View source for 3rd Royal Tank Regiment

{{Infobox military unit
| unit_name = 3rd Royal Tank Regiment
| image = ROYAL TANK REGIMENT.png
| caption = Cap badge of the [[Royal Tank Regiment]]
| dates = May 1916 – September 1992
| country = {{flag|United Kingdom}}
| allegiance = 
| branch = {{army|United Kingdom}}
| type = [[Armoured warfare|Armoured]]
| role = Div Troops/Land Warfare training
| size = One regiment
| command_structure = [[Royal Armoured Corps]]
| current_commander = 
| garrison = 
| ceremonial_chief = [[King Charles III|HM The King]]
| ceremonial_chief_label = Colonel-in-Chief
| colonel_of_the_regiment = 
| colonel_of_the_regiment_label = Colonel-Commandant
| nickname = ''The Armoured Farmers''
| patron = 
| motto = ''Fear Naught''
| colors = 
| identification_symbol_2_label = 
| identification_symbol = [[Image:Royal Tank Regiment (tactical recognition flash).PNG|75px]]
| identification_symbol_label = Tactical Recognition Flash
| march = Quick: "On the Quarterdeck" (3RTR) and "My Boy Willie" (all RTR regiments)<br />Slow: "The Royal Tank Regiment Slow March"
| mascot = 
| battles = 
| notable_commanders = 
| anniversaries = 
| decorations = 
| battle_honours = see [[Royal Tank Regiment#Battle honours|Battle Honours]]
}}

The '''3rd Royal Tank Regiment''' ('''3 RTR''') was an [[Armoured warfare|armoured]] [[regiment]] of the [[British Army]] in existence from 1917 until 1992. It was part of the [[Royal Tank Regiment]], itself part of the [[Royal Armoured Corps]]. It originally saw action as '''C Battalion, Tank Corps''' in 1917.

==History==
[[File:Rastingtractable.jpg|A [[Sherman tank]] of 3rd Royal Tank Regiment during the Normandy campaign, August 1944|thumb|left]]
[[File:British Stuart tank Germany May 1945 IWM BU 4972.jpg|thumb|{{center|[[Stuart tank]]s of 3rd Royal Tank Regiment, [[11th Armoured Division (United Kingdom)|11th Armoured Division]], drive along an autobahn towards Lubeck, 2 May 1945}}]]
In 1916 the [[Machine Gun Corps]] formed a Heavy Section, later Branch, in order to crew the first [[British_heavy_tanks_of_World_War_I#Mark_I|tanks]].<ref name=regiments>{{cite web|url=http://www.regiments.org:80/deploy/uk/reg-cav/rtr3.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070220144229/http://www.regiments.org/deploy/uk/reg-cav/rtr3.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=20 February 2007|title=3rd Royal Tank Regiment|publisher=Regiments.org|access-date=4 March 2018}}</ref> C Company was formed at [[Bisley, Surrey|Bisley]] and sent to France, after offensives in 1916 the Heavy Section became the Heavy Branch and "C" Company was expanded to Battalion strength. The Heavy Branch was then reformed in to a new [[Royal Tank Regiment|Tank Corps]] and "C" Battalion then fought from [[Cambrai]] to the end of the war, being re-equipped with [[Medium Mark A Whippet|Whippet]] tanks in 1918. Lieutenant [[Cecil Sewell]] won the Battalion's only [[Victoria Cross]] for an outstanding act of bravery at [[Frémicourt]] in August of that year.<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=30982 |supp=y |pages=12801–12802 |date=30 October 1918 }}</ref>

Post war, the Tank Corps was trimmed down and received the Royal prefix with the lettered battalions being numbered and "C" became 3rd Tank Corps.<ref name=regiments/> In 1939 the 3 RTR was retitled from "3rd Royal Tank Regiment".<ref name=regiments/>

With the outbreak of the [[World War II|Second World War]] the army was once more deployed to France. In 1940, 3 RTR, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel [[Reginald Keller]], was preparing for deployment as part of [[1st Armoured Division (United Kingdom)|1st Armoured Division]] when it was diverted at short notice to [[Calais]]. Here it fought during the four-day [[Siege of Calais (1940)|Siege of Calais]], part of the [[Battle of France]]. All of its tanks were lost, and many personnel were killed or taken prisoner, but some [[Battle of Dunkirk|escaped to Dunkirk]] or were evacuated from Calais before the port fell.<ref name=regiments/>

