavalry (HCav) is made up of the two most senior regiments of the British Army, the Life Guards and the Blues and Royals (Royal Horse Guards and 1st Dragoons). These regiments are divided between the Household Cavalry Regiment sta ...

provides its armour capability, with vehicles such as the

Challenger 2 Tank 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 ...

and the

Scimitar A scimitar ( or ) is a single-edged sword with a convex curved blade associated with Middle Eastern, South Asian, or North African cultures. A European term, ''scimitar'' does not refer to one specific sword type, but an assortment of different ...

Reconnaissance Vehicle. It includes most of the Army's armoured regiments, both the Royal Tank Regiment and those converted from old horse cavalry regiments.Forty p. 63. Today it comprises twelve regiments, eight regular and four

reserve Reserve or reserves may refer to: Places * Reserve, Kansas, a US city * Reserve, Louisiana, a census-designated place in St. John the Baptist Parish * Reserve, Montana, a census-designated place in Sheridan County * Reserve, New Mexico, a US vi ...

. Although the Household Cavalry Regiment (the Life Guards and the

Blues and Royals The Blues and Royals (Royal Horse Guards and 1st Dragoons) (RHG/D) is a cavalry regiment of the British Army, part of the Household Cavalry Regiment. The Colonel of the Regiment is Anne, Princess Royal. It is the second-most senior regiment in ...

) provide an armoured regiment, they are not part of the RAC.

History

The RAC was created on 4 April 1939, just before

World War II 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 ...

started, by combining regiments from the cavalry of the line which had mechanised with the

Royal Tank Corps 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 t ...

(renamed Royal Tank Regiment). As the war went on and other regular cavalry and Territorial Army

Yeomanry Yeomanry is a designation used by a number of units or sub-units of the British Army, British Army Reserve (United Kingdom), Army Reserve, descended from volunteer British Cavalry, cavalry regiments. Today, Yeomanry units serve in a variety of ...

units became mechanised, the

corps Corps (; plural ''corps'' ; from French , from the Latin "body") is a term used for several different kinds of organization. A military innovation by Napoleon I, the formation was first named as such in 1805. The size of a corps varies great ...

was enlarged. A significant number of infantry battalions also converted to the armoured role as RAC regiments. In addition, the RAC created its own training and support regiments. Finally, in 1944, the RAC absorbed the regiments of the

Reconnaissance Corps The Reconnaissance Corps, or simply Recce Corps, was a corps of the British Army, formed during the Second World War whose units provided reconnaissance for infantry divisions. It was formed from infantry brigade reconnaissance groups on 14 Janu ...

Present day

Royal Armoured Corps (UK) Recruiting areas

Regiments

The Royal Armoured Corps is divided into regiments which operate

main battle tank A main battle tank (MBT), also known as a battle tank or universal tank, is a tank that fills the role of armor-protected direct fire and maneuver in many modern armies. Cold War-era development of more powerful engines, better suspension sys ...

s ( Armour), those in reconnaissance vehicles (

Armoured Cavalry Armoured cavalry are combat units using armoured fighting vehicles (AFVs) instead of horses. They began to replace horse cavalry in the heavy shock and the light reconnaissance, skirmishing and exploitation/pursuit roles in most armies commen ...

), and those in Weapons Mount vehicles (Light Cavalry). Of these, three regiments are designated Dragoon Guards, two as

Hussars A hussar ( , ; hu, huszár, pl, husarz, sh, husar / ) was a member of a class of light cavalry, originating in Central Europe during the 15th and 16th centuries. The title and distinctive dress of these horsemen were subsequently widely a ...

, one as Lancers and one as Dragoons. The remaining regiment is the Royal Tank Regiment. In the regular army, there are three armoured regiments, three armoured cavalry regiments and three light cavalry regiments. In the army reserve, there is one armoured regiment and three light cavalry regiments.Heyman, p.67 Being a corps, the RAC is made up of several independent regiments, but the corps does control a few separate units which include: * Training and Staff ** AFV Training Group ** Regimental Headquarters, Royal Armoured Corps ** The Armour Centre, Bovington Camp ** Royal Armoured Corps Training Regiment, at Allenby Barracks, Bovington Camp * Regular Army ** The Queen's Dragoon Guards (QDG) - Light Cavalry – 7th Infantry Brigade & Headquarters East **

The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards (Carabiniers and Greys) The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards (Carabiniers and Greys) is a cavalry regiment of the British Army, and the senior Scottish regiment. The regiment, through the Royal Scots Greys, is the oldest surviving Cavalry Regiment of the Line in the British ...

