Indian Army Armoured Corps

The Indian Army Armoured Corps is one of the combat arms of the Indian Army. Tracing its origins from the first regiment formed in 1776, the present corps was formed in 1947 from two-thirds of the personnel and assets of the Raj's Indian Armoured Corps. It currently consists of 67 armoured regiments, including the President's Bodyguards.[1]

9th Hodson's Horse (Bengal Lancers), Indian Army, near Vraignes, France, April 1917.
Indian Armoured Corps in a Sherman III tank in the Middle East, March 1944.
A Sherman tank of the Indian Armoured Corps on the road to Rangoon, Burma Campaign.
The Vijayanta - main battle tank of the Indian Army between 1965 and the early 2000s.
Tanks of the Indian Army Armoured Corps and BMP-2 IFVs during a training exercise in 2006.
MBT Arjun
T-90 tank
T-72 tank

Indian Army Armoured Corps

Symbol of Indian Armoured Corps
Active1941 - Present
Country India
Branch Indian Army
RoleArmoured Combat
Size67 Armoured regiments[1]
For more information on the pre-1947 corps, see Indian Armoured Corps.

School and Centre

The Armoured Corps School and Centre (ACC&S) is located in Ahmednagar, Maharashtra. In 1921, six Armoured Car companies arrived and in 1924 the Royal Tank Crops School was established at Ahmednagar to train the personnel of the Royal Tank Corps. This School was the forerunner of the Fighting Vehicle School, which began to impart to driving & maintenance training. The Fighting Vehicle School along with the Machine Gun School, the training regiments, the recruit training centre, Armoured Corps Depot and Armoured Corps Records were amalgamated to form the present school and centre in 1948.[2]

Armour Day

The Armoured Corps of Indian Army celebrates 'Armour Day' on 1st May. It was on this day in 1938 that Scinde Horse became the first regiment to dismount from their horses and move to tanks.[3] The first equipment inducted were Vickers Light Tanks and Chevrolet Armoured Cars.[4]

Naming Convention of the Armoured Regiments

The naming of the regiments reflects its historical origins. The terms Cavalry, Horse and Lancers, which have been dispensed with in the case of units raised post-independence, are historical legacies from the raising and renaming of these units when part of the East India Company's army and/or later the British Indian Army.

Composition of an Armoured Regiment

An armoured corps regiment is commanded by a Colonel ranked officer, who is known as the Commandant of the Unit. An armoured regiment comprises 3 Sabre Squadrons and a Headquarter Squadron. Each squadron is commanded by a Major ranked officer. He holds the appointment of a Squadron Commander.[5]

An Armoured Regiment has around 45 to 50 tanks in all. Each Sabre Squadron consists of 14-15 tanks and one Armoured Recovery Vehicle. 3 tanks are assigned to the Headquarter Squadron, including that of the commandant.[6]

Black Beret

The officers and troops of Armoured Corps regiments wear the Black Berets as opposed to the rifle green and blue coloured berets which are worn by the regiments of other arms and services respectively. The Black Beret gives the Tankman a distinct identity of their own within the Army fold.[5]

Equipment

The Armoured Corps of the Indian Army is currently equipped with the following tanks-

  • Arjun MBT – Mk.1 variant in use and Mk.1A planned.
  • T-90 – M and S variants with DRDO made upgrades.
  • T-72 – M1 variant with upgrades namely Ajeya MK1/MK2 and Combat Improved Ajeya.

List of regiments

The list of regiments forming part of the Armoured Corps of the Indian Army is as follows. This list is as per unit serial number but not as per the order of precedence of the Indian Army. In that list, The President's Bodyguard is first, but is followed by 16 Light Cavalry, 7 Light Cavalry, 8 Cavalry and 1st Horse. As a matter of tradition, each Armoured Regiment has its own "Colonel of the Regiment", an honorary post for a senior officer who oversees the regimental issues concerning the unit.[7]

