The Armor Branch of the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, ...

is an active

armored warfare Armoured warfare or armored warfare (mechanized forces, armoured forces or armored forces) (American English; see spelling differences), is the use of armored fighting vehicles in modern warfare. It is a major component of modern methods of ...

combat arms branch. It was created provisionally in 1940 as Armored Force under the Chief of the Armored Force, Brigadier General Adna R. Chaffee, Jr. and took control of all tank units in infantry and cavalry units.

History

Even though the armor branch traces its lineage back to the original

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 in ...

units, its first beginnings date from the First World War. The United States Tank Corps was established in 1918 but then split back into the Infantry and Cavalry in 1921. The Armored Command was headquartered at Ft. Knox, Kentucky, became effective on 2 July 1943, the Armored Center on 20 February 1944, and was discontinued on 30 October 1945. The Armor Center at Fort Knox Kentucky transferred to Fort Benning Georgia in 2010.

United States Army Armor School The United States Army Armor School (formerly Armored Force School) is a training school located at Fort Benning, Georgia. Its primary focus is the training of United States Army soldiers, non-commissioned officers, warrant officers, and commis ...

is now located at

Fort Benning Fort Benning is a United States Army post near Columbus, Georgia, adjacent to the Alabama– Georgia border. Fort Benning supports more than 120,000 active-duty military, family members, reserve component soldiers, retirees and civilian employee ...

I Armored Corps (United States) The I Armored Corps was a corps-sized formation of the United States Army that was active in World War II. The Corps made landfall in Morocco in French North Africa during Operation Torch in November 1942, the Allied invasion of French North Af ...

was established, fought during

Operation Torch Operation Torch (8 November 1942 – 16 November 1942) was an Allied invasion of French North Africa during the Second World War. Torch was a compromise operation that met the British objective of securing victory in North Africa while al ...

in North Africa, but then upgraded in status to become the

United States Seventh Army The Seventh Army was a United States army created during World War II that evolved into the United States Army Europe (USAREUR) during the 1950s and 1960s. It served in North Africa and Italy in the Mediterranean Theater of Operations and Fra ...

on 10 July 1943.

Branch insignia

U.S. Army Service Regulation 42, change 1, dated 29 December 1917 authorized "the first insignia for the new ''tank service''." This new insignia was the image of the "front-end view of a ''conventionalized tank''", but in appearance looked like an unidentifiable upper half circle of sort of storage or transport container. A little over 4 months later on 7 May 1918, change 2 to Regulation 42, eliminated the Army's first ''Tank Service'' and replaced it with the new U.S. Army Tank Corps, along with a newly designed collar insignia which consisted of the "side view of the Mark VIII tank above two stylized

dragons A dragon is a reptilian legendary creature that appears in the folklore of many cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but dragons in western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depicted as ...

breathing fire over a wreath." In 1921 U.S. Army Circular 72 deactivated the U.S. Army ''Tank Corps'', returning all armored vehicles to the Cavalry and Infantry units, which also removed the new "Tank Corps" collar insignia from the service. On 10 July 1940 the U.S. Army ''Armored Force'' was created and on 25 February 1942 Army Circular 56 created a new collar insignia, consisting of the left side view of a Mark VIII tank. This simple tank design had no decorations or other objects surrounding it, and was the insignia worn by U.S. Army personnel throughout WWII. Presently, the current U.S. Army "Armor" branch collar insignia, which consists of the front view of a U.S.

M26 Pershing The M26 Pershing was a heavy tank/medium tank of the United States Army. It was used in the last months of World War II during the Invasion of Germany and extensively during the Korean War. The tank was named after General of the Armies John J. ...

tank superimposed over two crossed sabers, replaces the WWII collar insignia with the "Army Reorganization Act of 1950, Section 404, Army Bulletin 9", in which the current ''Armor'' insignia became authorized to wear in February 1951.Laframboise p. 125

Publications

ARMOR is the professional journal, originally published as the Cavalry Journal in 1885. The name was changed to

Armor 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 f ...

in 1940 after the transition from Horse Cavalry to Armor for the U.S. Army's Armor Branch, published by the Chief of Armor at Fort Benning, GA., training center for the Army's tank and cavalry forces. It is also one of the oldest publications in the U.S., founded in 1888 by cavalry officers on the American frontier as a forum for discussing doctrine, tactics, and equipment among soldiers geographically separated by the great distances of the American West.

