Sri Lanka Armoured Corps

The Sri Lanka Armoured Corps (SLAC) is a collection of six regular regiments and a volunteer (reserve) regiment. It has an independent Armoured Brigade and provides the armour capability of the Sri Lankan Army, with vehicles such as the T-55, T-55AM2, and Type 69 main battle tanks, the BMP infantry fighting vehicle and the BTR-80, and WZ551 armoured personnel carriers. It is headquartered at Rock House Army Camp, Colombo.

History
With formation of the Ceylon Army, a cavalry arm was considered and to this end the 1st Reconnaissance Squadron was established on October 10, 1955 under the command of Major (later General) D. S. Attygalle, LVO who would go on to become the commander of the Sri Lankan Army. With its expansion to a formation reconnaissance regiment in 1958, thus becoming the Ceylon Armoured Corps and the first armoured unit of the Ceylon Army. The 1st Reconnaissance Regiment became allied to and inherited the traditions of the Queen's Dragoons Guards of the British Army. The regimental headquarters was moved from Echelon Barracks to Rock House Army Camp in Colombo in 1957, which it still occupy.

The CAC was deployed on several occasions in the 1950s and 1960s on flood relief and internal security operations. It was deployed for combat operations during the 1971 Insurrection against the JVP first in Kurunegala and thereafter in Anuradhapura. When Sri Lanka became a republic in 1972, the CAC became the Sri Lanka Armoured Corps.

Since the 1980s with escalation of the Sri Lankan civil war the SLAC has taken part in almost all the major combat operations in the northern and eastern provinces of the country as well as being stationed in the southern parts of the country. To meet the threat of the terrorists the SLAC has increased its strength of both personnel and armoured vehicles. This resulted in the Armoured Brigade being raised, in 1988 under the command of Brigadier (later Major General) Y. Balaretnarajah, USP who became the first Armoured Brigade Commander, he would later become Chief of Staff of the Army. The armoured Brigade's components, namely the 3rd Reconnaissance Regiment was raised in 1988 (converted to the 3rd Armoured Regiment in 2009), the first tank regiment, the 4th Armoured Regiment was raised in 1991 followed by the  5th Regiment raised in 1993 and Four reinforcement regiments were formed in 1997, 1998 and 2008. The commander of the armoured brigade/director armour is always an officer of armoured corps holding the rank of Brigadier.

The first volunteer (reserve) unit of the SLAC, the 2nd Regiment, Sri Lanka Armoured Corps was formed in 1979 under the command of Lt. Col Eustace Jayasekara with troops from the National Service Regiment. It was redesignate in 1989, as the 5th (Volunteer) battalion, Sri Lanka Light Infantry. Whoever a new volunteer unit, the 7th(v) Sri Lanka Armoured Corps has since been reformed.

In recent years the corps has developed its own assault troopers to provide close combat support in the form of mechanized infantry. It operates the army's armoured recovery vehicles and armoured vehicle-launched bridgeing units. In 1998 the SLAC was presented with the President's Standard in recognition of the service it has rendered. At present the SLAC has nine regular regiments, one volunteer regiment and a regimental band.

Regular regiments

 * 1st Reconnaissance Regiment SLAC
 * 3rd Armoured Regiment SLAC
 * 4th Armoured Regiment SLAC
 * 5th Regiment SLAC
 * 6th Regiment SLAC (RFT)
 * 8th Regiment SLAC (RFT)
 * 9th Regiment SLAC (RFT)
 * 10th Regiment SLAC(RFT)
 * Armoured Cops Training Centre

Volunteer regiments

 * 7th(v) Sri Lanka Armoured Corps

Equipment
At its inception the 1st Recce Squadron was equipped with British Ferret Mk I Scout Cars along with BSA M20 with side cars that were armed with LMGs. By the end of the 1950s BSA M21 motorcycles, Ferret Mk II Scout Cars and Daimler Armoured Cars where added to the Ceylon Armoured Corps.

Following the 1971 Insurrection, British Alvis Saladin armoured cars and Soviet BTR-152 armored personnel carriers (APC) were added. With the start of the norther insurrection in 1980s, British Alvis Saracen APCs and Alvis Stalwarts amphibious vehicles were added. As the norther insurrection blew out into a full scale civil war the Sri Lankan Army turned towards new sources of heavier weaponry such as the Soviet Union, Yugoslavia, China and the Czech Republic. In 1991, Sri Lanka Armoured Corps received Chinese T-80 light tanks, Type 85 APCs, command vehicles and Type 84 armoured recovery vehicles. That year the SLAC introduced tanks for the first time in Sri Lankan Military history, deploying T-55 A medium tanks and T 55 ARVs brought down from the Czech Republic. In 1992, SLAC deployed Chinese Type 86 infantry fighting vehicles (IFV).

