FV101 Scorpion

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.[2] The main armament has an elevation of 35 degrees and a depression of 10 degrees; the turret has a full 360-degree traverse.[9]

The original engine was the Jaguar J60 Mk 100b 4.2-litre petrol engine,[10] which was replaced by a Cummins or Perkins diesel engine.[2] 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).[11] The Irish engineering company IED replaced the existing Jaguar engine in Irish Army Scorpions 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.[12]

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[13] of sloped aluminium armour[14][15], giving an average effective thickness of 25 mm.[16] The FV101 had all-around protection from shell fragments and 7.62 mm rounds[17], and the heavily sloped frontal arc was designed to be resistant to 14.5 mm rounds fired from a 200 meter range.[18][19] The 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.[2] 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.[20]

Scorpion advancing across the desert during the first Gulf War.

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.[23] 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.[24] 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.[1] However, the Scorpions proved less effective when faced with Iraq's 9th Armoured Division:[1]

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:[1]

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.

The original Scorpion 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 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.[25]

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.

The Australian Army operated Medium Reconnaissance Vehicles which comprised a Scorpion turret fitted to the hull of a M113A1. This variant entered service in 1976[26] and were retired in 1996.

•  Botswana

60 units.

•  Brunei

16 units.

•  Chile

30 units; in service with the Chilean Marines Corps.

•  Honduras

19 units.

•  Iran

130 units.

•  Indonesia

90 units.

Indonesian FV 101 Scorpion on IIMS 2014

•  Jordan

26 units.

•  Nigeria

150 units.

•  Oman

120 Units.

•  Philippines

7 units.

•  Thailand

154 units.[27]

•  Tanzania

40 units.

•  Togo

12 units. Including one FV-106 Samson, one FV-104 Samaritan and one Fv-105 Sultan.

•  United Arab Emirates

76 Units.

•  Venezuela

78 Scorpion 90, 4 or 6 FV-104 Samaritan, 2 FV-105 Sultan and 4 FV-106 Samson.[2]

•  Belgium

701 units (this total consists of all seven variants of the CVR(T)).

•  Iraq

Limited number captured from Iran during Iran–Iraq War[28]

•  Ireland

14 units.[29]

•  Kuwait
•  Malaysia : 26 units[30]
•  New Zealand

26 units.

•  Spain

17 units on service until 2009 on the Spanish Navy, (Infantería de Marina Española). Sold to Chile. There are a couple of units on static display as of 2011

•  United Kingdom

1,500 units ordered. Withdrawn from active service in 1994.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to FV101 Scorpion.

• Foss, Christopher F; Sarson, Peter (1995). Scorpion Reconnaissance Vehicle 1972-94. Osprey Publishing. ISBN 1-85532-390-7.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Razoux, Pierre (2015). The Iran-Iraq War. Harvard University Press. ISBN 9780674088634.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)