 In mid @-@ 1941 , the Royal Armoured Corps in Britain created three tank squadrons for special overseas operations , known as ' A ' , ' B ' and ' C ' Special Service Squadrons . Both ' A ' and ' B ' Squadrons were equipped with Valentine Infantry tanks and Mark <unk> light tanks , but ' C ' Squadron was equipped with twelve <unk> 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 <unk> in Scotland for intensive training that focused on embarkation and <unk> from ships and landing craft to prepare them for action in potential amphibious operations . In early September , elements of ' C ' Squadron , including six <unk> , 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 <unk> to capture a number of Spanish islands off the coast of Africa if this occurred . These fears proved <unk> , and in March 1942 , the unit returned to Britain to join the rest of the squadron in training . 
