List of Royal Armoured Corps Regiments in World War II

This is a list of regiments within the British Army's Royal Armoured Corps during World War II.

On the creation of the corps in 1939, just before the outbreak of World War II, it comprised those regular cavalry and Territorial Army Yeomanry regiments that had mechanised, together with the Royal Tank Regiment. As the war progressed and further horsed regiments mechanised, they joined the corps, together with new (armoured) cavalry regiments that were raised for the hostilities. The RAC created its own training and support regiments, and in 1941 and 1942 a number of infantry battalions were converted to armoured regiments and joined the RAC. Lastly, the RAC subsumed the Reconnaissance Corps in 1944.

In the list below, the date refers to the date when the regiment joined the RAC

Regular
1939
 * 1st King's Dragoon Guards
 * 2nd Dragoon Guards (Queen's Bays)
 * 3rd Carabiniers (Prince of Wales's Dragoon Guards)
 * 4th/7th Royal Dragoon Guards
 * 3rd The King's Own Hussars
 * 4th Queen's Own Hussars
 * 5th Royal Inniskilling Dragoon Guards
 * 7th Queen's Own Hussars
 * 8th King's Royal Irish Hussars
 * 9th Queen's Royal Lancers
 * 10th Royal Hussars (Prince of Wales's Own)
 * 11th Hussars (Prince Albert's Own)
 * 12th Royal Lancers (Prince of Wales's)
 * 13th/18th Royal Hussars
 * 14th/20th King's Hussars
 * 15th/19th The King's Royal Hussars
 * 16th/5th Lancers
 * 17th/21st Lancers
 * 3rd Cavalry Training Regiment – Edinburgh, closed 1940
 * 4th Cavalry Training Regiment – Colchester, closed 1940
 * 6th Cavalry Training Regiment – Maidstone, closed 1940

1940
 * 1st The Royal Dragoons

1941
 * Royal Scots Greys

Hostilities-only
1940
 * 22nd Dragoons
 * 23rd Hussars
 * 24th Lancers

1941
 * 25th Dragoons
 * 26th Hussars
 * 27th Lancers

Yeomanry
1939
 * Derbyshire Yeomanry
 * Royal Gloucestershire Hussars
 * Lothians and Border Horse
 * Fife and Forfar Yeomanry
 * Northamptonshire Yeomanry
 * East Riding of Yorkshire Yeomanry
 * 3rd County of London Yeomanry (Sharpshooters)
 * 4th County of London Yeomanry (Sharpshooters)
 * North Irish Horse

1940
 * Inns of Court Regiment
 * Westminster Dragoons (2nd County of London Yeomanry)

1941
 * Royal Wiltshire Yeomanry
 * Warwickshire Yeomanry
 * Yorkshire Hussars
 * Sherwood Rangers Yeomanry
 * Staffordshire Yeomanry
 * Cheshire Yeomanry
 * North Somerset Yeomanry

1944
 * Queen's Own Yorkshire Dragoons

Regular

 * 1st Royal Tank Regiment
 * 2nd Royal Tank Regiment
 * 3rd Royal Tank Regiment
 * 4th Royal Tank Regiment
 * 5th Royal Tank Regiment
 * 6th Royal Tank Regiment
 * 7th Royal Tank Regiment
 * 8th Royal Tank Regiment

Hostilities-only

 * 9th Royal Tank Regiment
 * 10th Royal Tank Regiment
 * 11th Royal Tank Regiment
 * 12th Royal Tank Regiment
 * 37th Royal Tank Regiment
 * 38th Royal Tank Regiment
 * 39th Royal Tank Regiment (Dummy tanks)
 * 60th Royal Tank Regiment (Dummy tanks)
 * 62nd Royal Tank Regiment (Dummy tanks)
 * 65th Royal Tank Regiment (Dummy tanks)
 * 101st Royal Tank Regiment (Dummy tanks)
 * 102nd Royal Tank Regiment (Dummy tanks)
 * 118th Royal Tank Regiment (Dummy tanks)
 * 124th Royal Tank Regiment (Dummy tanks)

Territorial

 * 40th (The King's) Royal Tank Regiment converted from 7th Bn King's Regiment (Liverpool)
 * 41st (Oldham) Royal Tank Regiment converted from 10th Bn Manchester Regiment
 * 42nd (7th (23rd London) Bn, The East Surrey Regiment) Royal Tank Regiment
 * 43rd (6th (City) Bn, The Royal Northumberland Fusiliers) Royal Tank Regiment
 * 44th Royal Tank Regiment converted from 6th Bn Gloucestershire Regiment
 * 45th (Leeds Rifles) Royal Tank Regiment converted from 7th Bn West Yorkshire Regiment
 * 46th (Liverpool Welsh) Royal Tank Regiment duplicate of 40th RTR
 * 47th (Oldham) Royal Tank Regiment duplicate of 41st RTR
 * 48th Royal Tank Regiment duplicate of 42nd RTR
 * 49th Royal Tank Regiment duplicate of 43rd RTR
 * 50th Royal Tank Regiment duplicate of 44th RTR
 * 51st (Leeds Rifles) Royal Tank Regiment duplicate of 45th RTR

RAC regiments

 * 1st Armoured Delivery Regiment RAC
 * 1st Armoured Reinforcement Regiment RAC
 * 2nd Armoured Delivery Regiment RAC
 * 21st Training Regiment RAC – 1944–45
 * 51st Training Regiment RAC – Cavalry Depot, Catterick, closed 1945
 * 52nd Training Regiment RAC – RTR Depot, Bovington, closed 1945
 * 53rd Training Regiment RAC – Tidworth, closed 1945
 * 54th Training Regiment RAC – Perham Down (Barnard Castle from 1943)
 * 55th Training Regiment RAC – Farnborough, closed 1945
 * 56th Training Regiment RAC – Catterick, closed 1945
 * 57th Training Regiment RAC – Warminster (Catterick from 1943)
 * 58th (Young Soldiers) Training Regiment RAC – Bovington, closed 1945
 * 59th Training Regiment RAC – Armoured Cars, Tidworth
 * 60th Training Regiment RAC – Tidworth, closed 1945
 * 61st Training Regiment RAC – Tidworth
 * 62nd Training Regiment RAC – Recce Training Centre, Catterick
 * 200th Armoured Delivery Regiment RAC

RAC regiments converted from infantry
All personnel in these units wore the black RAC beret with their own infantry regimental badge.

1941
 * 107th Regiment RAC (King's Own) from 5th Bn King's Own Royal Regiment (Lancaster)
 * 108th Regiment RAC (Lancashire Fusiliers) from 1/5th Bn Lancashire Fusiliers
 * 109th Regiment RAC (Lancashire Fusiliers) from 1/6th Bn Lancashire Fusiliers
 * 110th Regiment RAC (Border Regiment) from 5th Bn Border Regiment
 * 111th Regiment RAC (Manchester Regiment) from 5th Bn Manchester Regiment
 * 112th Regiment RAC (Foresters) from 9th Bn Sherwood Foresters – armoured cars
 * 141st Regiment RAC from 7th Bn Buffs (Royal East Kent Regiment)
 * 142nd (Suffolk) Regiment RAC from 7th Bn Suffolk Regiment
 * 143rd Regiment RAC (Lancashire Fusiliers) from 9th Bn Lancashire Fusiliers
 * 144th Regiment RAC from 8th Bn East Lancashire Regiment
 * 145th Regiment RAC (8DWR) from 8th Bn Duke of Wellington's Regiment
 * 146th Regiment RAC from 9th Bn Duke of Wellington's Regiment
 * 147th Regiment RAC from 10th Bn Hampshire Regiment
 * 148th Regiment RAC from 9th Bn Loyal Regiment (North Lancashire)
 * 149th Regiment RAC from 7th Bn King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry
 * 150th Regiment RAC from 10th Bn York and Lancaster Regiment
 * 151st Regiment RAC from 10th Bn King's Own Royal Regiment (Lancaster)
 * 152nd Regiment RAC from 11th Bn King's Regiment (Liverpool)
 * 153rd Regiment RAC from 8th Bn Essex Regiment