(SCOTS DG) - Light Cavalry – 51st Infantry Brigade & Headquarters Scotland ** The Royal Dragoon Guards (RDG) - Armoured Cavalry – 20th Armoured Brigade **

The Queen's Royal Hussars (The Queen's Own and Royal Irish) The Queen's Royal Hussars (The Queen's Own and Royal Irish) (QRH) is a British armoured regiment. It was formed on 1 September 1993 from the amalgamation of the Queen's Own Hussars and the Queen's Royal Irish Hussars. The regiment and its antece ...

(QRH) – Armour – 20th Armoured Brigade Combat Team ** The Royal Lancers (Queen Elizabeths' Own) (RL) - Armoured Cavalry – 1st Armoured Infantry Brigade ** The King's Royal Hussars (KRH) – Armour – 12th Armoured Infantry Brigade **

The Light Dragoons The Light Dragoons (LD) is a cavalry regiment in the British Army. The regiment has a light cavalry role and specialises in mounted and dismounted reconnaissance. The Light Dragoons recruit mainly in Northern England, from the counties of Northu ...

(LD) - Light Cavalry – 4th Infantry Brigade & Headquarters North East ** Royal Tank Regiment² (RTR) – Armour – 12th Armoured Brigade Combat Team A Royal Tank Regiment

CBRN Chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear defence (CBRN defence) are protective measures taken in situations in which chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear warfare (including terrorism) hazards may be present. CBRN defence consi ...

reconnaissance and survey squadron forms part of 28 Engineer Regiment (C-CBRN), Royal Engineers *Army Reserve - Yeomanry ** The Royal Yeomanry (RY) - Light Cavalry – 7th Infantry Brigade & Headquarters East **

The Queen's Own Yeomanry The Queen's Own Yeomanry (QOY) is one of the Army Reserve(United Kingdom), Army Reserve light armoured reconnaissance regiments. History The Queens Own Yeomanry was initially formed on 1 April 1971 as the 2nd Armoured Car Regiment from five of th ...

(QOY) - Light Cavalry – 4th Infantry Brigade & Headquarters North East **

Scottish and North Irish Yeomanry The Scottish and North Irish Yeomanry (SNIY) is a reserve Light Cavalry Regiment, formed in 2014, created out of the restructuring of the British Army's Territorial Army. It is operationally paired with The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards, (SCOTS D ...

(SNIY) - Light Cavalry – 51st Infantry Brigade & Headquarters Scotland **

The Royal Wessex Yeomanry The Royal Wessex Yeomanry (RWxY) is a Reserve armoured regiment of the British Army Reserve consisting of five squadrons. Formerly part of 43 (Wessex) Brigade, the regiment joined 3rd (UK) Division in July 2014, to provide armoured (main battle ...

(RWxY) - Armour – 3rd (United Kingdom) Division A system of pairing exists in the British Army of Regular to Reserve unit. Through this, operational and training cycles are aligned, resources shared and strategic depth enabled. In the Royal Armoured Corps this manifests with each yeomanry unit being paired with a regular unit of the same role. 1: The Royal Wessex Yeomanry provides replacement soldiers for armoured regiments, and therefore is paired with all three regular army units operating main battle tanks.

Basing

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 ...

- Kings Royal Hussars; Royal Tank Regiment,

* Catterick - The Royal Dragoon Guards; The Royal Lancers;

Swanton Morley Swanton Morley is a village and civil parish situated in the English county of Norfolk. It is situated in the heart of Norfolk 18 miles from the centre of Norwich and three miles from Dereham, at the geographical centre of Norfolk. It covers an ...

