The Army Ordnance Corps (abbreviated as AOC) is an active corps of the Indian Army and a major formation responsible for providing material and logistical support to the Indian Army during war and peace.

History

Pre-independence

The history of ordnance in India dates back to the 15th century. The early ordnance stores in the Indian sub-continent were established by the

British East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company that was founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to Indian Ocean trade, trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (South A ...

for their logistical requirements. Following the military expansion of the company, the needs of military troops increased which in turn required the support of an ordnance department. By accepting the report of then Commander-in-Chief of the

Bengal Army The Bengal Army was the army of the Bengal Presidency, one of the three presidencies of British India within the British Empire. The presidency armies, like the presidencies themselves, belonged to the East India Company (EIC) until the Gover ...

, Lieutenant General Sir John Clavering, the Board of Ordnance was established on April 8, 1775. This is considered to be the first step towards the recognition of the Army Ordnance Corps (AOC). Initially the board was put under the control of the Bengal Presidency. Stamp of India - 1975 - Colnect 313174 - Bicentenary Indian Army Ordnance Corps - Stylized Cannons

Stamp of India - 1975 - Colnect 313174 - Bicentenary Indian Army Ordnance Corps - Stylized Cannons

With the increasing influence of the British crown over the sub-continent, the number of British troops increased significantly. In 1874, a "Special Ordnance Commission" was appointed by the government to prepare a report on the establishment of a new ordnance system at the national level. The report which was submitted on 7 April 1875 recommended a centralized system and the establishment of ordnance factories in the country. A report by the Army in India Commission, which was constituted in May 1879 by Lord Lytton,

Viceroy and Governor-General of India The governor-general of India (1833 to 1950, from 1858 to 1947 the viceroy and governor-general of India, commonly shortened to viceroy of India) was the representative of the monarch of the United Kingdom in their capacity as the emperor o ...

from 12 April 1876 to 8 June 1880. recommended the establishment of a centralized all-India organisation, headed by a Director General of Ordnance. On 1 April 1884, the Ordnance Department of India came into existence. The Ordnance's three Presidencies

Bengal Presidency The Bengal Presidency, officially the Presidency of Fort William in Bengal until 1937, later the Bengal Province, was the largest of all three presidencies of British India during Company rule in India, Company rule and later a Provinces o ...

Madras Presidency The Madras Presidency or Madras Province, officially called the Presidency of Fort St. George until 1937, was an administrative subdivision (province) of British India and later the Dominion of India. At its greatest extent, the presidency i ...

, and Bombay Presidency of the

British Raj The British Raj ( ; from Hindustani language, Hindustani , 'reign', 'rule' or 'government') was the colonial rule of the British The Crown, Crown on the Indian subcontinent, * * lasting from 1858 to 1947. * * It is also called Crown rule ...

were integrated into one. An Inspector General of Ordnance was appointed to each Presidency and was responsible to the Director General at the national level. Following the

Partition of Bengal (1905) The Partition of Bengal in 1905, also known as the First Partition of Bengal, was a territorial reorganization of the Bengal Presidency implemented by the authorities of the British Raj. The reorganization separated the largely Muslim eastern ...

, the Ordnance was split into two, each with an Inspector General. Several reorganizations took place during the tenure of Lord Kitchener as the Commander-in-Chief of India. Overruling the report of the Esher Committee of 1919 recommended that a civilian member be in charge of civil business, a military officer was put in-charge of manufacture and production as Master General of Supply. Later in 1929, the office of Master of General of Supply was rechristened Master General of Ordnance. With the start of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

in September 1939, the AOC began a major expansion that continued to the end of the war in 1945. The number of installations rose from 10 to 77 in the span of six years. On 1 May 1943, the Indian Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (IEME) was separated from Indian Armed Ordnance Corps. H20220126107469

Post-independence

After India became a republic on 26 January 1950, the corps was rechristened as the Army Ordnance Corps dropping the prefix Indian.

