142nd Regiment Royal Armoured Corps

142nd Regiment Royal Armoured Corps (142 RAC) was a tank regiment of the British Army's Royal Armoured Corps that served in North Africa and Italy during World War II.

Origin
142nd (Suffolk) Regiment RAC was formed on 22 November 1941 by the conversion to the armoured role of 7th Battalion of the Suffolk Regiment, a war-raised infantry battalion. In common with other infantry units transferred to the Royal Armoured Corps, all personnel would have continued to wear their Suffolk cap badge on the black beret of the RAC. The establishment of a tank regiment being smaller than that of an infantry battalion, there were 161 men surplus to establishment who were transferred to other units, including 53 and 59 Battalions Reconnaissance Corps, the remainder going to 30 Battalion Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment.

Training
142 RAC was assigned to 25th Army Tank Brigade. and was initially equipped with Matilda II and Churchill infantry tanks, later standardising on Churchills.

On 4 July 1942, the regiment was ordered to mobilise for overseas service, but nothing came of this.

On 4 August, the Commanding Officer, Lt-Col R.H. Maxwell (Suffolk Regiment) was promoted to Acting Brigadier to command 25th Tank Bde and the Second-in-Command, Major A.S. Birkbeck (Royal Tank Regiment) was promoted to Acting Lt-Col and took over command.

25th Tank Bde had been attached to 43rd (Wessex) Infantry Division and based at Worthing in Sussex, but in September 1942 it changed to 1st Infantry Division in Norfolk, followed in September 1942 by a transfer to 54th (East Anglian) Infantry Division in Suffolk.

On 30 December 1942, the regiment again received orders to prepare for overseas service. Some of the men had to be recalled from harvesting sugar beet.

Operations
The regiment landed at Algiers on 1 February 1943 and in April fought at the Battle of Mejdez-el Bab in Tunisia. In May it took part in operations in the Tunis area.

On 20 April 1944 142 RAC landed at Naples to join the Italian campaign, and on 22 May it took part in breaching the Adolf Hitler Line.

It was the Recce Troop of 142 RAC that effected the junction between British Eighth Army and US Fifth Army at Valmontone on 3 June. In July and August 1944 the regiment was in the advance to Florence, and on 28 August it took part in breaching the Gothic Line near Rimini.

142 RAC disbanded on 22 January1945 in Italy.

External sources

 * Suffolk Regiment Official Website