The 3rd Armoured Division () was formed on 2 July 1956 in Hamburg and was one of the first major formations of the new German Army or Bundeswehr after the Second World War. The 3rd Armoured Division was stationed on the North German Plain between the rivers Elbe and Weser. Its last headquarters location was Buxtehude. It was part of the I Corps alongside the 1st Panzer, 7th Panzer, and 11th Panzergrenadier Divisions.
The 3rd Armoured Division was disbanded on 30 September 1994. Its last commander was Generalmajor Gerd Schultze-Rhonhof.
In the 1980s under Army Structures III and IV the division consisted of the 7th Panzergrenadier Brigade, 8th Panzer Brigade, and the Panzerlehrbrigade 9 (Armoured demonstration brigade). After the division's disbandment 9 PzL Bde eventually became part of 1st Armoured Division (Germany).
Operations The Division provided support to numerous disasters, e. g. during serious floods in North Germany in 1962 and 1976 as well as the flooding of the Elbe Lateral Canal. In January 1979 elements of the Division were deployed during the emergency caused by heavy snowfall in North Germany.
In 1993 parts of the Division were deployed to Somalia as part of UNOSOM II.
Divisional Organization 1989 3rd Panzer Division, Buxtehude Staff Company, 3rd Panzer Division, Buxtehude 7th Panzergrenadier Brigade, Hamburg Staff Company, 1st Panzergrenadier Brigade, Hamburg, (8× M577, 8× Luchs) 71st Panzergrenadier Battalion (Reserve), Hamburg, (13× Leopard 1A5, 24× Marder, 12× M113) 72nd Panzergrenadier Battalion, Hamburg, (24× Marder, 6× Panzermörser, 23× M113) 73rd Panzergrenadier Battalion, Cuxhaven, (24× Marder, 6× Panzermörser, 23× M113) 74th Panzer Battalion, Cuxhaven, (41× Leopard 2, 12× M113) 75th Panzer Artillery Battalion, Hamburg, (18× M109A3G) 70th Anti-Tank Company, Cuxhaven, (12× Jaguar 2) 70th Armored Engineer Company, Stade 70th Supply Company, Stade 70th Maintenance Company, Stade 8th Panzer Brigade, Lüneburg Staff Company, 8th Panzer Brigade, Lüneburg, (8× M577, 8× Luchs) 81st Panzer Battalion (Reserve), Lüneburg, (28× Leopard 2, 11× Marder, 12× M113) 82nd Panzergrenadier Battalion, Lüneburg, (35× Marder, 6× Panzermörser, 12× M113) 83rd Panzer Battalion, Lüneburg, (41× Leopard 2, 12× M113) 84th Panzer Battalion, Lüneburg, (41× Leopard 2, 12× M113) 85th Panzer Artillery Battalion, Lüneburg, (18× M109A3G) 80th Anti-Tank Company, Lüneburg, (12× Jaguar 1) 80th Armored Engineer Company, Lüneburg 80th Supply Company, Lüneburg 80th Maintenance Company, Lüneburg 9th Panzer (Lehr) Brigade, Munster Staff Company, 9th Panzerlehrbrigade, Munster, (8× M577, 8× Luchs) 91st Panzer (Lehr) Battalion (Reserve), Munster, (28× Leopard 2, 11× Marder, 12× M113) 92nd Panzergrenadier (Lehr) Battalion, Munster, (35× Marder, 6× Panzermörser, 12× M113) 93rd Panzer (Lehr) Battalion, Munster, (41× Leopard 2, 12× M113) 94th Panzer (Lehr) Battalion, Munster, (41× Leopard 2, 12× M113) 95th Panzer (Lehr) Artillery Battalion, Munster, (18× M109A3G) 90th Anti-Tank (Lehr) Company, Munster, (12× Jaguar 1) 90th Armored Engineer (Lehr) Company, Munster 90th Supply (Lehr) Company, Munster 90th Maintenance (Lehr) Company, Munster 3rd Artillery Regiment, Stade Staff Battery, 3rd Artillery Regiment, Stade 31st Field Artillery Battalion, Lüneburg, (18× M110A2, 18× FH-70) 32nd Rocket Artillery Battalion, Dörverden, (16× LARS) 33rd Surveillance Battalion, Stade, (12× CL89) 3rd Infantry Battery, Dörverden 3rd Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, Lüneburg, (34× Leopard 1, 10× Luchs, 18× Fuchs - 9 of which carry a RASIT radar) 3rd Air Defense Regiment, Hamburg, (36× Gepard) 3rd Engineer Battalion, Stade, (8× Biber AVLB, 8× Pionierpanzer 1, 4× Skorpion Mine Layers, 12× Floating Bridge Modules) 3rd Army Aviation Squadron, Rotenburg, (10× Alouette II) 3rd Signal Battalion, Buxtehude 3rd Medical Battalion (Reserve), Hamburg 3rd Supply Battalion (Reserve), Stade 3rd Maintenance Battalion (Reserve), Rotenburg 5× Field Replacement Battalions: 31st and 32nd in Zeven, 33rd and 35th in Verden, 34th in Neustadt am Achim 36th Jäger Battalion (Reserve), Zeven 37th Jäger Battalion (Reserve), Munster 38th Security Battalion (Reserve), Zeven
Commanders No. Name Took over Handed over15Generalmajor Gerd Schultze-Rhonhof12 September 199130 September 199414Generalmajor Winfried Weick6 January 198911 September 199113Generalmajor Jörg Schönbohm11 March 19885 January 198912Generalmajor Harald Schulz1 April 198510 March 198811Brigadegeneral Klaus Nennecke7 December 198431 March 198510Generalmajor Wolfgang Tebbe1 April 19836 December 19849Generalmajor Franz-Joachim von Rodde1 April 197831 March 19838Generalmajor Eberhard Burandt1. October 197431 March 19787Generalmajor Horst Ohrloff1 October 197030 September 19746Generalmajor Walter Carganico1 October 196730 September 19705Generalmajor Bernd Freytag von Loringhoven1 April 196721 September 19674Generalmajor Hans-Georg von Tempelhoff1 October 196231 March 19673Generalmajor Hans-Ullrich Krantz1 October 196130 September 19622Generalmajor Christian Müller15 July 195820 September 19611Generalmajor Heinrich Hax3 September 195614 July 1958
References
External links The 3rd Armoured Division of the Bundeswehr at www.relikte.com The history of the Division in the Federal Archive