Australian Armoured Corps
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Royal Australian Armoured Corps (RAAC) is an
administrative corps Corps (; plural ''corps'' ; from French , from the Latin "body") is a term used for several different kinds of organization. A military innovation by Napoleon I, the formation was formally introduced March 1, 1800, when Napoleon ordered Gener ...
of the
Australian Army The Australian Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of Australia. It is a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF), along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. The Army is commanded by the Chief of Army ...
. It provides the Australian Defence Force's
Armour Armour (Commonwealth English) or armor (American English; see American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, spelling differences) is a covering used to protect an object, individual, or vehicle from physical injury or damage, e ...
capability, which performs the function of mounted combat. Armour combines firepower, mobility, protection and networked situational awareness to generate shock action and
overmatch Overmatch is a concept in modern military thinking which prizes having overwhelming advantages over an adversary to a more significant margin than in traditional warfare. It is related to military superiority. Overmatch uses a military force's "c ...
in close combat. Armour is an essential element of the
combined arms Combined arms is an approach to warfare that seeks to integrate different combat arms of a military to achieve mutually complementary effects—for example, using infantry and armoured warfare, armour in an Urban warfare, urban environment in ...
approach that is employed by the Australian Army. The RAAC is the senior arms corps within the Army and the custodian of the customs and traditions of Australia's mounted soldiers. The members of the corps are Army's experts in the theory and practice of
armoured warfare Armoured warfare or armored warfare (American English; American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, see spelling differences), is the use of armoured fighting vehicles in modern warfare. It is a major component of modern Milita ...
and operation of
armoured fighting vehicles An armoured fighting vehicle (British English) or armored fighting vehicle (American English) (AFV) is an armed combat vehicle protected by vehicle armour, armour, generally combining operational mobility with Offensive (military), offensive a ...
(AFV). While all RAAC members are trained in the technical and tactical employment of armour, they specialise in either the Armoured or Cavalry career streams. Both male and female soldiers and officers serve within the RAAC as armoured vehicle crew. The corps includes both full-time Regular and part-time Reserve units and members. The RAAC provides policy guidance, trade management representation and administrative support for its members.


Origins

The RAAC's origins can be traced back to the Australian Tank Corps (ATC), formed in 1928. Around this time the distinctive headdress of Commonwealth armoured corps members, the
black beret Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery, 1st Viscount Montgomery of Alamein, Montgomery wearing his black beret The black beret is a coloured beret, commonly worn by paramilitaries and militaries around the world, particularly armored forces such as th ...
, was adopted by the ATC which was affiliated with the Royal Tank Corps. For most of the 1930s the ATC remained an embryonic organisation containing only a small cadre of permanent staff and the militia 1st Tank Section. At the outbreak of the Second World War the ATC had grown to two militia
light tank A light tank is a Tank classification, tank variant initially designed for rapid movements in and out of combat, to outmaneuver heavier tanks. It is smaller with thinner vehicle armour, armor and a less powerful tank gun, main gun, tailored for ...
companies. These, in conjunction with the militia 1st and 2nd Cavalry Divisions, which included the
Australian Light Horse Australian Light Horse were mounted troops with characteristics of both cavalry and mounted infantry, who served in the Second Boer War and World War I, World War I. During the inter-war years, a number of regiments were raised as part of A ...
(ALH) regiments of First World War fame, comprised Australia's mobile mounted combat forces. In the early stages of the war, the ATC and ALH provided many personnel who formed the basis of the mechanised divisional cavalry and armoured regiments. In order to administer the growing number of units, including the
1st Australian Armoured Division The 1st Armoured Division was an Armoured warfare, armoured formation of the Australian Army, raised in 1941 as part of the Second Australian Imperial Force (AIF) during World War II. While the Division was originally to be deployed to North Afri ...
, the Australian Armoured Corps (AAC) was formed on 9 July 1941. The AAC absorbed the ATC and certain other personnel whose primary function was to operate, instruct or manage AFVs. As a result of the increasing mechanisation of the army, and commensurate waning of horse mounted troops, the ALH was also absorbed into the AAC on 8 May 1942. By this time many ALH units had converted to motorised units, such as reconnaissance and motor regiments, others had mechanised as armoured and tank regiments. At its height the AAC included the
1st First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...
,
2nd A second is the base unit of time in the International System of Units (SI). Second, Seconds, The Second, or (The) 2nd may also refer to: Mathematics * 2 (number), as an ordinal (also written as ''2nd'' or ''2d'') * Minute and second of arc, ...
and
3rd Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * 1⁄60 of a ''second'', i.e., the third in a series of fractional parts in a sexagesimal number system Places * 3rd Street (dis ...
Australian Armoured Divisions, the 3rd Australian Army
Tank Brigade ''Tank Brigade'' () is a 1955 Czechoslovak film made about the World War II Eastern Front conflict between German and Czechoslovak forces. The film is set in 1944 and follows Czechoslovak tank brigade during Battle of Ostrava. The film is large ...
and various training centres and regiments, located at Puckapunyal and Singleton ranges. While many individual units served overseas with distinction, by the end of the war these large formations were broken up and much of the wartime AAC was demobilised with the rest of the force. The Australian Armoured Corps was granted the ''Royal'' prefix in recognition of its service during the Second World War on 14 December 1948.


