Scorpion and the CVR(T) Family

Bob Morrison

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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

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before the UN banned 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 New Territories, Hong Kong

Back Cover Upper The black jerboa on the side of the Samson marks it as belonging to the 4th Armoured Brigade, The driver's webbing personal kit, including NBC over-shoes, hangs over the right smoke dischargers,

All rights reserved, No port of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without the prior written permission of Concord Publications Co,

Middle Full seven man complement of a 51 Squadron RAF Regiment Spartan, Note the unit purchase Arktis chest rigs which were tumed out by the manufacturer at only 96 hours notice when this Squadron deployed to the Gulf.

We welcome authors who can help expand our range of books, If you would like to submit material, please feel free to contact us, We are always on the look-out for new, unpublished photos for this series, If you have photos or slides or information you feel may be useful to future volumes, please send them to us for possible future publication, Full photo credits will be given upon publication,

Lower Camouflaged Belgian Striker with missile bins raised and FN MAG fitted . (Belgian Defence Ministry)

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.

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Introduction

Although not strictly part of the Scorpion CVR (T) family, the wider and longer Stormer family is briefly covered at the end of this book. The British Army deployed a small number of Stormers fitted with a GIAT scatterable mine system to Saudi Arabia during the 91 Gulf War. The Starstreak High Velocity Missile system on Stormer is now on order with the British Army for service into the twenty-first century. This title does not attempt to tell the life story of the Scorpion Family of light armoured vehicl es, it is merely a collection of photographs of variants currently or recently in service with the British and Belgian armed forces. As I write, the Scorpion is being withdrawn from front line British Army service , allegedly to comply with latest HSSAW Regulations. To replace them, turrets from redundant CVR(W) Fox armoured cars are being mated to their hulls to give a new vehicle to be known as the Sabre. As this vehicle will not be in widespread service for some time , I have omitted it. World-wide about 3,500 Scorpion family vehicles are used by around twenty nations. The marque has sold particularly well in the Pacific and Gulf theatres where climatic conditions can be particularly harsh . However, due to the difficulty in obtaining in­ service photographs from many overseas governments, as well as lack of space, I have unfortunately been unable to provide comprehensive coverage of their usage. A number of foreign vehicles have been supplied to Scorpion 2 standard and may use a Perkins diesel engine , have up-rated suspension and tracks or be armed with the Cockerill 90mm gun. The British Army is currently evaluating three diesel engines upgrade packages . As this series is aimed primarily at military vehicle modellers and enthusiasts , I have tried to provide photos of all sides of each vehicle wherever possible. I have also noted vehicle registrations in the captions where they are not readily identifiable to allow match photos of particular vehicles . For. more in-depth technical and historical information, I would recommend Tank Museum Curator Colonel George Forty's book SCORPION, published in 1983 by Ian Allan, ISBN 0 7110 1175. Refer to CONCORD titles Operation GRANBY and Operation DESERT SABRE for British CVR(T) photos from the 91 Gulf War.

