43rd ( Wessex ) Reconnaissance Regiment 43rd ( Wessex ) Reconnaissance Regiment ( The Gloucestershire Regiment ) ( 43 Recce ) was a regiment of the British Army ' s Reconnaissance Corps during World War II . It fought in in 1944 – 45 . Origins . The regiment was formed ( as 48th Reconnaissance Battalion ) on 14 October 1941 by the redesignation of 5th Bn Gloucestershire Regiment , a Territorial Army infantry battalion that had acted as the divisional recce battalion for 48th ( South Midland ) Division since July 1941 . The following month it was transferred to 43rd ( Wessex ) Division and renumbered accordingly the next January . On 6 June 1942 all reconnaissance battalions were redesignated regiments , and on 1 January 1944 the Reconnaissance Corps became part of the Royal Armoured Corps . Lieutenant - Colonel Francis ( ' Joe ' ) Lane Fox , ( Royal Horse Guards ) took command of 43 Recce on 29 September 1943 . Organisation and Equipment . By D - Day recce regiments were organised into a headquarters squadron and three reconnaissance squadrons . HQ Sqn included a troop of eight 6 - pounder anti - tank guns and a troop of six 3 - inch mortars . The recce squadrons each had three scout troops equipped with Humber Armoured Car s , Humber Light Reconnaissance Car s and Bren carrier s , and an assault troop of riflemen in M3 Half - track s . The total establishment was 41 officers and 755 other ranks . In the months before the Normandy Landings the regiment was based at Eastbourne on the South Coast of England and trained in the area . Wreck of the " Derrycunihy " . On 18 June 1944 HQ , A and C squadrons embarked at West India Docks , London , aboard Motor Transport Ship ( MTS ) T72 , a general purpose cargo ship named the MV " Derrycunihy " . T72 joined a convoy off Southend - on - Sea and arrived off Sword Beach on the evening of 20 June . High seas and enemy shelling prevented unloading for three days and it was decided to move T72 to Juno Beach for disembarkation . As the ship started engines at 07 . 40 on the morning of 24 June it detonated an acoustic or ' Oyster ' mine dropped by one of the nightly Luftwaffe raiders . The mine exploded under the keel , splitting the ship in two , and the after part , packed with men of 43 Recce , sank rapidly . Worse still , a 3 - tonner ammunition lorry caught fire , and oil floating on the water was set alight . Landing craft and the gunboat HMS " Locust " quickly came alongside and picked up survivors , most of whom were evacuated to SS " Cap Touraine " , a former French liner . The Regimental War Diary records that ' Great gallantry was displayed by all troops in the two aft holds ' and lists 183 men of the regiment lost and about 120 others evacuated wounded . In addition , 25 of the ship ' s crew ( including Army gunners ) died in the disaster , which represented the biggest single loss of life off the invasion beaches . In the days following the sinking , the survivors were formed into a composite squadron and most of 43 Recce ' s vehicles were landed from the beached fore part of the " Derrycunihy " . B Sqn arrived from England , together with the first reinforcements . A complete squadron was transferred to 43 Recce from the reinforcement unit , 161st ( Green Howards ) Reconnaissance Regiment . Normandy . 43 Recce was not fully up to strength until the end of July 1944 . In the meantime , 43rd Division had taken part in operations near Caen and was ready to move forward at the beginning of August . Throughout 3 August 43 Recce lay up under constant fire from 88 mm gun s , awaiting its first chance to intervene in the campaign . The opportunity came the following morning , but as soon as B squadron moved out up the steep hill with the infantry of 5th Bn Duke of Cornwall ' s Light Infantry ( DCLI ) , a patrol of Hawker Typhoon s , ' seeing the armoured cars and the infantry intermingled saw fit to intervene ' . The half - tracks of the squadron ' s assault troop were narrowly missed in this ' friendly fire ' incident . After passing the crest , two troops turned left along the road through the woods to Ondefontaine . The village proved to be still occupied by the enemy in strength , and a brisk action took place , the armoured cars and the DCLI carrier platoon being engaged by machine - guns , a Panzer IV and two Panther tank s . B Sqn ' s other troop had turned the other way and probed a long way forward , meeting C Sqn , which had passed through several villages until it caught up with the enemy late in the day at Montcharivel , where leading elements of 15th ( Scottish ) Division had also gained contact . A firefight and mortaring went on all night . ' Thus , boldly handled , the Reconnaissance Regiment in its first battle had gained information vital to the success of Major - General Thomas ' s plan , ' the divisional historian wrote . Over the next few days 43 Division ' s infantry were engaged in bitter fighting from Ondefontaine up onto the dominating height of Mont Pincon . 43 Recce ' s next action came on 10 August , in the pursuit towards the River Orne and Falaise . Starting from St Jean le Blanc , the armoured cars and half - tracks probed south , seizing bridges , lifting mines , driving through strongly - held villages firing their Besa machine gun s , clashing with German self - propelled gun s and taking prisoners . Finding the opposition in that direction stiffening , Lane Fox swung the axis of advance eastwards . At one point the leading squadron found themselves in the middle of a battle between 50th ( Northumbrian ) Division and the enemy : ' taking no notice of disorganized German infantry , they pressed on to St Pierre la Vielle . On the far side they finally came upon the enemy digging in tanks . After this most successful day , the squadron withdrew into harbour at dusk ' . 43 ( Wessex ) Division crossed the River Seine at Vernon on 25 August , and then drove on across Belgium before German resistance stiffened . Netherlands and Germany . The whole of 43rd Division played a major part in ' Garden ' , the ground part of Operation Market Garden , the failed attempt to seize river crossings up to the Lower Rhine ( Nederrijn ) at Arnhem via a ' carpet ' of airborne troops ( September 1944 ) . The division was blamed by many airborne soldiers for its dilatory advance , though the Corps commander , Lt - Gen Brian Horrocks , defended the division , pointing out that it could not deploy any armoured vehicles ( like 43 Recce ' s armoured cars and half - tracks ) off the single road , nicknamed ' Hell ' s Highway ' , which was cut behind them on several occasions . Nevertheless , Lane Fox was immediately replaced as CO of 43 Recce ( 1 October 1944 ) . In the aftermath of Market Garden , 43 ( Wessex ) was stationed on ' the Island ' ( between the Rivers Waal and Nederrijn ) , lining the south bank of the Rhine . 43 Recce , with 12th Bn King ' s Royal Rifle Corps from 8th Armoured Brigade under command , protected the division ' s open western flank . The concealed squadrons sent back reports , but were forbidden to engage the enemy in order to hide the extent of the position . However , on the night of 26 / 27 September a furious firefight broke out when the Germans crossed the river in strength and attempted to emplace anti - tank guns in 43 Recce ' s hidden positions . The divisional historian records that ' While the Division faced the monotony inseparable from static defence , the Reconnaissance Regiment fought a different type of war ' . This involved guarding the western end of the Island , cooperating with the Dutch Resistance and facilitating the escape across the river of British paratroops who had evaded capture . Later , the division ' s units were heavily engaged in the Roer Triangle during Operation Blackcock ( January 1945 ) and in the Reichswald during Operation Veritable ( February 1945 ) . The division ' s last significant engagement of the war was in the capture of Bremen ( 20 – 27 April 1945 ) . Disbandment . 43 Recce was disbanded in 1946 and 5th Bn Gloucesters was reconstituted in 1947 .