The Royal Tank Regiment Cap Badge: History, Symbolism and Meaning

Introduction

The Royal Tank Regiment (RTR) is the world's oldest tank regiment. Its institutional ancestry begins with the Heavy Section, Machine Gun Corps, whose crews first used tanks in battle at Flers-Courcelette on 15 September 1916.

The badge history is slightly later than the tank story itself. The Tank Corps was formed on 28 July 1917, and its first distinctive cap badge was approved by King George V on 11 September 1917. In 1923 the Corps received the Royal prefix and adopted the revised badge from which the modern Royal Tank Regiment design descends: a First World War rhomboid tank within a wreath, the Sovereign's Crown above and FEAR NAUGHT below.

Who Are the Royal Tank Regiment?

The Royal Tank Regiment developed directly from Britain's First World War tank arm rather than from horse cavalry. The Heavy Section of the Machine Gun Corps became the Heavy Branch and then, on 28 July 1917, the independent Tank Corps. The Royal prefix followed on 18 October 1923, creating the Royal Tank Corps, and in April 1939 the title changed to Royal Tank Regiment.

When the Royal Armoured Corps was formed in 1939, the RTR became one of its constituent regiments. That distinction remains important: the Royal Tank Regiment has its own lineage and cap badge, while the RAC is the wider umbrella corps for Britain's armoured regiments.

On 2 August 2014, 1st and 2nd Royal Tank Regiment amalgamated to form the present single Royal Tank Regiment. The British Army currently lists the regiment in the Armour role, operating Challenger 2 while the Challenger 3 replacement programme progresses.

Key Dates

Date	Event
15 Sep 1916	Heavy Section, Machine Gun Corps crews use tanks in battle for the first time at Flers-Courcelette.
28 Jul 1917	The Heavy Branch becomes the independent Tank Corps.
11 Sep 1917	King George V approves the Tank Corps' first distinctive cap badge.
20 Nov 1917	The Battle of Cambrai opens with a deliberately concentrated mass employment of tanks in a coordinated all-arms attack.
18 Oct 1923	The Tank Corps receives the Royal prefix. The revised badge, the motto FEAR NAUGHT and the black beret belong to this period of change.
Mar 1924	The Royal Tank Corps begins wearing the black beret.
Apr 1939	The Royal Tank Corps becomes the Royal Tank Regiment; the Royal Armoured Corps is formed as the wider armoured umbrella corps.
1939–1945	RTR regiments serve in North Africa, Italy, North-West Europe and other theatres during the Second World War.
mid-1950s	Elizabeth II-period RTR cap-badge patterns use St Edward's Crown; a sealed other-ranks pattern is recorded in 1955.
1991	RTR Challenger 1 crews serve in Operation GRANBY during the Gulf War.
2000s–2010s	The regiment serves in Iraq and Afghanistan and on subsequent overseas commitments.
2 Aug 2014	1 RTR and 2 RTR amalgamate to form the present single Royal Tank Regiment.
2023–Present	New Armed Forces cap-badge designs for the reign of Charles III return to the Tudor Crown where appropriate; replacement of Elizabeth II insignia is gradual.
Present	The regiment operates Challenger 2 and continues overseas commitments including NATO deployments while Challenger 3 is developed as its successor.

The Royal Tank Regiment and the Royal Armoured Corps

The Royal Tank Regiment is a constituent regiment of the Royal Armoured Corps. The two should not be treated as interchangeable. RTR descends directly from the First World War Tank Corps; the RAC was created in 1939 as the umbrella corps bringing the RTR together with mechanised cavalry and Yeomanry regiments.

Origins and Development of the Cap Badge

The First Tank Corps Badge, 1917

When the Tank Corps became an independent arm in July 1917 it needed its own insignia. King George V approved the first Tank Corps cap badge on 11 September 1917. National Army Museum examples date the issued pattern to 1918–1923.

That first badge already used the rhomboid tank, wreath and Royal Crown, but the tank faced to the viewer's right and there was no FEAR NAUGHT motto. NAM records bronze officer examples and brass other-ranks examples from this period.

The Royal Tank Corps Badge, 1923–24

The grant of the Royal prefix in October 1923 brought the revised design from which the modern RTR badge descends. The tank was reversed to face the viewer's left, and FEAR NAUGHT was added below. National Army Museum documentation explicitly records that the tank direction was altered because the earlier orientation could give the impression of a tank in retreat.

