| Royal Armoured Corps | |
|---|---|
 Badge of the Royal Armoured Corps | |
| Active | 1939 – present |
| Country |  United Kingdom |
| Branch |  British Army |
| Type | Armoured corps |
| Role | Armoured warfare CBRN defense Reconnaissance |
| Size | 12 regiments |
| Garrison/HQ | Bovington Garrison |
| Vehicles | Challenger 2,Challenger 3,Ajax |
| Website | www |
| Commanders | |
| Colonel Commandant | Maj-Gen Nicholas C. L. Perry, DSO, MBE[1] |
| Insignia | |
| Abbreviation | RAC |
TheRoyal Armoured Corps is the armoured arm of theBritish Army, that together with theHousehold Cavalry provides its armour capability, with vehicles such as theChallenger 2 and theWarrior tracked armoured vehicle. It includes most of the Army's armoured regiments, both theRoyal Tank Regiment and those converted from oldhorse cavalry regiments.[2] In September 2024, it comprised fourteen regiments: ten Regular Regiments; fourArmy Reserve.[3] Although the Household Cavalry Regiment (theLife Guards and theBlues and Royals) provide an armoured regiment, they are not part of the RAC.[4]
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| Arms of theBritish Army |
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| Combat Arms |
| Combat Support Arms |
| Combat Services |
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The RAC was created on 4 April 1939, just beforeWorld War II started, by combining regiments from thecavalry of the line which had mechanised with theRoyal Tank Corps (renamedRoyal Tank Regiment).[5] As the war went on and other regular cavalry and Territorial ArmyYeomanry units became mechanised, thecorps was enlarged.[6] A significant number of infantry battalions also converted to the armoured role as RAC regiments.[7] In addition, the RAC created its own training and support regiments. Finally, in 1944, the RAC absorbed the regiments of theReconnaissance Corps.[2]
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The Royal Armoured Corps is divided into regiments which operatemain battle tanks (Armour), those in reconnaissance vehicles (Armoured Cavalry), and those in Weapons Mount vehicles (Light Cavalry). Of these, three regiments are designatedDragoon Guards, two asHussars, one asLancers and one asDragoons. The remaining regiment is theRoyal Tank Regiment. 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.[8]
Being a corps, the RAC is made up of several independent regiments, but the corps does control a few separate units which include:
A Royal Tank RegimentCBRN reconnaissance and survey squadron forms part of28 Engineer Regiment (C-CBRN), Royal Engineers[10]
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.
| Regular Army | Army Reserve |
|---|---|
| 1st The Queen's Dragoon Guards | Royal Yeomanry |
| Royal Scots Dragoon Guards | Scottish & North Irish Yeomanry |
| Light Dragoons | Queen's Own Yeomanry |
| King's Royal Hussars | Royal Wessex Yeomanry[note 1] |
| Queen's Royal Hussars | |
| Royal Tank Regiment |
TheBand of the Royal Armoured Corps was the single band representing the RAC provided by theRoyal Corps of Army Music. 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 atCatterick. However, as part of the 2019 reorganisation of the CAMUS, the band was merged into British Army Band Catterick.[11][12]
In addition to its British-based regiments, the Royal Armoured Corps also included several overseas Crown units that were incorporated into its order of battle. These included:
Thereorganisation 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 fromGermany to the UK, with one re-roled as an FR regiment. In addition, three Challenger 2 squadrons will be converted toInterim Medium Armour Squadrons, while each FR regiment will gain a Command and Support Squadron.[15]
As part of the reorganisation, postings will be realigned:
In 2012, following theStrategic Defence and Security Review of 2010, specific proposals about the make up of the future British Army were announced under the titleArmy 2020. 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 the9th/12th Royal Lancers amalgamated with theQueen's Royal Lancers to form a single lancer regiment, the Royal Lancers, and the1st and2nd Royal Tank Regiments joined to form a singleRoyal Tank Regiment.
The Royal Armoured Corps will also see a shift with one third of its regiments operating asarmoured regiments withmain battle tanks, another third asformation reconnaissance regiments and a final third aslight cavalry using Jackal vehicles.[16] Armoured regiments would consist of Type 56 regiments, each with three Sabre Squadrons (comprising 18Challenger 2 Tanks each) and a command and recce squadron. Armoured Cavalry orformation reconnaissance regiments would also have a command and recce squadron and three Sabre Squadrons; which will initially be equipped withCombat Vehicle Reconnaissance (Tracked), and then withFuture Rapid Effect System Scout vehicles.[17][18]Jackal 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.[18][19]
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.[20] 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:[21]
| Armoured Regiment (Challenger 2) | Armoured Cavalry (Scimitar) | Light Cavalry (Jackal) | Light Cavalry – Army Reserve (Jackal)[22] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st Armoured Infantry Brigade | 7th Infantry Brigade | ||
| The King's Royal Hussars | The Royal Lancers (Queen Elizabeth's Own) | Queen's Dragoon Guards | The Royal Yeomanry |
| 12th Armoured Infantry Brigade | 4th Infantry Brigade | ||
| The Royal Tank Regiment | The Light Dragoons | The Queen's Own Yeomanry | |
| 20th Armoured Infantry Brigade | 51st Infantry Brigade | ||
| The Queen's Royal Hussars (Queen's Own and Royal Irish) | The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards (Carabiniers and Greys) | The Scottish and North Irish Yeomanry | |
| The Royal Wessex Yeomanry (MBT crew replacement, admin only) | |||
In November 2021, the UK Government publishedFuture Soldier, the planned reform of the British Army following itsintegrated defence and security review. Part of this would see a reorganisation of the regiments of the Royal Armoured Corps.
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.
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 fromMLRS systems.
| Preceded by | Order of Precedence | Succeeded by |
This unit is allied with the following:
Colonels Commandant were:[23]
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