Role

The role of the Royal Australian Armoured Corps is to locate, identify, destroy or capture the enemy, by day or night, in combination with other arms, using fire and manoeuvre.


Unit types

To perform this role RAAC units are structured into two types: Armoured Cavalry. Each contains an Armoured, two Cavalry and a Support Squadron which provide mounted close combat, formation level reconnaissance, surveillance and security and integrated combat service support capabilities. Light Cavalry. Each contains Light Cavalry and Protected Mobility Squadrons which provide mounted and dismounted reconnaissance, surveillance and security and protected mobility capabilities. In 2023, the corps has three Regular Armoured Cavalry and five Reserve Light Cavalry regiments and a Regular training unit.


Training

The School of Armour provides mounted combat and combat communications training to officers and soldiers in the Australian Army and selected individuals from abroad. It executes both tactical and technical training for AFV and armoured support vehicle crews. Training at the School of Armour is conducted in the following sub-units: * Training Squadron **Corps Training Wing **Communications and Surveillance Wing **Driving and Servicing Wing **Gunnery Wing * Tactics Wing * B Sqn 3rd/4th Cavalry Regiment provides vehicles, equipment and crews to enable Training Sqn and Tactics wing to conduct training.


Major vehicle types

RAAC units are primarily equipped with the following vehicles: * M1A1 Abrams Integrated Management Situational Awareness (AIM SA)
Main Battle Tank A main battle tank (MBT), also known as a battle tank or universal tank or simply tank,Ogorkiewicz 2018 p222 is a tank that fills the role of armour-protected direct fire and maneuver in many modern armies. Cold War-era development of more po ...
(MBT). The Abrams equips Armoured Squadrons and is used to conduct mounted close combat. * Australian Service Light Armoured Vehicle(ASLAV). The ASLAV Combat Reconnaissance Vehicle (CRV) equips Cavalry Squadrons and is employed to conduct medium surveillance and reconnaissance tasks. * M113AS4
Armoured Personnel Carrier An armoured personnel carrier (APC) is a broad type of armoured military vehicle designed to transport personnel and equipment in combat zones. Since World War I, APCs have become a very common piece of military equipment around the world. Acc ...
(APC). The M113AS4 is an upgraded M113A1 APC which is employed in support roles in Armoured Squadrons. * M88A2 Hercules
Armoured Recovery Vehicle An armoured recovery vehicle (ARV) is typically a powerful tank or armoured personnel carrier (APC) chassis modified for use during combat for military vehicle recovery (towing) or repair of battle-damaged, stuck, and/or inoperable armoured f ...
(ARV). The Hercules conducts recovery and maintenance tasks in Armoured Squadrons. * Bushmaster Protected Mobility Vehicle-Medium(PMV-M). The Bushmaster PMV-M provides protected lift within Reserve regiments. * Hawkei Protected Mobility Vehicle-Light (PMV-L). The Hawkei PMV-L is progressively equipping Light Cavalry squadrons to perform command and control, liaison and surveillance and reconnaissance roles. * Mercedes Benz G-Wagon. The G-Wagon is a general service utility vehicle employed in all regiments.