The black beret was approved at the same time and came into wear in March 1924. When the Royal Tank Corps became the Royal Tank Regiment in 1939, the established tank-and-wreath identity was retained.

Flers-Courcelette, 1916

On 15 September 1916, during the Somme offensive, the British Army used tanks in battle for the first time. Forty-nine Mark I tanks were earmarked for the attack, but mechanical failure, difficult ground and other problems meant that only a fraction reached the battlefield and entered combat.

The crews still belonged to the Heavy Section, Machine Gun Corps; they did not yet wear a Tank Corps cap badge because the Tank Corps itself did not exist until the following year. Flers Day remains an important date in RTR tradition.

Cambrai, 1917

The Battle of Cambrai opened on 20 November 1917 with the deliberately concentrated use of hundreds of tanks alongside infantry, artillery and aircraft. It was the first British operation to employ tanks on this scale as part of a planned combined attack rather than in small numbers dispersed along a wider front.

The initial advance demonstrated the potential of massed armour against prepared trench defences, although subsequent German counter-attacks recovered much of the ground. The RTR continues to mark Cambrai Day on 20 November.

The Royal Tank Regiment Cap Badge

The Rhomboid Tank

The centre of the badge is a stylised First World War rhomboid heavy tank, preserving the regiment's direct link with the machines of 1916–17. On the original Tank Corps pattern the tank faced right; on the 1923 Royal Tank Corps pattern it was deliberately reversed to face left.

The Wreath

A wreath surrounds the tank and has remained part of the badge through the Tank Corps, Royal Tank Corps and Royal Tank Regiment periods.

Fear Naught

FEAR NAUGHT was added with the Royal Tank Corps badge in the 1923–24 period. It is therefore an important way of separating the later Royal Tank Corps/RTR design from the original 1917 Tank Corps pattern, which carried no motto.

The Royal Crown

George V and George VI patterns use the Tudor Crown. During Elizabeth II's reign the badge changed to St Edward's Crown; a sealed other-ranks RTR pattern is recorded in 1955. For Charles III, new Armed Forces cap-badge designs using the Tudor Crown were unveiled in 2023 and are being introduced gradually.

The Black Beret

The black beret is one of the Royal Tank Regiment's best-known distinctions. It was approved in 1923 and first worn in March 1924. Compact headwear was far better suited to the confined interior of a tank than the stiff caps used elsewhere in the Army, and black was practical in an environment of oil, grease and machinery.

The beret subsequently became widely associated with armoured troops far beyond the RTR, but within the regiment it remains inseparable from the 1923–24 reorganisation that also produced the Royal Tank Corps title, revised badge and Fear Naught motto.

Operational Service

During the Second World War, numerous RTR battalions served in armoured formations in North Africa, Italy and North-West Europe. The Western Desert became particularly closely associated with the regiment through actions including Tobruk and El Alamein.

During the Cold War, RTR units formed part of the British Army of the Rhine and operated successive generations of British main battle tank including Centurion, Chieftain and Challenger 1.

RTR Challenger 1 crews served in the 1991 Gulf War. The regiment later deployed to Iraq on Operation TELIC and contributed to operations in Afghanistan. More recently it has supported NATO reassurance deployments including Operation CABRIT in Estonia.

The present regiment remains equipped with Challenger 2. Challenger 3 is the planned replacement and upgrade programme rather than a tank already fully fielded across the regiment.

Collecting Royal Tank Regiment Cap Badges

The most important collecting distinction is not initially the Crown but the badge pattern.

Tank Corps Pattern, 1918–1923

The early Tank Corps badge has the tank facing right and carries no FEAR NAUGHT motto. National Army Museum examples include bronze officer and brass other-ranks patterns.

Royal Tank Corps / Royal Tank Regiment Pattern

From 1923–24 the tank faces left and FEAR NAUGHT appears below. The same essential pattern continued after the 1939 title change to Royal Tank Regiment, with changes in Crown, material and construction over time.

Elizabeth II Pattern

A sealed other-ranks RTR pattern using St Edward's Crown is recorded in 1955. Later Elizabeth II examples appear in several materials and finishes, including anodised forms.

