The Armoured Corps Centre and School (ACC&S), is the premier Armour Training Institute of the Indian Army and the only one of its type in Asia. Its history may logically be said to start in 1931 when six British Armoured Car Companies arrived in India and were stationed at Ahmednagar. Since they were manned exclusively by British crew, the need to train them led to the establishment of a Royal Tank Corps School (RTCS) in 1924. This School consisted of a Driving and Maintenance and a Gunnery section, also called the Machine Gun School, was located at Kapurwadi and imparted training on the 303 Vikckers Machine Gun, the Lewis and the Hotchkiss guns, i.e the type of weapons which were installed on these Armoured Cars.

 

In 1938, the Scinde Horse and the 13th Lancers started converting into Armoured Car Regiments. During this period, three regiments were converted into training regiments and were located as under:-

 

- 15 Lancers (Curetan’s Multanis) Jhansi – Training Regiment –I.

 

- 12 Cavalry (Sam Browne’s) Ferozpure – Training Regiment –II.

 

- 20 Lancers, Lucknow – Training Regiment (Indian Cavalry Group)-III

 

With the outbreak of World War II, and as a result of the mechanization of all Indian cavalry regiments, the necessity was felt for a training establishment for officers, JCOs and NCOs, of the Armoured Corps. Consequently, the Fighting Vehicles School was established at Ahmednagar. The Fighting Vehicles School was divided into two wings, namely the British and the Indian. The training of officers, both British and Indian, and British ORs was the responsibility of the British Wing, while the training of JCOs and Indian NCOs was that of the Indian Wing. During this period the three training regiments were amalgamated and were reorganized as the Indian Armoured Corps Training Centre, Ferozpur and the Indian Armoured Corps Training Centre, Lucknow. The former comprised of 15thLancers and 12th Cavalry, whereas the latter was the original 20th Lancers. 

 

Due to heavy commitments and expansion of the Armoured Corps, another training centre was created at Babina, and these centres were again renamed in 1943. In 1946 the Lucknow Regiment was re-designated as Recruit Training Centre and the Armoured Corps Depot and Records was also established here. The two Trade Training centres were re-designated as Trade Training Wings, and continued to stay at Ferozpur and Babina. 

 

In 1948, after partition, the Training Regiments and the Armoured Corps Depot and Records were shifted to Ahmednagar where the Fighting Vehicles School was already functional and they were all amalgamated to form the Armoured Corps Centre and School and Armoured Corps Records respectively. The first Commandant of the Centre and School was Brig WB Aspinall. The first Indian Commandant was Brig D Chaudhari, Maj Gen AS Vaidya, MVC*, AVSM (later Chief of Army Staff) was the first Major General to command this establishment. Lt Gen GS Kler, AVSM was the first Commandant in the rank of Lieutenant General.

 

From 1948 onwards, Ahmednagar has become the “Mecca” of the tank man. This establishment is the only Army institution where a ‘Centre’ and ‘School’ were integrated from infancy, ensuring cultural and professional interaction between the trainees and the trainers at all levels i.e the recruits, soldiers, JCOs and officers. The Corps draws its unique strength from this force of unity. 

 

Over the years, the ACC&S has been reorganized to suit changes in concept and training doctrines and today the School has shifted to its newly constructed buildings. The modernization of training aids, transformation of training methods, massive influx of Information technology, accompanied by full –scale digitization of training material has literally changed the way the establishment trains and functions. 

 

Presently the ACC&S comprises of School of Armoured Warfare (SAW). School of Technical Training (SOTT), Basic Training Regiment (BTR), Driving and Maintenance Regiment (DMR), Automotive Regiment (Auto Regt), Armament and Electronics Regiment (A&E Regt), Armoured Corps Depot (AC Depot), Armoured Corps Records (AC Records) and Faculty of Studies (FoS).