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The School of Armour is the Australian Army's armoured fighting vehicle and junior combat officer tactics training establishment, it is located at Hopkins Barracks, Puckapunyal in central Victoria and is considered the home of the Royal Australian Armoured Corps. Founded in 1941 during the Second World War as the Army Armoured Fighting Vehicles School, the School of Armour is responsible for delivering individual crew training to the Australian Army's armored fighting vehicle crewmen and commanders, as well as high end combined arms training to the Austalian Army's junior combat officers.

History
Throughout 1940 Australia's contributions to the Second World War rapidly increased; profoundly impressed by the speed and power of the German Army's armoured formations during the invasion of France, in June the Minister for the Army, Geoffrey Street, sought the approval of the War Cabinet for the provision for cruiser tanks and machine gun carriers for the Army and the formation of an Australian armoured division. Unaware of Cabinet's deliberations, in Cairo the Commander of the 2nd AIF, Lieutenant General Thomas Blamey, was writing a long appreciation of the strategic situation and the development of Australia's war effort. In a letter to the Prime Minister, Robert Menzies, dated 15 November 1940, Blamey wrote:

"'I would urge that consideration be given to building this force [2nd AIF] up by the addition of at least two armoured divisions as soon as possible... Our AIF is organised as a Corps of four infantry divisions. It can only be a self-contained force if it has its due proportion of armoured formations, and both for this war and looking at our national future, we should be a force fully organised.'"

In early November the Chief of the General Staff, Lieutenant General Vernon Sturdee, approached the commander of the 7th Division Cavalry Regiment, Lieutenant Colonel Ronald Hopkins, about how long it would take to raise an armoured division, having previously considered the problem Hopkins stated that six months after Cabinet approval, the first armoured units could be fielded, with others formed progressively until the division was complete. One week later Hopkins was ordered to report to Sturdee in Sydney where he was told to hand over command of his unit and commence the process of implementing his plan.

It was determined that a separate training regiment would be required to train in the first instance the officers and non-comsioned officers selected for the 1st Armoured Division, and subsequently train the reinforcement officers and instructors.

On 28 December 1940 the task of establishing such a unit was assigned to Major R. A. Perkins of the Australian Staff Corps, his orders were to the have school functioning and ready to recieve the first student instructors by 12 January 1941 at the Balcombe Army Camp at Mount Martha, Victoria. The school was established as the Army Armoured Fighting Vehicles School with three instructional wings to deliver aspects of tank crew training; following the pattern of the Royal Tank Corps at Bovington the wings were Junior Leaders Wing, Tank Gunnery Wing and Wireless Wing, at the time tank driving and maintenance training was carried out by School of Mechanisation at Seymour, this was later incorporated into the school as the Driving and Maintence Wing.

The first course commenced as planned under the personal supervision of Lieutenant Colonel Ronald Hopkins, but the most limiting factor was availability of equipment to train on, the initial equipment provided to the school were three Vickers Medium Mk II tanks and four Vickers Light Mk VIA tanks, the unexpected arrival of a consignment of 3 pounder ammunition allowed the students to shoot the Medium Mk II main armaments at Cape Schanck.

Structure
The School of Armour is organised into a number of instructional wings that deliver different aspects of training as well as a headquarters and a training support squadron.

Combat Command Wing's primary role is the delivery of the Combat Officer Advanced Course to the Army's combat arms captains, the Combat Officer Advanced Course is a high end combined arms training course designed to develop tactically proficient combat arms officers as sub-unit commanders and unit operations officers with a heavy emphasis on the use of simulation. Combat Command Wing also provides a mobile training team for use by the Army's manoeuvre Brigades.
 * Combat Command Wing

Comminications Wing's primary role is the delivery of combat comminications training to both the RAAC and other Corps' on the operation and maintenance of in-service communications equipment.
 * Communications Wing

Corps Training Wing develops and trains the new soldiers into the RAAC after they have graduated from the Army Recruit Training Centre, instruction delivered includes advanced weapons qualification and training, advanced navigation and reconnaissance techniques prior to the soldiers commencing armoured fighting vehicle training.
 * Corps Training Wing

Driving and Servicing Wing's primary role is the delivery of instruction on the driving and maintenance of armoured fighting vehicles.
 * Driving and Servicing Wing

Gunnery Wing's primary role is the delivery of instruction on the operation and maintence of mounted weapons and vehicle turret systems.
 * Gunnery Wing

Tactics Wing's primary role is the delivery of tactics training to the Army's junior officers, and non-commissioned officers on the command of in service Armoured Fighting Vehicles as well as armoured and mechanised tactics.
 * Tactics Wing


 * B Squadron, 3rd/4th Cavalry Regiment

In 2017 the School of Armour's Support Squadron was renamed B Squadron, 3rd/4th Cavalry Regiment and assumed the customs and tradtions of that unit. B Squadron, 3rd/4th Cavalry Regiment provides Armoured Fighting Vehicles, equipment and personnel to the School of Armour's instructional wings to support the delivery of courses.

Hopkins Barracks
In addition to the School of Armour, Hopkins Barracks is home to the Australian Army Tank Museum, the Royal Australian Armoured Corps Memorial and the Royal Australian Armoured Corps' officer's mess, sergeant's mess and soldier's club.

Messes and clubs
In 1941 a temporary officer's mess was constructed at Puckapunyal to support the new AFV School from excess steel sections of aircraft hangar, the mess was designed to accommodate up to 300 officers (both instructors and trainees), despite it's initial temporary nature the Hopkins Barracks Officer's Mess continues to function in the same building. Significant works were conducted to the building in the 1970s by the officers and soldiers of the School themselves to refurbish the extremely dated building, although the original steel framework was retained and is still visible on the inside of the building.
 * Hopkins Barracks Officer's Mess

The Hopkins Barracks Sergeant's Mess was moved to its current location adjoining the Officer's Mess in 1985 when the previous building was deemed uninhabitable. The Sergeant's Mess shares a common kitchen with with Officer's Mess and some of its rooms were once part of the Officer's Mess, but otherwise the two messes operate independently of one another.
 * Hopkins Barracks Sergeant's Mess

The Waler Club is the RAAC's soldier's club for all junior non-commissioned officers and solders of the corps, it is also the soldiers club for non-RAAC soldiers posted to the School, it has occupyed its current location since 1985.
 * Waler Club

Current armoured vehicles

 * M1A1 Abrams
 * ASLAV
 * M113AS4
 * M88A2 Hercules

Former armoured vehicles
• Bren Gun Carrier

• Centurion

• Chaffee

• Churchill

• Covenanter

• Ferret

• Lee

• Leopard 1

• Light Tank Mk VI

• LVT(A)-1

• LVT(A)-4

• LVT-4 Buffalo

• Lynx

• M113A1

• Matilda II

• Saladin

• Saracen

• Sherman

• Stuart

• Staghound

• Vickers Medium Mark II

• White scout car

To be used










Category:Regiments of Australia Category:Armoured and cavalry regiments of the Australian Army Category:Military units and formations established in 1941 Category:Military education and training in Australia