153rd Regiment Royal Armoured Corps 153rd Regiment Royal Armoured Corps ( 153 RAC , sometimes known as 153 ( Essex ) Regt RAC ) was a tank regiment of the British Army ' s Royal Armoured Corps during World War II . It saw brief but intense action in the Normandy Campaign before being broken up to provide reinforcements to other units . Origin . 153 RAC was formed by conversion to the armoured role of 8th Battalion Essex Regiment , an infantry battalion that had been raised during 1940 . It had been serving in 226th Independent Infantry Brigade ( Home ) , a Home Defence formation , when the whole brigade was converted into 34th Army Tank Brigade on 1 December 1941 . In common with other battalions transferred to the Royal Armoured Corps , the personnel of 153 RAC would have continued to wear their Essex cap badge on the black beret of the RAC . During the conversion , surplus personnel were formed into ' R ' Company Essex Regiment , which soon afterwards was designated V Corps HQ Defence Company . Training . 153 RAC began to receive its first Churchill tank s in March 1942 ; it had its full scale of equipment by the end of August . Having been billeted in Swindon , Wiltshire , the regiment moved with 34 Tank Bde to Eastern England and then the South Coast for training . At the end of 1942 it moved to Broome Park , Kent , which remained the regiment ' s base for the next year , utilising firing ranges across Southern England . In early 1944 , as training intensified for the coming Normandy invasion , 153 RAC moved to Folkestone in Kent , and then Headley , Surrey , before finally moving to its Marshalling Area near Portsmouth at the end of June . Service . 153 RAC was transported to Normandy 2 – 4 July . As an independent brigade under 21st Army Group , 34 Tank Bde could be assigned to support any infantry division that required the assistance of tanks , its regiments usually split up to form brigade groups with the infantry . On 9 July 153 RAC was ordered to move to I Corps ' front to prepare for an attack on Caen , but the fall of the city ( Operation Charnwood ) led to the cancellation of the move . 153 RAC finally went into action on 16 July , when 34 Tank Bde supported 227 Brigade of 15th ( Scottish ) Infantry Division in an attack in the Esquay – Évrecy area west of Caen . The object of the operation was to ' hold the attention of the enemy to that front while preparations for a breakthrough were being made east of Caen ' ( referring to the forthcoming Operation Goodwood ) . The last phase of 227 Bde and 34 Tank Bde ' s joint operation was an attack on the wooded area of Gavrus and Bougy by 8th Bn Royal Scots and 153 RAC . Some Churchill Crocodile flamethrowing tanks and Churchill AVRE s were assigned to support the operation but were not used . The attack began at 05 . 30 on 16 July , and the final objective was reached by 10 . 25 , but there were still enemy troops in the woods to be mopped up . An early casualty was the regimental commanding officer , hit in the back while climbing into his tank . At 14 . 50 the Germans counter - attacked with a mixed force , and the British claimed to have destroyed a Tiger tank . In a second counter - attack later in the afternoon the Germans lost another Tiger and three Panther tank s . The regimental war diary refers to ' a slogging match ' throughout the rest of the day . Casualties included the commander of ' A ' Squadron and four of his crews who crossed a ridge to deal with machine - guns on the flank . Their burnt - out tanks were discovered weeks later near Évrecy . The counter - attacks dwindled after 18 . 00 , and 153 withdrew into its forward rally position . ' It was in this posn . that the majority of the casualties occurred . A considerable number of tks were damaged and crews injured through intense mortar fire ' . The following day 153 RAC formed two composite squadrons , absorbing the remnants of ' A ' Sqn . ' C ' Sqn spent 17 July north of Bougy as an immediate counter - attack force , and was heavily mortared . ' B ' Sqn supported an attack by 147 RAC and 53rd ( Welsh ) Infantry Division . ' B ' Sqn was soon engaged by enemy armour and the battle continued until nightfall , with casualties including the squadron commander . 153 RAC ' s total casualties for this two - day operation comprised 10 tanks knocked out or destroyed , 16 officers and 70 other ranks killed , wounded , or missing . The crews had been in their tanks for 30 hours without relief , either in action or instant readiness . Over succeeding days the regiment was rested and reorganised . From 23 July it returned to supporting other formations in a defensive role around Bougy and Maltot . In early August its tanks fired in support of raids by 158 Bde of 53rd ( Welsh ) trying to establish whether 10th SS Panzer Division was still in front . It transpired that the Germans were withdrawing . On 5 August 153 RAC made a rapid cross - country move to Mondrainville to support 177th Infantry Brigade of 59th ( Staffordshire ) Infantry Division , which was attacking towards Mont Pincon . The operation was mounted so hurriedly that there was no time to organise a proper tie - up between tanks and infantry . Next , 153 RAC was transferred to support 197th Bde of the 59th ( Staffordshire ) , which crossed the River Orne on 9 August . The following day they followed the retreating enemy , carrying infantry aboard their tanks . The regiment continued in the line until 15 August , supporting infantry and helping to clear up pockets of resistance . Disbandment . On 17 August 153 RAC learned that the regiment was to be disbanded to provide reinforcements for other regiments . ' C ' Sqn was transferred complete to 107 RAC ; the rest of the personnel went to the other regiments of 34 Tank Bde or to holding units . The regiment ceased to exist on 28 August 1944 . 153 RAC was replaced in 34 Tank Bde by 9th Royal Tank Regiment .