5th Royal Tank Regiment

Covenanter tanks of 5 RTR entraining at Thetford in Norfolk, UK, May 1942

The 5th Royal Tank Regiment (5 RTR) was an armoured regiment of the British Army until 1969. It was part of the Royal Tank Regiment, itself part of the Royal Armoured Corps. It originally saw action as E Battalion, Tank Corps in 1917.

At the Battle of Cambrai in 1917, the squadron of tanks led by Arthur George Griffiths made a huge impact on the battle. The commanding general asked for the squadron of tanks to be doubled in size, and so Griffiths's squadron evolved into the 5th Tank regiment.

In December 1946 the regiment was the first use Centurion tanks in regular service.[1]

In 1960, under the command of Hugo Ironside, it amalgamated with 8th Royal Tank Regiment without change of title. It was disbanded in 1969.

The 5th Royal Tank Regiment Reunion Association holds annual reunions.

In 2007 an image of a 1944 tank commander in the 5th Royal Tank Regiment uniform was used on one of a series of Royal mail stamps featuring British army uniforms.[2]

References

  1. ↑ Munro, Bill (2005). The Centurion Tank. The Crowood Press Ltd. p. 46. ISBN 1-86126-701-0.
  2. ↑ Farmer, Ben (17 Sep 2007). "Stamps show history of Army battledress". telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 4 January 2009.

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