53 Armoured Infantry Brigade
53
Pantserinfanteriebrigade (53 Painfbrig)
Unit |
Main
Equipment |
Location |
Peace
Strength |
War
Strength |
Staff
and Staff Company
53 Armoured Infantry Brigade [a] |
|
Harderwijk |
2/2/1 (5)
|
32/34/148/2
(216) |
14
Armoured Infantry Battalion [b] |
YPR-765 |
– |
– |
45/124/716/2
(887) |
46
Armoured Infantry Battalion [c] |
YPR-765 |
– |
– |
45/124/716/2
(887) |
53 Armoured
Antitank Company [d] |
YPR-765 PRAT |
– |
– |
9/26/135
(170) |
58 Tank Battalion
[e] |
Centurion
Mk 5/2 |
– |
– |
36/96/433/2
(567) |
53 Armoured
Engineer Company [f] |
|
– |
– |
9/25/183
(217) |
13
Horse
Artillery Battalion [g] |
M109A2/A3 |
– |
– |
31/91/438/2
(562) |
53
Brigade Supply Company [h] |
|
– |
– |
8/27/225
(260) |
53
Brigade Repair Company [i] |
|
– |
– |
8/49/196
(253) |
53
Brigade Medical Company [j] |
|
– |
– |
19/21/144/2
(186) |
53
Armoured Infantry Brigade Peace Strength: 2/2/1
(5) |
53
Armoured Infantry Brigade
War Strength: 242/617/3334/12
(4205) |
Notes
a. |
Filled
out by mobilisable personnel
that had fulfilled their active-duty period in Staff and Staff
Company, 12
Armoured Infantry Brigade up to six and a half years prior to
mobilisation.1 |
b. |
RIM
battalion, filled by
mobilisable companies and platoons that had fulfilled their active-duty
period in 17
Armoured Infantry Battalion between four and twenty
months prior to mobilisation.1
4 |
c. |
RIM
battalion, filled by
mobilisable companies and platoons that had fulfilled their active-duty
period in 47
Armoured Infantry Battalion between four and twenty
months prior to mobilisation.1
4 |
d. |
RIM company, filled by
mobilisable platoons that had fulfilled their active-duty period in 12
Armoured Antitank Company
between four and twenty months prior to
mobilisation.1
4 |
e |
58 Tank
Battalion (RIM) was to transition from Centurion Mk
5/2 to Leopard 1V as a whole in October 1987, concurrently adopting
a new organisation type which would
add a fourth tank squadron to the battalion's war strength (the old battalion
organisation is described in detail here). This
is per the planning of July 1985; given
the persistence of the problems with the Leopard 1 upgrading programme
and the delays these had already caused it is quite possible
that further delays occurred. The last
Leopard 1V was delivered on 16 December 1987, however.2 A,
B and C Squadron were each filled by a mobilisable
squadron that had fulfilled their active-duty period in 59 Tank
Battalion between four and twenty months
prior to mobilisation. D Squadron, not falling under the
RIM system, would be filled by the
personnel of A Squadron for ten months after their 14 to 16-month RIM
period in that
unit had expired.3
4 |
f. |
RIM
company, filled by
mobilisable platoons that had fulfilled their active-duty period
in 12
Armoured Engineer Company between four and twenty
months prior to mobilisation.1
4 |
g. |
RIM battalion, filled by
mobilisable batteries that had fulfilled their active-duty
period in 11 Horse
Artillery Battalion between four and twenty
months prior to mobilisation.1
4 |
h. |
GRIM
company, largely
filled by mobilisable platoons that had fulfilled their active-duty
period in 13
Brigade Supply Company between four and twenty
months prior to mobilisation.1
4 |
i. |
GRIM
company, largely
filled by mobilisable platoons that had fulfilled their active-duty
period in 12
Brigade Repair Company between four and twenty
months prior to mobilisation.1
4 |
j. |
RIM
company, filled by
mobilisable platoons that had fulfilled their active-duty period
in 12
Brigade Medical Company between four and twenty
months prior to mobilisation.1
4 |
Combat
Formations
Following
the Royal Army's tactical
doctrine and established modus operandi the brigade would not fight in
the organic
order of battle displayed above but form combined-arms battle groups,
as illustrated in Unit Organisation and Equipment, Mixed Battalions and Company Teams.
_________________________________________________
1. |
|
NIMH
205A/10,
Aflossing van mobilisabele eenheden en -aanvullingen d.d. 27 mei 1980.
Ibid., d.d. 11 november 1983. Ibid., d.d. 17 juni 1985. |
2. |
|
SSA-MvD,
CLAS/BLS 7486, Memorandum Realisatie Legerplan 149-4E d.d. 10 juli
1985. According
to the initial planning of 1982, 52 Tank Battalion was to transition
between March and September 1985, with D Squadron to be added
in
March 1986. Ibid.,
Planningsmemorandum Instroming Leopard 1V, Leopard 2 (etc.) d.d. 29
december 1982.
The last Leopard 1V delivered: Smit, Leopard 1, 95-96. For a
detailed analysis of the problems with the Leopard 1 upgrading
programme and their consequences, see NL-HaNA 2.13.182, inv.
nr. 682, Aantekening DMKL "Het wapensysteem Leopard
1V" d.d. 28 augustus 1986, 6-8; HTK 1989-1990, kamerstuknr.
21610 ondernr. 2 (Rapport
Leopardtanks Algemene
Rekenkamer), 52-61, 68-71;
Smit, Leopard 1,
95-100. |
3. |
|
NIMH
205A/10, Aflossing van
mobilisabele eenheden en
-aanvullingen d.d. 17 juni 1985, Bijlage
A1. Previous
to that A Squadron, 58 Tank Battalion would have fulfilled their
active-duty period as A Squadron, 59 Tank Battalion. Ibid. The
ten-month cycle of D Squadron: Selles,
Personele
vulling, 457. |
4. |
|
RIM was
the Dutch acronym for Direct Influx into Mobilisable Units (Rechtstreekse
Instroming in Mobilisabele Eenheden). GRIM was a variant of
this system, meaning "Largely RIM" (Grotendeels
Rechtstreekse Instroming in Mobilisabele Eenheden).
For a survey of the
Royal Army's unit filling and reserve system see Gijsbers, Blik
in de smidse, 2222-2231;
Selles,
Personele
vulling;
Berghuijs, Opleiding,
14-23. In English: Isby and Kamps, Armies,
341-343; Sorrell, Je
Maintiendrai, 94-96; Van
Vuren, The
Royal Netherlands Army Today, Military Review April 1982, 23-28. |
|