Modernisation

The Australian Army is undertaking major modernisation efforts over the next decade to upgrade or replace all of its AFVs and supporting infrastructure, facilities and equipment. The next generation of AFVs will be delivered via a number of projects, these are: * Land 400 Phase Two: This is replacing the ASLAV with a modern Combat Reconnaissance Vehicle and associated family of vehicles. The Rheinmetall Boxer CRV, derived from the
Boxer Boxer most commonly refers to: *Boxer (boxing), a competitor in the sport of boxing * Boxer (dog), a breed of dog Boxer or boxers may also refer to: Animal kingdom * Boxer crab * Boxer shrimp, a small group of decapod crustaceans * Boxer snipe ee ...
Multirole Armoured Fighting Vehicle was selected as the replacement for the ASLAV. * Land 400 Phase Three: This project will replace the 1960s vintage M113AS4
Armoured Personnel Carrier An armoured personnel carrier (APC) is a broad type of armoured military vehicle designed to transport personnel and equipment in combat zones. Since World War I, APCs have become a very common piece of military equipment around the world. Acc ...
and associated family of vehicles with a modern
Infantry Fighting Vehicle An infantry fighting vehicle (IFV), also known as a mechanized infantry combat vehicle (MICV), is a type of armoured fighting vehicle and armoured personnel carrier used to carry infantry into battle and provide direct fire, direct-fire suppo ...
capability. In July 2023 the Redback Infantry Fighting Vehicle offered by Hanwha Defense Australia was down selected as Australia's infantry fighting vehicle. * Land 907 Phase Two: This project will upgrade the General Dynamics Land Systems M1A1 AIM SA
Main Battle Tank A main battle tank (MBT), also known as a battle tank or universal tank or simply tank,Ogorkiewicz 2018 p222 is a tank that fills the role of armour-protected direct fire and maneuver in many modern armies. Cold War-era development of more po ...
system to an
M1A2 The M1 Abrams () is a third-generation American main battle tank designed by Chrysler Defense (now General Dynamics Land Systems) and named for General Creighton Abrams. Conceived for modern armored ground warfare, it is one of the heaviest ...
Systems Enhancement Package Version 3 (SEPv3) standard and upgrade the M88A2 armoured recovery vehicle system to a more capable variant. * Land 8160 Phase One: This project will deliver an armoured engineering system capability based on the M1A1 Abrams main battle tank. This includes armoured breaching, bridging and engineering capabilities. * In an approach combining both Land 907 and Land 8160 acquisitions, in early 2022 Australia announced it planned to acquire one hundred sixty (160) M1 tank structures/hulls from US stock in order to produce the following vehicles and spares:  seventy-five (75) M1A2 SEPv3 Abrams Main Battle Tanks; twenty-nine (29) M1150 assault breacher vehicles; eighteen (18) M1074 Joint Assault Bridges; six (6) M88A2 Hercules Combat Recovery Vehicles; and one hundred twenty-two (122) AGT1500 gas turbine engines. These combined AFV acquisitions will result in a very significant capability increase for the Australian Army which, under the Defence Strategic Review, will create a combined-arms, amphibiously deployable Armoured Brigade. This capability is being delivered in conjunction with other major projects such a
Land 8710
which will deliver a range of littoral manoeuvre vessels, Land 8113 delivering self-propelled howitzers, Land 8116 which will deliver a light multiple rocket launcher capability an
Land 4503
delivering the AH-64E Apache helicopter gunship. It will be complemented b
Land 200
command, control and communications systems and existin
Land 121
logistics capabilities.


