Malaysian Royal Armoured Corps

Malaysian Royal Armoured Corps

The Royal Armoured Corps or Kor Armor Diraja (KAD) is the armoured forces of the Malaysian Army.

The Royal Malaysian Armoured Corps had its beginning with two army units formed by the British Administration headed by General Sir Gerald Templer who had initiated the formation during the Malayan Emergency. On 1 September 1952, the 1st Battalion Federation Regiment (Affiliated to Irish Regiment) and the Federation Armoured Car Regiment (Affiliated to 13th/18th Royal Hussars (QMO) now known as 2nd Light Dragoons) was also formed. Both regiments were the first multi-racial infantry and armoured unit in Malaya.

The Federation Regiment and The Federation Armoured Car Regiment were merged on 1 January 1960 to form the Federation Reconnaissance Corps. Units under the Corps on its formation were the 1st Regiment Federation Reconnaissance Corps and the 2nd Regiment Federation Reconnaissance Corps, better known as 1 Recce and 2Recce respectively and in Malay they were known as Rejimen Pertama Kor Peninjau Persekutuan (1 Peninjau) and Rejimen Kedua Kor Peninjau Persekutuan (2 Peninjau). Both units were equipped with scout cars namely the Ferret and other British made Armoured Cars.