Post-war To Modern Day
In April 1946, Duke of Connaught's Own Rifles and the 28th Armoured amalgamated into the 13th Armoured Regiment (The British Columbia Regiment), RCAC. Later, in 1949 the name was again changed, to The British Columbia Regiment (Duke of Connaught's Own) (13th Armoured Regiment). The regiment continued to train on the M4A2E8 Sherman tank, winning the Wallace Trophy for most efficient Militia unit in 1954, 1955 and 1956. Although the unit did not deploy to Korea as part of the Korean War, it did contribute volunteers to augment Lord Strathcona's Horse (Royal Canadians) and the Royal Canadian Dragoons, whose regiments were sent. Soldiers of the regiment also served in deployments to Germany during the Cold War.
On May 19, 1958, the regiment was redesignated again, becoming The British Columbia Regiment (Duke of Connaught's Own) (RCAC); the regiment's title dropped "(RCAC)" in 1985, but it remains part of the corps. On February 28, 1965, the regiment's role changed, and it became an armoured reconnaissance unit. The long-serving Sherman tanks were retired, and the unit converted to the M38A1 CDN Jeep. The Lynx reconnaissance vehicle entered service in the Canadian Army in 1968, to replace the Ferret armoured car currently serving in the reconnaissance role. The regiment cross-trained its soldiers to use the Lynx so that they could supplement regular army units overseas if necessary. In the 1987, the regiment received the Bombardier Iltis Jeep to replace the CJ7, itself a stopgap replacement for the aging M38A1, and the unit continued to train in the light reconnaissance role.
The Canadian Army began to change the Reserve concept in the late 1990s, into the year 2000. Reservists would now be trained to the equivalent levels of their Regular force counterparts to ensure that a reserve augmentee could better serve in a given role. Under this concept, the regiment continues to train its soldiers to support and augment regular force units whenever required, in addition to being ready to serve locally whenever required. Soldiers of the regiment have served overseas in Canadian United Nations missions, especially the former Yugoslavia. The regiment continues to contribute soldiers to the NATO mission in Afghanistan, usually attached to Lord Strathcona's Horse or the Royal Canadian Dragoons, operating the Leopard C2, Leopard 2A6 or Coyote Reconnaissance Vehicle. In 2004, the regiment retired its Iltis Jeeps, receiving the Mercedes-Benz G-Wagon Light Utility Vehicle, Wheeled, in the C&R (command and reconnaissance) version. The G-Wagons are built to accept a lightweight applique armour kit, and are usually armed with either the C9A1 Light Machine Gun or C6 General Purpose Machine Gun in a manually operated turret.
Read more about this topic: The British Columbia Regiment (Duke Of Connaught's Own)
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