Allegiance India Type Armour | Branch Indian Army Size Regiment | |
Active 1918-1921, 1941-1943, 1981 – present Country Indian Empire 1918-1921, 1941-43
India 1980-Present | ||
42nd Armoured Regiment is an armoured regiment of the Indian Army Armoured Corps of the Indian Army. The regiment was raised with an "all India class" at Babina on 1 January 1981 by Lt Col (later Brigadier) Ranjit Talwar (formerly of 18 Cavalry). The first Colonel of 42nd Armoured Regiment was Lt Gen G. S. Klair, AVSM. It was initially equipped with T-55 tanks, but was re-equipped with T-90 tanks. The regiment has served in many different locations mostly across northern India like Ambala, Jalandhar, Lucknow, Babina, Barmer and Amritsar.
Contents
Prior to the World War II, the regiment existed under different names.
Cap badge
The cap badge consists of a pair of crossed sabres, on the crossing of which is paced the lower hull of a T-55 tank facing ahead, with numeral 42 placed above. The numerals are topped with a mailed right handed gauntlet.
The shoulder title is in brass and consists of the numeral 42 topped by a right-handed mailed gauntlet.
42nd Cavalry Regiment (1918-1921)
During World War I, a regiment named the "42nd Cavalry Regiment" was raised at Baleli by Maj Percy Henry Mitchell Taylor of 32nd Lancers. 42nd Cavalry Regiment was raised from a squadron from 10th Lancers (Hodson's Horse) and the 35th Scinde Horse. The ethnic composition was as follows:-
The cap badge of the 42nd Cavalry Regiment was the Roman numeral "XLII", surmounted by a crown with a scroll below bearing the word "CAVALRY". The shoulder title was a numeral "42" atop the word "CAVALRY" curved concavely. The regiment was disbanded shortly afterwards in 1921.
42nd Cavalry, Indian Armoured Corps (1941-1944)
When the Indian Cavalry was converted into the Indian Armoured Corps in 1941, seven new armoured regiments were raised, numbered 42nd to 48th. The regiment was thus re-raised after 20 years as 42nd Cavalry, Indian Armoured Corps. The regiment was equipped with Diamler and Humber armoured cars. After raising, the regiment moved to Piska Camp, Ranchi where it was converted in February 1942 into a training unit for VCOs and NCOs.
The initial levy of 200 sowars (soldiers), along with the commanding officer, risaldar major and two British Officers came from 3 Cavalry and an attempt to rename the unit as the 2nd Regiment, 3rd Cavary was not accepted. In February 1944, the regiment was disbanded, and the armoured cars handed over to the 8th King George V's Own Light Cavalry.
While no specimen of a cap badge of the 42nd Cavary is available today, two patterns are known to have been in use: