The current Royal Marines Armoured Support Group (RMASG) is an element of the Royal Marines that operates the Viking BvS 10 All Terrain Vehicle. It is based at RNAS Yeovilton in Somerset. The original RMASG was formed in the Second World War to give British and Commonwealth forces heavy fire support in the opening attacks of the Normandy Landings.
The original Royal Marines Armoured Support Group was formed in World War II and took part in the Invasion of Normandy, where it provided fire support. It was primarily equipped with Centaur IV tanks fitted with a 95mm howitzer; there were also a smaller number of Sherman tanks, which were used as artillery observation posts or command vehicles. The Group consisted of five Armoured Support Batteries, organised in two "Armoured Support Regiments", each of two Armoured Support Batteries, plus an independent "Armoured Support Battery".
Each Battery was subdivided into four Troops, with each Troop equipped with four Centaur IV and one Sherman tank, giving a total of 80 Centaur and 20 Sherman tanks in the entire Group. The Group did not fight as a single military formation, but rather was divided between the British & Canadian D-Day beaches.
1st Royal Marine Armoured Support Regiment at Gold Beach comprising the 1st Battery (A, B, C, and D Troops) and the 2nd Battery (E, F, G and H Troops).
2nd Royal Marine Armoured Support Regiment at Juno Beach comprising the 3rd Battery (J, K, L and M Troops) and the 4th Battery (N, O, P and Q Troops).
5th Royal Marine Independent Armoured Support Battery at Sword Beach comprising R, S, T and V Troops.
The World War II RMASG was disbanded two weeks after D-Day (D+14). Part of the Armoured Support Group, which had been reformed as the 29th Infantry Battalion, Royal Marines, was moved to Aldershot to become the 34th Amphibian Support Regiment, Royal Marines. The Regiment moved to India in 1945, collected equipment and trained for operations which were planned to take place in Malaya in September. The unit was organized into a headquarters, two support batteries each of three troops armed with four LVT (A-4), one rocket battery of three troops of four LVT(R) and one flank battery of two troops of five LVT (F). This regiment was disbanded in 1948. |