Role and function

The Army Ordnance Corps main responsibility is to provide material and logistics support to the Indian Army and, if required, to the Navy and Air Force during war and peace. The inventory that the Army Ordnance Corps is responsible for ranges from clothing (e.g. coats, sleeping bags, gloves, goggles, etc.) to vehicles, equipment and munitions (e.g. bullets, artillery shells, missiles, etc.). The supply of fuel, fodder, and medicines are maintained by the

Indian Army Service Corps The Indian Army Service Corps (IASC) is a Corps, administrative corps and an arm of the Indian Army which handles its Military logistics, logistic support function. It is the oldest and the largest administrative service in the Indian Army. Whil ...

, the Military Farms Service/ Army Remount and Veterinary Corps and the

Army Medical Corps A medical corps is generally a military branch or officer corps responsible for medical care for serving military personnel. Such officers are typically military physicians. List of medical corps The following organizations are examples of med ...

respectively.

Training academy

The Army Ordnance Corps centre in

Secunderabad Secunderabad () is a twin cities, twin city of Hyderabad and one of the six zones of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Telangana. It is the headquarters of the South ...

is the training academy of the corps. The AOC centre is responsible to impart training to the ordnance corps personnel. Apart from military training, the AOC personnel are also trained in different kinds of repair works, ancillary trades such as carpentry, tailoring, saddlery, driving etc.

Regimental insignia

Crest

* 1855 – The first crest of the Corps was adopted in 1855 with the motto of the corps ''Sua Tela Tonanti''. * 1896 –

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

approved the recommendation of the War Office to adopt a badge instead of crest. Separate badges were designed for officers and other personnel but with only small differences on the scroll. * 1918 – After actively taking part in the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

on behalf of the British, the prefix "Royal" was granted by

King George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. George was born during the reign of his pa ...

, the Corps renamed the Royal Army Ordnance Corps and the crest modified. * 1922 – When the Corps was renamed the Indian Army Ordnance Corps in 1922, the crest was again modified. It contained three cannon balls and three field pieces on the shield with a crown on the top. * 1954 – After India became a republic in 1950, the prefix "Indian" was dropped and the Corps was renamed the Army Ordnance Corps. The modified crest is similar to the previous one of 1922. It contained three cannon balls and three field pieces on a circular shield. The crown was replaced by the

national emblem of India The State Emblem of India is the national emblem of the Republic of India and is used by the union government, many state governments, and other government agencies. The emblem is an adaptation of the Lion Capital of Ashoka, an ancient sculpt ...

with a pair of crossed swords at the bottom. * 1978 - The newly adopted motto ''Shastra se Shakti'' was incorporated in the scroll.

Flag and pennant

Regimental flag

A navy blue background "with a narrow horizontal saxe blue band between two broader maroon bands across the middle".

Pennant

The pennant is a triangle rotated through 90 degrees in a clockwise direction with the navy blue color filled in. The red coloured oval is present at the extreme right. The standard dimensions of the pennant are 0.9 meters by 0.6 meters with the red oval of 0.3 meters.

Colours

The Corps' regimental colours were awarded on 8 December 1970, by then

Vice President of India The vice president of India (ISO: ) is the deputy to the head of state of the Republic of India, i.e. the president of India. The office of vice president is the second-highest constitutional office after the president and ranks second in t ...

Gopal Swarup Pathak Gopal Swarup Pathak (26 February 1896 – 4 October 1982) was the vice president of India from August 1969 to August 1974. He was the first Indian vice president not to succeed his superior as President. Life Born on 26 February 1896 at Ba ...

at the Army Ordnance Centre in

. The colour is a silken flag filled with scarlet, and the Corps' crest in the center surrounded by

Ashoka Ashoka, also known as Asoka or Aśoka ( ; , ; – 232 BCE), and popularly known as Ashoka the Great, was List of Mauryan emperors, Emperor of Magadha from until #Death, his death in 232 BCE, and the third ruler from the Mauryan dynast ...

and Lotus leaves.

Notes

References

* * * {{Indian Army Arms and Services Administrative corps of the Indian Army Ordnance (stores) units and formations Military units and formations established in 1775