FV101 Scorpion

Armament

The Scorpion was armed with the low velocity 76 mm L23A1 gun, which could fire high-explosive, HESH, smoke and canister rounds. Storage was provided for 40 or 42 rounds. A 7.62 mm coaxial L7 GPMG (3,000 rounds carried) was also fitted, as were two multi-barrelled smoke grenade dischargers, one on each side of the turret. The main armament has an elevation of 35 degrees and a depression of 10 degrees; the turret has a full 360-degree traverse.[7] The traverse was however hand-cranked, a cost-saving feature that made traversing the turret relatively slow and laborious relative to other vehicles of its type.[8] This gun was later deemed to be unsatisfactory, as RAF testing showed that the lack of a fume extraction system caused toxic fumes to enter the fighting compartment, endangering the crew's health.[8]

Some Scorpions used the Cockerill Mk3 90mm gun instead. This weapon could fire the following rounds:[9]

• APFSDS: muzzle velocity 1210 m/s; projectile mass 2.5 kg; penetration 100 mm RHA @ 60 degree obliquity
• HE-T: muzzle velocity 714 m/s; projectile mass 5.1 kg with 1.1 kg of filling;
• HEAT-T: muzzle velocity 890 m/s; projectile mass 4.1 kg; penetration 250 mm of RHA @ 0 degree obliquity
• HESH-T: muzzle velocity 800 m/s; projectile mass 4.5 kg with 1.2 kg of filling

Engine

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. The maximum speed was about 50 mph and it could accelerate from standing to 30 mph in 16 seconds. The maximum speed on water (with the flotation screen deployed) was 3.6 mph. The Irish engineering company IED replaced the Jaguar engine in Irish Army Scorpions with a Steyr M16 TCA HD engine (6-cylinder, 145 kW), making Irish Scorpions more powerful and more reliable in critical environments.[11]

Armour

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[3] of sloped aluminium armour on both the front and sides,[12][13] giving an average effective thickness of 25 mm.[14]

The FV101 had all-around protection from shell fragments and 7.62 mm rounds,[15] and the heavily sloped frontal arc was designed to be resistant to 14.5 mm rounds fired from 200 m.[16][17] The initial manufacture of the aluminium armour resulted, after time and effects of the environment, in failure; stress corrosion cracking (SCC) which seriously affected all early builds.

Other systems

The vehicle was fitted with a nuclear, biological, chemical protection system, image intensification sights for gunner and driver and a floatation screen. 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.

Combat use

B Squadron, Blues and Royals were airlifted and deployed into the Akrotiri and Dhekelia Sovereign Base areas, during the Turkish invasion of Cyprus 1974.

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. Two Scorpions and two Scimitar supported a diversionary attack by Scots Guards on Argentine Marines' entrenchments in the southern slopes of Mount Tumbledown in the early hours of 13 June 1982. One Scorpion manoeuvred off the track and was disabled by an anti-tank mine.[19]

Scorpions also served in the Gulf War. The 16th/5th The Queen's Royal Lancers deployed in the first Gulf War (Operation Granby) using all variants of the CVR(T) range carrying out the role of force reconnaissance for the British spearhead towards Iraq, operating forward of other official green army units. The 1st The Queen's Dragoon Guards, a reconnaissance regiment, had 32 and the close reconnaissance troops of the armoured regiments each had eight. They were also used by No. 1 Squadron RAF Regiment, which was attached to the British 1st Armoured Division.

Foreign users

The Botswana Defence Force, the Iranian Army and the Nigerian Army continue to use Scorpions, 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, Iran used the Scorpions's "accurate fire" (alongside the Cobra attack helicopters) to hold back the Iraqi 2nd Infantry Division's offensive towards the city of Ilam. However, the Scorpions proved less effective when faced with Iraq's 9th Armoured Division:

"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:

"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 Royal Thai Army used Scorpions in clashes along the Thai-Cambodian border in December 2025[20]