Name Other Name(s) Raising Date Raising Commander Raising Location Current Location References Tank
President's Bodyguard 1773 New Delhi Horse
1st Horse Skinner's Horse, The Yellow Boys 23 February 1803 Col James Skinner Hansi [8] T-72
2nd Lancers Gardner's Horse 1809 Lt Col William Gardner Farrukhabad and Mainpuri [9] T-72
3rd Cavalry Flamingoes 1822 [10] T-72
4 Horse Hodson's Horse 1857 T-72
5th Armoured Regiment** 1 December 1983 Lt Col JPS Hanspal Jodhpur Patiala [11][12] T-90
6th Lancers*** 1 February 1984 Lt Col RS Deol, SM Nabha
7th Light Cavalry 3rd Madras Lancers, 28th Light Cavalry 1784 T-72
8th Light Cavalry 5th Madras Native Cavalry, 1st Madras Native Cavalry, 4th Nizam of Hyderabad's Contingent Cavalry, 30th Lancers (Gordon's Horse), 26th Prince of Wales' Own Cavalry, 26th King George's Own Cavalry, 8th King George's Own Light Cavalry 23 Oct 1787 Maj Henry Darley Arcot T-72
9th Deccan Horse The Royal Deccan Horse 1790
10th Armoured Regiment 16 April 1984 Lt Col Kulwant Singh Ahmednagar T-72
11th Armoured Regiment 7 May 1984 Lt Col Harjeet Singh Lamba Kaluchak
12th Armoured Regiment Barsinghas 1 October 1984 Lt Col LR Vaid Kapurthala T-90
13th Armoured Regiment Triskaideca, Nightstrikers 21 December 1984 Lt Col Balram Singh Mehta Ahmednagar T-90
14 Horse The Scinde Horse 1838/1846 T-72
15th Armoured Regiment 1 March 1985 Lt Col MD Law Mamun T-90
16th Light Cavalry 1776 T-72
17 Horse The Poona Horse, Fakr-e-Hind 15 July 1817 Sirur [13] T-72
18 Cavalry 31 January 1842 Amritsar [14][15] T-72
19th Armoured Regiment Invincibles 25 March 1985 Ahmednagar T-90
20th Lancers 1857/1858
Re-raised 10 July 1956		 Lt Col Umrao Singh Ahmednagar T-72
Central India Horse 21st King George V's Own Horse 1857 Captain Henry Otway Mayne [16][17]
41st Armoured Regiment 1 July 1980 Lt Col JP Singh Ahmednagar [11] T-72
42nd Armoured Regiment 1 January 1981 Lt Col Ranjit Talwar Babina [11] T-90
43rd Armoured Regiment Charioteers 1981 Lt Col BM Kapur Ahmednagar [11][18] Arjun Mk1
44 Armoured Regiment 15 December 1981 Lt Col DS Dhillon Ahmednagar [11][19][20] T-72
45th Cavalry Paintalis Risala 16 May 1965 Lt Col SK Candade New Delhi Suratgarh, Rajasthan [11] T-90
46th Armoured Regiment Thunderbolts 1 July 1982 Lt Col Prithpal Singh Sandhu Ahmednagar [11][21][22] T-72
47th Armoured Regiment Penetrators 15 November 1982 Lt Col Tejvir Singh Sirohi Babina Sikkim [23][24] T-72
48th Armoured Regiment 1 December 1982 Lt Col DS Dhadwal Meerut
