1st Armoured Regiment (1AR) is an armoured regiment of the Australian Army and is the senior regiment of the Royal Australian Armoured Corps (RAAC). Formed as an armoured unit in the Australian Regular Army on 7 July 1949, the regiment squadrons served during the Vietnam War operating Centurion tanks. More recently the regiment has contributed small groups and individuals to operations in East Timor, Iraq, Afghanistan, the Solomon Islands and elsewhere. Currently the unit is based in Edinburgh, South Australia and was re-roled in 2024 as an experimentation unit.

History Formation The 1st Armoured Regiment was raised as a regular unit on 7 July 1949 at Puckapunyal in Victoria. It was raised from the 1st Armoured Car Squadron, which had returned from occupation duties in Japan a few months earlier. Consequently, the reserve Citizens Military Forces (CMF) unit also named the 1st Armoured Regiment, was retitled as the 1st Royal New South Wales Lancers to perpetuate its unit history and battle honours. Upon establishment, the regiment constituted only one squadron, A Squadron, under the command of Major Cecil Ives. Formal affiliation with the Royal Tank Regiment (RTR) was recognised in 1959 and the regiment adopted their regimental colours of Brown, Red and Green, which date back to the Battle of Cambrai during the First World War in 1917. These same colours had also been used by the Australian Tank Corps prior to the Second World War.

Initially the new regiment was equipped with Second World War era Churchill tanks, although this was only a temporary measure until Centurion tanks could be acquired. Due to the perceived unsuitability of the Churchill and the late arrival of the new platform, the regiment was not deployed as part of Australia's commitment to the Korean War, although a number of officers served on exchange with British and US formations and the unit provided machine-gunners and signalers to Australian infantry battalions as reinforcements. The first Centurions finally began arriving in June 1952, with the regiment receiving 39 tanks. With the numbers of regular personnel steadily growing, it was possible to raise Regimental Headquarters, Headquarters Squadron and B Squadron, and the regiment was fully raised by 8 September 1952 under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Stuart Graham.

Meanwhile, in September 1952 another tank squadron was raised. This was known as Nucleus Squadron and was based in Holsworthy, New South Wales, with the purpose of forming the basis of a second tank unit which was to be named the 2nd Armoured Regiment. In 1954 the regiment received it first Ferret MK 1 Scout Car, enabling the raising of Reconnaissance Troop. The following year 1st Armoured Regiment received the Saracen Armoured Personnel Carrier, and it was at this time that the intention to form another tank unit was abandoned, and Nucleus Squadron subsequently returned to the regiment as its third squadron, designated C Squadron.

On 6 February 1956, the then Governor General, Field Marshal Sir William Slim, presented the regiment with its Guidon at a Regimental Parade held in Puckapunyal. Also in 1956 the regiment was equipped with the Centurion armoured recovery vehicle, allowing the retirement of the Churchill recovery vehicle. Under the Pentropic restructure, the regular elements of the RAAC were required to grow to support the new divisions to be formed under this concept. Consequently, in 1960 A Squadron was disbanded, reducing the regiment to two squadrons. The majority of the squadron's personnel formed the basis of regular 'A' Squadrons in the 4th/19th Prince of Wales' Light Horse and the 2nd/14th Light Horse (Queensland Mounted Infantry), which were predominantly CMF formations. These squadrons subsequently formed the nucleus of the 1st Cavalry Regiment, later redesignated the 2nd Cavalry Regiment, and the 4th Cavalry Regiment.

Vietnam War

The regiments line squadrons each served in the Vietnam War, generally completing 12-month tours of duty. During the early stages of the war, the regiment had provided personnel to 1 Troop, A Squadron, 4th/19th Prince of Wales Light Horse, which was deployed on active service to South Vietnam in May. This troop was hurriedly equipped with the then new M113A1 Armoured Personnel Carrier (APC). In October 1967 the Australian government announced it would increase the size of the 1st Australian Task Force (1 ATF) at Nui Dat in Phuoc Tuy Province from two to three infantry battalions, while additional supporting arms, including a tank squadron would also be added to the force. In February 1968, C Squadron was sent to Vietnam, however, two of its four tank troops were initially held back until the Centurions had proved themselves capable of operating in the conditions. The tank squadron reached full strength of 20 Centurion tanks on 5 September 1968. Over the course of the war the regiments squadrons worked closely with A and B Squadrons of 3rd Cavalry Regiment, equipped with APCs. These provided armoured mobility to the infantry as well as the conduct of cavalry tasks. Meanwhile, in Australia, the regiment had again reached full strength in May, with A Squadron re-raised in order to meet the ongoing operational commitment.

