At it's peak in September 1942 the AAC consisted of : 1st Armoured Div: 1st Armoured Brigade (2/5th, 2/7th, 2/10th Armd Regt) 3rd Motor Brigade (4th, 26th, 101st Motor Regt) 2/11th Armoured car Regt 2nd Armoured Div: 6th Armoured Brigade (12th, 13th, 14th Armoured Regt) 2nd Motor Brigade (15th, 17th, 20th Motor Regt) 6th Armoured Car Regt 3rd Armoured Div: 2nd Armoured Brigade (2/4th, 2/8th, 2/9th Armoured Regt) 1st Motor Brigade (5th, 11th, 16th Motor Regt) 12th Armoured Car Regt 3rd Army Tank Brigade 1st, 2nd and 3rd Army Tank Battalions 2/6th Armoured Regt was detached under command of New Guinea Force. (Note; These are Light Armoured Divisions, it was originally planned to send these to play in the Middle East it was organised on the British 1942 pattern as the 1st Aust Armd Div i.e. 2 armd bde and a support group) As of March 1945 (till the end of the war) the Australian Armoured Corp comprised: HQ 4th Armoured Brigade (Brigadier D Macarthur Onslow) (Elite 10) 1st Australian Armoured Regiment (Lt Col D.D. Glasgow) 2/4th Australian Armoured Regiment (Lt Col T. Mills) 2/5th Australian Armoured Regiment (Lt Col H.J. McIntyre) 2/6th Australian Armoured Regiment (Lt Col J.F.P. Burt) 2/9th Australian Armoured Regiment (Lt Col A.E. McIntrye) 1st Australian Armoured Amphibious Sqn. (Maj K.A. Gray) Armoured Squadron (Special Equipment)* (Maj J.F. Mullaly) 1st Australian Armoured Amphibious Sqn. was equipped with LVT (A4) *Armoured Squadron (Special Equipment) personnel were from the 2/1st Armoured Brigade Reconnaissance Squadron (and was usually referred to by it's old designation), organised as follows: HeadQuarters No. 1 Troop Medium Tanks (Grants) No. 2 Troop Bridgelaying tanks (Covenanter) Nos. 3 & 4 Troops Tank Dozers (Matilda IIs) Nos. 5,6,7 & 8 Troops Flame-throwers (Matilda II Frogs) Not part of the AAC was the 1st Australian Armoured Amphibious Vehicle Platoon equipped with unarmoured landing vehicles (DUKWs & LVTs), but did not see active service. THE AAC IN OVERSEAS SERVICE: 2/6th with Stuarts at Cape Endaiadere (Buna) (I think Boughtons tank is in the Aust War Museum (well part of it) showing where the 20+ 37mm hit it..) 2/8th, Port Moresby Oct 1943 1st Tank Bn, Huon Peninsula (Matilda IIs) under 9th Inf Div 2/4th re-equipped with Matildas, Wewak and Bougainville 2/4th re-equipped with Matildas, Borneo All the rest were deployed on the mainland, many disbanded as the manpower shortage became acute as the war progressed and the threat to mainland Australia receded. THE AUSTRALIAN OOB AT BALIKPAPAN: 1st Australian Armoured Regiment (Lt Col D.D. Glasgow) had attached to it from 2/1st Armoured Brigade Reconnaissance Squadron: 1 (one) Bridgelaying tanks (Covenanter) 1 Troop Tank Dozers (Matilda IIs) {3 tanks} 1 Troop Flame-throwers (Matilda II Frogs) {3 tanks} SUMMARY OF THE MAIN TANKS AVAILABLE TO AUSTRALIA IN AUSTRALIA: Stuarts: Too fast and too thin armour for jungle use. Grants: Too heavy for most LCMs available. Matildas: Good enough as Infantry support vs Japanese. The *prefered* Matilda troop mix was 2 with 2 pounder, 1 with 3" Howitzer and 1 with Flamethrower. Total Tank strength in Australia in Dec '42: Infantry Tank MkII "Matilda": 304 M3 Light tanks "Stuart": 260 M3 Medium tanks "Grants": 757 (233 diesel) Marmon-Herrington two man tanks: 138 * (MkII?) AC1: 4 * these were broken up for engines and armour for small craft. Note: many of these vehicles were received in inoperable condition. (Note: the 6th, 7th and 9th Div Cav operated tanks in the Middle East. (6th: Mk II, MkVIB, M11/39, M13/41, R-35) (7th: MkVIB) (9th: MkVIB, Stuart, Crusader II)) TANK COLOUR SCHEMES The Armoured Regts were in a two tone (Sand and Khaki) scheme, but even so the Stuarts used in New Guinea were in a solid (green) scheme. Back to Frontline Vol. 1 Iss. 2 Table of Contents Back to Frontline List of Issues Back to MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 1999 by Rolfe Hedges This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com