Current operators

• : 25 units.[24] Purchased second-hand from Belgium and retrofitted with diesel engines as requested by Botswana.
• : 20 units
• 🇨🇱: 27 units; currently 15 in service in the Chilean Marine Corps. Ex-British vehicles which have been re-engined with diesel motors.
• 🇭🇳: 19 units
• 🇮🇷: Iran contracted Alvis for the supply of 250 vehicles in 1978, expanded with an additional order for 110 Scorpions shortly thereafter. Participated in the Iran–Iraq War. By 1997, the Iranian army had approximately 80 vehicles in working order.
• 🇮🇩: 90 units
• 🇯🇴: 26 units. Likely sourced from Iraq.
• 🇳🇬 Nigeria: 150 units. In 1983, 33 vehicles were selected to be upgraded with an improved 90 mm Cockerill Mk III gun replacing the original 76 mm cannon. These vehicles were also equipped with a Belgian-sourced OIP-5 fire control system.
• 🇴🇲: 120 Units. Scorpion light tanks replaced the Saladin armoured car. Deliveries were carried out in several stages and included Sultan, Spartan and Samson vehicles as well as a command vehicle built on the Stormer chassis, and which were to be used in units alongside Oman's Chieftain main battle tank. The Omani vehicles are equipped with external mounting points for fuel cans and special mud flaps designed to suppress the amount of dust kicked up during travel. The NBC filtration system and heaters were removed and replaced with an air conditioning system and the vehicles received a warning siren indicating engine overheating. The hull floor was also reinforced with a 20 mm plate for increased mine resistance.
• 🇵🇭: Philippine Army: Original delivery of 41 units delivered, 7 units currently active and assigned to Armor "Pambato" Division,[25] to be replaced by the Sabrah light tank.[26][27]
• Philippine Presidential Security Group – 4 units[28]
• 🇹🇭: 100 units[29]
• : 40 units
• : 12 units. Includes one FV106 Samson, one FV104 Samaritan and one FV105 Sultan.
• : 76 units, several of which were upgraded with the Pilkington Optronics TLS (Tank Laser Sight) from the Chieftain tank.
• 🇻🇪: 78 Scorpion 90s, four to six FV104 Samaritans, two FV105 Sultans and four FV106 Samsons. The vehicles were ordered in 1988 with a contract value of US$85 million, with a stipulation for diesel engines; delivery was realised in 1992.

Former operators

• 🇧🇪: 701 units (this total consists of all seven variants of the CVR(T)). Ordered in 1971 based on studies that showed the light tank was most suitable for the nation's topography; Belgium was the second nation to adopt the Scorpion following the British Army. First deliveries commenced in February 1973 with the vehicles assembled in Mechelen from knock-down kits supplied from the United Kingdom. The order was filled in 1980. Between 1981 and 1983, both Scorpion and Scimitar models were upgraded with mounting points for add-on armour modules, an on-board armour repair kit and other minor improvements to enhance crew comfort and ergonomics. Thirty-six Scorpions were later sold to Botswana in 1994.
• 🇮🇶 Iraq: Limited number captured from Iran during Iran–Iraq War[30]
• 🇮🇪: 14 units.[31]
• : Purchased 26 units of the Scorpion 90 in 1981 equipped with smoke grenade launchers from Wegmann, in addition to 25 Stormers (12 of which were supplied with a Helio FVT900 turret armed with a 20 mm cannon and 7.62 mm coaxial machine gun and 13 vehicles received a Thyssen-Henschel TH-1 turret armed with twin 7.62 mm machine guns).[32][33]
• 🇳🇿: 26 units. Ordered between 1982 and 1983; the vehicles lack NBC protection, night vision sights and do not have provisions for erecting flotation screens. The engines were upgraded with electronic fuel injection and US-made radios. In the second half of the 1980s, New Zealand opted to use the turrets to upgrade their M113 armoured personnel carriers.[33] Served with Queen Alexandra's Mounted Rifles among other units.
• 🇪🇸: 17 units in service until 2009 with the Spanish Navy, (Infantería de Marina Española). Sold to Chile. There are a couple of units on static display as of 2011.
• : 1,500 units ordered. Withdrawn from active service in 1994. Served with Nos 1, 2, 15, 34, 51, 58 Squadrons Royal Air Force Regiment and British Army Royal Armoured Corps armoured reconnaissance units such as 15th/19th The King's Royal Hussars.