The 79th Armoured Division was a specialist armoured division 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 Gurkha ...

created 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 opposi ...

. The division was created as part of the preparations for the

Normandy invasion Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allied operation that launched the successful invasion of German-occupied Western Europe during World War II. The operation was launched on 6 June 1944 (D-Day) with the Norm ...

on 6 June 1944, D-Day. Major-General Percy Hobart commanded the division and was in charge of the development of armoured vehicles that were solutions to problems of the amphibious landing on the defended French coastline; these unusual-looking tanks it developed and operated were known as " Hobart's Funnies". They included tanks that floated, could clear mines, destroy defences, carry and lay bridges, and roadways. The practical use of these specialist tanks was confirmed during the landings on the beaches. Its vehicles were distributed as small units across the divisions taking part in the landings and subsequent operations. The division remained in action during the North-west European Campaign, providing specialised support during assaults to the

21st Army Group The 21st Army Group was a British headquarters formation formed during the Second World War. It controlled two field armies and other supporting units, consisting primarily of the British Second Army and the First Canadian Army. Established in ...

and, occasionally, to American units outside 21st. Again they were of significant use during the Rhine crossings.

History

Hobart had formed the 7th Armoured Division (then known as the Mobile Division) in Egypt before being removed by GOC

British Troops in Egypt British Troops in Egypt was a command of the British Army. History A British Army commander was appointed in the late 19th century after the Anglo-Egyptian War in 1882. The British Army remained in Egypt throughout the First World War and, after t ...

and went into retirement. He was brought back into regular army by Churchill in 1941 to train the new

11th Armoured Division The 11th Armoured Division was an armoured division of the British Army which was created in March 1941 during the Second World War. The division was formed in response to the unanticipated success of the German panzer divisions. The 11th Armour ...

but ill-health meant he was considered unfit to command the division in battle and he had to give up the appointment. In 1942 Hobart was selected to train another new division. The 79th was formed as a standard armoured formation serving in the UK under Northern Command in August 1942.

General A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". O ...

Sir Alan Brooke, the

Chief of the Imperial General Staff The Chief of the General Staff (CGS) has been the title of the professional head of the British Army since 1964. The CGS is a member of both the Chiefs of Staff Committee and the Army Board. Prior to 1964, the title was Chief of the Imperial G ...

, who foresaw the need for specialised armoured vehicles, offered command of the division to

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 a ...

Percy Hobart in October 1942. Initially the division based on the 27th Armoured Brigade included infantry, artillery and engineers but the infantry unit, 185th, was removed in September 1942, its artillery regiments were all removed by April 1943 and its engineer units were generally removed by November 1943. In March 1943 Hobart met Brooke who gave him the role of developing and training a division of specialist armoured vehicles that would lead the invasion of France in 1944 The initial new organization of the 79th was a tank brigade, an armoured brigade, and a Royal Engineers assault brigade; this was expanded with additional brigades of the new armoured vehicles developed by the 79th. Hobart gave firm direction and the strange-looking tanks it developed and operated were known as Hobart's Funnies. They included tanks that floated, could clear mines, destroy defences, carry and lay bridges, and roadways - anything that would enable the invasion force to get ashore and break through the German defences. The division landed in France in June 1944. The division was further used during the Battle for Brest, the battle for the

Scheldt The Scheldt (french: Escaut ; nl, Schelde ) is a river that flows through northern France, western Belgium, and the southwestern part of the Netherlands, with its mouth at the North Sea. Its name is derived from an adjective corresponding to ...

estuary ( Operation Infatuate), the battle for the Roer Triangle ( Operation Blackcock), the

Rhine ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , source ...

crossings (

Operation Plunder Operation Plunder was a military operation to cross the Rhine on the night of 23 March 1945, launched by the 21st Army Group under Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery. The crossing of the river was at Rees, Wesel, and south of the river Li ...

) and the Elbe crossing. The 79th Armoured Division was disbanded on 20 August 1945. Hobart subsequently commanded the Specialized Armour Development Establishment (SADE), which was formed from elements of the 79th together with the Assault Training and Development Centre.

