Infantry tanks and Mark VIc light tanks, but 'C' Squadron was equipped with twelve Tetrarchs transferred from the 2nd Armoured Brigade, 1st Armoured Division. On 31 July 1941, 'C' Squadron was officially activated and immediately received orders to prepare for overseas service alongside 'A' and 'B' Squadrons in an unspecified tropical climate. All three squadrons were transported to Inverary in Scotland for intensive training that focused on embarkation and disembarkation from ships and landing craft to prepare them for action in potential amphibious operations. In early September, elements of 'C' Squadron, including six Tetrarchs, formed part of a force which sailed for Freetown in West Africa; during this period of the war there were fears that the Spanish government might enter the conflict on the side of Germany, and the force was readied to capture a number of Spanish islands off the coast of Africa if this occurred. These fears proved groundless, and in March 1942, the unit returned to Britain to join the rest of the squadron in training. The next assignment, Operation Ironclad, was the invasion of Madagascar, the third largest island in the world and then under Vichy French control. The Prime Minister and the Combined Chiefs of Staff decided that Madagascar should be occupied as rapidly as possible to deny the port of Antsirane to Japanese naval forces, which had recently advanced into the Indian Ocean. Operation Ironclad was under the command of Major General Robert G. Sturges and consisted of No. 5 Commando, 29th Independent Brigade Group, and the 17th and 13th brigade groups from 5th Infantry Division. The 29th Brigade formed the core of the invasion force due to its training in amphibious operations, and under its command was 'B' Special Service Squadron, created by amalgamating six Valentines from 'B' Squadron and six Tetrarchs from 'C' Squadron into a single unit. The squadron was formed into four troops, one Headquarters troop of three Valentines and one Tetrarch, one of four Valentines, and two formed from the remaining five Tetrarchs. The invasion force assembled off the west coast of the northern tip of Madagascar on 4 May, near Antsirane and the bay of Diego Suarez. The invasion plan called for an amphibious assault landing on four beaches on the west side of the tip, which would allow the British forces to advance approximately and approach Antsirane from the rear. Information about the landing beaches, the