- 1st The Queen's Dragoon Guards *

Leuchars Leuchars (pronounced or ; gd, Luachar "rushes") is a small town and parish near the north-east coast of Fife in Scotland. The civil parish has a population of 5,754 (in 2011) Census of Scotland 2011, Table KS101SC – Usually Resident Popula ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

& Midlands -

Royal Yeomanry The Royal Yeomanry (RY) is the senior reserve light cavalry regiment of the British Army. Equipped with Supacat Jackal variants, their role is to conduct mounted and dismounted formation reconnaissance. The Regimental Headquarters is located in ...

South of England Southern England, or the South of England, also known as the South, is an area of England consisting of its southernmost part, with cultural, economic and political differences from the Midlands and the North. Officially, the area includes ...

Royal Wessex Yeomanry The Royal Wessex Yeomanry (RWxY) is a Reserve armoured regiment of the British Army Reserve consisting of five squadrons. Formerly part of 43 (Wessex) Brigade, the regiment joined 3rd (UK) Division in July 2014, to provide armoured (main battle ...

North of England Northern England, also known as the North of England, the North Country, or simply the North, is the northern area of England. It broadly corresponds to the former borders of Angle Northumbria, the Anglo-Scandinavian Kingdom of Jorvik, and the ...

Queen's Own Yeomanry The Queen's Own Yeomanry (QOY) is one of the Army Reserve light armoured reconnaissance regiments. History The Queens Own Yeomanry was initially formed on 1 April 1971 as the 2nd Armoured Car Regiment from five of the yeomanry units across the No ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

Band

The Band of the Royal Armoured Corps is the single band representing the RAC, which falls under the administration of the

Royal Corps of Army Music The Royal Corps of Army Music (RCAM, widely known by its former acronym CAMUS) is a Corps of the British Army dedicated to the provision and promotion of military music. History The formation of the Corps of Army Music was triggered by a defen ...

. This was formed in 2014 by the amalgamation of the Heavy Cavalry and Cambrai Band, and the Light Cavalry Band. The Band of the Royal Armoured Corps is stationed at Catterick. However, as part of the 2019 reorganisation of the CAMUS, the band was merged into British Army Band Catterick.

Reorganisations

Delivering Security in a Changing World (2004)

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 Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

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.

Deployments

As part of the reorganisation, postings will be realigned:

UK based regiments

* Catterick: Armoured Regiment ( RDG) (1 Armoured Infantry Brigade), Formation Reconnaissance Regiment ( QRL) (1 Armoured Infantry Brigade) *

: 2 x Armoured Regiment ( 2RTR, KRH), (1st Mechanized Brigade, 12th Mechanized Brigade,) *

: Formation Reconnaissance Regiment ( LD) (Theatre Troops) *

Warminster Warminster () is an ancient market town with a nearby garrison, and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in south west Wiltshire, England, on the western edge of Salisbury Plain. The parish had a population of about 17,000 in 2011. The 11th-c ...

: Training/Demonstration squadron ( A Squadron, RTR) * Honington: Armoured Regiment ( 1RTR) *

Bovington Bovington Camp () is a British Army military base in Dorset, England. Together with Lulworth Camp it forms part of Bovington Garrison. The garrison is home to The Armour Centre and contains two barracks complexes and two forest and heathland tr ...

: HQ RAC

Germany based regiments

Sennelager Sennelager is a village in Germany that forms part of the City of Paderborn. It is notable for its association with the military since the 19th century. Location Sennelager lies around 5 km north of Paderborn city centre in the west of the ...

: Armoured Regiment ( QRH), Formation Reconnaissance Regiment (QDG) (20 Armoured Brigade)

Strategic Defence and Security Review (2010)/Army 2020

In 2012, following the Strategic Defence and Security Review of 2010, specific proposals about the make up of the future British Army were announced under the title ''

Army 2020 Army 2020, was the name given to the restructuring of the British Army, in light of the 2010 Strategic Defence and Security Review. Background The British Government gave an indication of its proposals for the future structure of the Army in ea ...

