Rhodesian Armoured Corps

The Rhodesian Armoured Corps, nicknamed the "Black Devils" — was the only standing armoured

Shortly after the outbreak of World War II, colonial authorities in Southern Rhodesia began looking to raise an armoured unit for the British Empire's ongoing war effort and established specialist training areas at Umtali accordingly. The resulting Southern Rhodesian Reconnaissance Unit was created in February 1941, and an intake of potential recruits from the Rhodesia Regiment accepted the following year.^[7] A stylised sable head was chosen as the unit symbol, along with the motto Ase Sabi Luto – "We fear nothing" – later adopted as Asesabi Lutho in the Sindebele language.^[2] In November 1942, the SRRU was formally renamed the "Southern Rhodesian Reconnaissance Regiment".^[2] For practical purposes, many Southern Rhodesian units were incorporated into the military formations of neighbouring South Africa, and the SRRU was attached to the South African 6th Armoured Division in November 1942.^[2]

The 6th Armoured arrived in Egypt in mid-1943, too late to participate in the recent

In recognition of their close association and service with the British 24th Guards Brigade during the Italian Campaign, the regiment was permitted to wear the colours of the Brigade of Guards at a farewell parade in March 1945.^[2]

Interwar period

After World War II, the SRRR was reorganised as an armoured car regiment equipped with T17E1 Staghound and Marmon Herrington armoured cars.^[9] It was renamed the Southern Rhodesian Armoured Car Regiment (SRACR) in December 1948.^[7] The regiment was led by Lieutenant Colonel C.V. King for much of the following decade, and although it continued to undergo periodic retraining sessions, it was largely inactive by the end of the 1950s.^[9] In 1961, the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland initiated a thorough reorganisation of the armed forces, and the SRACR was incorporated into a single federal armoured car squadron.^[10] The SRACR shared a base with the Rhodesian Light Infantry and was commanded by a Major P.F. Miller during this time.^[9] Due to the Congo Crisis in the neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo, the SRACR was briefly deployed to the Ndola for border security operations.^[9] During this period regimental colours in cerise and old gold were adopted, commemorating its longstanding affiliation with the 11th Hussars.^[9] At some point, the SRACR also received Ferret armoured cars to replace the ageing Marmon-Herrington.^[3]

In December 1963, the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland was dissolved. The federal armoured squadron's assets were divided between Northern Rhodesia and Southern Rhodesia.^[10] Twenty-eight Ferrets were handed to Northern Rhodesia and later inherited by the new state of Zambia at independence.^[11] Ten Ferrets^[3] and twenty Staghounds were handed to Southern Rhodesia, which relegated them to storage.^[12]

The armoured cars spent two years in deep storage before 1 Reconnaissance Troop, Rhodesian Light Infantry, requested some Staghounds for "interest training". All the Staghounds had already been written off by the Southern Rhodesian government for scrap, but days prior to

They were fighting a

The regiment took part in a number of static but intense battles, notably at Mount Selinda against the Mozambican Army (where a Bronze Cross was awarded to 2nd Lieutenant Rae) in 1977 and at Chirundu in October 1978, where heavy-machine gun, artillery and mortar duels took place between D Squadron and elements of the Zambian Army over a period of three days and nights near the Otto Beit Bridge. Elements of the RDR were also involved at close quarters at the bridge, while 1RR provided 81mm mortar and 106mm recoilless rifle fire support.

In July 1977 D Squadron engaged a large group of

In August 1979, at Hippo Creek north west of Victoria Falls, a single vehicle from troop Tango 22, D Squadron engaged a group of ZIPRA guerrillas attempting a night-time crossing of the border into Rhodesia. Enemy forces covering the crossing, and others waiting to cross, returned fire with mortars, armour piercing 12.75’s and small arms. Despite the initial contact lasting less than two minutes, the crossing was foiled, and 28 enemy bodies were subsequently recovered in mop-up operations on the Rhodesian side of the river in Hippo Creek. Between T22’s return fire and the artillery and mortar fire missions called in by the vehicle commander, 2nd Lieutenant Erasmus, a further 90 plus ZIPRA Guerrillas from Zebra Battalion were accounted for on the Zambian side of the river. This engagement was described by Colonel Ron Reid-Daly, in his book Top Secret War, as the most successful, wholly land based, contact of the bush war. No Rhodesian casualties were sustained in this engagement.

Adoption of T-55 tanks

In October 1979, South African port authorities boarded and seized a French freighter, the Astor, believed to be carrying a shipment of weaponry bound for Angola. The Astor had initially been chartered by the Libyan government with the delivery of arms, primarily ten T-55LD tanks of Polish origin from Tripoli's surplus stocks, to Uganda.^[5] The tanks, including assorted ammunition and spare parts, were to be offloaded at Mombasa, Kenya, and from thence transported overland.^[6] By October the Astor's crew had already rounded the Cape of Good Hope but received belated news of Uganda's defeat in the Uganda–Tanzania War, and new orders to reroute their cargo to an unknown Angolan port. The freighter abruptly changed course; upon its unexpected return to South African waters which aroused suspicion, the Astor was impounded in Durban.^[6][18]

South Africa confiscated all ten T-55s under the pretext that she was effectively at war with Angola at the time, retaining two for evaluation purposes.^[5] The remaining eight were offered as aid to the Rhodesian Army, which assigned them to a newly raised "E" Squadron, Rhodesian Armoured Corps. It was intentionally leaked to the press that the tanks had been captured in Mozambique. For several months the T-55s were driven around the country on transporters, giving the impression that Rhodesia possessed a much larger number.^[5] Personnel assigned to "E" Squadron were trained by South African tank crews, who also modified each T-55 with an improved communications system adopted from the Eland Mk7 and refinished with anti-infrared paint. Radios were eventually removed from the loader's position and reinstalled near the vehicle commander.^[19]

The first intake of T-55 crews were recruited only from Rhodesian Army regulars and assigned to a

Patterned after its British and South African counterparts, the Rhodesian Armoured Corps was generally organised along NATO lines.^[20] There were five squadrons (companies); each squadron had four troops – including attached signals, training, maintenance, and headquarters personnel. In 1979, a fifth troop – support infantry – was added. Due to the size of the Rhodesian Army and its reserve-dependent status, three of the squadrons were manned by reservists and only active for incremental periods. The fourth squadron was permanently staffed by a rotating cadre of regular officers and national servicemen.^[3]

All squadrons could muster over 300 members for active duty. At one time, RhACR's ranks swelled to 500 troops in five squadrons, including 60 South African-built