6th Airborne Armoured Reconnaissance Regiment
BIG CHANGE IN THE WEBSITE!!!
Due to all the data that is being added to the website all the time, we have now opened a second companion website to this website. Alot of what you are used to seeing here is now over there, so that more information can be added to both websites. This will speed up downloading time for you and uploading time for us as we add more pages and information. Generally, you will find the historical information and information on the vehicles on this website, and the club related information and activities, uniforms, tactical manuals and whatnot on the other website. You can go directly to the other companion website by clicking on the button below, and you will find links to each website scattered throughout both websites to link you directly to information on various pages on both websites. But don't just go to the other website! Make sure you brouse the pages of this one too! Thanks!
During WW2, for the first time, soldiers and equipment were flown into battle by air. In the opening phases of the war, the German armed forces used airborne forces dropping by parachute and landing by glider with great effect to attack targets in western Europe and the Mediterranean. The United Kingdom was quick to see the advantages such forces could give, and in response, developed airborne forces of her own. Of the nations who used airborne forces, no-one brought the concept to reality in a manner grander than the United Kingdom. With larger and more sophisticated types of glider than any other country, the British Army was capable of landing entire mechanized and armored units directly into battle by air.
The epitome of that capability was the 6th Airborne Armoured Reconnaissance Regiment, an entirely mechanized, armored unit equipped with light tanks, armored personnel carriers, armored scout cars, jeeps, motorcycle mounted infantry, and it's own artillery in the form of towed 4.2" heavy mortars.
The 6th AARR was flown into the Normandy bridgehead on the evening of D-Day, the operation code-named "Mallard", becoming the first-ever unit in history to fly tanks directly into a battle by air. It fought throughout the Normandy campaign alongside the units brought in by sea, and advanced out of the bridgehead during the "Breakout from Normandy", leading the way to the Seine River. After the 6th AARR was withdrawn from Normandy to Britain to prepare for further airborne operations, it was sent, in a hurry, back to the continent in December of 1944 to bolster the British and American forces fighting along the northern flank of the Ardennes forest in the "Battle of the Bulge". Upon completing its mission there, it was again withdrawn to Britain to prepare for further airborne operations.
In March of 1945, the tanks of the 6th AARR were again flown into battle, this time during "Operation Varsity", the crossing of the Rhine River. The unit flew into the air head to fight off german counterattacks and operate as a reserve, assisting the airborne infantry where necessary. Upon the successful establishment of the airhead and the link-up with the 'seaborne' forces crossing over the river, the 6th AARR again led the advance, at the head of the 6th Airborne Division. Leading the division in its true reconnaissance role, it broke out of the Rhine bridgehead and advanced all the way to the Baltic sea, linking up with Soviet Forces advancing from the east, and putting paid to the Third Reich.
Our club, the re-enacted 6th Airborne Armoured Reconnaissance Regiment, portrays the men and machines of our namesake, to keep alive the memory of those who pioneered the flight of armor into battle. We are a non-profit organization of volunteers who spend our time and effort collecting and crewing armored vehicles of the type used by the 6th AARR in its operations during WW2.
We participate in demonstrations for the public as well as private gatherings of like-minded clubs in Texas and her neighboring states. Membership is open to all.
Below: Light Tank Squadron, 6th Airborne Armoured Reconnaissance Regiment, November 1942.
