| FV101 Scorpion | |
| Origin: | United Kingdom |
| Type: | Reconnaissance vehicle, light tank |
| Is Vehicle: | yes |
| Is Uk: | yes |
| Service: | 1973–present |
| Used By: | Operators |
| Wars: | Iran–Iraq War Falklands War 1989 Philippine coup d'état attempt Gulf War Zamboanga City crisis |
| Manufacturer: | Alvis Vehicles, Coventry, England |
| Number: | c. 3,000 (1,500 for UK, c. 1,500 exported) |
| Variants: | Scorpion 90 |
| Crew: | 3 |
| Length: | 5.288m (17.349feet) |
| Width: | 2.134m (07.001feet) |
| Height: | 2.102m (06.896feet) |
| Weight: | 17,800 lb (8.074 tonnes) |
| Armour: | Aluminium armour, Cast and 1318b plate 13 mm (front and sides)[1] |
| Primary Armament: | ROF 76mm L23A1 gun 90mm Cockerill Mk3 M-A1 gun (in Scorpion 90) |
| Secondary Armament: | Coaxial 7.62 mm L43A1 machine gun |
| Engine: | Cummins BTA 5.9-litre (diesel) |
| Engine Power: | 190hp |
| Transmission: | Self Change Gears TN15X |
| Suspension: | Torsion-bar |
| Speed: | 72.5km/h |
| Pw Ratio: | 22.92 hp (17.3 kW) / tonne |
| Vehicle Range: | 756km (470miles) |
The FV101 Scorpion is a British armoured reconnaissance vehicle and light tank. It was the lead vehicle and the fire support type in the Combat Vehicle Reconnaissance (Tracked), CVR(T), family of seven armoured vehicles. Manufactured by Alvis, it was introduced into service with the British Army in 1973 and was withdrawn in 1994.[2] [3] More than 3,000 were produced and used as a reconnaissance vehicle or a light tank.
It held the Guinness world record for the fastest production tank, recorded doing 82.23km/h at the QinetiQ vehicle test track in Chertsey, Surrey, on 26 January 2002.[4]
The Combat Vehicle Reconnaissance (Tracked) family of vehicles came from a British Army requirement for an armoured fighting vehicle that could be rapidly airlifted to trouble spots. The 'Armoured Vehicle Reconnaissance' was supposed to carry both a gun and an anti-tank missile but it was not possible to design an air portable vehicle to the specification. The limits on both size and weight led to the use of aluminium alloy for the hull and an adapted car engine for power. The anti-tank capability was given to a dedicated vehicle, Striker, while what became Scorpion would use a 76 mm gun in the fire support role.
In 1967, Alvis was awarded the contract to produce 30 CVR(T) prototypes. Vehicles P1–P17, the Scorpion prototypes, were delivered on time and within the budget. After extensive hot and cold weather trials in Norway, Australia, Abu Dhabi and Canada, the Scorpion was accepted by the British Army in May 1970, with a contract for 275, which later rose to 313 vehicles. The first production vehicles were completed in 1972 and the first British regiment to be equipped with the Scorpion were the Blues and Royals of the Household Cavalry in 1973. Alvis built more than 3,000 Scorpion vehicles for the British Army, Royal Air Force Regiment and the export market. All of the CVR(T) vehicles were to be air-portable; and two Scorpions could be carried in a Lockheed C-130 Hercules. Another requirement of the CVR(T) project was the low ground pressure, similar to that of a soldier on foot; this would serve it well in the boggy conditions of the Falklands War.
| L23A1 gun | |
| Origin: | United Kingdom |
| Is Ranged: | yes |
| Is Artillery: | yes |
| Is Uk: | yes |
| Service: | 1973–present |
| Manufacturer: | Royal Ordnance |
| Length: | 2.157m (07.077feet) |
| Elevation: | +35 degrees/-10 degrees |
| Caliber: | 76mm |
| Rate: | 6 rounds per minute |
| Range: | 2200m (7,200feet) |
The Scorpion was armed with the low velocity 76 mm L23A1 gun, which could fire high-explosive, HESH, smoke and canister rounds. Storage was provided for 40 or 42 rounds. A 7.62 mm coaxial L7 GPMG (3,000 rounds carried) was also fitted, as were two multi-barrelled smoke grenade dischargers, one on each side of the turret. The main armament has an elevation of 35 degrees and a depression of 10 degrees; the turret has a full 360-degree traverse.[5] The traverse was however hand-cranked, a cost-saving feature that made the turret relatively slow and laborious to traverse relative to other vehicles of its type.[6] This gun was later deemed to be unsatisfactory, as RAF testing showed that the lack of a fume extraction system caused toxic fumes to enter the fighting compartment, endangering the crew's health.
