FV107 Scimitar

FV107 Scimitar
Type	Reconnaissance vehicle
Place of origin	United Kingdom
Service history
Wars	Falklands War, Gulf War, Bosnia, Kosovo, Iraq War, Afghanistan
Production history
Manufacturer	Alvis
Specifications
Weight	7.8 tonnes
Length	4.9 m
Width	2.2 m
Height	2.1 m
Crew	3
Armour	aluminium armour
Main armament	30 mm L21 RARDEN cannon sabot, HE, and armor-piercing special effects (APSE) rounds
Secondary armament	Coaxial 7.62 mm L37A1 MG
Engine	Cummins BTA 5.9 diesel 190 hp (142 kW)
Suspension	Torsion bar
Operational range	450 km
Speed	50 mph (80 km/h)

FV107 Scimitar is an armoured reconnaissance vehicle (sometimes classed as a light tank) used by the British Army, manufactured by Alvis in Coventry. It is very similar to the FV101 Scorpion but mounts a high velocity 30 mm L21 RARDEN cannon instead of a 76 mm gun. It was issued to Royal Armoured Corps, Armoured Regiments in the Reconnaissance role. Each Regiment had a Close Reconnaissance Squadron of 5 Troops of 8 FV107 Scimitar.

Development

The FV107 Scimitar is one of the CVR(T) series of vehicles and entered service in 1971.

Initially the engine was the Jaguar J60 4.2-litre 6-cylinder petrol engine, the same as used by several Jaguar cars. This has now been replaced by a Cummins BTA 5.9 diesel engine in British Army Scimitars, under the CVR(T) Life Extension Program (LEP).

The Scimitar lifespan has once again (as of middle 2009) been extended to accommodate the shift in timeframe with the FRES (Future Rapid Effect System) program which would have seen new armoured vehicles introduced which would have replaced the ageing CVR(T) range of vehicles. With new modifications, air filtration units and gearbox upgrades (late 2009) as well as hull alterations (late 2009) and the creation of a CVR(T) Spartan & CVR(T) Scimitar hybrid^[1] the CVR(T) range (early 2010) is expected to continue well into the future of 2017 and onwards^{[citation needed]}.

Additional specification

• Ground clearance: 0.35 m
• Main armament: 30 mm L21 RARDEN cannon. (Fires at up to 90 rounds per minute)
• Ammunition types:
  • High Explosive Incendiary (HEI)
  • High Explosive (HE)
  • Armour Piercing (AP)
  • APSE (Armour Piercing Secondary Effects)
  • Armour Piercing Discarding Sabot-Tracer (APDS-T)
• Additional defence: 2 x 4-barrel smoke launchers.
• Ammunition stores:
  • 30 mm — 165 rounds
  • 7.62 mm — 2,000 rounds (official but in practice as many 200 round boxes as can be stored).
  • As with all UK Armoured vehicles, it is equipped with a forced air system, so the crew can lock down in a CBRN environment, for this reason they are equipped with a boiling vessel BV, to cook and make hot drinks, it also has a hole in the center of the commander's seat that can be used as a toilet.^[2]

Operators

Scimitar in desert camouflage (apart from the massive Union Flag)

•  United Kingdom : 325 units ^[3]

The Scimitar is used by the five formation reconnaissance regiments of the British Army. Each regiment has three squadrons each of 12 Scimitars, The Household Cavalry Regiment has an extra squadron to support 16 Air Assault Brigade. It is also used by some support groups within infantry battalions like the Irish Guards Recce Platoon.^{[citation needed]}

After the Strategic Defence and Security Review in 2010, some regiments are seeing their Challenger 2 tanks replaced with CVR(T) Scimitars.^[4]

• Belgium : 141 units,^[5] withdrawn from active service in 2005.^[6]

• Royal Jordanian Army : 175 units
• Honduran Army : 3 units

Combat use

Two troops from B Squadron, Blues and Royals served in the Falklands War. The CVR(T) were the only armoured vehicles used in action by the British Army during the conflict.^[7] At least one Scimitar was seriously damaged by an Argentine landmine, but the crew were unscathed, and the vehicle was salvaged by a Chinook HC.1 helicopter^[8] and soon brought back into service by the attached REME section.

Scimitars of C Squadron Queen's Dragoon Guards were used in the Battle of Al Faw in the opening days of the 2003 Invasion of Iraq. Plans for an amphibious landing of Scimitars were abandoned due to extensive mining of the beaches and instead they crossed into Iraq by land.

Thereafter in Afghanistan on Operation Herrick, Scimitars were deployed either in standard Troop organisations or as part of Jackal composite troop to provide increased firepower to the Jackals high mobility.

See also

• CVR(T) (combat vehicle reconnaissance - tracked) family of vehicles.

References

Further reading

Wikimedia Commons has media related to FV107 Scimitar.

• ArmyRecognition Scimitar pictures
• FV107 Scimitar