The
Reconnaissance Corps was a short-lived elite
corpsA Corps is either a large formation, or an administrative grouping of troops within an armed force with a common function such as Artillery or Signals representing an arm of service...
of the
British ArmyThe British Army is the land armed forces branch of the British Armed Forces. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdoms 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 Scotland and...
. It was formed from
InfantryInfantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of the Combat Arms they are the backbone of armies...
BrigadeA brigade is a military unit that is typically composed of two to five regiments or battalions, depending on the era and nationality of a given army. Usually, a brigade is a sub-component of a division, a larger unit consisting of two or more brigades; however, some brigades are classified as a...
ReconnaissanceReconnaissance is a military and medical term denoting exploration conducted to gain information. Militarily, its shorthand Canadian and British form is recce , its American usage form is recon...
Groups on 1 August 1941. All the Brigade reconnaissance groups of each infantry Corps were formed into reconnaissance battalions, each usually bearing the number of its relevant Division. For example, the 43rd Battalion, Reconnaissance Corps (based on the 5th Battalion, the Gloucestershire Regiment) was the divisional reconnaissance battalion of the 43rd (Wessex) Infantry Division.
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The
Reconnaissance Corps was a short-lived elite
corpsA Corps is either a large formation, or an administrative grouping of troops within an armed force with a common function such as Artillery or Signals representing an arm of service...
of the
British ArmyThe British Army is the land armed forces branch of the British Armed Forces. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdoms 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 Scotland and...
. It was formed from
InfantryInfantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of the Combat Arms they are the backbone of armies...
BrigadeA brigade is a military unit that is typically composed of two to five regiments or battalions, depending on the era and nationality of a given army. Usually, a brigade is a sub-component of a division, a larger unit consisting of two or more brigades; however, some brigades are classified as a...
ReconnaissanceReconnaissance is a military and medical term denoting exploration conducted to gain information. Militarily, its shorthand Canadian and British form is recce , its American usage form is recon...
Groups on 1 August 1941. All the Brigade reconnaissance groups of each infantry Corps were formed into reconnaissance battalions, each usually bearing the number of its relevant Division. For example, the 43rd Battalion, Reconnaissance Corps (based on the 5th Battalion, the Gloucestershire Regiment) was the divisional reconnaissance battalion of the 43rd (Wessex) Infantry Division. Initially, coming from infantry units, reconnaissance units used the infantry designations of battalions, companies and platoons. However from June 1942 the Corps changed to the cavalry descriptions of regiments, squadrons and troops.
It became part of the
Royal 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...
in 1944, still maintaining its own cap badge with two lightning strikes supporting an upright spear. With the end of the war, this number of reconnaissance units was not needed and the Corps was disbanded in August 1946. Reconnaissance duties reverted to Regular armoured units of the Royal Armoured Corps.
Organisation and equipment
Reconnaissance Regiments were organised into a headquarters squadron (including anti-tank, signals and mortar troops) and three reconnaissance (or "recce") squadrons. Each recce squadron comprised three scout troops and an assault troop. Scout troops were equipped with Light Reconnaissance Cars (LRCs) such as the
HumberThe Humber Light Reconnaissance Car, also known as Ironside, was a British armoured car produced during World War II.Produced by the Rootes Group, the Humber Light Reconnaissance Car was an armoured car based on the 4x4 Humber Heavy Utility chassis . It was equipped with No. 19 radio set...
and with
Bren carriers.The Universal Carrier, also known as the Bren Gun Carrier is a common name describing a family of light armoured tracked vehicles built by Vickers-Armstrong. Produced between 1934 and 1960, the vehicle was used widely by Allied forces during the Second World War...
The assault troop comprised lorried infantry and were called up when enemy resistance needed to be overcome. Later in the war better armoured cars such as the
Humber Scout CarHumber Scout Car was a British light armoured car used in the Second World War.-History:Although at the outbreak of the World War II the British Army already had the excellent Daimler Dingo, the need for scout cars could not be met by Daimler alone, so other companies were required to produce...
and
Deerhound/StaghoundThe T17 and the T17E1 were American armored cars produced during the Second World War. They did not see service with frontline US forces but the latter was supplied via the United Kingdom to British and Commonwealth forces during the war and received the service name Staghound.-History:In July...
augmented the LRCs in scout troops.