The Australian Army has used tanks from after the First World War, through the interwar period, the Second World War, the Cold War and to the present day. Throughout this period the Army has primarily been a light infantry force, with its tanks mainly being used in the direct support role. The Australian Army's tanks have seen combat during the Second World War and the Vietnam War, where they proved successful despite some of the designs employed being considered obsolete. The first Australian tanks were a small number of British medium and light tanks which were operated mainly for training purposes during the 1920s and 1930s.
The outbreak of the Second World War in 1939 led to a significant expansion of Australia's armoured force. From 1942 large numbers of American light and medium tanks were delivered to Australia, along with British Matilda IIs. In addition, a small number of Australian-designed Sentinel tanks were delivered to the Army during 1942 and 1943, but the type was never issued to combat units. Three armoured divisions capable of independent operations were formed during the Second World War, but none were deployed outside Australia. Many individual units later fought against the Japanese in the Pacific, although only in regimental strength.
With few modern tanks at the time of the Korean War, the Australian Army had to rely on British and US tank support. During the 1950s the Army standardised on the British Centurion tank, which saw action in Vietnam and remained in service until it was replaced with the German Leopard 1 in the mid-1970s. After an internal debate on whether the Army should continue to operate tanks as part of its force structure, the Australian Government replaced the Leopards with 59 American M1A1 Abrams tanks in 2007. The Australian Government is currently replacing the M1A1 to the upgraded M1A2 SEPv3 variant of the M1 Abrams. In addition to these types, the Army has operated small numbers of other tank designs for training and evaluation purposes.
Overview
The operational use of tanks during the latter part of the First World War established the validity of the tank concept. After the war, many nations recognised the importance of tanks, but only a few had the industrial resources to design and build them. During and after the First World War, Britain and France were the intellectual leaders in tank design, while other countries generally followed, adopting their designs. The Australian Army, which had initially had bad experiences operating with British tanks during the early stages of their employment during the war, had come to realise their utility after the battles of 1918, and in the post-war period sought to build its own armoured force.
Initially, the Australian Army procured a number of British-made Vickers tanks, and American M3 Grant medium and M3 Stuart light tanks, but it later went on to build and design some of its own during the Second World War. Since then Australia's armoured forces have fought in a number of battles during key conflicts, such as those in the Second World War and the Vietnam War. Primarily a light infantry force for most of its history, the Australian Army has used tanks mainly in the direct support role as opposed to engaging in sweeping manoeuvre against other tanks.
Inter-war period
After the First World War, many European countries attempted to mechanise their cavalry. In parallel, Australian cavalry also shifted to military armoured units. The Australian Army (like the US, French, British and Russian armies) tried various methods to integrate modern armour into their traditional horse cavalry formations, as part of a gradual process of mechanisation between 1920 and 1940. Experiences during the final year of the war, such as the Battle of Hamel in July 1918 and later during the Battle of Amiens in August where the Australians had fought as part of an attack by 10 Allied divisions—including Canadian, British and French forces—supported by more than 500 British tanks, had shown the impact that tanks could have on the battlefield.
As a result, the Australian Army sought to obtain tanks of its own; however, due to post-war economic measures this was slow in occurring. Four British Vickers Medium Mark II tanks were procured in 1927 to build its force, with the formation of the Australian Tank Corps gazetted on 15 December 1927. The 1st Tank Section was subsequently formed as a part-time Militia unit in 1930. The unit was based at Randwick, New South Wales, and training was initially undertaken at Greenhills, which was part of the Liverpool Military Area, in Sydney.
Despite these initial developments the Depression in the early 1930s largely halted the development of armour in Australia, although a limited capability was maintained by the regular tank cadre which operated mainly in an instructional role. The 1st Tank Section was disbanded in November 1937 with the men and equipment transferred to the newly created 1st Light Tank Company based at Randwick. It was not the Australian Army's only armoured unit as the Second World War approached. The 2nd Light Tank Company was formed as a Militia unit at Caulfield, Victoria in March 1939 and was also equipped with Vickers Medium Mark II medium tanks. The light tank companies were then equipped with the Light Tank Mark VIa, 10 of which had been acquired to replace the ageing Mark IIs. In addition, the 1st Royal New South Wales Lancers, which had been serving as a Light Horse regiment, having converted from horses to armoured vehicles to become a light cavalry (reconnaissance) regiment and took on the role of a motorised machine-gun regiment during the inter-war years. It subsequently saw action in the Second World War as the 1st Armoured Regiment equipped with Matilda infantry tanks.
