The Royal Canadian Armoured Corps (RCAC; french: links=no, Corps blindé royal canadien) is the

armoured Armour (British English) or armor (American English; see spelling differences) is a covering used to protect an object, individual, or vehicle from physical injury or damage, especially direct contact weapons or projectiles during combat, or fr ...

corps within the

Canadian Army The Canadian Army (french: Armée canadienne) is the command responsible for the operational readiness of the conventional ground forces of the Canadian Armed Forces. It maintains regular forces units at bases across Canada, and is also respo ...

, including 3 Regular and 18 Reserve Force regimentsThe Regiments and Corps of the Canadian Army (Queen's Printer, 1964) as well as the

Royal Canadian Armoured Corps School The Royal Canadian Armoured Corps School (french: links=no, École du Corps blindé royal canadien) is part of the Combat Training Centre at CFB Gagetown, New Brunswick, and is responsible for the tactical and technical training for armoured non- ...

. The corps was formed as the Canadian Armoured Corps in 1940, within the Canadian Army (Active). In August 1945, it was given its "royal" designation, and following the Second World War, several Reserve Force units were incorporated into the corps. From 1968 until 2013 it was officially named the Armoured Branch.

History

Pre-1940

Originally formed as the Canadian Cavalry Corps in 1910, Canada's first tank units were not raised until late in 1918. Initially these units were considered to be part of the

Machine Gun Corps The Machine Gun Corps (MGC) was a corps of the British Army, formed in October 1915 in response to the need for more effective use of machine guns on the Western Front in the First World War. The Heavy Branch of the MGC was the first to use tank ...

and the 1st Canadian Tank Battalion, 2nd Canadian Tank Battalion and the 3e Bataillon de chars d'assaut were all too late to join the fighting in the First World War. However, the 1st Canadian Tank Battalion was still training in

Mark V tank The British Mark V tank was an upgraded version of the Mark IV tank. The tank was improved in several aspects over the Mark IV, chiefly the new steering system, transmission and 150 bhp engine, but it fell short in other areas, particularl ...

s in the U.K. when the Canadian Tank Corps was finally authorized two days after the armistice. It seems like tanks were forgotten by the Cavalry after the war. Although, in the 1930s there were some small attempts at mechanization with motorcycles, experimental armoured cars and the purchase of a few tracked Carden-Loyd machine gun carriers for training. However, the first tanks since the First World War did not arrive until a few machine gun armed Vickers Mark VI light tanks appeared just one year before Canada went to war with Germany again.

Regimental Heritage

Canadian armoured regiments split their heritage between two primary sources. The first being the

cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from "cheval" meaning "horse") are soldiers or warriors who fight mounted on horseback. Cavalry were the most mobile of the combat arms, operating as light cavalry ...

corps, from which many armoured regiments were created and in fact the first "armoured" regiments were titled "mechanized cavalry" regiments, and the second being the tank corps (which formerly belonged to first the infantry and then the machine gun corps). This began in 1936 with the creation of tank battalions and continued on from 1940 when many other types of regiment were mobilized as armoured units for the Second World War.

The Second World War

From these modest beginnings the modern Canadian Armoured Corps began on 13 August 1940 with Major-General (then Colonel) F. F. Worthington as its first colonel-commandant. Over the course of the war from 1939 to 1944, the Armoured Corps gradually took over responsibilities from other Corps, such as Tank Regiments all being converted to Armoured Regiments, the transition of infantry reconnaissance battalions to the Armoured Corps, as well as anti-armour responsibilities from the Artillery Corps. Towards the close of the Second World War, the Corps was subsequently bestowed the honour of the 'Royal' designation by King George VI in 1945. Initially its

equipment Equipment most commonly refers to a set of tools or other objects commonly used to achieve a particular objective. Different job Work or labor (or labour in British English) is intentional activity people perform to support the needs and ...

