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 , image = New Zealand Army Logo.png , image_size = 175px , caption = , start_date = , country = , branch = ...

. The corps was formed in 1942 as the New Zealand Armoured Corps, before being given the ''Royal'' prefix in 1947. The RNZAC is second in seniority of corps within the New Zealand Army. The Divisional Cavalry Regiment and the 4th Armoured Brigade were among the foremost NZ armoured units during World War II, though at home the 1st Army Tank Brigade was also established. Although the RNZAC did not deploy one of its own units to the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

, from 1965-1971 RNZAC personnel served within other New Zealand and Australian units including artillery, infantry, command and support, and logistics. Several members served as tank crew with the 3rd Cavalry Regiment of the

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 ...

, and 1st Squadron,

4th Cavalry Regiment The 4th Cavalry Regiment is a United States Army cavalry regiment, whose lineage is traced back to the mid-19th century. It was one of the most effective units of the Army against American Indians on the Texas frontier. Today, the regiment exis ...

(U.S Army.) Two RNZAC pilots served with the Australian 161st (Independent) Reconnaissance Flight. During the 1990s, corps personnel contributed to the deployment of a mechanized infantry company group to

Bosnia-Hercegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...

for

UNPROFOR The United Nations Protection Force (UNPROFOR; also known by its French acronym FORPRONU: ''Force de Protection des Nations Unies'') was the first United Nations peacekeeping force in Croatia and in Bosnia and Herzegovina during the Yugoslav War ...

as part of the NZDF Operation Radian. Among the surviving Territorial Force units at the end of the 20th Century was the Wai/WEC Squadron, later the

Waikato Mounted Rifles The Waikato Mounted Rifles (WMR) is the New Zealand Army's only Territorial Force (Army Reserve) squadron of the Royal New Zealand Armoured Corps (RNZAC). The Squadron's origins can be traced back to 1869 when the first mounted unit was raised ...

in Hamilton, and the fast-diminishing

New Zealand Scottish Regiment The New Zealand Scottish Regiment was a regiment of the New Zealand Army. It was formed in 1939 as an infantry regiment and raised two battalions during the Second World War. Although the 1st Battalion was sent overseas during the war as part o ...

, also at squadron size technically but actually dwindling into single figures, in the South Island. The New Zealand Scots were finally disbanded in 2016.

Current units

RNZAC personnel serve in: Regular Force *

Queen Alexandra's Mounted Rifles Queen Alexandra's Mounted Rifles (QAMR) is an armoured regiment of the New Zealand Army and forms part of the Royal New Zealand Armoured Corps. The regiment was formed in 1864 and is currently an armoured cavalry unit equipped with NZLAV. Hist ...

(QAMR) *Combat School Territorial Force * 4th Waikato Mounted Rifles - Armoured Reconnaissance

Equipment

The RNZAC is primarily equipped with two types of vehicle: *

NZLAV The LAV III, originally named the Kodiak by the Canadian Army, is the third generation of the Light Armoured Vehicle (LAV) family of armored personnel carriers built by General Dynamics Land Systems – Canada (GDLS-C), a London, Ontario, based ...

- the NZLAV armoured fighting vehicle (AFV) is a variant of the

General Dynamics General Dynamics Corporation (GD) is an American publicly traded, aerospace and defense corporation headquartered in Reston, Virginia. As of 2020, it was the fifth-largest defense contractor in the world by arms sales, and 5th largest in the Uni ...

LAV III The LAV III, originally named the Kodiak by the Canadian Army, is the third generation of the LAV (Canada), Light Armoured Vehicle (LAV) family of armored personnel carriers built by General Dynamics Land Systems – Canada (GDLS-C), a London, O ...

. * Pinzgauer - the Army's Light Operational Vehicle (LOV) with command and control, general service, and armoured variants.

Alliances

* - The Royal Tank Regiment * - The King's Royal Hussars * -

The Royal Dragoon Guards The Royal Dragoon Guards (RDG) is a cavalry regiment of the British Army. It was formed in 1992 by the amalgamation of two other regiments: The 4th/7th Royal Dragoon Guards and the 5th Royal Inniskilling Dragoon Guards. Based in Battlesbury Ba ...

Lineage of units

The units of the Royal New Zealand Armoured Corps have a complicated and intermingled heritage. The following table shows the relationship between units since 1944. Titles in bold denote regiments, while non-bold titles are individual squadrons.

Order of precedence

References

{{Reflist Administrative corps of New Zealand

New New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator ...

Military units and formations established in 1942 Organisations based in New Zealand with royal patronage