FV438 Swingfire

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FV438 Swingfire
General characteristics
Crew	3
Length	5.1 m
Width	3 m
Height	2.7 m
Weight	16.2 t
Armour and armament
Armour	12.7 mm max
Main armament	Two Swingfire ATGM launchers
Secondary armament	7.62 mm L7 GPMG, smoke dischargers
Mobility
Power plant	Rolls-Royce K60 multi-fuel 240 hp
Suspension	torsion-bar, 5 road wheel
Road speed	52 km/h
Power/weight	15.7 hp/tonne
Range	480 km

The FV438 Swingfire was an armoured anti-tank vehicle of the British Army.

It was derived from the FV430 series of vehicles by converting the FV432 to accommodate a launcher for Swingfire anti-tank guided missiles.

It had two firing bins and could carry fourteen missiles, which could be reloaded from inside the vehicle. Instead of using the mounted guidance system a control unit could be deployed and the missiles aimed and fired from up to fifty metres away, allowing the vehicle to remain completely hidden from the enemy; the Swingfire missile was capable of making a ninety-degree turn immediately after firing.

When it first came into use in the 1970s, the FV438s were operated by specialised anti-tank units of the Royal Artillery. The role was transferred to the Royal Armoured Corps in the mid 1980s, and the FV438s were taken into service as guided-weapon troops of armoured regiments, nine vehicles to a regiment.

Modern (post WW2) UK armoured fighting vehicles
Wheeled vehicles
Ferret Scout Car | Fox Reconnaissance Vehicle | Saladin Armoured Car | Saracen APC
FV1611 "Pig" | Saxon | Mastiff PPV
Armoured personnel carriers and infantry fighting vehicles
FV432 | Warrior | FV103 Spartan | Stormer | FV104 Samaritan | FV105 Sultan
Light tanks and anti-tank vehicles
FV101 Scorpion | FV107 Scimitar | Sabre | FV102 Striker | FV438 Swingfire
Self-propelled artillery
FV433 Abbot | AS-90
Main battle tanks
Centurion | Conqueror | Chieftain | Challenger 1 | Challenger 2
UK unarmoured or non-fighting vehicles