Officially named the CVR-T (Combat Vehicle Reconnaissance – Tracked) by the British military, the Scorpion (also known as the Scorpion-76 to distinguish it from later 90mm-armed versions) is a light tank and scout vehicle developed to replace the Saladin armored car. The first versions appeared in British ranks in 1972, and by 1987 over 3500 were built for the British Army and for export.
Most British Scorpions were replaced by the later Scimitar and Sabre, and the Scorpions sold to other countries (especially the turrets, which could be mounted on many different vehicles), but remaining stocks in England were recalled quickly when the war started. Most British and Australian Scorpions have diesel instead of gasoline engines, but most export versions still have the original engine.
There is a hatch on the front left deck for the driver and two hatches on the turret deck for the commander and gunner. Commander’s weapons are not fitted by default, but many such field modifications were carried out during the war. The Scorpion requires a flotation screen to be raised to be amphibious; this takes about 5 minutes.
The FV-101 Scorpion-90 is the standard FV-101 Scorpion light tank, but with a 90mm Cockerill gun instead of the standard 76mm Cockerill. These vehicles were normally built with a diesel engine instead of the normal gasoline engine. They were built primarily for export, and Malaysia, Nigeria, Venezuela, and a few other countries ordered this variant. Twilight 2000 Notes: They were in official service with 15 countries by the time of the Twilight War; one unusual user was the US Army and Marines, who ordered about 40 of them before the war for evaluation purposes, then put them to use during the war with about 12 going to the Marines and the other 28 going to the US Army’s 9th Infantry Division.
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