Second World War
Armoured formations and campaigns
The outbreak of war in 1939 led to a significant expansion of Australia's armoured force. At the start of the war, due to the limitations of the Defence Act (1903), which prevented the government from sending the Militia to fight outside Australian territory, it was decided to raise an all-volunteer force to serve overseas. This force was known as the Second Australian Imperial Force (2nd AIF), and many of the 1st Light Horse (Machine Gun) Regiment's members volunteered and were assigned to the 2/2nd Machine Gun Battalion, they took part in the fighting in the Mediterranean theatre. With the Australian Army only possessing a total of fourteen tanks – 10 Mark VIs and four Mark IIs – orders for modern types were quickly placed in Britain and the United States.
Thirteen M3 light tanks arrived in September 1941, while another 400 more were soon delivered. However, 140 British Matilda tanks would not begin to arrive until July 1942. Meanwhile, as steps were made to form the 1st Armoured Division in 1941 the armoured vehicles of the 1st and 2nd Light Tank Companies had been withdrawn to equip the newly formed AFV School at Puckapunyal, Victoria. The 1st Light Tank Company was subsequently expanded to form the 3rd Armoured Regiment, while the 2nd Light Tank Company was disbanded.
At the same time each of the four divisions in the 2nd AIF was authorised a cavalry reconnaissance regiment equipped with light tanks and scout carriers. While all four divisions were authorised a divisional cavalry regiment, only three regiments were eventually formed as it was believed that the 8th Division did not need armoured support in Malaya due to concerns about operating tanks in the jungle. The cavalry regiments of the 2nd AIF divisions operating in Mediterranean theatre against Italian and German forces were initially equipped with the Universal Carrier and unarmoured trucks before being progressively mechanised using British Army equipment, while carriers were also operated by the infantry battalions. A light armoured tracked vehicle they were armed with Bren light machine guns and Boys anti-tank rifles and were widely used by British Commonwealth forces during World War II. Meanwhile, the Australian Tank Corps was superseded following the formation of the Australian Armoured Corps in July 1941. In October 1941 two independent light tank squadrons had been formed for service in Malaya; however, neither was deployed due to a lack of vehicles to equip them.
In North Africa in 1941, Australian troops were part of the force which captured Tobruk on 22 January as part of Operation Compass, yielding over 25,000 prisoners along with 236 field and medium guns, 23 medium tanks and more than 200 other vehicles. During the capture of the town Australians from the 6th Division Cavalry Regiment had used a number of captured Italian M11 tanks which had been pressed into service due to a lack of their own tanks, painting kangaroos on the side so they would not be attacked by their own side. The regiment's use of tanks in this fighting was significant, representing the first time that Australian forces had operated tanks in action. The 6th Division Cavalry Regiment later saw service in Syria against the Vichy French. Meanwhile, the 7th Division Cavalry Regiment had been sent to Cyprus in May 1941, before relieving the 6th Division Cavalry Regiment in July.
The regiment subsequently fought a number of actions using a variety of armoured personnel carriers, light tanks, and 2-pounder anti-tank guns before returning to Australia in March 1942. The 9th Division Cavalry Regiment later also served in Syria and was the first Australian armoured unit to be equipped with modern vehicles, receiving British Crusader Mark II medium tanks and M3 Stuart light tanks. A number of captured French Renault R35 tanks were also used. The regiment returned to Australia in early 1943. Between mid-1942 and early 1944 the Divisional Cavalry Regiments were converted to commando units and subsequently fought in the Pacific against the Japanese as dismounted infantry.
The Australian 1st Armoured Division was raised in 1941 as part of the 2nd AIF. While the division was originally to be deployed to North Africa in late 1941, it was retained in Australia following the outbreak of the Pacific War. Universal Carriers were issued to the armoured regiments in 1941 and early 1942 for training purposes and to provide the Army with a minimal armoured capability as an emergency measure until the arrival of tanks ordered from the United States. The 1st Armoured Division's armoured regiments subsequently began re-equipping with M3 Grant medium tanks and M3 Stuart light tanks in April and May 1942. Following this, the division was concentrated in northern New South Wales where it completed its training with a series of large exercises around Narrabri.
The 2/6th Armoured Regiment was the first unit of the division to see action, deploying to Port Moresby and Milne Bay in New Guinea in September. In December two of its squadrons were subsequently shipped to Buna on the north coast of Papua to help break the deadlock in the Battle of Buna–Gona and although the lightly armoured M3 Stuart tanks proved to be unsuited to jungle warfare and suffered heavy casualties, the regiment played an important role in the eventual Australian victory at Buna during fighting between December 1942 and January 1943. Meanwhile, in January 1943 the remainder of the division was moved to the area between Perth and Geraldton, Western Australia, where it formed part of III Corps, which was tasked to counter the perceived threat of a Japanese invasion of Western Australia. The 1st Armoured Division formed a key element of Australia's mainland defences, but after that threat passed it was disbanded in Western Australia in September 1943.