5 Armoured Regiment is part of the

Armoured Corps An armoured corps (also mechanized corps or tank corps) is a specialized military organization whose role is to conduct armoured warfare. The units belonging to an armoured corps include military staff, and are equipped with tanks and other armou ...

of the

Indian Army The Indian Army is the Land warfare, land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Commander-in-Chief, Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Arm ...

History

5 Armoured Regiment was raised on 1 December, 1983 at

Jodhpur Jodhpur (; ) is the second-largest city in the Indian state of Rajasthan and officially the second metropolitan city of the state. It was formerly the seat of the princely state of Jodhpur State. Jodhpur was historically the capital of the ...

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern ...

. The first

commanding officer The commanding officer (CO) or sometimes, if the incumbent is a general officer, commanding general (CG), is the officer in command of a military unit. The commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually given wide latitu ...

of the regiment was

Lieutenant Colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colon ...

J.P.S. Hanspal. The Regiment was initially equipped with

Vijayanta The ''Vijayanta'' (en: "Victorious") was a main battle tank built in India based on a licensed design of the Vickers Mk.1. The Vijayanta was the first indigenous tank of the Indian Army. The prototype was completed in 1963 and the tank entered ...

tanks. It became the first regiment of the Indian Army to be equipped with

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 ...

tanks in 2002. It is also affiliated to , an amphibious ship of the

Indian Navy The Indian Navy is the maritime branch of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Navy. The Chief of Naval Staff, a four-star admiral, commands the navy. As a blue-water navy, it operates si ...

. The first Colonel of the Regiment was

Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on th ...

M. Mayadas. Other Colonels have been Lieutenant General MS Shergill,

Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of ...

G.S. Malhi and Lieutenant General AK Singh. The regiment celebrated its silver jubilee in 2008. On 27 November, 2011, the regiment was awarded the ‘ President’s Standards’ by Mrs

Pratibha 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 ...

, then President of India 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 ...

. 5 Armoured Regiment along with 70, 73, 74 Armoured Regiments and 6 Lancers of the 1 Armoured Division were presented the colours.

Operations

The regiment has participated in Operation Trident, Operation Vijay and Operation Parakram.

Regimental Insignia

The cap badge consists of a pair of crossed lances with pennons in the Regimental Colours. The numeral 5 topped by a mailed fist rests on the crossing point of the lances. A scroll in

Devanagari Devanagari ( ; , , Sanskrit pronunciation: ), also called Nagari (),Kathleen Kuiper (2010), The Culture of India, New York: The Rosen Publishing Group, , page 83 is a left-to-right abugida (a type of segmental writing system), based on the ...

at the bottom has the regimental motto निस्चय और विजय (''Nischay aur Vijay'', Determination and Victory). The shoulder title plain numeral 5 in brass on a black quadrilateral metal backing. The Regimental Colours are Satin Blue, White and Black symbolising Compassion, Purity & Tranquility and Strength of Steel respectively.

References

Armoured and cavalry regiments of the Indian Army from 1947 Military units and formations established in 1983 {{India-mil-stub