Scorpion and the CVR(T) Family

65 Pages·1994·40.51 MB·English

by  Bob Morrison

Bob Morrison

(p ({l(i}(p{f;~(fj

PUBLICATIONS COMPANY
Front Cover
Upper
Scimitars of the 9/12th
Lancers heading up an United
Nations convoy in Bosnia, late
1982, Note the variation
between left hull stowage bins
and the additional mesh
baskets and ammo boxes
bolted to the tracked guards of
both vehicles. This photo was
e;~~~~~~!~!!!!~!~ ta ken before the UN banned
I!: the flying of national insignia.
(Andy Burridge)
Lower
A brace of 17/21st
Lancers Scorpions, marked as
enemy forces with orange
tape, lurk on the edge of a
possible airland site just
before sunset.
Copyright © 1994
by CONCORD PUBLICATIONS CO,
603-609 Castle Peak Road
Kong Nam Industrial Building
lO/F, B1 , Tsuen Wan
Back Cover
New Territories, Hong Kong
Upper
The black jerboa on the
side of the Samson marks it as
All rights reserved, No port of
belonging to the 4th Armoured
this publication may be reproduced, Brigade, The driver's webbing
personal kit, including NBC
stored in a retrieval system or
over-shoes, hangs over the
transmitted in any form or by any right smoke dischargers,
means, electronic, mechanical,
photocopying or otherwise, without
the prior written permission of
Concord Publications Co,
Middle
Full seven man
We welcome authors who can help complement of a 51 Squadron
RAF Regiment Spartan, Note
expand our range of books, If you
the unit purchase Arktis chest
would like to submit material, please rigs which were tumed out by
the manufacturer at only 96
feel free to contact us,
hours notice when this
Squadron deployed to the
Gulf.
We are always on the look-out for new,
unpublished photos for this series,
If you have photos or slides or
information you feel may be useful to Lower
Camouflaged Belgian
future volumes, please send them to us
Striker with missile bins raised
for possible future publication, and FN MAG fitted. (Belgian
Defence Ministry)
Full photo credits will be given upon
publication,
ISBN 962-361-044-0
Printed in Hong Kong
All photographs by BOB MORRISON copyright MILITARY
SCENE unless otherwise credited. Additional photography by
Michael Jerchel and Yves Debay.
2
Introduction

