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List of Royal Armoured Corps Regiments in World War II facts for kids

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Imagine a time when soldiers rode horses into battle. Then, suddenly, powerful machines called tanks and armoured cars changed everything! This list is about the special teams, called regiments, in the British Army that used these amazing vehicles during World War II. These teams were all part of a group called the Royal Armoured Corps (RAC).

The RAC was created in 1939, right before World War II began. It brought together cavalry (horse-riding soldiers) and Yeomanry (volunteer soldiers) who had switched from horses to machines. The famous Royal Tank Regiment also joined. As the war went on, more horse-riding regiments got tanks and joined the RAC. New armoured regiments were also formed just for the war. The RAC even had its own training teams. Later, in 1941 and 1942, many infantry (foot soldier) battalions became armoured regiments and joined the RAC. Finally, in 1944, the Reconnaissance Corps, which specialized in scouting, also became part of the RAC.

Below, you'll see different types of regiments and when they joined the RAC.

Cavalry Regiments

These regiments were originally soldiers who fought on horseback. But by World War II, they had traded their horses for tanks and armoured vehicles!

Regular Cavalry

These were the professional cavalry regiments that were already part of the British Army before the war.

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
  • 5th Royal Inniskilling Dragoon Guards
  • 3rd The King's Own Hussars
  • 4th Queen's Own Hussars
  • 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 – Closed 1940
  • 4th Cavalry Training Regiment – Closed 1940
  • 6th Cavalry Training Regiment – Closed 1940

1940

  • 1st The Royal Dragoons

1941

War-Only Cavalry

These regiments were created specifically to fight during World War II.

1940

  • 22nd Dragoons
  • 23rd Hussars
  • 24th Lancers

1941

  • 25th Dragoons
  • 26th Hussars
  • 27th Lancers

Special Reserve Regiments

This was a special type of reserve unit that could be called upon for duty.

1939

Yeomanry Regiments

Yeomanry regiments were volunteer soldiers, often from rural areas, who also switched from horses to armoured vehicles.

1939

1940

1941

1944

Royal Tank Regiment

The Royal Tank Regiment (RTR) was the main group of tank soldiers. During World War II, their regiments were often called "Battalions" (Bn). After the war, they went back to just "Royal Tank Regiment."

Regular RTR Units

These were the professional tank regiments.

  • 1st Bn, Royal Tank Regiment
  • 2nd Bn, Royal Tank Regiment
  • 3rd Bn, Royal Tank Regiment
  • 4th Bn, Royal Tank Regiment
  • 5th Bn, Royal Tank Regiment
  • 6th Bn, Royal Tank Regiment
  • 7th Bn, Royal Tank Regiment
  • 8th Bn, Royal Tank Regiment

War-Only RTR Units

These RTR units were formed just for the war.

  • 9th Bn, Royal Tank Regiment
  • 10th Bn, Royal Tank Regiment
  • 11th Bn, Royal Tank Regiment
  • 12th Bn, Royal Tank Regiment

Dummy Tank Regiments

This is a super interesting part of military history! These "regiments" didn't have real tanks. Instead, they built and moved fake tanks! Their job was to trick the enemy into thinking the British Army had more tanks and was in different places than it actually was. It was all about clever deception!

  • 37th Bn, Royal Tank Regiment (Dummy tanks)
  • 38th Bn, Royal Tank Regiment (Dummy tanks)
  • 39th Bn, Royal Tank Regiment (Dummy tanks)
  • 60th Bn, Royal Tank Regiment (Dummy tanks)
  • 62nd Bn, Royal Tank Regiment (Dummy tanks)
  • 65th Bn, Royal Tank Regiment (Dummy tanks)
  • 101st Bn, Royal Tank Regiment (Dummy tanks)
  • 102nd Bn, Royal Tank Regiment (Dummy tanks)
  • 118th Bn, Royal Tank Regiment (Dummy tanks)
  • 124th Bn, Royal Tank Regiment (Dummy tanks)

Territorial RTR Units

These were volunteer units, similar to the Yeomanry, that were converted into tank regiments. Many were formed by taking existing infantry battalions and turning them into tank units.