''. These proposals were intended to reduce the size of the army to around 82,000. The Royal Armoured Corps was to be reduced by a total of two regiments, with the 9th/12th Royal Lancers amalgamated with the

Queen's Royal Lancers The Queen's Royal Lancers (QRL) was a cavalry regiment of the British Army. It was formed in 1993 and amalgamated with the 9th/12th Royal Lancers (Prince of Wales's) on 2 May 2015 to form the Royal Lancers. History The regiment was formed in ...

to form a single lancer regiment, the Royal Lancers, and the 1st and 2nd Royal Tank Regiments joined to form a single Royal Tank Regiment. The Royal Armoured Corps will also see a shift with one third of its regiments operating as armoured regiments with

main battle tanks A main battle tank (MBT), also known as a battle tank or universal tank, is a tank that fills the role of armor-protected direct fire and maneuver in many modern armies. Cold War-era development of more powerful engines, better suspension sys ...

, another third as

formation reconnaissance regiment The Formation Reconnaissance Regiment is one of two organisations currently provided by cavalry regiments of the British Army. Until recently, it was known as the Armoured Reconnaissance Regiment. Formation reconnaissance regiments, as the name ...

s and a final third as light cavalry using Jackal vehicles. Armoured regiments would consist of Type 56 regiments, each with three Sabre Squadrons (comprising 18

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 ...

Tanks each) and a command and recce squadron. Armoured Cavalry or

s would also have a command and recce squadron and three Sabre Squadrons; which will initially be equipped with

Combat Vehicle Reconnaissance (Tracked) The Combat Vehicle Reconnaissance (Tracked), abbreviated CVR(T), is a family of armoured fighting vehicles (AFVs) developed in the 1960s and is in service with the British Army and others throughout the world. They are small, highly mobile, air ...

, and then with

Future Rapid Effect System The Future Rapid Effect System (FRES) was the name for the overarching British Ministry of Defence (MOD) programme to deliver a fleet of more than 4,000 armoured fighting vehicles for the British Army. The vehicles were to be rapidly deployable, ...

Scout vehicles.Transforming the British Army, July 2012

Jackal Jackals are medium-sized canids native to Africa and Eurasia. While the word "jackal" has historically been used for many canines of the subtribe canina, in modern use it most commonly refers to three species: the closely related black-backed ...

regiments will be part of the Adaptable Force, comprising three Sabre Squadrons (each with 16 vehicles). These regiments will be paired with a Yeomanry regiment. The new structure of the Reaction Force will see three armoured regiments, each assigned to a new "Armoured Infantry Brigade", alongside a formation reconnaissance regiment (renamed as "armoured cavalry"), two armoured infantry battalions and a heavy protected mobility battalion. These six regiments will fall operationally under what will become known as the "reaction forces", which will be the army's high readiness force. The remaining three regiments will be located with the remainder of the regular army under what has been term the "adaptable forces", which will provide a pool of resources to back up operations conducted by the "reaction forces". This new basing plan on 5 March 2013 gave an overview of where the regiments will be based. All RAC regiments will be UK based, with the 1st The Queen's Dragoon Guards moving to Swanton Morley, The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards moving to the Leuchars area, the Queen's Royal Hussars to Tidworth, the Royal Lancers settling in Catterick, the Light Dragoons in Catterick, and the Royal Tank Regiment to Tidworth. The expected Army 2020 layout for the RAC is to be:

Future Soldier (2021)

In November 2021, the UK Government published ''

Future Soldier Future Soldier was a multi-nation military project by the United States and its allies launched in the late 1990s. Set-up Superiority to enemy ground forces will be achieved by equipping the average ground-based combat soldier with an integ ...

'', the planned reform of the British Army following its integrated defence and security review. Part of this would see a reorganisation of the regiments of the Royal Armoured Corps.

1st (United Kingdom) Division

1st (UK) Division is planned as the UK's primary land element for operations outside the European theatre, as well as operations supporting NATO's flanks. It consists of four infantry-centered brigades - two of these will contain regular light cavalry regiments, while a third serves as a parent formation for units of the Army Reserve. * 4th Light Brigade Combat Team **

(Light Cavalry) *

7th Light Mechanised Brigade Combat Team The 7th Light Mechanised Brigade Combat Team is a formation in the British Army with a direct lineage to 7th Armoured Brigade and a history that stretches back to the Napoleonic Wars. It saw active service in the Crimean War, the Second Boer War ...

