The 3rd Armoured Division (German: 3. Panzerdivision) was formed on 2 July 1956 in Hamburg and was one of the first major formations of the new German Army or Bundeswehr after the Second World War. The 3rd Armoured Division was stationed on the North German Plain between the rivers Elbe and Weser. Its last headquarters location was Buxtehude. It was part of the I Corps alongside the 1st Panzer, 7th Panzer, and 11th Panzergrenadier Divisions.

The 3rd Armoured Division was disbanded on 30 September 1994. Its last commander was Generalmajor Gerd Schultze-Rhonhof.

In the 1980s under Army Structures III and IV the division consisted of the 7th Panzergrenadier Brigade, 8th Panzer Brigade, and the Panzerlehrbrigade 9 (Armoured demonstration brigade). After the division's disbandment 9 PzL Bde eventually became part of 1st Armoured Division (Germany).

The Division provided support to numerous disasters, e. g. during serious floods in North Germany in 1962 and 1976 as well as the flooding of the Elbe Lateral Canal. In January 1979 elements of the Division were deployed during the emergency caused by heavy snowfall in North Germany.

In 1993 parts of the Division were deployed to Somalia as part of UNOSOM II.

• 3rd Panzer Division, Buxtehude
  • Staff Company, 3rd Panzer Division, Buxtehude
  • 7th Panzergrenadier Brigade, Hamburg
    • Staff Company, 1st Panzergrenadier Brigade, Hamburg, (8x M577, 8x Luchs)
    • 71st Panzergrenadier Battalion (Reserve), Hamburg, (13x Leopard 1A5, 24x Marder, 12x M113)
    • 72nd Panzergrenadier Battalion, Hamburg, (24x Marder, 6x Panzermörser, 23x M113)
    • 73rd Panzergrenadier Battalion, Cuxhaven, (24x Marder, 6x Panzermörser, 23x M113)
    • 74th Panzer Battalion, Cuxhaven, (41x Leopard 2, 12x M113)
    • 75th Panzer Artillery Battalion, Hamburg, (18x M109A3G)
    • 70th Anti-Tank Company, Cuxhaven, (12x Jaguar 2)
    • 70th Armored Engineer Company, Stade
    • 70th Supply Company, Stade
    • 70th Maintenance Company, Stade
  • 8th Panzer Brigade, Lüneburg
    • Staff Company, 8th Panzer Brigade, Lüneburg, (8x M577, 8x Luchs)
    • 81st Panzer Battalion (Reserve), Lüneburg, (28x Leopard 2, 11x Marder, 12x M113)
    • 82nd Panzergrenadier Battalion, Lüneburg, (35x Marder, 6x Panzermörser, 12x M113)
    • 83rd Panzer Battalion, Lüneburg, (41x Leopard 2, 12x M113)
    • 84th Panzer Battalion, Lüneburg, (41x Leopard 2, 12x M113)
    • 85th Panzer Artillery Battalion, Lüneburg, (18x M109A3G)
    • 80th Anti-Tank Company, Lüneburg, (12x Jaguar 1)
    • 80th Armored Engineer Company, Lüneburg
    • 80th Supply Company, Lüneburg
    • 80th Maintenance Company, Lüneburg
  • 9th Panzer (Lehr) Brigade, Munster
    • Staff Company, 9th Panzerlehrbrigade, Munster, (8x M577, 8x Luchs)
    • 91st Panzer (Lehr) Battalion (Reserve), Munster, (28x Leopard 2, 11x Marder, 12x M113)
    • 92nd Panzergrenadier (Lehr) Battalion, Munster, (35x Marder, 6x Panzermörser, 12x M113)
    • 93rd Panzer (Lehr) Battalion, Munster, (41x Leopard 2, 12x M113)
    • 94th Panzer (Lehr) Battalion, Munster, (41x Leopard 2, 12x M113)
    • 95th Panzer (Lehr) Artillery Battalion, Munster, (18x M109A3G)
    • 90th Anti-Tank (Lehr) Company, Munster, (12x Jaguar 1)
    • 90th Armored Engineer (Lehr) Company, Munster
    • 90th Supply (Lehr) Company, Munster
    • 90th Maintenance (Lehr) Company, Munster
  • 3rd Artillery Regiment, Stade
    • Staff Battery, 3rd Artillery Regiment, Stade
    • 31st Field Artillery Battalion, Lüneburg, (18x M110A2, 18x FH-70)
    • 32nd Rocket Artillery Battalion, Dörverden, (16x LARS)
    • 33rd Surveillance Battalion, Stade, (12x CL89)
    • 3rd Infantry Battery, Dörverden
  • 3rd Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, Lüneburg, (34x Leopard 1, 10x Luchs, 18x Fuchs - 9 of which carry a RASIT radar)
  • 3rd Air Defense Regiment, Hamburg, (36x Gepard)
  • 3rd Engineer Battalion, Stade, (8x Biber AVLB, 8x Pionierpanzer 1, 4x Skorpion Mine Layers, 12x Floating Bridge Modules)
  • 3rd Army Aviation Squadron, Rotenburg, (10x Alouette II)
  • 3rd Signal Battalion, Buxtehude
  • 3rd Medical Battalion (Reserve), Hamburg
  • 3rd Supply Battalion (Reserve), Stade
  • 3rd Maintenance Battalion (Reserve), Rotenburg
  • 5x Field Replacement Battalions: 31st and 32nd in Zeven, 33rd and 35th in Verden, 34th in Neustadt am Achim
  • 36th Jäger Battalion (Reserve), Zeven
  • 37th Jäger Battalion (Reserve), Munster
  • 38th Security Battalion (Reserve), Zeven

No.	Name	Took over	Handed over
15	Generalmajor Gerd Schultze-Rhonhof	12 September 1991	30 September 1994
14	Generalmajor Winfried Weick	6 January 1989	11 September 1991
13	Generalmajor Jörg Schönbohm	11 March 1988	5 January 1989
12	Generalmajor Harald Schulz	1 April 1985	10 March 1988
11	Brigadegeneral Klaus Nennecke	7 December 1984	31 March 1985
10	Generalmajor Wolfgang Tebbe	1 April 1983	6 December 1984
9	Generalmajor Franz-Joachim von Rodde	1 April 1978	31 March 1983
8	Generalmajor Eberhard Burandt	1. October 1974	31 March 1978
7	Generalmajor Horst Ohrloff	1 October 1970	30 September 1974
6	Generalmajor Walter Carganico	1 October 1967	30 September 1970
5	Generalmajor Bernd Freytag von Loringhoven	1 April 1967	21 September 1967
4	Generalmajor Hans-Georg von Tempelhoff	1 October 1962	31 March 1967
3	Generalmajor Hans-Ullrich Krantz	1 October 1961	30 September 1962
2	Generalmajor Christian Müller	15 July 1958	20 September 1961
1	Generalmajor Heinrich Hax	3 September 1956	14 July 1958

• The 3rd Armoured Division of the Bundeswehr at www.relikte.com
• The history of the Division in the Federal Archive

53°27′43″N 9°41′11″E / 53.462012°N 9.686412°E / 53.462012; 9.686412