but a doubling of strength allowed the addition of a new Heavy Section. In November 1940, the name of the LRP was changed to the "Long Range Desert Group" (LRDG), The British volunteers, who came mostly from the Brigade of Guards and Yeomanry regiments, were incorporated into their own patrols.
Patrols
thumb|upright=1.3|alt=Vehicle going down a steep embankment.|'R' Patrol Chevrolet WB radio truck; the [[Antenna (radio)|rod antenna can be seen on the right. The man at the rear is manning a Boys anti-tank rifle]]
The Long Range Patrol comprised a 15-man headquarters with Bagnold in command. There were three sub-units: 'R' Patrol commanded by Captain Donald Gavin Steele, 'T' Patrol commanded by Captain Patrick Clayton and 'W' Patrol commanded by Captain Edward 'Teddy' Cecil Mitford. 'T' and 'W' Patrols were combat units while 'R' Patrol was intended to be a support unit.
In November 1940, the LRP was reorganised and re-designated as the Long Range Desert Group. It was expanded to six Patrols: 'T', 'W' and 'R' Patrols were joined by 'G', 'S' and 'Y' Patrols. Each patrol was expected to belong to the same regimental group, but only the Brigade of Guards and the Yeomanry regiments formed their own Patrols, 'G' and 'Y' respectively. The 'Y' Patrol men were drawn from the Nottinghamshire Yeomanry under command of Captain P. J. D. McCraith, with additional men from the Royal Northumberland Fusiliers and the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders. In December 1940, 'W' Patrol was disbanded and its personnel used to bring 'R' and 'T' Patrols up to strength, By June 1941 the LRDG was re-organised into two squadrons: the New Zealand and Rhodesian 'A' Squadron with 'S', 'T' and 'R' Patrols, and 'B' Squadron with 'G', 'H' and 'Y' Patrols. There was also a Headquarters Section along with signals, survey and light repair sections. A Heavy section, initially equipped with four 6-ton Marmon-Herrington trucks, From July 1942 Willys jeeps began to be issued for the patrol commander and patrol sergeant.
Weapons
thumb|left|alt=four wheeled truck mounting a large artillery piece at the rear and a Lewis gun at the front. The three-man crew can also be seen|A Chevrolet WB with a [[Bofors 37 mm anti-tank gun mounted at the rear]]
The patrol vehicles were initially armed with 11 Lewis machine guns, four Boys anti-tank rifles and a Bofors 37 mm anti-tank gun distributed amongst their vehicles. Another Vickers gun used was the heavy Vickers .50 machine gun, which would be mounted at the rear of the vehicle. All of the unit's vehicles were armed with at least one gun; each vehicle was fitted with six to eight gun mountings, but normally only two or three of them would be in use.
thumb|upright|A member of a Long Range Desert Group (LRDG) patrol poses with a [[Vickers K machine gun on a Chevrolet 30-cwt truck, May 1942.]]
Supplementing their army-supplied weapons, the LRDG was equipped with surplus Royal Air Force (RAF) aircraft guns, which were acquired for their high rate of fire. The most widely used of these was the Vickers K machine gun, which was sometimes used mounted in pairs. From mid-1941 the LRDG acquired .303 Browning Mk II's from RAF stocks, also mounted in pairs, with a combined rate of fire of 2,400 rounds per minute. When new vehicles were issued in March 1942, several were converted to carry captured dual-purpose 20 mm Breda Model 35s, which replaced the Bofors 37 mm, and each half-patrol was equipped with one Breda "Gun truck". In September 1942 the .50 Browning AN/M2 heavy machine gun began to replace both calibres of the Vickers machine guns and the Boys anti-tank rifle.
The men of the LRDG carried the standard British Second World War small arms, the Lee–Enfield No.1 Mk III* being the primary rifle.