The Pakistan Army Armoured Corps is a military administrative and combined arms service branch of the Pakistan Army.
Headquartered in Nowshera, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa in Pakistan, the corps is commanded by its director-general, Major-General Zafar Marwat as of 2023.
Overview
The Pakistan Army's armored corps was commissioned as an administrative corps from one-third of the personnel and assets of the British Indian Army's Indian Armoured Corps– there were six regiments that formed the basis of the Armoured Corps.Riza, Maj Gen Shaukat. (1989). The Pakistan Army 1947-49. Rawalpindi: Services Book Club
During the early years, the British Army officers played a crucial role in running the military operations from the Nowshera Cantonment which remains till this day Armoured Corps' headquarter. Until 1956, the training and field manuals were based on British Army but later adopted U.S. Army's field manual and training, which is continue to be practiced by armoured corps' training school. The School of Armor and Mechanized Warfare trains cadets and officers to be a part of the Armored Corps at the Nowshera Cantonment. The Armored Corps is commanded by the director-general who is usually at two-star active duty rank, Major-General, working directly under the IG Arms at the Army GHQ in Rawalpindi.
The Armoured Corps only has an administrative control over its combat strike brigades and such brigade teams are employed in numbers of strike maneuver corps to defend the national borders of Pakistan from the foreign threats.
Until 2001, the armoured corps was focused towards opposing Indian advances in the east but later stationed its interests in western border to prevent foreign threats coming from Afghanistan.
In 2012, the CIA used satellite imagery to estimate that there were 32 armoured regiments in Pakistan Army, including two armoured reconnaissance regiments. Most of these units were operating near the border with India.
Regiments in the Corps At the time of independence of the country in August 1947, Pakistan Army inherited six armoured regiments from the British Indian Army, as follows: Regiment Nickname RaisedPresident's Bodyguard (Pakistan)The President's Body Guard was formed at independence from the Governor General's Bodyguard, which was raised in 1773 under the name of Governor's Troop of Mughals at that time. In 1956 its name was changed to President's Bodyguard from when Pakistan became a republic. It is the senior-most armoured regiment of Pakistan Army.PBG177313th Lancers13th Lancers is successor to the 1st and 2nd Native Troops of Bombay Cavalry, raised in 1804 and 1816 respectively.The Spearhead Regiment1817Guides CavalryThe Guides Cavalry (Frontier Force) is the successor to the Corps of Guides raised in 1846.The Guides184611th Cavalry (Frontier Force)11th Cavalry (Frontier Force) is the successor to 1st and 3rd Regiments of Punjab Cavalry, both raised in 1849.PAVO Cavalry18495th Horse5th Horse is the successor to the 1st Sikh Irregular Cavalry (Wales's Horse), and the 2nd Sikh Irregular Cavalry, both raised in 1857.Probyn’s Horse18576th Lancers6th Lancers is the successor to The Rohilkhand Horse raised in 1857, and the 4th Sikh Irregular Cavalry raised in 1858.Fateh Khem Karan185719th Lancers19th Lancers is successor to the 2nd Mahratta Horse (Tiwana Horse) raised in 1858, and Fane's Horse raised in 1860.Fane’s Horse185815th Lancers15th Lancers is successor to the Muttra Horse and 7th Bombay Cavalry, raised in 1857 and 1885 respectively.Baluch Horse195512th Cavalry (Frontier Force)12th Cavalry (Frontier Force) is the successor to 2nd and 5th Regiments of Punjab Cavalry, both raised in 1849.Sam Browne's Cavalry19554th Cavalry (Pakistan)The Valiants195620th Lancers20th Lancers is associated with the Punjab Regiment.Haideri195622nd CavalryDeath or Glory196223rd CavalryThe Tudors196224th Cavalry (Frontier Force)The Chargers196225th CavalryMen of Steel196232nd CavalryConquerers196427th CavalrySteeds of War196530th CavalryBold Till Death196631st CavalrySprocketeers196634th LancersDragoons199926th CavalryThe Mustangs196828th CavalryChamb Hunters196929th CavalryBengal Tigers196933rd Cavalry33rd Cavalry is the only Pakistani armoured regiment which has five battle honours to its credit post-independence.Fortunes with the Bold197138th CavalryDesert Hawk197139th CavalryThe Vanguards197151st LancersSilver Eagles197152nd CavalryHowal Mastan197253rd CavalryGolden Eagle197254th CavalryHizbullah197421 Independent Armoured Squadron198555th CavalryAdham198556th CavalryRaad ul Harb198557th CavalryAllāhu ʾakbar198558th CavalryLionhearts198540th HorseFars e Sholazan (Blazing Steeds)198741st HorseKarakash198742nd LancersPunjab Lancers198821st HorseMurtajiz19907th LancersZarrar19918th CavalryIzz-Ul-Khail19919th HorseArabian Horse199114th LancersZarb-e-Ghazi199316th HorseAl-Mugheerat199318th HorseCharging Stallions199417th LancersStalions199837th Cavalry (Pakistan)Ribat-us-Sehra35th CavalryAL-MUBARIZUN201436th Cavalry201543rd CavalryAl-Zarib201544th CavalryHell on Wheels201645th HorseAlambardar47th Cavalry
Equipment Early days During World War II, the British Indian Army received low priority for equipment, and the surplus American tanks and vehicles obtained afterward were mostly outdated. The Indian Armoured Corps operated a mix of obsolete Churchills, Shermans, Stuarts, and armoured cars. This same mix was inherited by the Pakistan Armoured Corps (excluding the Churchill tank), which struggled to keep them operational in the difficult years after independence. After the independence, Pakistan got 135 light armoured vehicles consisting of M3 Stuarts, Humber armoured cars and Daimler armoured cars along with some Universal Carriers, 2 AEC armoured command vehicles and 162 Sherman medium tanks from the division of assets.
Current inventory Armoured Corps regiments are equipped with the following:
The VT4 is a Chinese third-generation MBT specifically made for export. The Al-Khalid main battle tank is a joint Sino-Pakistani production with a 125 mm smoothbore gun. The T-80UD is of Ukrainian origin with a 125 mm smoothbore gun. The Al-Zarrar is a heavily upgraded version of the Chinese Type 59 tank equipped with a 125mm smoothbore cannon, ERA, and many more modern equipment. The T-85III is an upgraded version of the Chinese T-85AP with a 125 mm smoothbore gun. The Type 69 tank is a Chinese MBT with a 105 mm gun. The Haider main battle tank has been designed by using the design of the Chinese VT4.
See also 6th Armoured Division (Pakistan) Azad Kashmir Regiment Baloch Regiment Frontier Force Regiment Northern Light Infantry Regiment Punjab Regiment Sindh Regiment
References
External links Pakistan Armoured Corps on www.regiments.org