  • 40th (The King's) Bn, Royal Tank Regiment
  • 41st (Oldham) Bn, Royal Tank Regiment
  • 42nd Royal Tank Regiment (7th (23rd London) Battalion, East Surrey Regiment) Bn, Royal Tank Regiment
  • 43rd Royal Tank Regiment (6th (City) Battalion, Royal Northumberland Fusiliers) Bn, Royal Tank Regiment
  • 44th Bn, Royal Tank Regiment
  • 45th (Leeds Rifles) Bn, Royal Tank Regiment
  • 46th (Liverpool Welsh) Bn, Royal Tank Regiment
  • 47th (Oldham) Bn, Royal Tank Regiment
  • 48th Bn, Royal Tank Regiment
  • 49th Bn, Royal Tank Regiment
  • 50th Bn, Royal Tank Regiment
  • 51st (Leeds Rifles) Bn, Royal Tank Regiment

Other RAC Regiments

The Royal Armoured Corps also had special regiments for training new soldiers and for delivering armoured vehicles.

  • 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 – Closed 1945
  • 52nd Training Regiment RAC – Closed 1945
  • 53rd Training Regiment RAC – Closed 1945
  • 54th Training Regiment RAC
  • 55th Training Regiment RAC – Closed 1945
  • 56th Training Regiment RAC – Closed 1945
  • 57th Training Regiment RAC
  • 58th (Young Soldiers) Training Regiment RAC – Closed 1945
  • 59th Training Regiment RAC – Armoured Cars
  • 60th Training Regiment RAC – Closed 1945
  • 61st Training Regiment RAC
  • 62nd Training Regiment RAC – Recce Training Centre
  • 200th Armoured Delivery Regiment RAC

Infantry Regiments Becoming RAC

Many infantry (foot soldier) battalions were changed into armoured regiments during the war. Even though they became RAC regiments, the soldiers in these units still wore their original infantry badge on their black RAC beret.

1941

  • 107th Regiment RAC (King's Own)
  • 108th Regiment RAC (Lancashire Fusiliers)
  • 109th Regiment RAC (Lancashire Fusiliers)
  • 110th Regiment RAC (Border Regiment)
  • 111th Regiment RAC (Manchester Regiment)
  • 112th Regiment RAC (Foresters) – armoured cars
  • 141st Regiment RAC
  • 142nd (Suffolk) Regiment RAC
  • 143rd Regiment RAC (Lancashire Fusiliers)
  • 144th Regiment RAC
  • 145th Regiment RAC (8DWR)
  • 146th Regiment RAC
  • 147th Regiment RAC
  • 148th Regiment RAC
  • 149th Regiment RAC
  • 150th Regiment RAC
  • 151st Regiment RAC
  • 152nd Regiment RAC
  • 153rd Regiment RAC

1942

  • 113th Regiment RAC
  • 114th Regiment RAC
  • 115th Regiment RAC
  • 116th Regiment RAC
  • 154th Regiment RAC
  • 155th Regiment RAC
  • 156th Regiment RAC
  • 157th Regiment RAC
  • 158th Regiment RAC
  • 159th Regiment RAC
  • 160th Regiment RAC
  • 161st Regiment RAC
  • 162nd Regiment RAC
  • 163rd Regiment RAC

1943

  • 1st Scorpion Regiment RAC (used special Scorpion flail tanks to clear mines)

1944

  • 49th Armoured Personnel Carrier Regiment (used Kangaroo APCs to carry soldiers safely)

Reconnaissance Regiments

Reconnaissance (or "Recce") regiments were like the army's scouts. Their job was to go ahead of the main forces, find out what the enemy was doing, and report back. Many of these units were originally infantry battalions.

  • 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 (later 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
  • 1st Airborne Reconnaissance Squadron
  • 6th Airborne Armoured Reconnaissance Regiment RAC
  • 2nd Derbyshire Yeomanry
  • GHQ Liaison Regiment (Phantom)

See also

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List of Royal Armoured Corps Regiments in World War II Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.