Weapons

* M1A1 –

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 ...

M1A2 The M1 Abrams is a List of main battle tanks by generation, third-generation American main battle tank designed by Chrysler Defense (now General Dynamics Land Systems) and named for General Creighton Abrams. Conceived for modern Armoured warfa ...

–

* Stryker –

Armored Combat Vehicle An armoured fighting vehicle (AFV) is an armed combat vehicle protected by armour, generally combining operational mobility with offensive and defensive capabilities. AFVs can be wheeled or tracked. Examples of AFVs are tanks, armoured cars, ...

* Stryker MGS – Infantry Support Vehicle * M2 Bradley IFV –

Infantry Fighting Vehicle An infantry fighting vehicle (IFV), also known as a mechanized infantry combat vehicle (MICV), is a type of armoured fighting vehicle used to carry infantry into battle and provide direct-fire support. The 1990 Treaty on Conventional Armed F ...

* M3 Bradley CFV – Cavalry Fighting Vehicle

Current units

* 1st Armored Division * 1st Cavalry Division * 33rd Armor Regiment * 34th Armor Regiment *

35th Armor Regiment The 35th Armored Regiment is a regiment of the United States Army first established in 1941. The lineage of the regiment is carried on by the 1st Battalion 35th Armored Regiment, currently attached to the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Di ...

37th Armor Regiment The 37th Armor is an armor (tank) regiment of the United States Army. It is often remembered as the successor to the 37th Tank Battalion, 4th Armored Division, commanded by then Lieutenant Colonel Creighton Abrams (the namesake of the M1 Abrams ...

* 63rd Armor Regiment *

64th Armor Regiment The 64th Armor Regiment is an armor regiment of the United States Army, organized under the United States Army Regimental System. It is descended from the 758th Tank Battalion (Light) that served in the Italian campaign during World War II. Red ...

* 66th Armor Regiment *

67th Armor Regiment The 67th Armored Regiment is an armored regiment in the United States Army. The regiment was first formed in 1929 in the Regular Army as the 2nd Tank Regiment (Heavy) and redesignated as the 67th Infantry Regiment (Medium Tanks) in 1932. It f ...

68th Armor Regiment The 68th Armor Regiment is an armored regiment of the United States Army. It was first activated in 1933 in the Regular Army as the 68th Infantry Regiment (Light Tanks). Lineage The regiment was originally constituted on 9 July 1918 in the Reg ...

69th Armor Regiment The 69th Armor is an armored (tank) regiment of the United States Army. The 69th Armor Regiment is part of the U.S. Army Regimental System with only two battalions, the 2nd and 3rd Battalion, 69th Armor Regiment, existing in separate brigades and ...

70th Armor Regiment The 70th Armor Regiment is an armored (tank) unit of the United States Army. It was constituted as the 70th Tank Battalion in July 1940, an independent tank battalion intended to provide close support to infantry units. In this role, it saw acti ...

77th Armor Regiment The 77th Armor is an armored (tank) regiment of the United States Army. The 77th Armor Regiment is part of the U.S. Army Regimental System with only a single battalion, the 1st Battalion, 77th Armor Regiment, and is therefore classified as both ...

* 103rd Armor Regiment *

194th Armor Regiment (United States) The 194th Armor Regiment is an armored regiment of the Minnesota National Guard. The sole combat element of the regiment is 1st Combined Arms Battalion, a unit of the 34th Infantry Division of the United States Army. Traditions The 194th Armor ...

References

* https://web.archive.org/web/20110513005759/http://www.history.army.mil/html/forcestruc/lineages/branches/ar/default.htm * https://web.archive.org/web/20110611015741/http://www.tioh.hqda.pentagon.mil/UniformedServices/Branches/tank_armor_obs.aspx *Laframboise, Leon W. (1976) "History of the Artillery, Cavalry And Infantry Branch of Service Insignia." Watson Publishing Co., Steelville, MO.

External links

* https://web.archive.org/web/20110925030226/http://www.tioh.hqda.pentagon.mil/Heraldry/ArmyDUISSICOA/ArmyHeraldryBranch.aspx?b=207 * https://web.archive.org/web/20110611020230/http://www.tioh.hqda.pentagon.mil/UniformedServices/Branches/armor.aspx * http://www.armorcavalrymuseum.org/ {{US Army navbox Branches of the United States Army Nationstate armoured warfare branches