1942
 * 113th Regiment RAC from 2/5th Bn West Yorkshire Regiment
 * 114th Regiment RAC from 2/6th Bn Duke of Wellington's Regiment
 * 115th Regiment RAC from 2/7th Bn Duke of Wellington's Regiment
 * 116th Regiment RAC from 9th Bn Gordon Highlanders
 * 154th Regiment RAC from 9th Bn North Staffordshire Regiment
 * 155th Regiment RAC from 15th Bn Durham Light Infantry
 * 156th Regiment RAC from 11th Bn Highland Light Infantry
 * 157th Regiment RAC from 9th Bn Hampshire Regiment
 * 158th Regiment RAC (SWB) from 6th Bn South Wales Borderers
 * 159th Regiment RAC from 10th Bn Gloucestershire Regiment
 * 160th Regiment RAC from 9th Bn Royal Sussex Regiment
 * 161st Regiment RAC from 12th Bn Green Howards
 * 162nd Regiment RAC from 9th Bn Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment
 * 163rd Regiment RAC from 13th Bn Sherwood Foresters

1943
 * 1st Scorpion Regiment RAC (equipped with Scorpion flail tanks) converted from 41st Royal Tank Regiment; became 1st Assault (Engineer) Regiment, Royal Engineers 1944 and thus left the RAC.

1944
 * 49th Armoured Personnel Carrier Regiment (equipped with Kangaroo APCs) converted from 49th Royal Tank Regiment

Reconnaissance regiments
The Reconnaissance Regiments had mainly been formed in 1941–3 from infantry battalions and/or brigade anti-tank companies. They usually took their numbers from the infantry divisions in which they were formed, but retained them if transferred to another division. Some had been disbanded before transfer to the RAC in 1944, some had been converted from RAC regiments and consequently returned to the corps in 1944.


 * 1st Reconnaissance Regiment RAC
 * 2nd Reconnaissance Regiment RAC
 * 3rd (Royal Northumberland Fusiliers) Reconnaissance Regiment RAC
 * 4th Reconnaissance Regiment RAC
 * 5th Reconnaissance Regiment RAC
 * 15th (Scottish) Reconnaissance Regiment RAC
 * 38th (Welsh) Reconnaissance Regiment RAC
 * 43rd (Wessex) Reconnaissance Regiment (The Gloucestershire Regiment) RAC
 * 44th Reconnaissance Regiment RAC
 * 45th Reconnaissance Regiment RAC
 * 46th Reconnaissance Regiment RAC
 * 49th (West Riding) Reconnaissance Regiment RAC
 * 52nd (Lowland) Reconnaissance Regiment RAC
 * 53rd (Welsh) Reconnaissance Regiment RAC
 * 54th Reconnaissance Regiment RAC
 * 56th Reconnaissance Regiment RAC
 * 59th Reconnaissance Regiment RAC
 * 61st Reconnaissance Regiment RAC
 * 63rd Reconnaissance Training Centre (became 62nd Training Regiment RAC)
 * 80th Reconnaissance Regiment RAC (Holding and training regiment)
 * 81st (West African) Reconnaissance Regiment RAC
 * 82nd (West African) Reconnaissance Regiment RAC
 * 161st (Green Howards) Reconnaissance Regiment RAC (converted from 161st Regiment RAC)
 * 1st Airborne Reconnaissance Squadron
 * 6th Airborne Armoured Reconnaissance Regiment RAC
 * 2nd Derbyshire Yeomanry
 * GHQ Liaison Regiment (Phantom)