The Royal Armoured Corps is the armoured arm of the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

, that together with the Household Cavalry provides its armour capability, with vehicles such as the

Challenger 2 The FV4034 Challenger 2 (MoD designation "CR2") is a third generation British main battle tank (MBT) in service with the armies of the United Kingdom, Oman, and Ukraine. It was designed by Vickers Defence Systems (now Rheinmetall BAE Systems ...

and the

Warrior tracked armoured vehicle The FV510 Warrior tracked vehicle family is a series of British armoured vehicles, originally developed to replace FV430 series armoured vehicles. The Warrior started life as the MCV-80, "Mechanised Combat Vehicle for the 1980s". One of the requi ...

. It includes most of the Army's armoured regiments, both the

Royal Tank Regiment The Royal Tank Regiment (RTR) is the oldest tank unit in the world, being formed by the British Army in 1916 during the World War I, First World War. Today, it is an Armoured warfare, armoured regiment equipped with Challenger 2 main battle tanks ...

and those converted from old horse cavalry regiments.Forty p. 63. In September 2024, it comprised fourteen regiments: ten Regular Regiments; four Army Reserve. Although the Household Cavalry Regiment (the Life Guards and the

Blues and Royals The Blues and Royals (Royal Horse Guards and 1st Dragoons) (RHG/D) is a Cavalry regiments of the British Army, cavalry regiment of the British Army, part of the Household Cavalry. The Colonel (United Kingdom)#Colonel of the Regiment, Colonel of ...

) provide an armoured regiment, they are not part of the RAC.

History

The RAC was created on 4 April 1939, just before

World War II 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 ...

started, by combining regiments from the cavalry of the line which had mechanised with the Royal Tank Corps (renamed

). As the war went on and other regular cavalry and Territorial Army

Yeomanry Yeomanry is a designation used by a number of units and sub-units in the British Army Reserve which are descended from volunteer cavalry regiments that now serve in a variety of different roles. History Origins In the 1790s, following the ...

units became mechanised, the

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 ...

was enlarged. A significant number of infantry battalions also converted to the armoured role as RAC regiments. In addition, the RAC created its own training and support regiments. Finally, in 1944, the RAC absorbed the regiments of the

Reconnaissance Corps The Reconnaissance Corps, or simply Recce Corps, was a service branch of the British Army, formed during the World War II, Second World War, whose units provided reconnaissance for infantry Division (military), divisions. It was formed from infan ...

Present day

Regiments

The Royal Armoured Corps is divided into regiments which operate

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 ...

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 ...

), those in reconnaissance vehicles (

Armoured Cavalry Armoured cavalry are military units using armoured fighting vehicles (AFVs) instead of horses. They began to replace horse cavalry in the heavy shock and the light reconnaissance, skirmishing and exploitation/pursuit roles in most armies com ...

), and those in Weapons Mount vehicles (Light Cavalry). Of these, three regiments are designated

Dragoon Guards Dragoon Guards is a designation that has been used to refer to certain heavy cavalry regiments in the British Army since the 18th century. While the Prussian and Russian armies of the same period included dragoon regiments among their respective I ...

, two as

Hussars A hussar, ; ; ; ; . was a member of a class of light cavalry, originally from the Kingdom of Hungary during the 15th and 16th centuries. The title and distinctive dress of these horsemen were subsequently widely adopted by light cavalry ...

, one as

Lancers A lancer was a type of cavalryman who fought with a lance. Lances were used for mounted warfare in Assyria as early as and subsequently by India, Egypt, China, Persia, Greece, and Rome. The weapon was widely used throughout Eurasia during the M ...

and one as

Dragoons Dragoons were originally a class of mounted infantry, who used horses for mobility, but dismounted to fight on foot. From the early 17th century onward, dragoons were increasingly also employed as conventional cavalry and trained for combat wi ...

. The remaining regiment is the

. In the regular army, there are three armoured regiments, three armoured cavalry regiments and three light cavalry regiments. In the army reserve, there is one armoured regiment and three light cavalry regiments.Heyman, p.67 Being a corps, the RAC is made up of several independent regiments, but the corps does control a few separate units which include: * Training and Staff ** AFV Training Group ** Regimental Headquarters, Royal Armoured Corps ** The Armour Centre, Bovington Camp ** Royal Armoured Corps Training Regiment, at Allenby Barracks, Bovington Camp * Regular Army ** 1st The Queen's Dragoon Guards (QDG) - Light Cavalry – 7th Light Mechanised Brigade Combat Team ** The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards (Carabiniers and Greys) (SCOTS DG) - Light Cavalry – 7th Light Mechanised Brigade Combat Team ** The Royal Dragoon Guards (RDG) - Armoured Cavalry – 20th Armoured Brigade Combat Team ** The Queen's Royal Hussars (The Queen's Own and Royal Irish) (QRH) – Armour – 20th Armoured Brigade Combat Team ** The Royal Lancers (Queen Elizabeths' Own) (RL) - Armoured Cavalry –