Organisational history

The first Regular Army Armour unit created after the Second World War was the 1st Armoured Car Squadron, created in 1946 to serve as part of the British Commonwealth Occupation Force. It was retitled the 1st Armoured Regiment in 1949, in conjunction with a broader reorganisation of the existing Citizens Military Force (CMF). While additional 'numbered' Regular RAAC units were created in the following decades, e.g., the 1st Armoured Personnel Carrier Squadron, CMF unit titles continued to reflect the numbers of amalgamated former Light Horse regiments and their territorial affiliations which signify their links to their recruiting catchment areas, e.g., the 6th New South Wales Mounted Rifles, 7th/21st Australian Horse and 8th/13th Victorian Mounted Rifles. During the early 1950s Army maintained two CMF armoured brigades, the 1st Armoured Brigade in New South Wales and the 2nd Armoured Brigade in Victoria. In addition, divisional reconnaissance and other specialised mechanised units, such as an amphibious armoured assault unit, self-propelled artillery, and motorised infantry were also part of the force. However, as a result of the adoption of the Forward Defence Policy and subsequent restructure of the Army, the brigade headquarters and various units were either disbanded or amalgamated by the end of that decade. Since the 1960s Army has maintained three principal types of Armour unit: Armoured regiments equipped with tanks, Cavalry units equipped with reconnaissance vehicles and Armoured Personnel Carrier units equipped with APCs. The latter's role was to provide armoured mobility to elements of its parent brigade such as infantry, engineers and artillery observers. While various structures combining these unit types were trialed or even adopted for short periods, such as the ''RAAC Regiment'', Regular Armour units generally conformed to these singular roles. From the early 1970s the 1st Armoured Regiment served as the Australian Army's sole tank unit, building and maintaining Australia's conventional warfighting capability in conjunction with mechanised infantry, combat engineer and medium artillery units. The 2nd Cavalry Regiment primarily served as a formation reconnaissance unit with B Squadron, 3rd Cavalry Regiment and the 4th Cavalry Regiment performing the Armoured Personnel Carrier role. Army Reserve units generally adopted a composite structure of Cavalry and Armoured Personnel Carrier squadrons. The 1980s witnessed the amalgamation of the 3rd Cavalry Regiment and the 4th Cavalry Regiments into the 3rd/4th Cavalry Regiment in 1981, followed by the reduction of the regiment to a single squadron based in Townsville in 1986. Brisbane-based personnel of the regiment were transferred to the 2nd/14th Light Horse Regiment (Queensland Mounted Infantry) which integrated both Regular and Reserve personnel. While there were fluctuations in the size and part-time/full-time nature of the units throughout the 1990s, this period was generally stable for the RAAC. Changes to the Army force structure in the 2000s resulted in the 2nd/14th Light Horse Regiment becoming a Regular unit in 2005, the removal of the Armoured Personnel Carrier role from the Regular units, and the adoption of the Protected Mobility role within Reserve units. This resulted in the corps adopting ''Armoured'', ''Cavalry'' and ''Light Cavalry'' unit structures. The implementation of
Plan Beersheba Plan Beersheba was a significant restructure of the Australian Army, announced in 2011. The process of implementing the organisational changes began in 2014, and was completed in 2017. Changes to the regular Army Under Plan Beersheba, the Army's ...
from 2012 led to significant changes in Army's force structure which impacted the corps. First, this led to the transfer of 2nd Cavalry Regiment from 1st Combat Brigade based in Darwin to the 3rd Combat Brigade in Townsville. This meant that each brigade had an Armour unit within it, which offered the promise of improving the combined-arms training of these brigades. Second, the ''Armoured Cavalry Regiment'' (ACR) structure was adopted by the three regular regiments. This resulted in each regiment restructuring to an Armoured Squadron, a Cavalry Squadron and an Armoured Mobility Squadron, however these units lost their organic supporting Headquarters and Support Squadron capabilities. This was short lived, as this approach was reversed in 2017 with the armoured mobility role divested to newly (re)raised mechanised infantry battalions and mechanised combat engineer squadrons. As these elements contained their own organic mobility in the form of APCs, the Armoured Mobility Squadrons were converted to Cavalry and reequipped with ASLAV. The Regular ACRs have maintained this structure since. The third aspect of note was the relocation of 1st Armoured Regiment in 2018 south to Adelaide to collocate with the 7th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment. Both units initially remained part of the 1st Combat Brigade but were later transferred to the Reserve 9th Combat Brigade in 2022 under th
Army Objective Force
plan. This approach integrated 1st Armoured Regiment, the 7th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment, 144th Signal Squadron and elements of the 1st Combat Service Support Battalion into the 9th Combat Brigade in late 2022; and was earmarked to introduce into service the self-propelled artillery capability to be acquired under Land 8113.