The evolution of the Scorpion family can be traced back to Although not strictly part of the Scorpion CVR (T) family, the
: 961, when the Royal Armoured Corps commenced a feasibility wider and longer Stormer family is briefly covered at the end of
s udy into airportable replacements for the Saladin armoured this book. The British Army deployed a small number of
ar and Saracen personnel carrier. By 1964 no suitable design Stormers fitted with a GIAT scatterable mine system to Saudi
: ad been found, but the proposed chassis of a tracked self Arabia during the 91 Gulf War. The Starstreak High Velocity
?ropelled 105mm howitzer for the Royal Artillery was identified Missile system on Stormer is now on order with the British Army
cs a possible start point for a family of light armoured vehicles for service into the twenty-first century.
nder the Armoured Vehicle Reconnaissance (AVR) banner. This title does not attempt to tell the life story of the Scorpion
-:-he self propelled howitzer concept fell by the wayside, but the Family of light armoured vehicles, it is merely a collection of
~-'\VR project evolved into the Royal Armoured Corps Combat photographs of variants currently or recently in service with the
.'ehicle Reconnaissance (CVR) programme. British and Belgian armed forces. As I write, the Scorpion is
The AVR requirement called for seven specific vehicles to being withdrawn from front line British Army service, allegedly to
: Ifil roles undertaken by elements of the Royal Armoured Corps. comply with latest HSSAW Regulations. To replace them, turrets
The main four versions would undertake the usual Fire Support,. from redundant CVR(W) Fox armoured cars are being mated to
.' nti-tank, Anti-APC and Liaison recce duties, with secondary their hulls to give a new vehicle to be known as the Sabre. As
·..ariants configured for Command, Ambulance and Personnel this vehicle will not be in widespread service for some time, I
Carrier roles. At first a common 6-wheel design was considered, have omitted it.
J t size and layout limitations resulted in two separate vehicles World-wide about 3,500 Scorpion family vehicles are used
::oeing developed, one with tracks and the other with four wheels. by around twenty nations. The marque has sold particularly well
n e resultant vehicles were the Scorpion family FV100 series in the Pacific and Gulf theatres where climatic conditions can be
::acked combat reconnaissance vehicle known as CVR(T) and particularly harsh. However, due to the difficulty in obtaining in­
:.. e Fox FV721 wheeled vehicle known as CVR(W) . Despite both service photographs from many overseas governments, as well
..chicles being totally different, they had maximum commonalty as lack of space, I have unfortunately been unable to provide
'31 parts, including the legendary 195 hp Jaguar J60 engine used comprehensive coverage of their usage. A number of foreign
.~ the classic British sports car of the day. vehicles have been supplied to Scorpion 2 standard and may use
The FV101 Scorpion, armed with a 76mm L23Al gun, was a Perkins diesel engine, have up-rated suspension and tracks or
:.: e first variant to enter service in the UK early in 1973. Later be armed with the Cockerill 90mm gun. The British Army is
:.~at year the first BAOR recce regiment took charge of their currently evaluating three diesel engines upgrade packages.
Scorpions. The FV1 07 Scimitar, armed with the 30mm RARDEN As this series is aimed primarily at military vehicle modellers
cannon, was next into service followed by the FVI03 Spartan and enthusiasts, I have tried to provide photos of all sides of each
~rrnoured personnel carrier in 1976. From a distance, Scorpion vehicle wherever possible. I have also noted vehicle registrations
~ d Scimitar are visually identical, apart from their main in the captions where they are not readily identifiable to allow
,:rrnament, to all but the trained observer with most non-military match photos of particular vehicles. For. more in-depth technical
:;;oersonnel and media frequently referring to both as Scorpion and historical information, I would recommend Tank Museum
:.c ks. Curator Colonel George Forty's book SCORPION, published in
Although the Spartan is an armoured personnel carrier in 1983 by Ian Allan, ISBN 0 7110 1175. Refer to CONCORD titles
,=yery sense of the description, its small size precludes it from Operation GRANBY and Operation DESERT SABRE for British
x ing used by conventional infantry squads. Instead, it is used by CVR(T) photos from the 91 Gulf War.
5?ecialists such as survey teams, engineers, pioneers and air
:cfence teams. It has the same low silhouette box body as the ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
=VI 06 Samson recovery vehicle, but the latter has a smaller rear I would like to express my thanks to the officers and men of
: :xJr and only one circular roof hatch. The FV102 Striker anti­ The Blues & Royals, The Queen's Dragoon Guards, 9th/12th
''''nk vehicle is similar in profile to both Spartan and Samson for Royal Lancers, 16th/5th The Queen's Royal Lancers, 17th/21 st
.::;::ttlefield survivability, when it's missile bins are lowered, From Lancers, The Royal Yeomanry, Depot Royal Armoured Corps,
-: distance, Striker's main identifying feature is the Swingfire RAF Regiment, Royal Engineers, Royal Artillery, Royal Electrical
:,?erator's sight on the roof alongside the commander's cupola. S Mechanical Engineers and the Jagers te Paard, who helped in
-;le Spartan can carry four passengers in addition to the normal the preparation of this title. Thanks also to Chris Foss for his help
:..--ee man crew complement of the CVR(T) family. and to Michael Jerchel, Yves Debay, Robin Craig and Andy
The field ambulance variant, FVI04 Samaritan, and the Burridge who generously provided additional photographs.
.o.:noured command post, FV105 Sultan, share the same high Most of my photographs in this book were taken with a
::"Xly shape which allows personnel to stand erect inside. Canon T90 fitted with Vivitar 28-210 zoom or standard Canon
:>amaritan is configured to take up to four stretchers or five FD50 lenses. For back up I use Canon EOS700 and EOS750
;0' .ung wounded in addition to its peacetime complement of two cameras with interchangeable 35-80mm and 75-300mm auto­
--ew. In action, the crew would be increased to three with the focus lenses. Transparency film used was either Jessops
-~sultant loss of one casualty seat. Sultan carries three 100ASA or Fuji 400ASA for low light conditions. I always travel
::,:ssengers and is fitted out with map boards, radios and all the light and seldom tote a camera bag or case preferring instead to
::~raphernalia required of a command post. When the prominent carrying my T90 with 28-210 round my neck for instant use. My
~.::d Cross markings on the roof and sides of the Samaritan are other equipment, namely two cameras, three lenses, twenty rolls
~ vered, it is almost impossible to differentiate between the of film, mess tins, water bottle, ear defenders, waterproofs, etc.
'O..-:-])ulance and command variants. When stationary, Sultan is are stowed in the capacious pockets of a specially tailored
-' ally fitted with a penthouse to increase the work area ARKTIS Combat Vest when not in use.
:: aiJable. Bob Morrison, Devon
3
SCORPION