1st Deep Reconnaissance Strike Brigade Combat Team The 1st Deep Reconnaissance Strike Brigade Combat Team is a formation of the British Army, currently headquartered in Delhi Barracks, Tidworth Camp, Wiltshire, as part of the 3rd (United Kingdom) Division. History As part of the Future Soldier ...

** The King's Royal Hussars (KRH) – Armour – 12th Armoured Brigade Combat Team **

The Light Dragoons The Light Dragoons (LD) is a Cavalry regiments of the British Army, cavalry regiment in the British Army. The regiment has a light cavalry role and specialises in mounted and dismounted reconnaissance. The Light Dragoons recruit mainly in Northe ...

(LD) - Light Cavalry – 4th Light Brigade Combat Team **

² (RTR) – Armour – 12th Armoured Brigade Combat Team A Royal Tank Regiment

CBRN Chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear defense (CBRN defense) or Nuclear, biological, and chemical protection (NBC protection) is a class of protective measures taken in situations where chemical, biological, radiological, or nucl ...

reconnaissance and survey squadron forms part of 28 Engineer Regiment (C-CBRN), Royal Engineers *Army Reserve - Yeomanry ** The Royal Yeomanry (RY) - Light Cavalry – 7th Light Mechanised Brigade Combat Team ** The Queen's Own Yeomanry (QOY) - Light Cavalry – 19th Brigade ** Scottish and North Irish Yeomanry (SNIY) - Light Cavalry – 19th Brigade **

The Royal Wessex Yeomanry The Royal Wessex Yeomanry (RWxY) is a reserve armoured regiment of the British Army consisting of five squadrons, with the regimental headquarters based at Bovington Camp, Dorset. The regiment is part of 3rd (UK) Division and provides battle c ...

(RWxY) - Armour – 12th Armoured Brigade Combat Team A system of pairing exists in the British Army of Regular to Reserve unit. Through this, operational and training cycles are aligned, resources shared and strategic depth enabled. In the Royal Armoured Corps this manifests with each yeomanry unit being paired with a regular unit of the same role.

Basing

Tidworth Tidworth is a garrison town and civil parish in south-east Wiltshire, England, on the eastern edge of Salisbury Plain. Lying on both sides of the A338 about north of the A303 primary route, the town is approximately west of Andover, sout ...

- Kings Royal Hussars;

, The Queen's Royal Hussars (The Queen's Own and Royal Irish) * Catterick - The Royal Lancers;

* Battlesbury Barracks, Warminster - The Royal Dragoon Guards * Swanton Morley - 1st The Queen's Dragoon Guards *

Leuchars Leuchars (pronounced or ; "rushes") is a town and parish near the north-east coast of Fife in Scotland. The civil parish has a population of 5,754 (in 2011) Census of Scotland 2011, Table KS101SC – Usually Resident Population, publ. by Nati ...

- The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards (Carabiniers and Greys) *

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

Midlands The Midlands is the central region of England, to the south of Northern England, to the north of southern England, to the east of Wales, and to the west of the North Sea. The Midlands comprises the ceremonial counties of Derbyshire, Herefor ...

- Royal Yeomanry *

South of England Southern England, also known as the South of England or the South, is a sub-national part of England. Officially, it is made up of the southern, south-western and part of the eastern parts of England, consisting of the statistical regions of ...

- Royal Wessex Yeomanry *

North of England Northern England, or the North of England, refers to the northern part of England and mainly corresponds to the historic counties of Cheshire, Cumberland, Durham, Lancashire, Northumberland, Westmorland and Yorkshire. Officially, it is a gr ...

Queen's Own Yeomanry The Queen's Own Yeomanry (QOY) is a reserve light cavalry reconnaissance regiment of the British Army. The regiment is part of the 19th Brigade, which was reactivated in 2022. The regimental headquarters is at Fenham Barracks, Newcastle, with sq ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

- Scottish and North Irish Yeomanry

Band

The Band of the Royal Armoured Corps was the single band representing the RAC provided by of the

Royal Corps of Army Music The Royal Corps of Army Music (RCAM, widely known by its former acronym CAMUS) is a Corps of the British Army dedicated to the provision and promotion of military music. History The formation of the Corps of Army Music was triggered by a defen ...

