Hello everybody . I was wondering about the history of the 42nd rtr after the disbandement of the 1st army tank brigade. I know this unit fought with this brigade in North Africa and NW Europe but i was wondering if the 42nd rtr still fought after disbandement or was disbanded itself to provide replacements?
??? 42RTR fought in NW Europe, but not with 1st Army Tank Brigade. When 1st Army Tank Brigade fought in NW Europe, 42RTR was not part of it. 42RTR didn't fight after its own disbandment.
Assuming we are talking about 1st Army Tank Brigade, which was retitled 1st Tank Brigade from 23rd April 1944, 42 Royal Tank Regiment are shown as part of the Brigade during its time in Northwest Europe, before leaving the Brigade on 17th November 1944, with the Brigade being placed into 'suspended animation' on the 18th. All from Joslen, of course. Gary
Hello Mark . Wikipedia stated that the 42nd rtr was with the 1st army tank brigade from 1941 to November 1944. Is this false info? In this case which unit did they actually fight with?
Posted off the top of my head. I don't waste my time reading wiki. Gary Kennedy has explained the detail as per Joslen.
Thanks Gary. Any info on what happened after it left ? Also hope you don't mind me asking this unrelated but the brigade in question only served in North Africa and Europe right?
1st Tank Brigade didn't have the best of times in 21 Army Group. They became the Canal Defence Light (CDL) equipped formation of 79th Armoured Division in May 1944, taking over from 35th Tank Brigade. No opportunity was found for them to be deployed in the CDL role in NWE, and they were 'dismembered' to provide units and reinforcements for other Regiments and Brigades in Oct/Nov 1944. 11 and 49 RTR both found gainful employment on specialised vehicles in 79th Armoured Div, while 42 RTR was one of the armoured units disbanded. Gary
Alexander asked for them to be sent to Italy as he had a use for them, Montgomery refused to budge on his decision to disband then.