Scorpion 03FD67 of Recce Troop, 17/21st Lancers on Salisbury Plain, autumn 1992. This regiment was the first in BAOR to receive Scorpion nearly
twenty years before. Generally this vehicle is pretty typical of the marque in British service just before it's withdrawal.
The rear turret stowage bin , which was originally
rectangular in cross section, has been replaced by one which is
five sided in section. A large rear hull stowage bin, with canvas
top to accept bulky kits, has now been fitted to most British
Scorpions as standard.
Once the Scorpion's floatation screens had been removed
in the mid eighties, there was space to fit a side stowage bin on
the right side of the hull as well. This Scorpion also has a large
stowage box fitted to the right side of the turret.
4
A small amount of scrim has been
:!raped over the front of the turret only,
break up the Scorpion's frontal
')utl ine. Large quantities of camouflage
:ire only used on vehicles deployed on
s:atic recce as nothing stands out more
'nan a bush traveling at 40mph! The
::::am nets rolled in a tarpaulin on the
'-ont also serve to soften the vehicle's
:Jrofile .
The left hull stowage bin was
replaced by this larger one on most
Scorpions once the floatation screens
were discarded. A large right turret bin
is also fitted to this vehicle. Note the
driver's belt order slung behind the
smoke dischargers - the other crew
members normally hang theirs from the
antennae mounts.
.. " ..~ .... :.~. ..:.. "
Close-up of the driver's hatch and wide angle periscope for closed
:.: ·.n driving -it should be noted that a pair of wipers can be fitted to keep
--;: outer glass clean. A passive night driving scope can be substituted if
-~:~ired. The main armament barrel clamp is also visible in this photo.
5
Scorpion 03FD49 of the Queen's
Dragoon Guards, in Denmark for the
ACTION EXPRESS 91 autumn
deployment. Of particular note in this
photo are the newer pattern large
headlights mounted above the front hull
lip in protective shields. An additional
stowage bin, probably a cut down
Chieftain· bin, is fitted forward of the
more usual right hull bin. The bridge
classification plate is white.
Until 1992, when the British Army
"Options for Change" restructuring
programme commenced, Britain
provided a reconnaissance squadron to
NATO's ACE Mobile Force (Land). The
Queen's Dragoon Guards were the last
British regiment to provide the AMF
Force Reece Squadron. Unlike their
BAOR equivalents which were wholly
equipped with Scimitars, UK based
Reece Troops had a mix of two
Scorpions and two Scimitars.
03FD49 has yet another type of
stowage bin, acquired from a Chieftain,
fitted to the rear right of the turret where
the cable reel is usually carried. The call
sign on the rear turret bin is yellow and
the night convoy patch is white - it is
unusual to find a night convoy light fitted
in this manner.
6
Scorpion 04FD47 of 17/21st Lancers on Exercise PANTHERS FIRE 92 near Imber Village. Although it has the shields normally associated with the
2 ;er headlights, only the old pattern smaller lights are fitted in the conventional position.
:>rior to 1993, the HQ Squadron of a typical Armoured Regiment had a Recce Troop of 8 Scorpions to probe ahead of the Chieftain or Challenger
~_:'Jed Armoured Squadrons.
7
A Royal Hussa
Scorpion, in unusu
green and blae
camouflage pallen
photographed
Fallingbostel. It has
full length Chieftai
stowage bin on the Ie
hull and a large canvc
tray at the front. Ear'
pattern pinion and idlE
wheels are fittec
(Michael Jerchel)
This RH Scorpion has the early pattern square section rear
turret bin with a pair of small Chieftain boxes either side.
Another full length Chieftain bin is fitted to the left hull. Rear bin
call sign is yellow and the number is repeated in black on the
white night convoy patch. (Michael Jerchel)
The Royal Ai
Force Regiment als(
fields a small numbe
of Scorpions for airfiel(
defence duties
Photographed a
Catterick early in 1992
this RAF Regimen
Scorpion is also fitte(
with a Chieftair
_"=.Jrs.:;;"""_=""",,,-,",_ _~~_-,,~~, a~.:",."­'~ stowage bin.
8
Scorpion belonging to the Royal Armoured Corps Depot rolling off a Landing Craft Utility during a Royal Marine exercise. Capable of carrying Main Battle
-;c-',S, the LCU can easily transport two Scorpions and a large number of supporting infantry.
: ~~>~.~~~{
, ." - • . 0'-'C -• •• •• -..
.'.'..
- :;~Wt~~~~<:~~~::(:s;~~.~~)",
! ' ough the Royal Marines have never been granted funding for their own CVR(T) squadron, they regularly train with Army units as here. During
_ : - n CORPORATE in the Falklands, a medium recce troop from the Blues and Royals, with Scorpion, Scimitar and Samson, was included in 3
- do Brigade's ORBAT.
-=-=l ing ground pressure less than
-:i "- walking man, the Scorpion
: .sr shingle which would stop
-eeled vehicles and tracked
-his RAC Depot Scorpion is
-;J 42 Commando on exercise.
9