. This was formed in 2014 by the amalgamation of the Heavy Cavalry and Cambrai Band, and the Light Cavalry Band. The Band of the Royal Armoured Corps is stationed at Catterick. However, as part of the 2019 reorganisation of the CAMUS, the band was merged into British Army Band Catterick.

Reorganisations

Delivering Security in a Changing World (2004)

The reorganisation of the Army announced in 2004 led to significant changes to the Royal Armoured Corps. Reorganisation that began in 2003 would see three armoured regiments removed from

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

to the UK, with one re-roled as an FR regiment. In addition, three Challenger 2 squadrons will be converted to ''Interim Medium Armour Squadrons'', while each FR regiment will gain a Command and Support Squadron. As part of the reorganisation, postings will be realigned: *UK based regiments ** Catterick: Armoured Regiment ( RDG) (1 Armoured Infantry Brigade), Formation Reconnaissance Regiment ( QRL) (1 Armoured Infantry Brigade) **

: 2 x Armoured Regiment ( 2RTR, KRH), (1st Mechanized Brigade, 12th Mechanized Brigade,) ** Swanton Morley: Formation Reconnaissance Regiment ( LD) (Theatre Troops) **

Warminster Warminster () is a historic market town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in south-west Wiltshire, England, on the western edge of Salisbury Plain. The parish had a population of 18,173 in 2021. The name ''Warminster'' occurs first i ...

: Training/Demonstration squadron ( A Squadron, RTR) ** Honington: Armoured Regiment ( 1RTR) ** Bovington: HQ RAC *Germany based regiments **

Sennelager Sennelager () is a village in Germany that forms part of the City of Paderborn. It is notable for its association with the military since the 19th century. Location Sennelager lies around 5 km north of Paderborn city centre in the west of t ...

: Armoured Regiment ( QRH), Formation Reconnaissance Regiment QDG (20 Armoured Brigade)

Strategic Defence and Security Review (2010)/Army 2020

In 2012, following the Strategic Defence and Security Review of 2010, specific proposals about the make up of the future British Army were announced under the title ''

Army 2020 Army 2020 is the restructuring of the British Army in the early and mid-2010s, in light of the Strategic Defence and Security Review 2010. The plan, as its name suggested, was intended to be completed by 2020, though most of its reorganisations ...

''. These proposals were intended to reduce the size of the army to around 82,000. The Royal Armoured Corps was to be reduced by a total of two regiments, with the 9th/12th Royal Lancers amalgamated with the Queen's Royal Lancers to form a single lancer regiment, the Royal Lancers, and 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 ...

and 2nd Royal Tank Regiments joined to form a single

. The Royal Armoured Corps will also see a shift with one third of its regiments operating as armoured regiments with

main battle tanks 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 ...

, another third as formation reconnaissance regiments and a final third as

light cavalry Light cavalry comprised lightly armed and body armor, armored cavalry troops mounted on fast horses, as opposed to heavy cavalry, where the mounted riders (and sometimes the warhorses) were heavily armored. The purpose of light cavalry was p ...

using Jackal vehicles. Armoured regiments would consist of Type 56 regiments, each with three Sabre Squadrons (comprising 18

Tanks each) and a command and recce squadron. Armoured Cavalry or formation reconnaissance regiments would also have a command and recce squadron and three Sabre Squadrons; which will initially be equipped with

Combat Vehicle Reconnaissance (Tracked) The Combat Vehicle Reconnaissance (Tracked) (CVR(T)) is a family of armoured fighting vehicles (AFVs) developed in the 1960s and is in service with the British Army and others throughout the world. They are small, highly mobile, air-transportab ...

, and then with Future Rapid Effect System Scout vehicles.Transforming the British Army, July 2012

Jackal Jackals are Canidae, canids native to Africa and Eurasia. While the word has historically been used for many canines of the subtribe Canina (subtribe), canina, in modern use it most commonly refers to three species: the closely related black-b ...

regiments will be part of the Adaptable Force, comprising three Sabre Squadrons (each with 16 vehicles). These regiments will be paired with a Yeomanry regiment. The new structure of the Reaction Force will see three armoured regiments, each assigned to a new "Armoured Infantry Brigade", alongside a formation reconnaissance regiment (renamed as "armoured cavalry"), two armoured infantry battalions and a heavy protected mobility battalion. These six regiments will fall operationally under what will become known as the "reaction forces", which will be the army's high readiness force. The remaining three regiments will be located with the remainder of the regular army under what has been term the "adaptable forces", which will provide a pool of resources to back up operations conducted by the "reaction forces". This new basing plan on 5 March 2013 gave an overview of where the regiments will be based. All RAC regiments will be UK based, with the 1st The Queen's Dragoon Guards moving to Swanton Morley, The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards moving to the Leuchars area, the Queen's Royal Hussars to Tidworth, the Royal Lancers settling in Catterick, the Light Dragoons in Catterick, and the Royal Tank Regiment to Tidworth. The Army 2020 structure for the Royal Armoured Corps was:

Future Soldier (2021)

In November 2021, the UK Government published '' Future Soldier'', the planned reform of the British Army following its integrated defence and security review. Part of this would see a reorganisation of the regiments of the Royal Armoured Corps.