49th Armoured Regiment Falcons 1 October 1983 Lt Col JPS Nakai Ahmednagar Jodhpur
50 Armoured Regiment Fear Naught July 1989 Lt Col AK Bhatia Ahmednagar [25][26] T-72
51 Armoured Regiment The Unicorn 15 July 1989 Lt Col RS Gill
52 Armoured Regiment 1 February 1994 Col Jugvir Singh Roorkee T-72
53 Armoured Regiment
54 Armoured Regiment 1 July 2010 [27] T-90
55 Armoured Regiment T-90
56 Armoured Regiment Lion Hearts 1 October 2011
57 Armoured Regiment
58 Armoured Regiment T-90
59 Armoured Regiment
60 Armoured Regiment 2019 Ahmednagar
61 Cavalry 1 October 1953 Lt Col Phulel Singh Gwalior Horse
62 Cavalry 31 March 1957 Lt Col RS Butalia Ambala Dehradun [28] T-72
63 Cavalry Tresath 2 January 1957 Lt Col Harmandar Singh Alwar T-72
64 Cavalry 31 March 1966 Lt Col Trevor Lancelot Perry Babina
65 Armoured Regiment 1 September 1966 Lt Col KK Kaul T-72
66 Armoured Regiment 1 September 1966 Lt Col Narinder Singh Ahmednagar T-72
67 Armoured Regiment 15 September 1967 Lt Col Niranjan Singh Cheema T-72
68 Armoured Regiment Gladiators 1 March 1968 Lt Col RN Thumby T-72
69 Armoured Regiment 1 October 1968 Ahmednagar [29] T-72
70 Armoured Regiment 11 February 1968 Lt Col R Christian Ahmednagar Raised as 70 Guided Missile Regiment T-90
71 Armoured Regiment 01 January 1971 Lt Col BS Chimni Ahmednagar T-90
72 Armoured Regiment The Chhamb Knights 01 July 1971 Lt Col Inderjit Chopra Ahmednagar T-90
73 Armoured Regiment The Desert Rats 03 Dec 1971 Lt Col KM Dhody Ahmednagar T-90
74 Armoured Regiment 01 Jun 1972 Lt Col KS Khajuria Ahmednagar T-90
75 Armoured Regiment 12 March 1972 Lt Col Vijai Singh Sakna Jaisalmer Only regiment to be raised on foreign soil[30][18] Arjun Mk1
76 Armoured Regiment 21 March 1985 Ahmednagar T-72
81 Armoured Regiment 1 October 1973
82 Armoured Regiment Toofan-e-hind 01 Oct 1975 Lt Col Moti Lal Dhar T-72
83 Armoured Regiment 01 Jan 1976 Ahmednagar [31] T-90
84 Armoured Regiment 1 July 1976 Lt Col Tarif Singh Dhiyia Ahmednagar Pathankot [32][26] T-72
85 Armoured Regiment 1 October 1976 Lt Col DP Singh Ahmednagar Nyoma [33] T-72
86 Armoured Regiment Chhiassi 1 March 1977 Lt Col NS Malik Ahmednagar Nabha [30] T-90
87 Armoured Regiment Lightning Streaks Regiment 01 July 1979 Lt Col DD Singh Ahmednagar Suratgarh [34] T-72
88 Armoured Regiment September 1979 Lt Col Iesh Rikhy Ahmednagar [35] T-72
89 Armoured Regiment 1 February 1980 Lt Col KL Bakshi Ahmednagar Namkum [36] T-72
90 Armoured Regiment 15 August 1979 Lt Col Manjit Singh Sawhney Pawan Da Chak Amritsar