In 1994, Russian BMP-1 IFVs, followed by Chinese Type 63 II APCs and Czech T 54 AVLB bridge-layers were added in 1995. In 1998, BTR-80 APCs and BTR-80 A IFVs were added to the 'A' vehicle fleet.

In 2000, Russian T-55 AM II MBTs, BMP-2, BMP-3 IFVs were added followed by the BMP-2 command vehicles in 2002. In 2009 Chinese WZ551 APCs were added.

The APCs enabled the Armoured Corps to have their own assault troopers to provide close combat support.

Main battle tanks
 * T-55 and T-55AM2
 * Type 69

Light tanks
 * T-80 light tank

Armoured recovery vehicles
 * VT-55 Armoured recovery vehicle

Infantry fighting vehicles


 * BMP-3 Infantry fighting vehicle
 * BMP-2 Infantry fighting vehicle
 * BMP-1 Infantry fighting vehicle
 * Type 86 (WZ501) Infantry fighting vehicles

Armoured cars
 * Alvis Saladin (retired)
 * Daimler Armoured Cars (retired)
 * Ferret armoured cars (retired)

Armoured personnel carriers
 * WZ551 Armoured personnel carrier
 * TYPE 63 (YW531) Armoured personnel carriers
 * BTR-80 Armoured personnel carrier
 * BTR-152 Armoured personnel carrier (retired)
 * Alvis Saracen (retired)

Notable members

 * General Deshamanya D. S. Attygalle, LVO, SLAC - former Commander of the Army, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Defence and father of the Sri Lanka Armoured Corps
 * Lieutenant General Jagath Jayasuriya, USP, psc, SLAC - current Commander of the Army
 * Lieutenant General Denzil Kobbekaduwa RWP, RSP, VSV, USP, rcds, psc, SLAC - Former General Officer Commanding Northern Sector & one of the greatest generals in modern Sri Lanka.
 * General S. Cyril Ranatunge, VSV, SLAC - former GOC, Joint Operations Command and Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Defence
 * Lieutenant General L.D.C.E. Waidyaratne VSV, USP,ndc, psc SLAC - Former Commander of the Army.
 * General R. De S. Daluwatte RWP, RSP, VSV, USP, SLAC - Former Commander of the Army.
 * Major General Y. Balaretnarajah, VSV, USP,ndc, SLAC- Former Chief of Staff of the Army, Commandant Sri Lanka Army Volunteer Force, GOC, 1 Division and Commander, Security Forces, Jaffna.
 * Major General DVSY Kulathunge USP, RSP, ndc, psc,SLAC- Former Chief of Staff of the Army and Cammandant Sri Lanka Army Volunteer Force.
 * Major General G.A Chandrasiri RWP, USP,ndc,psc SLAC- Former Chief of Staff of the Army and Commander,  Northern Command.
 * Major General C.H. Fernando, VSV, SLAC - former Director Operations, General Staff; GOC, 2 Division; Commandant, Army Training Centre; Commander, Northern Command.
 * Major General T Paranagama VSV, USP, SLAC - Former GOC, 1 Division, GOC, 3 Division; and Commander Security Forces Headquarters - Wanni (SF HQ (W)),
 * Major General T. N. De Silva, USP, psc, SLAC - former Commandant, Sri Lanka Army Volunteer Force; GOC, 21 Division, Brigade Commander Armoured Brigade and Director, National Cadet Corps.
 * Major General P.A Karunatilleke RWP- Former Deputy Overall Operations Commander and Commander Northern Command.
 * Major General D. Kalupahana, RSP, USP, psc, SLAC - former GOC, 3 Division; GOC, 2 Division; Director Operations, General Staff and Commandant, Sri Lanka Military Academy.
 * Major General Nandana Udawatta, RSP, USP, SLAC - former Security Forces Headquarters - Mullaittivu (SFHQ-MLT) and former GOC, 59 Division
 * Brigadier Dennis Hapugalle, VSV, psc, SLAC - former Chief of Civil Defence and Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Internal Security.
 * Brigadier M. H. Gunaratne, VSV, psc, SLAC - former Commander Security Forces Headquarters - East (SF HQ (E)), Commander, Task Force I  and Task Force III and Commandant, Army Training Centre
 * Brigadier R. M. Jayasinghe, USP, psc, SLAC - former Director Armour; brigade commander, armored brigade; brigade commander, 212 Brigade and the first Military attaché, Sri Lankan Embassy, Washington DC.

Alliances

 * 🇬🇧 - 1st The Queen's Dragoon Guards

External links and sources

 * Sri Lanka Army
 * Sri Lanka Armoured Corps