Armoured Car Units

British Army

Armoured Car Units

(Motor Machine Gun Service)

After the Navy’s initial trials with Armoured Cars (under Churchill), with a stalemate on the Western front and Churchill being replaced as First Lord, they quickly lost interest. The Army took control of the Navy's Armoured Cars and those personnel who would transfer to the Army.

Th Army grouped the Armoured Cars in Companies and placed them under the control of the Machine Gun Corps. Within the MGC, the Armoured Cars came under the control of the Motor Machine Gun Service.

The Armoured Car units of the Army, served in Egypt, the Western desert, Palestine, France and India.

 

AC Company/Batteries	Formed	Disbanded	Comments
No 1 Mobile MG Coy
No 2 Mobile MG Coy
No 1 Ry Armd Motor Bty		1921
No 2 Ry Armd Motor Bty		1919
No 3 Ry Armd Motor Bty		????
No 1 Lt Armd Car Bty	1917	1921
No 2 Lt Armd Car Bty	1917	1921
No 3 Lt Armd Car Bty	1917	1921?
No 4 Lt Armd Car Bty	1917	1921
No 5 Lt Armd Car Bty	1917	1921
No 6 Armd Car Mot (Lt Car)	1917	1921
No 7 Lt Armd Car Bty	????	1921
No 8 Lt Armd Car Bty	????	1921
No 9 Lt Armd Car Bty	????	1921
No 10 LAM Bty	????	1921
No 11 Armd Mot Bty (Lt Car)	1920	1921
No 12 Armd Mot Bty (Lt Car)	1920	1921
No 13 Lt Armd Car Bty	????	1919
No 14 Lt Armd Car Bty	????	1921
No 15 Lt Armd Car Bty	????	1921
No 16 LAM Bty	1921	1921
Armd Car Unit (Locker Lampson)	????	1919
No 1 Sqn
No 2 Sqn
No 3 Sqn
No 4 Sqn
No 5 Sqn
1st Motor MG Bty	1915	????
2nd Motor MG Bty	1915	1919
3rd Motor MG Bty	????	????
4th Motor MG Bty	1915	????
6th Motor MG Bty	????	????
7th Motor MG Bty	????	????
11th Motor MG Bty	????	????
12th Motor MG Bty	????	1919
14th Motor MG Bty	????	1920
15th Motor MG Bty	1915	1920
16th Motor MG Bty	1915	1920
17th Motor MG Bty	????	????
19th Motor MG Bty	1915	1920
22nd Motor MG Bty	????	1920
25th Motor MG Bty	????	????
No 1 Lt Car Patrol (Ford Cars)	1917	????	Australian Unit
No 2 Lt Car Patrol (Ford Cars)	1917	????
No 3 Lt Car Patrol	1917	????
No 4 Lt Car Patrol	1917	1921
No 5 Lt Car Patrol	1917	1921
No 6 Lt Car Patrol	1917	????
No 7 Lt Car Patrol	1917	1921
No 8 Lt Car Patrol	1918	????
No 9 Lt Car Patrol	1918	1921
No 10 Lt Car Patrol	????	????
No 11 Lt Car Patrol	????	????
No 12 Lt Car Patrol	????	????
No 13 Lt Car Patrol	????	????
No 14 Lt Car Patrol	????	????
No 15 Lt Car Patrol	????	????

Higher Formations.

Though the Army had Armoured car units (of various sizes) since 1915, it was not until late 1918 that these units started to be organised into larger formations. In part this was mainly due to efforts of Lindsay, whose name would become part of the  tank corps myth  in the post war years. Lindsay had spent most of the war advocating the virtues of the machine gun and its organisation. By August 1918 he had received authorisation from General Horne, commander of the British 1st Army, to form a Motor Machine Gun Brigade. The organisation of the brigade was  on the following lines.

Brigade HQ with a wireless section

•     two MG Battalions (consisting of the1st, 4th, 7th  and 11th Motor MG Bties)

•     one Cyclist Battalion (300 cyclists)

•     one Battery of trench Mortars    

Each MG Battalion consisted of 4 x 8 gun batteries,  & 8 armoured cars

The Canadians under Brutinel, formed two Motor MG Brigades , the 1st and 2nd.

Each Brigade consisted of 

• Canadian Cyclist Battalion (5 x 8 gun batteries + 300 cyclists)

• One section of medium trench mortars mounted on trucks.

Armoured Car Units

Copyright Stuart Groombridge

All Rights Reserved 2000 - 2004

Created 7th June 2000

Updated 1 January 2004

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