The Australian 1st Armoured Car Squadron was an Australian Army

Australian Army

The Australian Army is Australia's military land force. It is part of the Australian Defence Force along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. While the Chief of Defence commands the Australian Defence Force , the Army is commanded by the Chief of Army...

 unit formed as part of Australia's contribution to the occupation of Japan. Upon its return to Australia in 1948 the Squadron was expanded and re-equipped to form the 1st Armoured Regiment.

History

The 1st Armoured Car Squadron was raised at Puckapunyal, Victoria in January 1946 to form part of the Australian 34th Brigade

Australian 34th Brigade

The Australian 34th Brigade was an Australian Army brigade. The brigade was formed in late 1945 following the end of World War II as part of the Australian contribution to the British Commonwealth Occupation Force in Japan...

 which was forming at Morotai

Morotai

Morotai Island Regency is a regency of North Maluku province, Indonesia, located on Morotai Island. The population was 54,876 in 2007.-History:...

 in the Netherlands East Indies prior to its deployment to Japan. The Squadron was manned by volunteers from the 4th Armoured Brigade

Australian 4th Armoured Brigade

The Australian 4th Armoured Brigade was formed in January 1943 to provide armoured support for Australian Army units operating in the South West Pacific Area. The Brigade was never intended to serve as a single formation, rather its role was to provide a pool of armoured units from which units and...

 and was equipped with 18 Staghound armoured cars

T17 Armored Car

The T17 and the T17E1 were American armored cars produced during the Second World War. They did not see service with frontline US forces but the latter was supplied via the United Kingdom to British and Commonwealth forces during the war and received the service name Staghound...

 and 8 Canadian Scout Cars

Daimler Dingo

-external links :*** has a Daimler Dingo in its exposition.* wwiivehicles.com**...

. After a brief period of training the Squadron embarked for Japan in late March 1946, arriving at Hiroshima

Hiroshima

is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture, and the largest city in the Chūgoku region of western Honshu, the largest island of Japan. It became best known as the first city in history to be destroyed by a nuclear weapon when the United States Army Air Forces dropped an atomic bomb on it at 8:15 A.M...

 on 12 April 1946.

Following the arrival of its armoured cars in early June the 1st Armoured Car Squadron began conducting patrols across the 34th Brigade's area of responsibility. These patrols were generally uneventful and, like almost all of the Allied occupation force, the Squadron did not experience combat. Due to the unsuitability of the Staghounds for Japan's roads the Squadron was completely equipped with Canadian Scout Cars in 1947.

The 1st Armoured Car Squadron returned to Australia in December 1948. In July 1949 the Squadron was expanded and re-equipped with Churchill tank

Churchill tank

The Tank, Infantry, Mk IV was a heavy British infantry tank used in the Second World War, best known for its heavy armour, large longitudinal chassis with all-around tracks with multiple bogies, and its use as the basis of many specialist vehicles. It was one of the heaviest Allied tanks of the war...

s to form the 1st Armoured Regiment.