Equipment

The equipment included the following: * The "Duplex Drive" tank was a Sherman tank converted for amphibious use with twin types of locomotion: tracks and propellers; the design was used by the Allies in the opening phases of the

Normandy landings The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as ...

in 1944. * The

Sherman Crab A mine flail is a vehicle-mounted device that makes a safe path through a minefield by deliberately detonating land mines in front of the vehicle that carries it. They were first used by the British during World War II. The mine flail consists of ...

was a

mine flail A mine flail is a vehicle-mounted device that makes a safe path through a minefield by deliberately detonating land mines in front of the vehicle that carries it. They were first used by the British during World War II. The mine flail consists of ...

tank designed to clear a safe path through a mine-field by deliberately detonating mines in front of the vehicle; the design was first used during the North African Campaign in 1942. * The Churchill Armoured Vehicle Royal Engineers (AVRE) was a heavily modified Churchill III or IV armed with a "Petard", a 230mm

spigot mortar A mortar is usually a simple, lightweight, man-portable, muzzle-loaded weapon, consisting of a smooth-bore (although some models use a rifled barrel) metal tube fixed to a base plate (to spread out the recoil) with a lightweight bipod mount and ...

that fired a 40 pound (18 kg) "Flying dustbin" demolition bomb. * The 'Bobbin' Carpet Layer was a Churchill AVRE fitted out with a roll of matting for laying on a beach or other soft surface. * The Fascine Carrier was a Churchill AVRE which could carry and lay large bundles of sticks to repair holes in the ground. * The Small Box Girder ('SBG') bridge layer was a Churchill AVRE fitted and lay a bridge large enough to cross a 30 foot gap. * The Churchill Armoured Ramp Carrier ('ARK') was a turretless Churchill tank with ramps at either end which, when lowered, could form a mobile bridge. * The "Buffalo"

Landing Vehicle Tracked The Amphibious Vehicle, Tracked (LVT) is an amphibious warfare vehicle and amphibious landing craft, introduced by the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps. (The USN and USMC use "L" to designate Amphibious vessels, also call ...

('LVT') was a tracked vehicle intended to carry replenishments from ships ashore; the design was used at the

Battle of the Scheldt The Battle of the Scheldt in World War II was a series of military operations led by the First Canadian Army, with Polish and British units attached, to open up the shipping route to Antwerp so that its port could be used to supply the Alli ...

during the crossing of the Rhine in 1945. * The

Kangaroo Kangaroos are four marsupials from the family Macropodidae (macropods, meaning "large foot"). In common use the term is used to describe the largest species from this family, the red kangaroo, as well as the antilopine kangaroo, eastern ...

armoured personnel carrier was a self-propelled gun or other armoured vehicle, surplus to requirements which was converted by removal of the gun or turret into an infantry carrier. The Kangaroo was not developed until after the D-day landings. * The

Canal Defence Light The Canal Defence Light (CDL) was a British "secret weapon" of the Second World War, based upon the use of a powerful carbon-arc searchlight mounted on a tank. It was intended to be used during night-time attacks, when the light would allow ene ...

('CDL') was a powerful carbon-arc

searchlight A searchlight (or spotlight) is an apparatus that combines an extremely luminosity, bright source (traditionally a carbon arc lamp) with a mirrored parabolic reflector to project a powerful beam of light of approximately parallel rays in a part ...

mounted on a tank which could be deployed to dazzle and confuse enemy troops. * The Churchill Crocodile was a Churchill VII tank in which the hull machine gun was replaced with a flamethrower; fuel was carried behind the tank in an armoured wheeled trailer.

Order of battle

;14 August 1942 The 79th Armoured Division was first raised as a conventional armoured division, with one Armoured Brigade, one Infantry Brigade and supporting arms.

27th Armoured Brigade The 27th Armoured Brigade was an armoured brigade of the British Army that served in the Second World War and played a crucial role in the Normandy landings on 6 June 1944 and the following Battle of Normandy until disbandment in late 1944. Ori ...

- Attached to the 79th Armoured Division from 8 September 1942 until 20 October 1943. *

4th/7th Royal Dragoon Guards The 4th/7th Royal Dragoon Guards was a cavalry regiment of the British Army formed in 1922. It served in the Second World War. However following the reduction of forces at the end of the Cold War and proposals contained in the Options for Change ...