Some Scorpions used the Cockerill Mk3 90mm gun instead. This weapon could fire the following rounds:[7]
The original engine was the Jaguar J60 Mk 100b 4.2-litre petrol engine,[8] which was replaced by a Cummins or Perkins diesel engine. The maximum speed was about 50mph and it could accelerate from standing to 30mph in 16 seconds. The maximum speed on water (with the flotation screen deployed) was 3.6mph. The Irish engineering company IED replaced the Jaguar engine in Irish Army Scorpions with a Steyr M16 TCA HD engine (6-cylinder, 145 kW), making the Scorpion more powerful and more reliable in critical environments.[9]
The FV101 was a very light armoured vehicle, weighing in at a mere 8 tonnes. This meant some compromises had to be made on protection. The vehicle had 12.7 mm[10] of sloped aluminium armour on both the front and sides,[11] [12] giving an average effective thickness of 25 mm.[13]
The FV101 had all-around protection from shell fragments and 7.62 mm rounds,[14] and the heavily sloped frontal arc was designed to be resistant to 14.5 mm rounds fired from 200m (700feet).[15] [16] The initial manufacture of the aluminium armour resulted, after time and effects of the environment, in failure; "Stress Corrosion Cracking" (SCC) which seriously affected all early builds.
The vehicle was fitted with a nuclear, biological, chemical protection system, image intensification sights for gunner and driver and a floatation screen. A commode was located under the commander's seat. An internal water tank and a boiling vessel for cooking and heating water were also provided.
The Scorpion was or is used by the armed forces of Belgium, Botswana, Brunei, Chile, Honduras, Iran, Indonesia, Ireland, Jordan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Nigeria, Oman, Philippines, Spain, Tanzania, Thailand, Togo, the United Arab Emirates, and Venezuela. The Iranian army acquired 250 Scorpions in the late 1970s and a number of them are still in use after being refurbished locally as the Tosan tank. The Scorpion was on occasion deployed to main UK airports as a measure against possible terrorist threats, e.g., Operation Marmion at Heathrow Airport in 1974.[17] Similar operations in 2003 used the then-current Scimitar.
B Squadron, Blues and Royals were airlifted and deployed into the Akrotiri and Dhekelia Sovereign Base areas, during the Turkish invasion of Cyprus 1974.
Two troops from B Squadron, Blues and Royals served in the Falklands War. One troop was equipped with four Scorpions, the other with four FV107 Scimitars. These were the only armoured vehicles used in action by the British Army during the conflict. Scorpions also served in the Gulf War. The 16th/5th The Queen's Royal Lancers deployed in the first Gulf War (Operation Granby) using all variants of the CVR(T) range carrying out the role of force reconnaissance for the British spearhead towards Iraq, operating forward of other official green army units. The 1st The Queen's Dragoon Guards, a reconnaissance regiment, had 32 and the close reconnaissance troops of the armoured regiments each had eight. They were also used by No. 1 Squadron RAF Regiment, which was attached to the British 1st Armoured Division.
Some small armies, such as the Botswana Defence Force, and some larger armies such as the Iranian Army and Nigerian Army, continue to use the Scorpion, in some cases up-armed with the 90 mm Cockerill.
The Iranian army used its Scorpion tanks in the Iran–Iraq War, with various degrees of success. Early in the war, Iranians used the Scorpions's "accurate fire" (alongside the Cobra attack helicopters) to hold back Iraqi 2nd Infantry Division's offensive towards the city of Ilam.However, the Scorpions proved less effective when faced with Iraq's 9th Armoured Division:
A second [Iraqi] column rushed to Susangerd, which it crossed without encountering any resistance, the city having apparently been left defenseless. The column continued in the direction of Hamidiyeh. It came into contact with the [Iranian] 92nd Armored Division's reconnaissance regiment, which met it with effective in-depth defense. Yet the Iranians eventually had to yield in the face of Iraqi pressure. Their Scorpions' 90 mm guns did not hold their weight against the T-62 tanks' 115 mm guns. The Iraqis thus took control of Hamidiyeh, then Bozorg.
The British government provided Iran (and Iraq) with limited parts for their Scorpions during the war:
Regarding military matters, the British government imposed two strict rules: contracts signed before the war would be honored, but the sale of equipment likely to significantly increase either side's military capacities was banned. Interpreting these regulations loosely, the British government delivered both the Iranians and the Iraqis motors and spare parts for Chieftain and Scorpion tanks, which would allow the former to maintain tanks acquired under the Shah and the latter to repair tanks captured from the Iranian army.
Turret only
During the late 1960s, as a result of its experiences in the Vietnam War, the Australian Army perceived a need for a hybrid, tracked fire support and reconnaissance vehicle.
Experiments in which existing M113 APCs were fitted with Saladin (not Scorpion) turrets, wielding a 76 mm M1 gun, were successful. The vehicle entered service as the M113A1 FSV (Fire Support Vehicle).
A very similar, subsequent vehicle, attaching the turret from the Scorpion to the M113, was also known as the FSV. (This re-purposing of the turret was to be the only use of any part of the Scorpion by the ADF.) Entering service in 1976, it was later redesignated the M113A1 Medium Reconnaissance Vehicle (MRV). Its development also obviated interest in acquiring brand new, purpose-built vehicles (such as a variant of the UK CVR(T) or the M2/M3 Bradley). All of these vehicles were retired in 1996.[18]
Nigeria: 150 units. In 1983, 33 vehicles were selected to be upgraded with an improved 90 mm Cockerill Mk III gun replacing the original 76 mm cannon. These vehicles were also equipped with a Belgian-sourced OIP-5 fire control system.