** The original 5th Horse (Probyn's) was transferred to Pakistan in 1947.

*** Original 6th Duke of Connaught's Own Lancers was transferred to Pakistan in 1947.


Notes
  1. Press Trust of India (31 December 2018). "Pak procuring 600 battle tanks to boost combat capability". The Quint. Retrieved 31 December 2018.
  2. "Ahmednagar District". Retrieved 7 February 2021.
  3. "Armoured Corps Centre & School, Ahmednagar celebrate 78th Armour Day". 4 May 2016. Retrieved 7 February 2021.
  4. "Armoured Corps Centre and School Celebrates Armoured Corps Day". 1 May 2019. Retrieved 7 February 2021.
  5. "Know The Indian Army: Hailed As 'King Of Battlefield', The Armoured Corps Packs A Punch With Lethal Tank Fire". 6 June 2020. Retrieved 7 February 2021.
  6. "Armoured Regiment Structure". 12 October 2016. Retrieved 7 February 2021.
  7. "Armoured Corps of Indian Army celebrates its 82nd Armour Day; Gen MM Naravane extends wishes". 1 May 2020. Retrieved 7 February 2021.
  8. John Pike. "1st Horse / Skinner's Horse". GlobalSecurity.org. Retrieved 11 June 2020.
  9. "2nd Lancers". The Royal Tank Regiment Association. 2011. Archived from the original on 4 April 2011. Retrieved 9 June 2020.
  10. History of the 3rd Cavalry.
  11. Web-page on "armoured Corps" at Bharat Rakshak Archived 19 July 2014 at the Wayback Machine, accessed December 2009.
  12. Globalsecurity.org, 5 Armoured Regiment, accessed 23 July 2010
  13. "The Poona Horse Regiment Completes 200 Years Of Epic Journey". NDTV.com. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
  14. "Standard presented to 18 CAVALRY by the Chief of the Army Staff". pib.nic.in. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
  15. "Army chief presents President's Standard to 18 Cavalry in Amritsar". Hindustan Times. 8 March 2016. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
  16. "Henry Otway Mayne". Retrieved 10 December 2020.
  17. "Henry Mayne 1819 - 1861". Retrieved 10 December 2020.
  18. "Standards presented to 75 Armoured Regiment and 43 Armoured Regiment by the Chief of Army Staff". Press hip Bureau. 16 March 2016. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
  19. "President's Standards presented to 44 Armoured Regiment at Suratgarh Military Station : Listicles: Microfacts". indiatoday.intoday.in. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
  20. "44 Armoured Regiment gets President's Standards | Latest News & Updates at Daily News & Analysis". dna. 25 February 2015. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
  21. "Standard presentation to 46-Armoured Regiment by President Patil". www.oneindia.com. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
  22. "Honour for 46 Armoured Regiment - Indian Express". archive.indianexpress.com. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
  23. "Army Chief presents Standard to 47 Armoured Regiment". www.tribuneindia.com.
  24. "General Bipin Rawat presented President's Standard to 47th Armoured Regiment". TimesNow. 21 October 2017. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
  25. Delhi (5 November 2014). "Standards Presented to 50 Armoured Regiment and 84 Armoured Regiment by the Chief of Army Staff on 05 Nov 2014". Business Standard India. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
  26. "Standards Presented to 50 Armoured Regiment and 84 Armoured Regiment by the Chief of Army Staff on 05 Nov 2014". pib.nic.in. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
  27. "Haryana: Captain Bhanghoo from Panchkula to lead Republic Day Tank Contingent at Rajpath". 24 January 2021. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
  28. "62 Cavalry celebrates its Golden Jubilee". www.oneindia.com. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
  29. "Steps afoot to modernise forces, says Kalam in 'The Tribune'". 2 December 2003. Retrieved 26 December 2020.
  30. Lt Gen Kamal Davar takes over as director general mechanised forces, 4 August 2001.
  31. "Sainik Samachar Nov 2010". 1 November 2010. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
  32. Delhi (5 November 2014). "Standards Presented to 50 Armoured Regiment and 84 Armoured Regiment by the Chief of Army Staff on 05 Nov 2014". Business Standard India. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
  33. "Army Chief presents standards to 85 Armoured Regiment". The Hindu. Special Correspondent, Special Correspondent. 1 October 2011. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 23 October 2017.CS1 maint: others (link)
  34. "President Standards conferred on three armoured regiments in 'DNA India'". 6 December 2017. Retrieved 27 December 2020.
  35. "Regiment celebrates silver jubilee in 'The Tribune'". 26 November 2004. Retrieved 27 December 2020.
  36. "PressReader.com - Connecting People Through News". www.pressreader.com. Retrieved 23 October 2017.

Further reading
  • Cavalry Officers Association [2000]. Valour Honour Tradition (Vignettes of the Indian Armored Corps 1773 - 2000. Director General Mechanized Forces, Sena Bhawan, New Delhi 110001.
  • Maj Gen Gurchan Singh Sandhu, PVSM (1987). The Indian Armour- History of the Indian Armoured Corps : 1941 - 1971. Vision Books (incorporating Orient Paperbacks), New Delhi. ISBN 81-7094-004-4.
  • Ashok Nath (2009). Izzat: Historical Records and Iconography of Indian Cavalry Regiments, 1750 - 2007. Centre for Armed Forces Historical Research, United Services Institution of India, New Delhi.
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