(Light Cavalry) * 19th Brigade ** The Scottish and North Irish Yeomanry (Army Reserve) **

(Army Reserve)

3rd (United Kingdom) Division

3rd (UK) Division is planned as the UK's main reaction force, intended to act as a lead formation alongside NATO, and primarily consists of a pair of armoured brigades containing the army's armoured and armoured cavalry units, and a third brigade containing the remainder of the army's armoured cavalry units tasked primarily with reconnaissance. * 12th Armoured Brigade Combat Team ** The Royal Tank Regiment (Armoured) ** The King's Royal Hussars (Armoured Cavalry) **

(Army Reserve) * 20th Armoured Brigade Combat Team ** The Queen's Royal Hussars (Queen's Own and Royal Irish) (Armoured) ** The Royal Dragoon Guards (Armoured Cavalry) * 1st Deep Recce Strike Brigade Combat Team ** Household Cavalry Regiment (Armoured Cavalry) ** The Royal Lancers (Queen Elizabeth's Own) (Armoured Cavalry) ** 1st The Queen's Dragoon Guards (Light Cavalry) ** The Royal Yeomanry (Army Reserve)

Notes

Order of precedence

Related units

This unit is allied with the following: *

Royal Canadian Armoured Corps The Royal Canadian Armoured Corps (RCAC; french: links=no, Corps blindé royal canadien) is the armoured corps within the Canadian Army, including 3 Regular and 18 Reserve Force regimentsThe Regiments and Corps of the Canadian Army (Queen's Printe ...

Royal Australian Armoured Corps The Royal Australian Armoured Corps (RAAC) is a corps of the Australian Army which provides the Australian Defence Force's armour capability. Armour combines firepower, mobility, protection and networked situational awareness to generate shock ...

Royal New Zealand Armoured Corps The Royal New Zealand Armoured Corps (RNZAC) is the overall umbrella grouping of Regular Force and Territorial Force units equipped with armoured vehicles in the New Zealand Army. The corps was formed in 1942 as the New Zealand Armoured Corps ...

* Kor Armor Diraja (Royal Armoured Corps) - Malaysia

Colonels Commandant (Cavalry)

Colonels Commandant were: *1939– ''vacant'' *1947 F.M. The Rt Hon

Bernard Law Montgomery Field Marshal Bernard Law Montgomery, 1st Viscount Montgomery of Alamein, (; 17 November 1887 – 24 March 1976), nicknamed "Monty", was a senior British Army officer who served in the First World War, the Irish War of Independence and th ...

, 1st Viscount Montgomery of Alamein, KG, GCB, DSO *1947– Gen. Sir Richard Loudon McCreery, GCB, KBE, DSO, MC *1950–?1952 Gen. Sir

Charles Frederic Keightley General Sir Charles Frederic Keightley, (24 June 1901 – 17 June 1974) was a senior British Army officer who served during and following the Second World War. After serving with distinction during the Second World War – becoming, in 1944, th ...

, GCB, GBE, DSO *1958– Gen. Sir Charles Frederic Keightley, GCB, GBE, DSO *1968– F.M. Sir Richard Amyatt Hull, KG, GCB, DSO *1974– F.M. The Rt Hon Richard Michael Power Carver, Baron Carver of Shackleford, GCB, CBE, DSO, MC *1977–1980 Gen. Sir Jack Wentworth Harman, GCB, OBE, MC, ADCGen *1980–1982 Gen. Sir Robert Cyril Ford, GCB, CBE *1982–1985 F.M. Sir John Wilfred Stanier, GCB, MBE, ADCGen *1985–1988 F.M. Sir Nigel Thomas Bagnall, GCB, CVO, MC *1988–1993 Gen. Sir Brian Leslie Kenny, GCB, CBE *1993–1995 Gen. Sir Anthony Stephen Jeremy Blacker, KCB, CBE *1995–1999 Lt-Gen. Sir Robert Hayman-Joyce, KCB, CBE *1999 Maj-Gen. David John Malcolm Jenkins, CB, CBE *2000–2004 Maj-Gen. Peter Gilchrist, CB *2004– Maj-Gen. Alexander Richard David Shirreff, CB

References

* *

External links

*
Royal Armoured Corps News

{{Authority control British administrative corps UK Purbeck District Organisations based in Dorset Military units and formations established in 1939