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The 6th Royal Tank Regiment (6 RTR) was a regiment of the Royal Tank Regiment, of the British Army, until 1959. It originally saw action as 6th Battalion Tank Corps in 1917.
When tanks were first used in action in 1916, they were operated by the Heavy Branch of the Machine Gun Corps. This constituted six companies, A through F. With the rapid growth of the tank forces, these companies were used as the cadre of new battalions, which were quickly transferred to the newly formed Tank Corps, and then changed from letters to numbers. F Company thus became F Battalion of the Heavy Branch in November 1916, then F Battalion of the Tank Corps, then redesignated as 6th Battalion of the Tank Corps in January 1918.
During this time, the unit saw heavy action; it fought at the Battle of Messines, Passchendaele, Cambrai, Amiens (using Whippet Mk A light tanks), Bapaume, 2nd Arras and Cambrai-St Quentin.
During this time, a Victoria Cross was awarded to Captain Richard Annesley West of the North Irish Horse, at the time an acting Lieutenant-Colonel commanding 6th Battalion Tank Corps. This was one of only four VCs awarded to the Corps during the Great War.
After the Armistice, the Tank Corps was severely cut down; from twenty-six battalions in 1919 to four by the early 1920s. The 6th Battalion was one of those disbanded, with its remaining personnel being transferred to the 3rd Battalion in November 1919.
In the 1930s, the decision was taken to expand the Royal Tank Corps ("Royal" had been added to the regimental title in 1923). Two Royal Tank Corps armoured car companies in Egypt, the 3rd and 5th, were brought together and reformed as 6th Battalion, Royal Tank Corps. [1] However, this unit was understrength - it only consisted of two companies - and was not brought up to full strength with a third company until early 1939, by which time it had been renamed the 6th Royal Tank Regiment.
When the war broke out in 1939, 6 RTR was based in Egypt with the Heavy Armoured Brigade (Egypt), part of the Armoured Division (Egypt). It was equipped with a mixture of Mk VIb light tanks, Mark II medium tanks, and Mk I Cruiser tanks. It provided a squadron of tanks for Malta in 1942, which made up an armoured force called Malta Tanks.
6 RTR saw action during the Suez crisis in 1956, where HQ, B and C Squadrons were landed to support Operation Musketeer. In 1948, the Regiment was located at Scofton aerodrome (RAF Worksop), [2] in Nottinghamshire, training TA's from 45 Leeds Rifles. In 1959 it was amalgamated with 3rd Royal Tank Regiment
The Royal Armoured Corps is the component of the British Army, that together with the Household Cavalry provides its armour capability, with vehicles such as the Challenger 2 Tank and the Warrior tracked armoured vehicle. It includes most of the Army's armoured regiments, both the Royal Tank Regiment and those converted from old horse cavalry regiments. Today it comprises twelve regiments, eight regular and four reserve. Although the Household Cavalry Regiment provide an armoured regiment, they are not part of the RAC.
The Royal Tank Regiment (RTR) is the oldest tank unit in the world, being formed by the British Army in 1916 during the First World War. Today, it is the armoured regiment of the British Army's 12th Armoured Infantry Brigade. Formerly known as the Tank Corps and the Royal Tank Corps, it is part of the Royal Armoured Corps.
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The 2nd Royal Tank Regiment was an armoured regiment of the British Army. It was part of the Royal Tank Regiment, itself part of the Royal Armoured Corps and the 1st Mechanized Brigade.
The 1st Royal Tank Regiment was an armoured regiment of the British Army. It is part of the Royal Tank Regiment, itself part of the Royal Armoured Corps and operationally under 12th Armoured Infantry Brigade.
The 3rd Royal Tank Regiment was an armoured regiment of the British Army in existence from 1917 until 1992. It was part of the Royal Tank Regiment, itself part of the Royal Armoured Corps. It originally saw action as C Battalion, Tank Corps in 1917.
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The 43rd Royal Tank Regiment was an armoured regiment of the British Army's Royal Armoured Corps that tested and demonstrated specialised Armoured Fighting Vehicles during World War II.
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The 21st Army Tank Brigade was an armoured brigade formation of the British Army active during the Second World War. The brigade served with the British First Army and the British Eighth Army during the fighting in Tunisia and Italy.
The 2nd Armoured Division was a division of the British Army that was active during the early stages of the Second World War. The division's creation had been discussed since the beginning of 1939, with the intent to form it by splitting the 1st Armoured Division. A lack of tanks delayed this until December 1939. For a short period after its creation, the division had no assigned units until the 1st Light Armoured Brigade was assigned to it from the 1st Armoured Division, and the 22nd Heavy Armoured Brigade from Southern Command.
The 23rd Armoured Brigade, originally formed as the 23rd Army Tank Brigade, was an armoured brigade of the British Army that saw service during the Second World War. The brigade was a 2nd Line Territorial Army (TA) formation. It was reorganised and renamed the 23rd Armoured Brigade, when it was assigned to the 8th Armoured Division, although it never operated under command of the division.
The 22nd Armoured Brigade was an armoured brigade of the British Army that saw service during and after the Second World War. The brigade was formed on the outbreak of war on 3 September 1939 from Territorial Army (TA) armoured regiments. It saw a considerable amount of action during the war, beginning with the Western Desert Campaign where it was engaged in Operation Crusader and at the Battles of Gazala, Mersa Matruh, First Alamein and Alam el Halfa. It then joined the 7th Armoured Division for the Second Battle of El Alamein. It remained part of 7th Armoured for the rest of the war, including the campaigns in Tunisia, Italy and North West Europe. It continued in the postwar TA until 1956. The brigade's identity was re-established in the Regular Army between 1981 and 1993.
The 9th Royal Tank Regiment was an armoured regiment of the British Army active during the Second World War. It was part of the Royal Tank Regiment, itself part of the Royal Armoured Corps. It was reformed in late 1940 as a hostilities-only regiment.
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The Leeds Rifles was a unit of the 19th century Volunteer Force of the British Army that went on to serve under several different guises in the World Wars of the 20th century. In World War I both battalions served as infantry on the Western Front and was later were converted into an anti-aircraft and tank unit, fighting in North Africa, Italy and Burma during World War II.
The Malta Tanks was a unit designation for an independent Royal Tank Regiment (RTR) unit made of a mixture of British tank types deployed to Malta in World War 2.