7th Armoured Division (United Kingdom) November 1943, the division left Italy for the United Kingdom; with the last units arriving on 7 January 1944. The division was re-equipped with the new Cromwell cruiser tanks and in April and May received 36 Sherman Vc Fireflies; enough to organise each troop so that they had a complement of three 75 mm gun Cromwell tanks and a 17 pounder gun Firefly. The Desert Rats were the only British armoured division to use the Cromwell as their main battle tank. The 7th Armoured Division was one of the three British follow-up divisions of the two British assault corps earmarked
7th Royal Tank Regiment 7th Royal Tank Regiment The 7th Royal Tank Regiment (7th RTR) was an armoured regiment of the British Army from 1917 until disbandment in 1959. The 7th Royal Tank Regiment was part of the Royal Tank Regiment, itself part of the Royal Armoured Corps. The regiment originally saw action as G Battalion, Tank Corps in 1917. Part of the 1st Army Tank Brigade, 7th RTR saw service in France in May 1940, alongside the 4th Royal Tank Regiment and the 50th (Northumbrian) Infantry Division during the Battle of Dunkirk and was soon evacuated at Dunkirk, and abandoning most of their