FV107 Scimitar
Encyclopedia
FV107 Scimitar is an armoured reconnaissance vehicle
(sometimes classed as a light tank
) used by the British Army
. 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.
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 This has now been replaced by a Cummins BTA 5.9 diesel engine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 the CVR(T) range (early 2010) is expected to continue well into the future of 2017 and onwards.
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The Scimitar is used by the five formation reconnaissance regiment
s 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.
After the Strategic Defence and Security Review
in 2010, some regiments are seeing their Challenger 2 tanks replaced with CVR(T) Scimitars.
served in the Falklands War
. The CVR(T)
were the only armoured vehicles used in action by the British Army during the conflict. 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
helicopterand 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.
Reconnaissance vehicle
A reconnaissance vehicle, also known as a scout vehicle, is a military vehicle used for forward reconnaissance.- Design :Smaller caliber weapons help reduce the vehicle's profile and noise signatures...
(sometimes classed as a light tank
Light tank
A light tank is a tank variant initially designed for rapid movement, and now primarily employed in low-intensity conflict. Early light tanks were generally armed and armored similar to an armored car, but used tracks in order to provide better cross-country mobility.The light tank was a major...
) used by the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
. It is very similar to the FV101 Scorpion
FV101 Scorpion
The FV101 Scorpion is a British armoured reconnaissance vehicle. It was the lead vehicle and the fire support type in the Combat Vehicle Reconnaissance , CVR, family of seven armoured vehicles...
but mounts a high velocity 30 mm L21 RARDEN
RARDEN
The L21A1 RARDEN is a British 30mm autocannon used as an combat vehicle weapon. The name is a contraction of the Royal Armament, Research and Development Establishment and Enfield...
cannon
Cannon
A cannon is any piece of artillery that uses gunpowder or other usually explosive-based propellents to launch a projectile. Cannon vary in caliber, range, mobility, rate of fire, angle of fire, and firepower; different forms of cannon combine and balance these attributes in varying degrees,...
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
Diesel engine
A diesel engine is an internal combustion engine that uses the heat of compression to initiate ignition to burn the fuel, which is injected into the combustion chamber...
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
Future Rapid Effect System
The Future Rapid Effect System is the British MOD programme to deliver a fleet of more than 4,000 armoured fighting vehicles for the British Army...
) 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 the CVR(T) range (early 2010) is expected to continue well into the future of 2017 and onwards.
Additional specification
- Ground clearance: 0.35 m
- Main armament: 30 mm L21 RARDENRARDENThe L21A1 RARDEN is a British 30mm autocannon used as an combat vehicle weapon. The name is a contraction of the Royal Armament, Research and Development Establishment and Enfield...
cannon. (Fires at up to 90 rounds per minute) - Ammunition types:
- High Explosive IncendiaryHigh explosive incendiaryIn warfare, High-explosive incendiary is a type of ammunition specially designed to pierce armor, fragment, and ignite readily combustible materials....
(HEI) - High Explosive (HE)
- Armour Piercing (AP)
- APSE (Armour Piercing Secondary Effects)
- Armour Piercing Discarding Sabot-Tracer (APDS-T)
- High Explosive Incendiary
- Additional defence: 2 x 4 barrel smoke launchers.
- Ammunition stores:
- 30 mm30 mm caliber30 mm caliber ammunition is usually used in autocannon. Such ammunition includes NATO standard 30 × 173 mm and 30 × 113 mm and Soviet 30 × 165 mm ammunition widely used around the world....
— 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 CBRNCBRNCBRN is an initialism for chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear. It is used to refer to situations in which any of these four hazards have presented themselves. The term CBRN is a replacement for the cold war term NBC , which had replaced the term ABC that was used in the fifties...
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.
- 30 mm
Operators
- : 325
The Scimitar is used by the five formation reconnaissance regiment
Formation reconnaissance regiment
The Formation Reconnaissance Regiment is one of two organisations currently provided by cavalry regiments of the British Army. Until recently, it was known as the Armoured Reconnaissance Regiment....
s of the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
. Each regiment has three squadrons each of 12 Scimitars, The Household Cavalry Regiment
Household Cavalry Regiment
The Household Cavalry Regiment is a cavalry regiment of the British Army, and is one of two regiments that are formed from the Household Cavalry. It was formed in 1992, under the Options for Change reforms, by the amalgamation of The Life Guards and the Blues and Royals. Both regiments were...
has an extra squadron to support 16 Air Assault Brigade.
After the Strategic Defence and Security Review
Strategic Defence and Security Review
The Strategic Defence and Security Review was announced by the newly formed Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government of the United Kingdom in May 2010, and published on 19 October 2010...
in 2010, some regiments are seeing their Challenger 2 tanks replaced with CVR(T) Scimitars.
BelgiumBelgiumBelgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
: 141, withdrawn from active service in 2005.
JordanJordanJordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing...
: 103
Combat use
Two troops from B Squadron, Blues and RoyalsBlues and Royals
The Blues and Royals is a cavalry regiment of the British Army, part of the Household Cavalry. The Colonel-in-Chief is Her Majesty The Queen and the Colonel is HRH The Princess Royal...
served in the Falklands War
Falklands War
The Falklands War , also called the Falklands Conflict or Falklands Crisis, was fought in 1982 between Argentina and the United Kingdom over the disputed Falkland Islands and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands...
. The CVR(T)
Combat Vehicle Reconnaissance (Tracked)
The Combat Vehicle Reconnaissance —or CVR—is a family of armoured fighting vehicles s in service with the British Army and others throughout the world...
were the only armoured vehicles used in action by the British Army during the conflict. 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
CH-47 Chinook
The Boeing CH-47 Chinook is an American twin-engine, tandem rotor heavy-lift helicopter. Its top speed of 170 knots is faster than contemporary utility and attack helicopters of the 1960s...
helicopterand soon brought back into service by the attached REME
Reme
Reme may refer to:*Rəmə, Azerbaijan*Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers...
section.
Scimitars of C Squadron Queen's Dragoon Guards
1st The Queen's Dragoon Guards
1st The Queen's Dragoon Guards is a cavalry regiment of the British Army. Nicknamed The Welsh Cavalry, the regiment recruits from Wales, Herefordshire, and Shropshire, and is the senior cavalry regiment, and therefore senior regiment, of the line of the British Army...
were used in the Battle of Al Faw
Battle of Al Faw (2003)
The Battle of Al Faw was one of the first battles of the Iraq War. One of the initial objectives of the Coalition campaign in Iraq was to capture the Gas and Oil Platforms in the Al-Faw Peninsula intact before it could be sabotaged or destroyed by the Iraqi military...
in the opening days of the 2003 Invasion of Iraq
2003 invasion of Iraq
The 2003 invasion of Iraq , was the start of the conflict known as the Iraq War, or Operation Iraqi Freedom, in which a combined force of troops from the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Poland invaded Iraq and toppled the regime of Saddam Hussein in 21 days of major combat operations...
. Plans for an amphibious landing of Scimitars were abandoned due to extensive mining
Land mine
A land mine is usually a weight-triggered explosive device which is intended to damage a target—either human or inanimate—by means of a blast and/or fragment impact....
of the beaches and instead they crossed into Iraq by land.
Further reading
- http://www.army.mod.uk/equipment/fighting-vehicles/1481.aspxFV107 Scimitar on British ArmyBritish ArmyThe British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
website] - ArmyRecognition Scimitar pictures
- FV107 Scimitar