The 1st Reconnaissance Brigade was a short-lived specialist formation of the British Army which administered the formation reconnaissance regiments not attached to a division or brigade, and was disbanded sometime between 2005 and 2006.[3]
| Screening Force 1st Reconnaissance Brigade | |
|---|---|
| Active | 1997–2005/6; 8 years, 9 months |
| Country |  United Kingdom |
| Branch |  British Army |
| Type | Reconnaissance Formation |
| Role | Commanding the Formation Reconnaissance regiments attached to divisions |
| Size | Brigade |
| Part of | Headquarters Theatre Troops[1] |
| Brigade HQ | Netheravon[2] |
Screening Force
editSometime after the publishing of the 1981 Defence White Paper "The Way Forward", the Screening Force (Corps Border Surveillance Force) was formed as an ad hoc brigade within I (British) Corps. Brigadier Royal Armoured Corps, British Army of the Rhine would become 'Commander Screening Force' on mobilisation.[4][5]
The force's objective, if mobilised, was to hold off a soviet frontal invasion for as long as possible until the 1st and 4th Armoured Divisions could be moved into position.[5] If mobilised, the brigade would control al the units of the division in the reconnaissance role and providing a reconnaissance/screening force.[6] On mobilisation, the force would have consisted:[6][5]
- Brigadier, I (BR) Corps Royal Armoured Corps (Commander Screening Force)
- Queen's Dragoon Guards, at Northampton Barracks, Wolfenbüttel (under command of 1st (UK) Armoured Division during peacetime)[7]
- 16th/5th The Queen's Royal Lancers, Harewood Barracks, Herford (under command of 4th Armoured Division during peacetime)[8]
- No. 664 Squadron, Army Air Corps, at Saint George's Barracks, Minden (under command of Commander Aviation BAOR during peacetime)[9]
In 1992 following the disbandment of the British Army of the Rhine, the force HQ was disbanded.
Reconnaissance Brigade
editThe 1st Reconnaissance Brigade was established on 1 April 1997.[10]
The brigade might have been assigned to HQ Allied Rapid Reaction Corps.[11] Following the 2003 reorganisation of the Army under 'LANDmark', HQ Theatre Troops was formed to oversee the specialist brigades of the army.[12] The brigade soon joined HQ Theatre Troops, which it would remain under until disbanding in 2005-06, following the Future Army Structure programme.[13][14]
Footnotes
edit- ^ "HQ Theatre Troops Organisation". army.mod.uk. Archived from the original on 8 January 2007. Retrieved 12 July 2020.
- ^ Mackinlay, p. 57.
- ^ Mackinlay, p. 57.
- ^ Louis Vieuxbill. "BAOR Order of Battle July 1989" (PDF). orbat85.nl. p. 9. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2014-06-02. Retrieved 13 July 2020.
- ^ a b c Alterfritz, p. 38.
- ^ a b Vieux-Bill, Louis (May 2021). "British Army of the Rhine Order of Battle, July 1989" (PDF). 1985 Orders of Battle. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
- ^ "British Army units from 1945 on - 1st Queen's Dragoon Guards". british-army-units1945on.co.uk. Retrieved 2020-07-13.
- ^ "British Army units from 1945 on - 16th/5th The Queen's Royal Lancers". british-army-units1945on.co.uk. Retrieved 2020-07-13.
- ^ "British Army units from 1945 on - 664 Squadron". british-army-units1945on.co.uk. Retrieved 2020-07-13.
- ^ Mackinlay, p. 57; Unit historical record: Headquarters, 1st Reconnaissance Brigade. The National Archives, Kew, Surrey, United Kingdom: The National Archives. 1 April 1997.
- ^ Staff Officer's Handbook 1999, Serial 1-26-1.
- ^ "HQ Theatre Troops Organisation". army.mod.uk. Archived from the original on 8 January 2007. Retrieved 12 July 2020.
- ^ Tanner 2009, p. 33.
- ^ Mackinlay, p. 57.
References
edit- Ministry of Defence, Staff Officer's Handbook Number 71038, D/DGD&D/18/35/54, 1999.
- James Tanner, The British Army since 2000, 2014 Osprey Publishing, Oxford, United Kingdom. ISBN 978 178200 593 3.
- Mackinlay, Gordon Angus (2007). "A Moment in Time": The British Army at a moment in time - 1 July 2007: A look at and from it of the Makeup of the Regular and Territorial Army. Self publish.