was 219 US

M1917 tank The M1917 was the United States' first mass-produced tank, entering production shortly before the end of World War I.Zaloga (Armored Thunderbolt) p. 2 It was a license-built near-copy of the French Renault FT, and was intended to arm the America ...

s – a First World War design – obtained at scrap prices. They were sufficient for some training and familiarisation, but otherwise of very limited combat use. To form the 1st Army Tank Brigade,

Valentine tank The Tank, Infantry, Mk III, Valentine was an infantry tank produced in the United Kingdom during World War II. More than 8,000 of the type were produced in eleven marks, plus various specialised variants, accounting for approximately a quarter ...

s were ordered. This British design was to be built in Canada. Aside from the necessary adjustments to the design to incorporate local engineering standards and available components, the Canadian Valentines used a GMC engine. This engine, being an improvement over the original, was later applied to British production. In practice, Canada never used most of the 1,400 Valentines they built as they were supplied under lend-lease to the Soviet Union. In early 1941 the 1st Tank Brigade was sent to Britain and equipped with the

Matilda Matilda or Mathilda may refer to: Animals * Matilda (chicken) (1990–2006), World's Oldest Living Chicken record holder * Matilda (horse) (1824–1846), British Thoroughbred racehorse * Matilda, a dog of the professional wrestling tag-team The ...

infantry tank The infantry tank was a concept developed by the United Kingdom and France in the years leading up to World War II. Infantry tanks were designed to support infantrymen in an attack. To achieve this, the vehicles were generally heavily vehicle armo ...

. For the formation of two armoured divisions it was expected that 1,200

cruiser tanks The cruiser tank (sometimes called cavalry tank or fast tank) was a British tank concept of the interwar period for tanks designed as modernised armoured and mechanised cavalry, as distinguished from infantry tanks. Cruiser tanks were develop ...

were needed. The United Kingdom was not in a position to supply them, as it had shortfalls in supply for its own needs. This meant that Canada had to develop its own production. To this end a tank arsenal was set up under the management of a subsidiary of a US firm engaged in tank production in order to build the

Ram Ram, ram, or RAM may refer to: Animals * A male sheep * Ram cichlid, a freshwater tropical fish People * Ram (given name) * Ram (surname) * Ram (director) (Ramsubramaniam), an Indian Tamil film director * RAM (musician) (born 1974), Dutch * ...

and

Grizzly The grizzly bear (''Ursus arctos horribilis''), also known as the North American brown bear or simply grizzly, is a population or subspecies of the brown bear inhabiting North America. In addition to the mainland grizzly (''Ursus arctos horri ...

tanks and their variants in Canada. Events of the Second World War would thrust Canada into large scale tank production with thousands of Valentine, Ram, and Grizzly (Sherman) tanks and their armoured variants being produced. Canada would also go on to build modern armoured fighting vehicles that served during the Cold War, the War in Afghanistan and global peacekeeping operations.

Post-War

In 1968, with the unification of the Canadian Army into the

Canadian Armed Forces } The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF; french: Forces armées canadiennes, ''FAC'') are the unified military forces of Canada, including sea, land, and air elements referred to as the Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Army, and Royal Canadian Air Force. ...

, the name of the Royal Canadian Armoured Corps was changed to simply the Armour Branch. Despite the change however, the Corps continued to use its traditional title. In 2003, Canada planned to replace all its tanks with lightweight Mobile Gun Systems. In 2007, due to experience gained during

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

, Leopard tanks were purchased.

As of April 2013, the traditional designation of the Royal Canadian Armoured Corps has been restored for official use.

Training

Royal Canadian Armoured Corps School

The

CFB Gagetown 5th Canadian Division Support Base (5 CDSB) Gagetown, formerly known as and commonly referred to as CFB Gagetown, is a large Canadian Forces Base covering an area over , located in southwestern New Brunswick. Construction of the base At the ...

