Osprey New Vanguard 13 : Scorpion Reconnaissance Vehicle 1972-1994

Christopher Foss is the world's leading armoured vehicle expert and writes continually for Jane's, in this work he explores the reasoning behind the creation of a light tracked armoured fighting vehicle (AFV) by the British to do armed reconnaissance, with a desire to be 'stealthy' and air-deployable. What is most revealing is that Foss shows that the U.K. chose wisely to make the Scorpion/Scimitar family under 8 tons rather than in the 15 ton category, making it helicopter air-transportable. The pay-off is that when the British Army needed armour in the 1974 Cyprus crisis they were able to fly in Scorpions by C-130s. When the Falklands War came, these amazing vehicle's light weight and light tracked ground pressure allowed them to be there to render battle-winning fire support for British Paratroopers marching across the island. By the book ending before the Kosovo crisis, Foss is unable to mention the Scimitar family being CH-47 Chinook helicoptered into the area avoiding mines, obstacles, road ambushes to be the first NATO forces on the ground. Foss does with the beautiful illustrations of Peter Sarson show the Scorpion family in action in the Gulf war.

The Scorpion reconnaissance vehicle was part of the Combat Vehicle Reconnaissance (CVR) series first devised in the mid-1960s. Designed to be light enough to be carried and parachute-dropped if necessary, the CVR, with the designation 'tracked' added, entered service with the British Army in 1972. Since then the Scorpion and its variants - the Scimitar, Striker, Spartan, Samaritan, Sultan and Sampson - have seen action in many theatres. Backed by numerous photographs and colour plates, this book examines the development and design of the Scorpion, detailing its firepower, forms of protection, performance in combat and variants.

Contents

• Design and Development
• Technical Description
• Firepower
• Protection
• The CVR(T) in British Service
• Modifications and Variants