In the late 1930s, the regiment came under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Arthur Blackburn, VC. As the prospect of war loomed again in 1939, the unit prepared for service overseas. However, when the Second World War broke out and this did not eventuate, Blackburn and many of the officers and men of the unit joined the 2nd Australian Imperial Force's &lt;a href="2/3rd%20Machine%20Gun%20Battalion%20%28Australia%29"&gt;2/3rd Machine Gun Battalion&lt;/a&gt;, which fought in Syria and later formed part of the ill-fated Black Force in Java. The unit was converted to the 18th Motor Regiment in March 1942. However, this proved to be a short-lived step as on 8 May 1942 the unit was ordered to convert to an armoured regiment and was renamed the 12th Armoured Regiment. At this time the unit was transferred to the Australian Armoured Corps.