Rawalpindi is full of nostalgia in the annals of the history of the Skinner’s Horse. It was here, in October 1939, that the regiment bid farewell to its horses and embarked on its journey towards mechanisation. An era spanning more than a century ended. The men set forth in right earnest to master their mechanical mounts.

The first vehicles to be inducted into the Skinner’s Horse, in December 1939, were 30 Morris 30-cwt lorries which were six wheelers. Lt Col AM Bradfoot, the then Commandant, put his men on a rigorous training schedule. For the men, the transformation from a sowar to a driver was not easy. For the simple Indian soldier who had only handled animal transport till then, mechanical means of transport was a wonder to behold. The first board of officers constituted to assess the capabilities of the men comprised three Majors who were squadron commanders. All three returned ashen-faced after the new drivers were ‘through with them’ as their driving skills left much to be desired. It was realised later that the men were probably overawed due to the presence of a senior British Officer with them in the driver’s cabin. One soldier even tried to stand up to attention whenever given an order, banging his head against the roof!

The Morris lorries were well past their prime when received. Continuous training of greenhorns took their toll on these vehicles. It was only the skill and devotion of the regiment fitters that kept these vehicles going. In May 1940, the regiment was given 30 new Chevrolet trucks. These had to be collected from Bombay. The newly trained drivers did the regiment proud by driving from Bombay to Rawalpindi with no mishap. The regiment received orders to prepare for redeployment to the Middle East in July 1940. By September 1940, the regiment had 350 trained drivers, apart from a full complement of mechanics. It was a tribute to the hard work and single-minded dedication of the officers and men who trained hard and reached battle-worthiness in such a short time.

On September 22, 1940 the regiment sailed from Karachi to Sudan to take part in World War-II. Within a month, the regiment saw action and was investing Kassala. While fighting the war in Iran in 1942, the regiment was handed over brand new T-16 Bren carriers. These were tracked armoured vehicles and had the Bren machine-gun as its main armament. The Bren carriers were excellent fighting vehicles and they saw service with the regiment till the end of World War-II. The regiment had been redeployed to Italy after seeing action in Iran. The Humber Mk IV armoured cars were given to the regiment there. The Humber had a 37 mm canon as its main armament and a 7.62 mm MG mounted co-axially as its secondary armament. The regiment also received half-tracked armoured cars which were white in colour and were used as personal carriers. A Sabre Squadron consisted of two troops of Humbers, two troops of T-16 tracked carriers, one infantry troop based on the half-tracks and a 3-inch mortar section. The HQ Squadron had a troop of Humbers with a 6-pounder gun mounted on each armoured car. The 6-pounder was later replaced with 75 mm Howitzer.

It was in 1946 that the regiment received its first tank, Stuart. It had a 37 mm gun as its main armament. In 1947, while under the command of Lt Col RM Bilimoria, the first Indian Commandant, the regiment was stationed at Ahmadnagar. The regiment was given Churchill tanks which had a 75 mm gun apart from 7.62 mm co-axial MG. The regiment took part in the Hyderabad Police Action in 1948. For this, the Churchills were left at Ahmadnagar and the Stuart tanks were used. After the Hyderabad Police Action, the Stuart tanks were dropped and the Churchills were taken over once again. The Churchill tanks remained with the regiment till 1957. The next tank to be taken over was the Sherman Mk IV. The Sherman remained in service with the regiment till 1965.

The sixties saw a warm relationship between India and the erstwhile USSR. The T-series of tanks were inducted into the Indian Army during this period. The regiment converted to T-54 in 1965 and, thereafter, to T-55. The T-55 was, at that time, considered to be the best tank available in the world. This was proved in the 1971 Indo-Pak war. The T-55 saw service with the regiment till 1979.