Charles III Pattern

Current Tudor-Crown designs belong to the gradual changeover announced for the new reign in 2023. They should not automatically be dated to the day of accession in September 2022.

Officer and Other-Ranks Examples

Different rank and dress patterns exist. Rank should be identified from documented construction and pattern rather than from an assumption that a more finely finished badge must be an officer's example.

Authenticity and Provenance

No single feature proves originality. Tank direction, motto, Crown, dimensions, material, die detail, reverse fittings, maker's marks and provenance should be considered together and compared with documented period examples.

Displaying the Royal Tank Regiment Cap Badge

Original badges are best kept in a stable, dry environment away from direct sunlight and major fluctuations in temperature or humidity. Mounting materials should be inert and non-abrasive, and period pieces should be handled carefully.

Precision Military Emblems produces Royal Tank Regiment display frames for presenting the licensed emblem alongside medals, service photographs or other memorabilia.

Frequently Asked Questions

When was the first Tank Corps cap badge introduced?

King George V approved the Tank Corps' distinctive badge on 11 September 1917. Issued examples of this first pattern date from the 1918–23 period.

Why do early and later tank badges face different directions?

The original Tank Corps tank faced to the viewer's right. With the Royal Tank Corps badge introduced after the 1923 Royal title, it was reversed to face left; National Army Museum documentation states that the change avoided the impression of a tank retreating.

When was Fear Naught added?

The motto belongs to the revised Royal Tank Corps badge of the 1923–24 period. The original 1917 Tank Corps badge did not carry it.

Why does the badge show a First World War tank?

The rhomboid tank preserves the regiment's direct connection with the first British tank units of 1916–17 rather than depicting whichever armoured vehicle happens to be current.

What is Cambrai Day?

It is observed on 20 November, marking the opening of the Battle of Cambrai in 1917 and the mass employment of tanks in a deliberately coordinated attack.

Does the regiment still use Challenger 2?

Yes. The British Army currently lists Challenger 2 as the Royal Tank Regiment's main battle tank. Challenger 3 is the replacement programme now being developed and introduced.

The Royal Tank Regiment Today

The present Royal Tank Regiment is the direct descendant of the Tank Corps formed in 1917. The 2014 amalgamation of 1 RTR and 2 RTR created the current single regiment rather than a new successor organisation.

Its badge preserves that lineage unusually clearly. The rhomboid tank recalls the First World War origin of the arm; the 1923 reversal of the tank and addition of Fear Naught mark the creation of the Royal Tank Corps; subsequent Crown changes record later reigns without altering the underlying regimental identity.

Further Reading

For those wishing to explore the history of the Royal Tank Regiment and its cap badge in greater depth, the following authoritative sources provide reliable and detailed information.

• Royal Tank Regiment — British Army — The official British Army page for the Royal Tank Regiment.
• The Tank Museum, Bovington — The world's leading collection of tanks and armoured vehicles, and the home of the Royal Tank Regiment's archive.
• National Army Museum — Collections and research resources covering the history of the British Army.
• Imperial War Museums — Collections and research resources covering the First and Second World Wars.
• The National Archives — Primary source documents including war diaries and regimental papers.

Officially Licensed Royal Tank Regiment Emblems & Heritage Displays

Precision Military Emblems produces officially MOD-licensed Royal Tank Regiment display pieces from approved artwork.

Standalone Cap Badges

• Royal Tank Regiment Queen's Crown Cap Badge
• Royal Tank Regiment King's Crown Cap Badge
• Royal Tank Regiment Queen's Crown Silver & Black Cap Badge
• Royal Tank Regiment King's Crown Silver & Black Cap Badge

Display Frames

• Royal Tank Regiment King's Crown Cap Badge Display Frame
• Royal Tank Regiment Queen's Crown Cap Badge Display Frame
• Royal Tank Regiment King's Crown Silver & Black Cap Badge Display Frame
• Royal Tank Regiment Queen's Crown Silver & Black Cap Badge Display Frame

These are modern commemorative display pieces rather than original service-issued insignia.

Intellectual Property of the Secretary of State for Defence is used under licence.

About Precision Military Emblems

Precision Military Emblems produces officially MOD-licensed 3D-printed British military badge display pieces and framed heritage displays in Leicestershire. The Military Heritage series is researched from regimental, museum, government and institutional sources.