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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. The Royal Tank Regiment is a unit of the British Army (formerly the Tank Corps and Royal Tank Corps). ...
The British Army is the land armed forces branch of the British Armed Forces. ...
First World War 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. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (2000x1295, 110 KB) Personal photograph taken by Mick Knapton on June 28th 2005. ...
Image File history File links Download high resolution version (2000x1295, 110 KB) Personal photograph taken by Mick Knapton on June 28th 2005. ...
A Mark I tank on 26 September 1916 (moving left to right). ...
The Bovington Tank Museum is the foremost collection of armoured vehicles in the United Kingdom, and with almost 300 vehicles on exhibition from 26 countries it is the most wide-ranging collection of tanks and armoured vehicles in the world. ...
1916 (MCMXVI) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ...
The Machine Gun Corps (MGC) was a corps of the British Army, formed in October 1915 in response to the need for more effective use of machine guns on the Western Front in World War I. The Heavy Branch of the MGC were the first to use tanks in combat...
The Tank Corps is either: The original name of the Royal Tank Regiment of the British Army The United States Tank Corps (see Tank history) This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ...
 Whippet Mk A tank A347 "Firefly", of 6th Battalion Tank Corps, currently in the Museum of the Army in Brussels During this time, the unit saw heavy action; it fought at the Battle of Messines, Passchendaele, Cambrai, Amiens (using Whippet Mk A light tanks), Baupame, 2nd Arras and Cambrai-St Quentin. A foto of a Whippet (dog). ...
A foto of a Whippet (dog). ...
The battle of Messines was launched on the 7 June 1917 by General Herbert Plumers second army. ...
Combatants United Kingdom France Canada Australia New Zealand German Empire Commanders Douglas Haig Hubert Gough Herbert Plumer Francois Anthoine Max von Gallwitz Erich Ludendorff Strength Unknown Unknown Casualties 448,000 killed and wounded 260,000 killed and wounded The 1917 Battle of Passchendaele, also known as the Third Battle of...
Combatants United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland Newfoundland German Empire Commanders Julian Byng Georg von der Marwitz Strength 2 Corps 1 Corps Casualties 45,000 killed 9,000 prisoners 100 tanks destroyed 45,000 killed 11,000 prisoners The Battle of Cambrai (November 20 - December 3, 1917) was a...
Combatants United Kingdom, France, Canada, Australia Germany Commanders Henry Rawlinson Georg von der Marwitz Strength 4 Aus. ...
General characteristics Length 20ft/6. ...
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. Victoria Cross medal, ribbon, and bar. ...
Richard Annesley West (VC, DSO & Bar, MC) was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. ...
Inter-war period 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. The 3rd Royal Tank Regiment (3 RTR) was an armoured regiment of the British Army until 1992. ...
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. 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.
Second World War 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. Armoured Division (Egypt) was an interim name for British 7th Armoured Division in late 1939 and early 1940. ...
General characteristics Length 4 m Width 2. ...
General characteristics Length 5. ...
(... North Africa ...)
(... Middle East reserve ...)
(... Italy ...)
(... Austria ...)
Postwar 6 RTR saw action at Suez in 1956, where C Squadron was landed to support Operation Musketeer. In 1959 it was amalgamated with 3rd Royal Tank Regiment Military history records no less than three plans, all called Operation Musketeer: Musketeer was a four-phased plan during World War II to liberate the Philippine Islands developed by General Douglas MacArthur’s staff as part of the larger Reno V plan. ...
The 3rd Royal Tank Regiment (3 RTR) was an armoured regiment of the British Army until 1992. ...
References - Lineage of 6th battalion Tank Corps
- regiments.org page on 6 RTR
- 6th RTR war diaries
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