, New Brunswick, designs and conducts tactical and technical training for armoured crewmen and officers, in addition to maintaining specialized qualifications on behalf of the Canadian Army. Crewmen and officers are trained on the Leopard 2A4 MBT,

Coyote Reconnaissance Vehicle The LAV II Bison and Coyote are armoured cars (or armoured personnel carriers) built by General Dynamics Land Systems Canada for the Canadian Forces. It is based on the Mowag Piranha 8x8. Bison vehicles have also been used (to a lesser exten ...

, LAV-6, and

Textron Tactical Armoured Patrol Vehicle The Textron TAPV (Tactical Armoured Patrol Vehicle) is an armoured car currently in use by the Canadian Army. It is essentially a heavier armoured upgrade of the M1117 Armoured Security Vehicle, developed for use by the military police of the US ...

.http://www.rockymountainrangers.ca/?p=eductraining Canadian Forces Schools

Tactics School

The Tactics School at CFB Gagetown develops, conducts and monitors

combined-arms operations Combined arms is an approach to warfare that seeks to integrate different combat arms of a military to achieve mutually complementary effects (for example by using infantry and armour in an urban environment in which each supports the other) ...

. Within a battle group context, the Tactics School focusses on tactics, techniques, and procedures at the combat team level. The Tactics School's mission is to educate and train army junior officers in the integration of combat functions at the combat team level on the tactical battlefield.

Regular Force

A doctrinal Canadian armoured regiment consists of four squadrons of

medium Medium may refer to: Science and technology Aviation *Medium bomber, a class of war plane *Tecma Medium, a French hang glider design Communication * Media (communication), tools used to store and deliver information or data * Medium of ...

heavy tanks Heavy tank is a term used to define a class of tanks produced from World War I through the end of the Cold War. These tanks generally sacrificed mobility and maneuverability for better armour protection and equal or greater firepower than tanks ...

, as well as a close reconnaissance troop equipped with

light tanks A light tank is a tank variant initially designed for rapid movements in and out of combat, to outmaneuver heavier tanks. It is smaller in size with thinner armor and a less powerful main gun, tailored for better tactical mobility and ease of ...

and/or

armoured cars Armored (or armoured) car or vehicle may refer to: Wheeled armored vehicles * Armoured fighting vehicle, any armed combat vehicle protected by armor ** Armored car (military), a military wheeled armored vehicle * Armored car (valuables), an arm ...

. When required an armoured regiment will be tasked to provide an armoured squadron to its higher formation to provide it with a formation mounted reconnaissance capability.

Primary Reserve

Supplementary Order of Battle

Units on the

Supplementary Order of Battle In the Canadian Army, a regiment is placed on the Supplementary Order of Battle when the need for the regiment's existence is no longer relevant. When placed on the Supplementary Order of Battle, a regiment is considered "virtually disbanded", and ...

legally exist, but have no personnel or matériel.

Equipment

List of current vehicles operated by the RCAC include:

List of Canadian tanks and combat vehicles of the First and Second World War to present

Order of precedence

RCHA on parade without guns: (See note below) RCHA on parade with guns: (See note below) ''Note:'' The honour of "The Right of the Line" (precedence over other units), on an army parade, is held by the units of the Royal Canadian Horse Artillery when on parade with their guns. On dismounted parades, RCHA units take precedence over all other land force units except formed bodies of Officer Cadets of the Royal Military College representing their college. RCA units parade to the left of units of the Royal Canadian Armoured Corps.

References

External links

The Royal Canadian Armoured Corps Association

List of Civilian organizations with prefix "Royal" - Heritage Canada.
* List of civilian organizations with the prefix "Royal" prepared by th
Department of Canadian HeritageCanadian Forces RecruitingCanadian Forces and Department of National Defence

Media

* John Marteinson & Michael R. McNorgan "The Royal Canadian Armoured Corps - An Illustrated History" The Royal Canadian Armoured Corps Association 2000 {{Worthington Trophy Administrative corps of the Canadian Army Canadian Armed Forces personnel branches Nationstate armoured warfare branches Military units and formations established in 1940 Organizations based in Canada with royal patronage Military units and formations of Canada in World War II