The regiment was subsequently rebuilt in the [[United Kingdom]] as part of [[3rd Armoured Brigade (United Kingdom)|3rd Armoured Brigade]], its original parent formation. Shipped to the [[Middle East]], it was part of the [[1st Armoured Brigade (United Kingdom)|1st Armoured Brigade]] when it was sent to [[Battle of Greece|defend Greece]] to try to stem the German invasion in March 1941.<ref name=regiments/> From May to mid November 1941, there was a period of reorganisation in [[Egypt]].<ref name=regiments/> In 1942, it briefly amalgamated with the [[5th Royal Tank Regiment]], as the '''3rd/5th Royal Tank Regiment''', returning to its previous title a month later.<ref name=regiments/> It was then attached to [[8th Armoured Brigade (United Kingdom)|8th Armoured Brigade]].<ref name=regiments/> 3 RTR was transferred back to the UK in late 1943 joining [[29th Armoured Brigade (United Kingdom)|29th Armoured Brigade]] of the [[11th Armoured Division (United Kingdom)|11th Armoured Division]].<ref name=regiments/>

After the war in 1959, it amalgamated with the [[6th Royal Tank Regiment]] without change of title.<ref name=regiments/> In 1973 and again in 1974 the regiment was deployed to [[Northern Ireland]] during [[the Troubles]].<ref name=regiments/> In 1992, 3 RTR amalgamated with the [[2nd Royal Tank Regiment]] under that name.<ref name=regiments/>

==Commanding officers==
{{Incomplete list|date=February 2021}}
The commanding officers have been:<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gulabin.com/armynavy/pdf/REGIMENTAL%20COs.pdf|title=Regiments and Commanding Officers, 1960 - Colin Mackie|page=32|accessdate=4 February 2021}}</ref>
*1943-1944: Lt.-Col. David A. Silvertop (died Sint Anthonis, Netherlands)
*1957–1959: Lt.-Col. [[Richard Ward (British Army officer)|Richard Ward]]
*1959–1960: Lt.-Col. Peter A.L. Vaux
*1960–1962: Lt.-Col. [[Allan Taylor (British Army officer)|Allan Taylor]]
*1962–1964: Lt.-Col. John C. Barras
*1964–1966: Lt.-Col. David T. Grantham
*1966–1969: Lt.-Col. Michael A. Sanders
*1969–1971: Lt.-Col. Richard M. Jerram
*1971–1973: Lt.-Col. John G.R. Dixon
*1973–1976: Lt.-Col. Gregory Read
*1976–1978: Lt.-Col. R. Christopher J. Dick
*1978–1981: Lt.-Col. William A. Allen
*1981–1983: Lt.-Col. Richard S. Evans
*1983–1986: Lt.-Col. John Woodward
*1986–1988: Lt.-Col. Michael J. Napper
*1988–1991: Lt.-Col. Rodney W. Brummitt
*1991–1992: Lt.-Col. [[Andrew Ridgway]]

==See also==
* [[Bob Crisp]]
* [[Peter Elstob]]
* [[Fred Kite]]

== Citations ==
{{reflist}}

==References==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20040817035648/http://www.regiments.org/deploy/uk/reg-cav/rtr3.htm 3rd Royal Tank Regiment at regiments.org]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070314215038/http://www.ordersofbattle.com/UnitData.aspx?UniX=3778&Tab=Uhi Orders of Battle.com]

==Further reading==
*Patrick Delaforce. 2000 ''Taming the panzers: Monty's tank battalions: 3 RTR at war'', Sutton. {{ISBN|0-7509-2550-7}} (2000), {{ISBN|0-7509-3197-3}} (2003 pbk)
*Bob Crisp, 1959 ''The Gods Were Neutral: A British Tank Officer's Very Personal Account of the Ill-Fated Greek Campaign in WWII''  {{OCLC|5926883}}
*Bob Crisp, 1959 ''Brazen Chariots: An Account of Tank Warfare in the Western Desert, November–December 1941'' {{ISBN|978-0-393-32712-0}}
* Bill Close, 2021 ''Tank Commander: From the Fall of France to the Defeat of Germany - The Memoirs of Bill Close'' {{ISBN|978-1526766694}}

==External links==
* [http://www.greenflash.org.uk/index.html 3RTR - Armoured Farmers]
* [http://www.merseysidertr.com/  Merseyside RTR ](Brian Gills website)

{{RAC armoured regiments of the Second World War}}

[[Category:Military units and formations established in 1917]]
[[Category:Military units and formations disestablished in 1992]]
[[Category:Royal Tank Regiment|3-003 Royal Tank Regiment]]