FV101 Scorpion

FV101 Scorpion

History

ntended to be a fast and air-transportable reconnaissance vehicle, the Scorpion is built from mainly aluminium armour and mounts an L23A1 76 mm gun firing high-explosive, HESH, smoke, and canister rounds. Original models had a Jaguar 4.2 litre petrol engine. This engine was chosen because of its high power to weight ratio. Some customers specified diesel engines.

The Perkins Diesel engine was chosen, which has shown longer in-service life, and has a reduced risk of fire. At least one vehicle was seriously damaged by an Argentine landmine, but the crew were unscathed, and the vehicle was soon brought back into service by the attached REME section. Both tactical and strategic commanders have stated that a larger number of CVR would have aided and shortened the campaign greatly, with possibly reduced casualties. Its cross country ability was demonstrated in a recorded incident where a commander jumped from his vehicle and sank into the boggy ground (wheeled vehicles being almost no use away from established roads).

The Scorpion has been withdrawn from British Army service and the refurbished hulls have been mated with surplus turrets from the FV 721 Fox CVR wheeled reconnaissance vehicle to form a composite vehicle, to create the 30mm RARDEN cannon armed Sabre, which is very similar in appearance to the Scimitar. The chief reason for this was that the obsolescent 76mm gun was not found to be as effective or efficient in engaging enemy light armour/miscellaneous targets as the flat-trajectory 30mm cannon. Some small armies such as the Botswana Defense Force and the Irish Army, and notably the larger Philippine Army, continue to use Scorpion units, in some cases up-armed retroactively with 90mm Cockerill guns . A small number are in use at BATUS in Canada as part of OPFOR representing 125mm gun armed T-80-type vehicles, with the main armament barrel replaced with plastic drainpipe, and known as "Salamanders".