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63rd Tank Regiment (Italy)
Italian Army tank unit / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The 63rd Tank Regiment (Italian: 63° Reggimento Carri) is an inactive tank regiment of the Italian Army, which was based in Cordenons in Friuli-Venezia Giulia and last operationally assigned to the 132nd Armored Brigade "Ariete". The unit's lineage traces back to the World War II LXIII Tank Battalion L, which in 1940 participated in the Italian invasion of Egypt. The battalion was destroyed in December 1940 during the British Operation Compass. In 1961 the battalion was reformed and assigned to the 59th Infantry Regiment "Calabria". In 1964 the battalion was transferred to the Infantry Division "Mantova". In 1975 the battalion was renamed 63rd Tank Battalion "M.O. Fioritto" and assigned to the Mechanized Brigade "Isonzo". In 1991 the battalion entered the 63rd Tank Regiment "M.O. Fioritto", which in 1992 was renamed 63rd Tank Regiment. In 1995 the regiment was transferred from the Mechanized Brigade "Mantova" to the 132nd Armored Brigade "Ariete", however at the end of the same year the regiment was disbanded.[2]
63rd Tank Regiment | |
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63° Reggimento Carri | |
![]() Regimental coat of arms | |
Active | 20 Oct. 1939 — 25 Jan. 1941 24 May 1961 — 29 Nov. 1995 |
Country | ![]() |
Branch | Italian Army |
Part of | Mechanized Brigade "Mantova" |
Garrison/HQ | Cordenons |
Motto(s) | "Irriducibile sempre" |
Anniversaries | 11 December 1940 - Battle of Buq Buq |
Decorations | ![]() 1x Bronze Medal of Army Valor[1] |
Insignia | |
Tank units gorget patches |
Originally the unit, like all Italian tank units, was part of the army's infantry arm, but on 1 June 1999 the tankers specialty was transferred from the infantry arm to the cavalry arm. The regiment's anniversary falls on 10 December, in memory of the Battle of Buq Buq on 10-11 December 1940, during which the LXIII Tank Battalion L was destroyed by the tank units of the British 7th Armoured Division.[2]