The 13th Tank Brigade (
Military Unit Number 22220) is a former land formation of the
Bulgarian Army.
History
The brigade was established in October 1948 after the relocation of three tank companies - the 1st tank company from
Kazanlak, the 2nd tank company from
Sofia
Sofia is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain, in the western part of the country. The city is built west of the Is ...
and the 3rd tank company from
Plovdiv
Plovdiv (, ) is the List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, second-largest city in Bulgaria, 144 km (93 miles) southeast of the capital Sofia. It had a population of 490,983 and 675,000 in the greater metropolitan area. Plovdiv is a cultural hub ...
. The brigade was officially formed on January 1, 1949 as the Third Tank Brigade and was assigned to the
Third Army. The brigade received his battle flag on October 6, 1950, a date that is officially celebrated in the history of the brigade.
Later the brigade was renamed the Thirteenth Tank Brigade, and was still assigned to the Third Army in 1980. Since 1998 it has been the 13th "Sliven" Tank Brigade. It changed its state and organization several times. On June 1, 2008, the brigade became a Center for training of tank units.
Feast of Military Formation 22220
The 9th Tank Brigade and the 13th Tank Brigade in Sliven were the elite tank formations of the army. They received T-72 tanks, BMP-1 and BMP-23 infantry fighting vehicles while the other brigades only received older equipment.
The Specialists' Training Centre, in addition to training, is the storage facility of the operational reserve of 160 T-72M1 tanks and many other armoured vehicles.
Names
* Third Tank Brigade - 1949
* Thirteenth Tank Brigade - until 1998
* Thirteenth Sliven Tank Brigade - 1998 - 2002
* Thirteenth Tank Brigade - 2002 - June 1, 2008
* Center for Training of Tank units - June 1, 2008 - December 1, 2012
* Center for training of specialists - December 1, 2012 -
Commanders
* Lieutenant Colonel Dimitar Popov - from 1949 to 1951;
* Lieutenant Colonel Atanas Bakalov - from 1951 to 1952;
* Colonel Nikola Grancharov - from 1955 to 1956;
* Lieutenant Colonel - from 1956 to 1962;
* Colonel Kalin Prodanov - from 1963 to 1970;
* Colonel Genko Dankov - from 1970 to 1978;
* Colonel Kolyu Kolev - from 1978 to 1980;
* Colonel Dimitar Odrinski - from 1980 to 1982;
* Lieutenant Colonel Panto Pantev - from 1982 to 1986;
* Lieutenant Colonel Vasil Valkov - from 1986 to 1987;
* Colonel - from 1987 to 1989;
* Lieutenant Colonel - from 1989 to 1992;
* Colonel Vasil Vasilev - from 1992 to 1997;
* Colonel - from 1997 to 2002;
* Colonel - from 2002 to 2003;
* Colonel - from 2003 to 2005;
* Colonel - from 2006 to 2008;
* Colonel Nikolai Spirov - from 2008 to 2010;
* Colonel Hristo Stamatov - from 2010 to 2015;
* Colonel Lyubomir Vachev - since 2015
Notes
{{Reflist
*http://www.ww2.dk/new/wp/Bulgaria/3a.htm
Army units and formations of Bulgaria
Tank brigades
Sliven
1948 establishments in Bulgaria