Impact of the 2023 Defence Strategic Review upon the RAAC

Notably, the April 2023 response to the Defence Strategic Review directed Army to provide an ''Armoured Brigade'' capability. To perform the roles and functions of such a formation, this brigade would need to include command, control and communications elements, armoured, cavalry, armoured infantry, mechanised combat engineers and self-propelled artillery units as well as significant logistics support. However, the DSR also drastically reduced the number of infantry fighting vehicles to be acquired under Project Land 400 Phase 3 from 450 to 129. Significant numbers of IFV and IFV based variants are needed to not only re-equip the infantry but also the engineer, artillery and supporting elements within any proposed Armoured Brigade. However, these elements continue to operate the M113AS4 APC which was considered obsolete by the Australian National Audit Office in 2012 even after Defence had upgraded 431 of the legacy vehicles. Analysis published prior to the DSR response is illustrative of what the reduction in Land 400 Phase 3 might mean for the Army: Commentary from Andrew Greene of the
ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...
in early September 2023 indicated that the Army was about to undergo another restructure stemming from the Defence Strategic Review, which would directly impact the RAAC. Greene wrote that the Adelaide-based 1st Armoured Regiment and 7th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment, are 'likely to be absorbed' by the Townsville-based 3rd Combat Brigade. He quoted Army insiders who believe that 1st Armoured Regiment personnel will be transferred to supplement the 2nd Cavalry Regiment. Greene suggested a key factor for the restructure is that the current structure, without adequate IFVs, was no longer viable. Neil James of the Australian Defence Association commented that "The DSR in terms of the army and in the short term, was mainly concerned with saving money and that's probably driving this change rather than any long-term thought". Others have suggested that the 'Army is change fatigued' which may be contributing to retention and recruiting issues and the desire to remove underpopulated 'hollow' units from the force. Likewise, the issues of an army model based on brigades of singular capabilities are not new and have been addressed in previous restructures. Significant issues were identified during the deployment to East Timor in 1999, which manifested during subsequent missions to Iraq, Afghanistan and the Solomon Islands over the 2000s, where there were simply not enough units, units were under-equipped for close combat, there was a lack of combined-arms training and there was widespread shallowness of capability across Army. These issues ultimately resulted in a range of initiatives such as the Hardened and Networked Army, Enhanced Land Force, Strategic Force Generation Cycle and
Plan Beersheba Plan Beersheba was a significant restructure of the Australian Army, announced in 2011. The process of implementing the organisational changes began in 2014, and was completed in 2017. Changes to the regular Army Under Plan Beersheba, the Army's ...
to address the challenges of simultaneously deploying forces to fight in multiple theatres and perform a broad range of missions. This plan was confirmed on 28 September at a press conference by the deputy prime minister, Richard Marles, at Townsville with further detail in other reporting. These stated that 1st Armoured Regiment would lose its armoured vehicles and be reduced to an 'innovation and experimentation unit' while remaining in Adelaide. However, its sister infantry unit, 7th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment is to be disbanded, with the unit number re-linked with the 5th Battalion in Darwin to reform 5th/7th Battalion. This decision consolidates all the Army's heavy armour, including all its tanks, infantry fighting vehicles, armoured personnel carriers, self-propelled howitzers and armoured engineering systems in a single brigade in Townsville. Concurrent to this, the Army's attack aviation and heavy-lift aviation is also being consolidated into Townsville and the 9th Combat Brigade is to be re-roled as a Security and Response brigade, reducing the Army's four Combat brigades to a Light Littoral Brigade, an Armoured Brigade and a Motorised Brigade. Ground-based air defence and long-range strike capabilities will now form part of another formation, the 10th Brigade, in Adelaide. The removal of 1st Armoured Regiment as a combat unit, the RAAC's oldest regular unit and one of its most decorated, effectively reduces the number of active combat Armour units in the Army to two; the 2nd Cavalry Regiment in Townsville and 2nd/14th Light Horse Regiment in Brisbane, with the latter equipped with the Boxer CRV only. This is the fewest number of regular Armour units in the Australian Army's order of battle since 1966, when 1st Cavalry Regiment was raised to serve alongside 1st Armoured Regiment.


