50th Indian Tank Brigade
Encyclopedia
The 50th Indian Tank Brigade was an armoured formation of the Indian Army during World War II. It was formed for service in the Burma Campaign
of World War II
from units of the British Army
and the British Indian Army
. The brigade's formation emblem was a white upraised fist and forearm on a black disc.
Burma Campaign
The Burma Campaign in the South-East Asian Theatre of World War II was fought primarily between British Commonwealth, Chinese and United States forces against the forces of the Empire of Japan, Thailand, and the Indian National Army. British Commonwealth land forces were drawn primarily from...
of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
from units of the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
and the British Indian Army
British Indian Army
The British Indian Army, officially simply the Indian Army, was the principal army of the British Raj in India before the partition of India in 1947...
. The brigade's formation emblem was a white upraised fist and forearm on a black disc.
Composition
- 25th Dragoons25th DragoonsThe 25th Dragoons was a cavalry regiment of the British Army from 1941 to 1947.The regiment was raised in Sialkot, India, in February 1941 from a cadre of personnel taken from the 3rd Carabiniers along with volunteers from infantry regiments...
with the Grant tankM3 LeeThe Medium Tank M3 was an American tank used during World War II. In Britain the tank was called "General Lee", named after Confederate General Robert E. Lee, and the modified version built with a new turret was called the "General Grant", named after U.S. General Ulysses S. Grant.Design commenced... - 146th Regiment of the Royal Armoured CorpsRoyal Armoured CorpsThe Royal Armoured Corps is currently a collection of ten regular regiments, mostly converted from old horse cavalry regiments, and four Yeomanry regiments of the Territorial Army...
, raised from a Battalion of the Duke of Wellington's RegimentDuke of Wellington's RegimentThe Duke of Wellington's Regiment was an infantry regiment of the British Army, forming part of the King's Division.In 1702 Colonel George Hastings, 8th Earl of Huntingdon, was authorised to raise a new regiment, which he did in and around the city of Gloucester. As was the custom in those days...
, with Lee/Grant tanks - 19th King George's Own Lancers19th King George's Own LancersThe 19th Lancers is an armoured regiment of the Pakistan Army. Before 1956, it was known as 19th King George V's Own Lancers, which was a regular cavalry regiment of the British Indian Army. It was formed in 1922, by the amalgamation of 18th King George's Own Lancers and 19th Lancers...
, with Sherman tanksLend-Lease Sherman tanksThe United States provided tens of thousands of its Medium Tank M4, nicknamed the Sherman, to many of its Allies during the Second World War, under the terms of Lend-Lease Act.-British nomenclature:... - 45th Light Cavalry, with Stuart light tanksStuart tankThe M3 Stuart, formally Light Tank M3, was an American light tank of World War II and supplied to British and Commonwealth forces under lend-lease prior to the entry of the U.S. into the war—and used thereafter by U.S...
- 2/4th Bombay Grenadiers4th Bombay GrenadiersThe 4th Bombay Grenadiers were an infantry regiment of the pre-independence Indian Army, formed on 1 March 1922 as part of the reforms of the Indian Army that took place after the end of the First World War. Following this, the Regiment spent the next fifteen years serving in British Somaliland in...