142nd Regiment Royal Armoured Corps

142nd (Suffolk) Regiment Royal Armoured Corps

Active| 1941–1945
Disbanded| 1945
Country|  United Kingdom
Branch|  British Army
Type| Armoured Regiment
Role| Infantry Support
Part of| Royal Armoured Corps
Equipment| Matilda II
Churchill

Military unit

The 142nd (Suffolk) Regiment Royal Armoured Corps (142 RAC) was an armoured regiment of the British Army's Royal Armoured Corps that was raised in World War II and saw active service. The regiment served in the final stages of the North African Campaign at Tunisia and later served during the Italian Campaign from 1943 until early 1945 when it was disbanded.

## Origin

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The 142nd Regiment RAC was formed on 22 November 1941[1] by the conversion to the armoured role of the 7th Battalion, Suffolk Regiment, a war-raised infantry battalion that was formed in June 1940 and serving with the 210th Independent Infantry Brigade (Home). In common with other infantry units transferred to the Royal Armoured Corps, all personnel would have continued to wear their Suffolk Regiment cap badge on the black beret of the Royal Armoured Corps.[2] The establishment of a tank regiment being smaller than that of an infantry battalion, there were 161 men surplus to establishment who were transferred to other units, including 53rd and 59th battalions of the Reconnaissance Corps, the remainder of the men going to the 30th Battalion, Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment.[1][3]

## Training

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142 RAC was assigned to the 25th Army Tank Brigade, alongside the North Irish Horse and 51st RTR.[4] and was initially equipped with Matilda II and Churchill infantry tanks, later standardising on Churchills.[1][3][5]

On 4 July 1942, the regiment was ordered to mobilise for overseas service, but nothing came of this.[3]

On 4 August, the Commanding Officer, Lt-Col R.H. Maxwell (Suffolk Regiment) was promoted to Acting Brigadier to command 25th Tank Bde and the Second-in-Command, Major A.S. Birkbeck (Royal Tank Regiment) was promoted to Acting Lt-Col and took over command.[3]

The 25th Tank Brigade had been attached to 43rd (Wessex) Infantry Division and based at Worthing in Sussex, but in September 1942 it changed to 1st Infantry Division in Norfolk, followed in September 1942 by a transfer to 54th (East Anglian) Infantry Division in Suffolk.[3]

On 30 December 1942, the regiment again received orders to prepare for overseas service. Some of the men had to be recalled from harvesting sugar beets.[3]

## Operations

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The regiment landed at Algiers on 1 February 1943 taking part in Operation Ochsenkopf during early March and in April fought at the Battle of Mejdez-el Bab in the Tunisia.[5] In May it took part in operations in the Tunis area.[4]

On 20 April 1944 142 RAC landed at Naples to join the Italian campaign, and on 22 May it took part in breaching the Adolf Hitler Line.[5]

It was the Recce Troop of 142 RAC that effected the junction between British Eighth Army and US Fifth Army at Valmontone on 3 June.[5] In July and August 1944 the regiment was in the advance to Florence,[4] and on 28 August it took part in breaching the Gothic Line near Rimini.[5]

142 RAC disbanded on 22 January 1945 in Italy.[5]

## Notes

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1. ^ a b c 142 RAC War Diary, November–December 1941, The National Archives (TNA), Kew file WO 166/1428.
2. ^ Forty pp. 50–1.
3. ^ a b c d e f 142 RAC War Diary, January–December 1942, TNA file WO 166/6937.
4. ^ a b c Joslen, p. 203.
5. ^ a b c d e f "Calendar at Suffolk Regiment website". Archived from the original on 7 December 2013. Retrieved 9 December 2013.

## References

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* George Forty, British Army Handbook 1939-1945, Stroud: Sutton Publishing, 1998, ISBN 0-7509-1403-3.
* Joslen, H. F. (2003) [1960]. Orders of Battle: Second World War, 1939–1945. Uckfield, East Sussex: Naval and Military Press. ISBN 978-1-84342-474-1.

## External sources

[edit]

* Suffolk Regiment Official Website

* v
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RAC armoured regiments of the Second World War

Regular|

| Dragoons|

* 1st King's Dragoon Guards
* 2nd Dragoon Guards (Queen's Bays)
* 3rd Carabiniers (Prince of Wales Dragoon Guards)
* 4th/7th Dragoon Guards
* 5th Inniskilling Dragoon Guards
* 22nd Dragoons
* 25th Dragoons
* Royal Scots Greys

|

Hussars|

* 3rd The King's Own Hussars
* 4th Queen's Own Hussars
* 7th Queen's Own Hussars
* 8th King's Royal Irish Hussars
* 10th Royal Hussars
* 11th Hussars (Prince Alberts Own)
* 13th/18th Royal Hussars (Queen Marys Own)
* 14th/20th King's Hussars
* 15th/19th The King's Royal Hussars
* 23rd Hussars
* 26th Hussars

Lancers|

* 9th Queen's Royal Lancers
* 12th Royal Lancers
* 16th/5th Lancers
* 17th/21st Lancers
* 24th Lancers
* 27th Lancers

Royal Tank
Regiments|

* 1st RTR
* 2nd RTR
* 3rd RTR
* 4th RTR
* 5th RTR
* 6th RTR
* 7th RTR
* 8th RTR
* 9th RTR
* 10th RTR
* 11th RTR
* 12th RTR
* 39th RTR
* 40th RTR
* 40th/41st RTR
* 41st RTR
* 42nd (7th East Surrey) RTR
* 43rd (6th Royal Northumberland Fusiliers) RTR
* 44th RTR
* 45th RTR
* 46th RTR
* 47th RTR
* 48th RTR
* 49th RTR
* 50th RTR
* 51st RTR
* 61st RTR
* 62nd RTR
* 65th RTR
* 101st RTR
* 102nd RTR

Regiments
RAC|

* 46 RAC
* 107 (King's Own) RAC
* 108 (Lancashire Fusiliers) RAC
* 109 RAC
* 110 (Border) RAC
* 111 RAC
* 112 RAC
* 113 RAC
* 114 RAC
* 115 RAC
* 116 RAC
* 141 RAC
* 142 RAC
* 143 RAC
* 144 (East Lancashire) RAC
* 145 RAC
* 146 RAC
* 147 RAC
* 148 RAC
* 149 RAC
* 150 RAC
* 151 RAC
* 152 RAC
* 153 RAC
* 154 RAC
* 155 RAC
* 156 RAC
* 157 RAC
* 158 RAC
* 159 RAC
* 160 RAC
* 161 RAC
* 162 RAC
* 163 RAC

Reserve|

* 1st Derbyshire Yeomanry
* 2nd Derbyshire Yeomanry
* 1st Royal Gloucestershire Hussars
* 2nd Royal Gloucestershire Hussars
* 1st Lothians and Border Horse
* 2nd Lothians and Border Horse
* 1st Fife and Forfar Yeomanry
* 2nd Fife and Forfar Yeomanry
* 3rd County of London Yeomanry (Sharpshooters)
* 4th County of London Yeomanry (Sharpshooters)
* 1st Northamptonshire Yeomanry
* 2nd Northamptonshire Yeomanry
* 1st East Riding Yeomanry
* 2nd East Riding Yeomanry
* Cheshire Yeomanry
* Inns of Court Regiment
* North Irish Horse
* North Somerset Yeomanry
* Queen's Own Yorkshire Dragoons
* Royal Wiltshire Yeomanry
* Sherwood Rangers Yeomanry
* Staffordshire Yeomanry
* Warwickshire Yeomanry
* Westminster Dragoons (2nd County of London Yeomanry)
* Yorkshire Hussars

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