Operational service

The corps has served in wars, conflicts and peace support missions across a wide range of theatres. These include the Second World War, the post-war occupation of Japan, South Vietnam, Somalia, Rwanda, East Timor, Iraq and Afghanistan. *
Libya Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya border, the east, Sudan to Libya–Sudan border, the southeast, Chad to Chad–L ...
: 1940–41 *
Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...
: 1941 *
Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...
: 1941 *
Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...
: 1941–42 * Egypt: 1942–43 *
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
: 1941–1945 *
New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; , fossilized , also known as Papua or historically ) is the List of islands by area, world's second-largest island, with an area of . Located in Melanesia in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is ...
: 1941–45 * Bougainville: 1944–45 *
Borneo Borneo () is the List of islands by area, third-largest island in the world, with an area of , and population of 23,053,723 (2020 national censuses). Situated at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, it is one of the Greater Sunda ...
: 1944–45 *
Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
: 1946–49 *
Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...
: 1965–71 *
East Timor Timor-Leste, also known as East Timor, officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, is a country in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the coastal exclave of Oecusse in the island's northwest, and ...
: 1999–2010 *
Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...
: 2003–2008 *
Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...
: 2006–2012 Members of the corps have participated in a wide range of individual and small group deployments from Korea to the Sudan and the Solomon Islands as well as domestic support operations in Australia and its territorial waters.


Regiments and Units of the Corps


Regular

*Head of Corps, Staff. * 1st Armoured Regiment. Experimentation. * 2nd Cavalry Regiment. Armoured Cavalry. * 2nd/14th Light Horse Regiment (Queensland Mounted Infantry). Armoured Cavalry. *School of Armour – Training Unit. ** B Squadron, 3rd/4th Cavalry Regiment. Tasked to support the School of Armour with vehicles, equipment and crews. *Staff within the Land Combat Vehicle Program, Army Headquarters, and Armoured Vehicles Division, Capability Acquisition and Sustainment Group. *RAAC members also individually serve in various units and organisations across the Department of Defence and Australian Defence Force.


Reserve

*
1st/15th Royal New South Wales Lancers The 1st/15th Royal New South Wales Lancers is an active Australian Army Reserve Light Cavalry regiment. The regiment has its headquarters at Lancer Barracks in Parramatta, a suburb in Western Sydney, New South Wales. Lancer Barracks is the oldes ...
. Light Cavalry. * 3rd/9th Light Horse (South Australia Mounted Rifles), A Squadron. Light Cavalry. * 4th/19th Prince of Wales's Light Horse. Light Cavalry. * 10th Light Horse Regiment. Light Cavalry. * 12th/16th Hunter River Lancers. Light Cavalry.