13th/18th Royal Hussars (Queen Mary's Own) The 13th/18th Royal Hussars (Queen Mary's Own) was a cavalry regiment of the British Army. It was formed by the amalgamation of the 13th Hussars and the 18th Royal Hussars in 1922 and, after service in the Second World War, it amalgamated with t ...

. *

1st East Riding Yeomanry The East Riding of Yorkshire Yeomanry was a unit of the British Army formed in 1902. Units of Yeomanry Cavalry were raised in the East Riding of Yorkshire in the 18th and early 19th centuries at times of national emergency: the Jacobite Rising ...

185th Infantry Brigade - Transferred out to 3rd Infantry Division on 9 April 1943. * 2nd Bn Royal Warwickshire Regiment * 1st Bn

Royal Norfolk Regiment The Royal Norfolk Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army until 1959. Its predecessor regiment was raised in 1685 as Henry Cornwall's Regiment of Foot. In 1751, it was numbered like most other British Army regiments and named ...

* 2nd Bn

King's Shropshire Light Infantry The King's Shropshire Light Infantry (KSLI) was a light infantry regiment of the British Army, formed in the Childers Reforms of 1881, but with antecedents dating back to 1755. It served in the Second Boer War, World War I and World War II. I ...

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

– converted into 9th Army Group Royal Artillery on 1 May 1943 * 142nd (Royal Devon Yeomanry) Field Regiment, RA * 150th (South Notts Hussars Yeomanry) Field Regiment, RA * 55th (Suffolk & Norfolk Yeomanry) Anti-Tank Regiment, RA * 119th Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment, RA ;1943

30th Armoured Brigade The 30th Armoured Brigade was an armoured formation of the British Army that served in Western Europe Campaign as part of the 79th Armoured Division. After the reformation of the Territorial Army in 1947, the brigade was re-created within the T ...

- Transferred to the division on 17 October 1943. * 22nd Dragoons * 2nd County of London Yeomanry (Westminster Dragoons) * 1st Lothians and Border Horse 1st Assault Brigade and Assault Park Squadron RE - Formed on 1 November 1943 * 5th Assault Regiment RE * 6th Assault Regiment RE * 42nd Assault Regiment RE ;Operation Overlord (Normandy landings) The division was under direct command of the

, portions being placed in support of the Second Army for Operation Overlord. 1st Assault Brigade and Assault Park Squadron RE ( AVRE) * 149 Assault Park Squadron, RE * 5th Assault Regiment RE ** 77 Assault Squadron, RE ** 79 Assault Squadron, RE ** 80 Assault Squadron, RE ** 26 Assault Squadron, RE * 6th Assault Regiment RE ** 81 Assault Squadron, RE ** 82 Assault Squadron, RE ** 87 Assault Squadron, RE ** 284 Assault Squadron, RE * 42nd Assault Regiment RE ** 16 Assault Squadron, RE ** 617 Assault Squadron, RE ** 222 Assault Squadron, RE ** 557 Assault Squadron, RE – ''remained in England as training unit''

(

) * 22nd Dragoons * 2nd County of London Yeomanry (Westminster Dragoons) * 1st Lothians and Border Horse ;September 1944 This is the order of battle on 17 September 1944, at the beginning of

Operation Market Garden Operation Market Garden was an Allied military operation during the Second World War fought in the Netherlands from 17 to 27 September 1944. Its objective was to create a salient into German territory with a bridgehead over the River Rhine, ...

. The division was not involved in that battle, but was involved heavily in the battles for the Channel ports, such as Operation Astonia at

Le Havre Le Havre (, ; nrf, Lé Hâvre ) is a port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the river Seine on the Channel southwest of the Pays de Caux, very ...

, and the

(

) * 22nd Dragoons * 2nd County of London Yeomanry (Westminster Dragoons) * 1st Lothians and Border Horse 1st Assault Brigade and Assault Park Squadron RE ( AVRE) * 5th Assault Regiment RE * 6th Assault Regiment RE * 42nd Assault Regiment RE 1st Tank Brigade *

11th Royal Tank Regiment The 11th Royal Tank Regiment (11 RTR) was an armoured regiment of the British Army. It is part of the Royal Tank Regiment, itself part of the Royal Armoured Corps. History The 11th Royal Tank Regiment was raised during World War II in January 1941 ...