1st (United Kingdom) Division

1st (UK) Division is the UK's primary land element for operations outside the European theatre, as well as operations supporting NATO's flanks. It consists of four infantry-centered brigades - two of these contain regular light cavalry regiments, while a third serves as a parent formation for units of the Army Reserve. * 4th Light Brigade Combat Team **

(Light Cavalry) * 7th Light Mechanised Brigade Combat Team ** The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards (Carabiniers and Greys) (Light Cavalry) * 19th Brigade ** The Scottish and North Irish Yeomanry (Army Reserve) ** The Queen's Own Yeomanry (Army Reserve)

3rd (United Kingdom) Division

3rd (UK) Division is the UK's main reaction force, intended to act as a lead formation alongside NATO, and primarily consists of a pair of armoured brigades containing the army's armoured and armoured cavalry units, and a third brigade containing the remainder of the army's armoured cavalry units tasked primarily with reconnaissance for deep fires from MLRS systems. * 12th Armoured Brigade Combat Team ** The Royal Tank Regiment (Armoured) ** The King's Royal Hussars (Armoured Cavalry) **

(Army Reserve) * 20th Armoured Brigade Combat Team ** The Queen's Royal Hussars (Queen's Own and Royal Irish) (Armoured) ** The Royal Dragoon Guards (Armoured Cavalry) *

** Household Cavalry Regiment (Armoured Cavalry) ** The Royal Lancers (Queen Elizabeths' Own) (Armoured Cavalry) ** 1st The Queen's Dragoon Guards (Light Cavalry) ** The Royal Yeomanry (Army Reserve)

Order of precedence

Related units

This unit is allied with the following: *

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 ...

* Royal Australian Armoured Corps * Royal New Zealand Armoured Corps * Kor Armor Diraja (Royal Armoured Corps) - Malaysia

Colonels Commandant (Cavalry)

Colonels Commandant were: *1939– vacant *1947 F.M. The Rt Hon

Bernard Montgomery Field Marshal Bernard Law Montgomery, 1st Viscount Montgomery of Alamein (; 17 November 1887 – 24 March 1976), nicknamed "Monty", was a senior British Army officer who served in the First World War, the Irish War of Independence and the ...

, 1st Viscount Montgomery of Alamein, KG, GCB, DSO *1947– Gen. Sir Richard McCreery, GCB, KBE, DSO, MC *1950–?1952 Gen. Sir Charles Keightley, GCB, GBE, DSO *1958– Gen. Sir Charles Keightley, GCB, GBE, DSO *1968– F.M. Sir Richard Hull, KG, GCB, DSO *1974– F.M. The Rt Hon Richard Carver, Baron Carver of Shackleford, GCB, CBE, DSO, MC *1977–1980 Gen. Sir Jack Harman, GCB, OBE, MC, ADCGen *1980–1982 Gen. Sir RobertFord, GCB, CBE *1982–1985 F.M. Sir John Stanier, GCB, MBE, ADCGen *1985–1988 F.M. Sir

Nigel Bagnall Field Marshal Sir Nigel Thomas Bagnall, (10 February 1927 – 8 April 2002) was a career British Army officer who served as Commander-in-Chief of the British Army of the Rhine, from 1983 to 1985, and then as Chief of the General Staff (CGS), th ...

, GCB, CVO, MC *1988–1993 Gen. Sir Brian Kenny, GCB, CBE *1993–1995 Gen. Sir Jeremy Blacker, KCB, CBE *1995–1999 Lt-Gen. Sir Robert Hayman-Joyce, KCB, CBE *1999 Maj-Gen. David Jenkins, CB, CBE *2000–2004 Maj-Gen. Peter Gilchrist, CB *2004– Maj-Gen. Richard Shirreff, CB

Notes

References

* *

External links

*
Royal Armoured Corps News

{{Authority control British administrative corps UK Purbeck District Organisations based in Dorset Military units and formations established in 1939