Inactive/former units

*Headquarters 1st and 2nd Armoured Brigades (CMF). Reduced to skeleton staff in 1956 and disbanded in 1960. * 1st Armoured Personnel Carrier Squadron. Retitled A Squadron, 3rd Cavalry Regiment in January 1967. *1st Cavalry Regiment. Retitled 2nd Cavalry Regiment in January 1967. * 3rd Cavalry Regiment. Amalgamated with 4th Cavalry Regiment in 1981 to form
3rd/4th Cavalry Regiment The 3rd/4th Cavalry Regiment is an armoured unit within the Australian Army's Royal Australian Armoured Corps. Formed in 1981 with the amalgamation of the 3rd Cavalry Regiment and the 4th Cavalry Regiment, from 1986 to 2014 the unit consisted of ...
. *
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 ...
. Amalgamated with 3rd Cavalry Regiment in 1981 to form
3rd/4th Cavalry Regiment The 3rd/4th Cavalry Regiment is an armoured unit within the Australian Army's Royal Australian Armoured Corps. Formed in 1981 with the amalgamation of the 3rd Cavalry Regiment and the 4th Cavalry Regiment, from 1986 to 2014 the unit consisted of ...
. *
6th New South Wales Mounted Rifles The 6th Light Horse Regiment was a mounted infantry regiment of the Australian Army during the First World War. The regiment was raised in September 1914, and assigned to the 2nd Light Horse Brigade. The regiment fought against the forces of the ...
. Transferred as 6th New South Wales Mounted Rifles to the Royal Australian Infantry Corps in 1956. It became E Company of 2nd Battalion the
Royal New South Wales Regiment The Royal New South Wales Regiment (RNSWR) is a reserve infantry regiment of the Australian Army based in the state of New South Wales. Organisation The regiment currently consists of four battalions: *1st/19th Battalion, Royal New South Wales R ...
under the Pentropic reorganisation of 1960. * 7th/21st Australian Horse. Disbanded and personnel used to form 4th Battalion (Australian Rifles) in 1957. This unit became D Company of 3rd Battalion the
Royal New South Wales Regiment The Royal New South Wales Regiment (RNSWR) is a reserve infantry regiment of the Australian Army based in the state of New South Wales. Organisation The regiment currently consists of four battalions: *1st/19th Battalion, Royal New South Wales R ...
under the Pentropic reorganisation of 1960 * 8th/13th Victorian Mounted Rifles. Reduced to an independent squadron in 1976, disbanded in 1991 and now forms part of 4th/19th Prince of Wales' Light Horse. * 15th Northern Rivers Lancers. Disbanded 1957, linked with 1st Royal New South Wales Lancers to form
1st/15th Royal New South Wales Lancers The 1st/15th Royal New South Wales Lancers is an active Australian Army Reserve Light Cavalry regiment. The regiment has its headquarters at Lancer Barracks in Parramatta, a suburb in Western Sydney, New South Wales. Lancer Barracks is the oldes ...
.


RAAC Ironsides Journal

The RAAC publishes an annual journal
Ironsides
'. This provides current and former members of the corps with an update of the direction of the future of the corps from its key leadership, reports from each of the units on their activities, modernisation updates and historical articles of interest.


