Formation The
Ceylon Army was established in 1949. Under Prime Minister
Colonel Sir John Kotelawala, the Government of Ceylon decided on the need to add armour to support infantry elements of the newly established regular army. To this effect a cavalry arm was considered and the 1st Reconnaissance Squadron was established on 1 October 1955 under the command of
Major D. S. Attygalle at the
Echelon Barracks. Squadron moved to Ridiyagama for training with
British Army advisers from the
Queen's Dragoons Guards received four
British Ferret unturreted scout cars along with twenty
BSA M20 with side cars that were armed with
Bren light machine gun. The squadron expanded its number of personal and increased its training. In 1957, the squadron moved to
Ampara on flood relief duties and in December moved to
Rock House Army Camp in Colombo, which became its regimental headquarters. In 1958, the squadron was deployed to counter the
communal riots and on 15 December 1958 it was expanded to a
formation reconnaissance regiment with two recce squadrons and had increased its fleet with BSA M21 motorcycles, eight Ferret Mk II Scout Cars and two
Daimler Armoured Cars. The 1st Reconnaissance Regiment became allied to and inherited the traditions of Queen's Dragoons Guards and it became the Ceylon Armoured Corps.
1971 Insurrection . The 1st Recce Regiment was deployed on several occasions in the 1950s and 1960s on flood relief and internal security operations. It was deployed for counter-insurgency operations in Kurunegala and Anuradhapura districts under the command of Lieutenant Colonel
Cyril Ranatunga during the
1971 Insurrection against the
JVP. In 1971, the regiment received twelve British
Alvis Saladin armoured cars in May and ten
Soviet BTR-152 armoured personnel carriers (APCs) in November to supplement its counter-insurgency operations with a third squadron. When Sri Lanka became a republic in 1972, the CAC became the Sri Lanka Armoured Corps. Following the insurrection, the regiment deployed a saber squadron to provide security for the
Criminal Justice Commission from 1973 to 1976. A forth squadron was raised in 1974. The 5th Regiment raised in 1994 as an infantry role and converted to an armoured role as the 5th Reconnaissance Regiment with the arrival of Russian sixteen
BMP-1 IFVs, followed by Chinese thirty
Type 63 II APCs and a Czech
T 54 AVLB bridge-layer. Many of the SLAC units deployed in the
Operation Riviresa in 1995 and became the first units enter Jaffna. The 6th Regiment was raised in January 1997 and was initially deployed in an infantry role. In 1998, thirty three
BTR-80 APCs and
BTR-80 A IFVs were added to the 'A' vehicle fleet shared between the 1st, 3rd, 6th recce regiments and were used in
Operation Jayasikurui. In May 1998, the 7th Battalion,
Sri Lanka National Guard was transferred as the SLAC as the 7th (Volunteer) Regiment in an infantry role. In 1999, the 8th Regiment was raised as a
reinforcement regiment in an infantry role. In 1998 the SLAC was presented with the
President's Standard in recognition of the service it has rendered. In 2000, Czech
T-55 AM II MBTs,
BMP-2,
BMP-3 IFVs were added followed by the BMP-2 command vehicles in 2002. The regiments underwent reorganizing with new equipment, the 4th Armoured Regiment was reorganized in 2001 with three squadrons of T-55 AM II; 3rd Reconnaissance Regiment received one squadron of T-55A and the 1st Reconnaissance Regiment phased out its old British AFVs and was fully equipped with BTR 80s and BTR 80A. With the hostilities resuming in 2006, SLAC units deployed in offensive operations on all fronts. Its 4th Armoured Regiment lost six tanks in the key
Battle of Jaffna. The 6th recce regiment was disbanded in February 2007 with its personal and equipment transferred to the newly formed
Mechanized Infantry Regiment. In August 2007 a new 6th Reinforcement Regiment was raised followed by the 10th Reinforcement Regiment was raised in August 2008. In 2009 more Chinese
WZ551 APCs were added and the 3rd Reconnaissance Regiment was re-designated as the 3rd Armoured Regiment as it was converted to a tank regiment. The army was negotiating the purchase of twenty
Al Khalids from Pakistan when the war ended. Following end of the war, the 9th and 10th reinforcement regiments were disbanded and amalgamated with the 8th regiment in 2012. ==Units==