Over the next four years the regiment's squadrons provided invaluable close support to the infantry, particularly during the clearance of Viet Cong bunker systems. Although their value in Vietnam was originally questioned by some, they proved a powerful weapon in both offence and defence, and were responsible for limiting infantry casualties. The Centurions were able to move through the countryside more easily than expected and although they were vulnerable to anti-tank weapons and mines, their firepower and shock action had a decisive effect on the battlefield. In late-May 1968 the tanks played a significant role in the Battle of Coral–Balmoral. Occupying blocking positions in an attempt to thwart an impending communist offensive aimed at influencing the peace-talks, 1ATF deployed two battalions away from its base in Phuoc Tuy, subsequently developing Fire Support Base Coral north-east of Saigon, just east of Lai Khe on 12 May.

Following several regimental-sized assaults on Coral which were successfully repelled by the Australians with heavy casualties on both sides, 1ATF moved to establish Fire Support Base Balmoral on 24–25 May, north of Coral. The infantry were this time supported by Centurion tanks which had been called forward by road from Nui Dat and had arrived just hours before Balmoral was subjected to a two battalion attack. Following a very accurate rocket and mortar barrage at 03:45 hours on 26 May, the base was assaulted by North Vietnamese infantry. The attack was repelled with heavy casualties by the combined firepower of the tanks and infantry. The next day the Australians at Coral assaulted a number of bunkers located just outside the base, with a troop of Centurions supported by infantry destroying the bunkers and their occupants without loss. A second attack, again of regimental strength, was made against Balmoral at 02:30 hours on 28 May but was called off after only 30 minutes. The North Vietnamese were soundly defeated—again by the supporting fires of tanks, artillery and mortars—leaving 55 dead and resulted in six prisoners. Australian losses were one killed and six wounded. This performance demonstrated the advantage of using armour in Vietnam, and whereas before the battle some infantry had doubted the usefulness or necessity of the Centurions, after the battle the infantry did not like working without them. For its involvement in the fighting at Coral–Balmoral, 'C' Squadron was awarded a Unit Citation for Gallantry in 2018.

In February 1969, C Squadron was relieved by B Squadron. On 6–7 June, B Squadron was involved in a fierce action during the Battle of Binh Ba, a village north of Nui Dat. The attack began on the morning of 6 June when Australian tanks and APCs advanced with infantry from D Company, 5th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (5 RAR) towards the village which was being occupied by the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese. As the battle continued, B Company, 5 RAR took up a blocking position to prevent them from escaping. During fierce urban fighting the infantry were forced to clear each house, while the Communist troops occupying the houses fired on them from the windows and doorways before retreating into tunnels as the Australians passed. Each time the infantry were fired on, the tanks would blast a hole in the wall of the building, through which small teams could then enter and clear the structure of any opposition. The fighting continued throughout the afternoon, and resumed the next day before the Australians successfully cleared the village, the bulk of which was destroyed. One Australian was killed and 10 wounded, while communist losses included at least 107 killed, six wounded and eight captured.

In December 1969, owing to the rotation system B Squadron was re-designated A Squadron, while in December 1970 A Squadron was in turn re-designated C Squadron. By late-1970 Australia was beginning to reduce its commitment to the war and the size of 1ATF was again reduced from three infantry battalions to two. The tanks, however, continued operations and were involved in heavy fighting at Long Khanh on 6–7 June 1971, as well as numerous smaller actions. The last elements of the regiment were subsequently withdrawn from Vietnam in September 1971. A total of 58 Centurions had served in Vietnam; 42 had suffered battle damage, of which six were beyond repair, while two crewmen had been killed in action.

1970s The years immediately following the Vietnam War were traumatic for the Australian Army and the regiment. The abolition of National Service after the end of Australian involvement in Vietnam depleted the regiments strength to the point where training was severely restricted until it was finally reinforced during 1974. Although various restructures occurred in this period, such as the RAAC Regiment and the Standard Infantry Division, the regiment was retained serving as Army's sole armoured regiment following the conversion of the CMF 1st/15th Royal New South Wales Lancers and the 8th/13th Victorian Mounted Rifles to cavalry regiments in 1971. From this time until the early 2010s the regiment was the only combat unit in Army which operated tanks, serving as the centre of excellence for armoured conventional warfare for the service. With the value of heavy armour proven again during the Vietnam War, government endorsed the plan to replace the aged Centurion tank. Subsequently, B Squadron was re-designated as the Medium Tank Trials Unit in 1972 and carried out extensive user and technical trials to evaluate the replacement for the ageing Centurions. In 1977 the Centurion was replaced in service by the Leopard 1, which had been selected over the American built M60 Patton.

1980s–1990s