See also

*
Royal Armoured Corps The Royal Armoured Corps is the armoured arm of the British Army, that together with the Household Cavalry provides its armour capability, with vehicles such as the Challenger 2 and the Warrior tracked armoured vehicle. It includes most of the Ar ...
* US Armor Branch *
Royal New Zealand Armoured Corps 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. The corps was formed in 1942 as the New Zealand Armoured Corp ...
*
Royal Canadian Armoured Corps The Royal Canadian Armoured Corps (RCAC; ) is the armoured corps within the Canadian Army, including 3 Regular and 18 Reserve Force regiments,The Regiments and Corps of the Canadian Army (Queen's Printer, 1964) as well as the Royal Canadian Armo ...
*
South African Armoured Corps The South African Army Armour Formation provides an Armoured warfare, Armour capability to the South African Army. The Formation came into being as part of a restructure. South African Armour Corps units previously under the command of various dif ...
* Royal Australian Armoured Corps Museum
Royal Australian Armoured Corps Corporation
* Australian armoured units of World War II *
List of Australian armoured units This is a list of all of the armoured units formed by the Australian Army Historic units Pre-World War II * 1st Tank Section (Australia) * 1st Light Tank Company (Australia) * 2nd Light Tank Company (Australia) * 1st Light Car Patrol (Austra ...
* Tanks in the Australian Army *
M113 armored personnel carriers in Australian service The M113 armoured personnel carriers are American produced Military vehicle, military vehicles that have operated in the Australian Army since 1964. An initial pair of M113s was purchased for trials purposes in 1962. Either 817 or 840 were acq ...


Notes


References

*Breen, Bob, 2000. ''Mission Accomplished, East Timor: The Australian Defence Force Participation in the International Forces East Timor.'' Crows Nest: New South Wales: Allen & Unwin. . * *Directorate of Plans-Army (2014). ''The Australian Army: An Aide-Memoire''. Canberra: Commonwealth of Australia. *Finlayson, David (2012). ''Green Fields Beyond: A Biographical Honour Roll of the Australian Light Horse, 1939–1947 & Australian Armoured Corps , 1941–1947 & Royal Australian Armoured Corps, Post 1947''. Port Melbourne: Trojan Press. *Handel, P. (2003). ''Dust, Sand & Jungle: A History of Australian Armour During Training and Operations, 1927–1948'', Royal Australian Armoured Corps Museum, Puckapunyal. . *Handel, P. (1998). ''Fifty Years of the Royal Australian Armoured Corps, 1948–1998.'' Royal Australian Armoured Corps Museum, Puckapunyal. *Hopkins, R.N.L (1978). ''Australian Armour: A History of the Royal Australian Armoured Corps 1927–1972.'' Royal Australian Armoured Corps Museum, Puckapunyal. . *Purdy, Leo. (2022). 'Motorised, Mechanised and Armoured Infantry: A Short History of the Development of Armoured Vehicle- Borne Infantry and Its Relevance to the Australian Army Today', ''Australian Army Journal,'' Vol. 18, Number 1: 14–130, https://researchcentre.army.gov.au/library/australian-army-journal-aaj/volume-18-number-1 *Purdy, Leo. (2021). 'Tanks: In Defence', ''Australian Defence Magazine, Yaffa Media, Sydney, accessed 12 September 2023,'' https://www.australiandefence.com.au/defence/land/tanks-in-defence. *Purdy, Leo and Mills, Chris. (2017) 'Fighting to Win – The Importance of the tank to the ADF in the 21st Century', ''Australian Defence Magazine,'' Yaffa Media, Sydney
https://www.australiandefence.com.au/land/fighting-to-win-the-importance-of-the-tank-to-the-adf-in-the-21st-century#:~:text=The%20tank%20is%20a%20unique%20contributor%20to%20the,fight%20and%20endure%20alongside%20soldiers%20in%20close%20combat.
*Mckay, G. and Nicholls, G. (2001). ''Jungle Tracks- Australian Armour in Vietnam.'' Allen and Unwin, St. Leonards. . * * {{Australian Defence Force 1941 establishments in Australia Australian armoured units
Armoured Armour (Commonwealth 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 ...
Military units and formations established in 1941 Australian army units with royal patronage Nationstate armoured warfare branches