The evolution of the Scorpion fam ily can be traced back to : 9 61, when the Royal Armoured Corps commenced a feasibility s udy into airportable replacements for the Saladin armoured ar and Saracen personnel carrier. By 1964 no suitable design : ad been found, but the proposed chassis of a tracked self ?ropelled 105mm howitzer for the Royal Artillery was identified cs a possible start point for a family of light armoured vehicles nder the Armoured Vehicle Reconnaissance (AVR) banner. -:-he self propelled howitzer concept fell by the wayside, but the ~-'\V R project evolved into the Royal Armoured Corps Combat .'ehicle Reconnaissance (CVR) programme. The AVR requirement called for seven specific vehicles to : Ifil roles undertaken by elements of the Royal Armoured Corps. The main four versions would undertake the usual Fire Support,. .' nti-tank, Anti-APC and Liaison recce duties, with secondary ·..ariants configured for Command, Ambulance and Personnel Carrier roles . At first a common 6-wheel design was considered , J t size and layout limitations resulted in two separate vehicles ::oeing developed, one with tracks and the other with four wheels . n e resultant vehicles were the Scorpion family FV100 series ::ac ked combat reconnaissance vehicle known as CVR(T) and :.. e Fox FV721 wheeled vehicle known as CVR(W) . Despite both ..chicles being totally different, they had maximum commonalty '31 p arts, including the legendary 195 hp Jaguar J60 engine used . ~ the classic British sports car of the day . The FV101 Scorpion , armed with a 76mm L23Al gun , was :.: e first variant to enter service in the UK early in 1973. Later :.~ a t year the first BAOR recce regiment took charge of their Scorpions. The FV1 07 Scimitar, armed with the 30mm RARDEN cannon, was next into service followed by the FVI03 Spartan ~rrn oured personnel carrier in 1976. From a distance, Scorpion ~ d Scimitar are visually identical, apart from their main ,: rrn ament, to all but the trained observer with most non-military :;;oersonnel and media frequently referring to both as Scorpion :.c k s. Although the Spartan is an armoured personnel carrier in ,= yery sense of the description, its small size precludes it from x ing used by conventional infantry squads. Instead , it is used by 5?ecialists such as survey teams, engineers , pioneers and air :cfen ce teams. It has the same low silhouette box body as the =V I 06 Samson recovery vehicle, but the latter has a smaller rear : :xJr and only one circular roof hatch. The FV102 Striker anti­ ''''nk vehicle is similar in profile to both Spartan and Samson for .::;::ttlefield survivability, when it's missile bins are lowered, From -: distance, Striker's main identifying feature is the Swingfire :,?erator 's sight on the roof alongside the commander's cupola. -;le Spartan can carry four passengers in addition to the normal :..- -ee man crew complement of the CVR(T) family. The field ambulance variant, FVI04 Samaritan, and the .o.:noured command post, FV105 Sultan, share the same high ::"Xly shape which allows personnel to stand erect inside. :>am aritan is c onfigured to take up to four stretchers or five ;0' .ung wounded in addition to its peacetime complement of two - -ew. In action, the crew would be increased to three with the -~ su ltant loss of one casualty seat. Sultan carries three ::,:ssengers and is fitted out with map boards, radios and all the ::~ r aphernalia required of a command post. When the prominent ~ .::d Cross markings on the roof and sides of the Samaritan are ~ vered, it is almost impossible to differentiate between the 'O..-:-])ulance and command variants . When stationary , Sultan is -' ally fitted with a penthouse to increase the work area :: aiJable.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to express my thanks to the officers and men of The Blues & Royals , The Queen's Dragoon Guards, 9th/12th Royal Lancers , 16th/5th The Queen's Royal Lancers, 17th/21 st Lancers, The Royal Yeomanry, Depot Royal Armoured Corps, RAF Regiment, Royal Engineers, Royal Artillery, Royal Electrical S Mechanical Engineers and the Jagers te Paard , who helped in the preparation of this title . Thanks also to Chris Foss for his help and to Michael Jerchel, Yves Debay, Robin Craig and Andy Burridge who generously provided additional photographs . Most of my photographs in this book were taken with a Canon T90 fitted with Vivitar 28-210 zoom or standard Canon FD50 lenses. For back up I use Canon EOS700 and EOS750 cameras with interchangeable 35-80mm and 75-300mm auto­ focus lenses. Transparency film used was either Jessops 100ASA or Fuji 400ASA for low light conditions . I always travel light and seldom tote a camera bag or case preferring instead to carrying my T90 with 28-210 round my neck for instant use. My other equipment, namely two cameras, three lenses, twenty rolls of film , mess tins , water bottle, ear defenders, waterproofs , etc . are stowed in the capacious pockets of a specially tailored ARKTIS Combat Vest when not in use. Bob Morrison, Devon

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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.

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A small amount of scrim has been :!raped over the front of the turret only, break up the Scorpion's frontal ')u tl 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 '-on t 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.

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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 -~ :~ i red. The main armament barrel clamp is also visible in this photo.

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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.

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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 Armoured Squadrons.

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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)

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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 stowage bin.

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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.

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