- Grant CDL tank *

42nd Royal Tank Regiment The 42nd Royal Tank Regiment (42 RTR) was an armoured regiment of the British Army from 1938 until 1956. It was part of the Royal Tank Regiment, itself part of the Royal Armoured Corps. Mobilisation The unit was formed on 1 November 1938 by c ...

- Grant CDL tank *

49th Royal Tank Regiment 49th Royal Tank Regiment (49 RTR), later 49th Armoured Personnel Carrier Regiment and 49th Armoured Carrier Regiment, was a regiment of the British Army's Royal Armoured Corps during World War II that operated specialised armoured fighting vehicl ...

- Grant CDL tank 31st Tank Brigade * 141st Regiment Royal Armoured Corps - Churchill Crocodile *

1st Fife and Forfar Yeomanry The Fife and Forfar Yeomanry (FFY) was an Armoured Yeomanry Regiment of the British Army formed in 1793. It saw action in the Second Boer War, the First World War and the Second World War. It amalgamated with the Scottish Horse to form the Fife ...

- Churchill Crocodile *

1st Canadian Armoured Carrier Regiment ("Bearing Armed Men") , colours= Orange and Black , identification_symbol= , identification_symbol_label= , identification_symbol_3= , identification_symbol_3_label= , march= , mascot= , Beret= , battles = , notable_commanders= Gordon Minto C ...

- Kangaroo armoured personnel carrier ;Operation Varsity (Rhine crossing) This is the order of battle for the division on 23 March 1945, which was the commencement of the crossing of the River Rhine, and the beginning of the final advance into Germany. As can be seen, the establishment of the division had grown as the requirement for specialised armour had increased. 1st Assault Brigade Royal Engineers ( AVRE) * 5th Assault Regiment R.E. * 6th Assault Regiment R.E. * 42nd Assault Regiment R.E. * 87 Assault Dozer Squadron, R.E. * 149 Assault Park Squadron, R.E.

(

) * 22nd Dragoons * 2nd County of London Yeomanry (Westminster Dragoons) * 1st Lothians and Border Horse

31st Armoured Brigade The 31st Armoured Brigade was an armoured brigade formation of the British Army, created during the Second World War. Unit history The 31st Army Tank Brigade was formed in the UK on 15 January 1941, in Northern Command and comprised the 9t ...

( Churchill Crocodile, Kangaroo (armoured personnel carrier)) *

(Crocodile) * 141st Regiment Royal Armoured Corps (Crocodile) *

7th Royal Tank Regiment The 7th Royal Tank Regiment (7th RTR) was an armoured regiment of the British Army from 1917 until disbandment in 1959. History The 7th Royal Tank Regiment was part of the Royal Tank Regiment, itself part of the Royal Armoured Corps. The regi ...

(Crocodile) *

49th Armoured Personnel Carrier Regiment 49th Royal Tank Regiment (49 RTR), later 49th Armoured Personnel Carrier Regiment and 49th Armoured Carrier Regiment, was a regiment of the British Army's Royal Armoured Corps during World War II that operated specialised armoured fighting vehicl ...

(Kangaroo) *

(Kangaroo) 33rd Armoured Brigade ( LVT 4) *

1st Northamptonshire Yeomanry The Northamptonshire Yeomanry was a Yeomanry regiment of the British Army, formed in 1794 as volunteer cavalry. It served in the Second Boer War, the First World War and the Second World War before being reduced to squadron level in 1956. It cease ...

4th Royal Tank Regiment The 4th Royal Tank Regiment (4 RTR) was an armoured regiment of the British Army from its creation in 1917, during World War I, until 1993. It was part of the Royal Tank Regiment, itself part of the Royal Armoured Corps. History The regiment or ...

Notes

References

* Doherty, Richard ''Hobart's 79th Armoured Division at War: Invention, Innovation and Inspiration'', Barnsley: Pen & Sword, 2011, . * Fletcher, D. ''Swimming Shermans: Sherman DD Amphibious Tank of World War II'', Osprey Publishing, 2006. * * * * Joslen, Lt-Col H.F., ''Orders of Battle, United Kingdom and Colonial Formations and Units in the Second World War, 1939–1945'', London: HM Stationery Office, 1960/Uckfield: Naval & Military Press, 2003, . *

External links