Brief history of the 3rd

[lizzie]

3rd Royal Tank Regiment
The 3rd Royal Tank Regiment (3 RTR) was an armoured regiment of the British Army 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.

In 1939 it was retitled from 3rd Royal Tank Corps. In 1940, it was preparing to go to France as part of 1st Armoured Division when it was diverted at short notice to Calais. It fought during the four-day Siege of Calais. All its tanks were lost, and many personnel killed or taken prisoner, but some escaped to Dunkirk or were evacuated from Calais before the port fell.

The unit was subsequently rebuilt in the UK as part of 3rd Armoured Brigade, its original parent formation. Shipped to the Middle East, it was part of the British 1st Armoured Brigade when it went to Greece to try and stem the German invasion in 1941.

In 1942, it briefly amalgamated with the 5th Royal Tank Regiment, as the 3rd/5th Royal Tank Regiment, returning to its previous title a month later. It formed part of 8th Armoured Brigade, fighting at El Alamein, and in Tunisia, Sicily and Normandy.

In 1959, it amalgamated with the 6th Royal Tank Regiment without change of title.

In 1992, it amalgamated with the 2nd Royal Tank Regiment.

[arthur3bums]

OOOOHHHAAAARRRRRRR Mi Booties!!
It may, just may be of interst to some..................In WW2 3RTR was recorded as having the longest time in enemy contact of any allied unit during the war, it was virtually always in the Hun's face.
The Regiment fought with distinction and was 'sacrificed' to the last vehicle (and nearly last man) on 3 occasions, as Lizzie rightly points out......Calais 1940, Greece shortly after and then North Africa 'Up the blue'. The Regiment was leading in front of the Allied army as it raced for the Baltic sea, where it had essentially been ever since leaving Normandy during op Goodwood. Not many regiments can claim this level of fame, considering the RTR was such a 'newcomer' to the battlefield, an illustrious record indeed!!!

A really good read (apart from my impending book) is 'A view from the turret' by Bill close now sadly RIP. It goes 1930's right to the end of WW2 as a Tank Commander in A Sqn 3RTR. A cracking good read.