The FV101 Scorpion is a British armoured reconnaissance vehicle. 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 Manufactured by Alvis, it was introduced into service with the British Army in 1973 and was withdrawn in 1994. More than 3,000 were produced and used as a reconnaissance vehicle or a light tank. It holds the Guinness world record for the fastest production tank; recorded doing 82.23 km/h (51.10 mph) at the QinetiQ vehicle test track, Chertsey, Surrey, on 26 January 2002.
The Alvis Scorpion was developed to meet a British Army requirement for the Combat Vehicle Reconnaissance (Tracked) or CVR(T). In 1967, Alvis was awarded the contract to produce 30 CVR(T) prototypes. Vehicles P1–P17 being 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 was 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 C130 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.
The Scorpion was armed with the low velocity 76 mm L23A1 gun, which could fire high-explosive, HESH, smoke and canister rounds. Stowage was provided for 40 or 42 rounds. A 7.62 mm coaxial machine gun (3,000 rounds carried) was also fitted, as were two multi-barreled 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.
The original engine was the Jaguar J60 Mk 100b 4.2-litre petrol engine, which was replaced by a Cummins or Perkins diesel engine. The maximum speed was about 50 miles per hour (80 km/h) and it could accelerate from nought to 30 miles per hour (48 km/h) in 16 seconds. The maximum speed on water (with the flotation screen deployed) was 3.6 mph (5.8 km/h). The Irish engineering company IED replaced the existing Jaguar engine in a successful re-powering process with a Steyr M16 TCA HD engine (6-cylinder, 145 kW), making the Scorpion more powerful and more reliable in critical environments.[failed verification]
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 at least 12.7 mm of aluminium armour all around, giving it 'ballistic immunity' against small low-velocity shrapnel and standard ball rifle rounds from cartridges such as 7.62×39mm, 5.56×45mm, and 7.62×51mm, all over the front 30 deg arc. Initial manufacture of the aluminium armour resulted, after time and effects of the environment, in failure. This phenomenon was known as Stress Corrosion Cracking (SCC) and it 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 90 or Scorpion 2 was a version armed with the long-barrelled Cockerill Mk3 M-A1 90mm gun designed for the export market.
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, Venezuela and the United Arab Emirates. 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. While Canada never operated the Scorpion, its original turret was married with the MOWAG Piranha I chassis to create the AVGP Cougar fire support vehicle, which was used by the Canadian Armed Forces. The Scorpion on occasion deployed to main UK airports as a measure against possible terrorist threats, e.g., Operation Marmion at Heathrow Airport in 1974.[failed verification] Similar operations in 2003 used the then-current Scimitar.
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 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 1 Squadron RAF Regiment, which was attached to the 1st British Armoured Division.
Some small armies, such as the Botswana Defence Force, and some larger armies such as the Philippine 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:
The British government provided Iran (and Iraq) with limited parts for their Scorpions during the war:
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(W) wheeled reconnaissance vehicle to form a composite vehicle—the Sabre reconnaissance vehicle.
A small number of converted Scorpions are in use at British Army Training Unit Suffield in Canada as part of OPFOR. With the main armament barrel replaced with a dummy they represent 125mm gun armed T-80-type vehicles.
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