The Sabre is the combination of the turret of a wheeled Fox Armored Reconnaissance Vehicle with the hull of a tracked FV101 Scorpion and was in service for many years, not only in Great Britain.
As a young conscript and then reservist in the late 1980s, the author of these lines was able to see for himself the tremendous maneuverability and off-road capability of the light tanks of the Combat Vehicles Reconnaissance (Tracked) vehicle family during the NATO autumn maneuvers. Every observer was particularly struck by their great speed. The figure given in the army service regulations and in all the literature on the subject is around 80 km/h, but this is a gross understatement; the CVR(T) outran almost all other military vehicles. One of the most successful developments in British tank construction in the post-war period was able to prove itself on the battlefield and on the export market.
And even today, the vehicles are not yet old iron (or aluminum, from which the armor is made). Around 200 Scimitar, Sultan, Samaritan, Samson and Spartan vehicles were delivered to NATO ally Latvia as refurbished vehicles. Initially, 116 heavily overhauled vehicles were ordered, which are currently in service with the Baltic Army, plus seven for training tasks. 82 additional vehicles are in the pipeline. In response to a military request from the British Army, Alvis developed the vehicle family from 1968 onwards, with eight prototypes undergoing troop trials from 1970. Series production began at the turn of the year 1971/72 and more than 2,100 vehicles were built for the British armed forces (Army and Royal Air Force Regiment). Belgium received 701 CVR(T) from 1973, while Spain bought some for its naval infantry (17 Scorpion). Another European user was Ireland.
The flagship of the CVR(T) series was the FV 101 Scorpion light tank, which for many years formed the backbone of the British armored reconnaissance units as the successor to the Saladin armored car. The first combat deployment as part of the British Army took place in 1982 during the Falklands War. The main weapon, a 76-millimeter cannon, was extremely effective against enemy infantry, but is no longer suitable for anti-tank defence. For this reason, the Scorpion was withdrawn from the British armed forces: While 293 were still in existence in 1992 and 271 in 1997, it now no longer exists as part of the British forces. The Belgians and Spanish also no longer use it, with only the Irish army still using it until 2017. One of the disadvantages of the on-board cannon may have been the reason for this development: The heavy smoke development in the interior. https://militaeraktuell.at/sicherheitspolitik-experte-kilian-hitzl-im-gespraech/ The FV 107 Scimitar armored reconnaissance vehicle (configured very similarly to the Scorpion) was still in the service of His Majesty until June 2023 (until the arrival of the successor model “Ajax”, the British armored reconnaissance vehicles made do with the Warrior infantry fighting vehicle). The 30-millimeter Rarden gun is difficult to handle, but powerful. Single shots and bursts of up to three shots can be fired. Then you can fire another three-shot clip without much delay. A Scimitar (commanded by Sergeant Mick Flynn) even managed to shoot down an Iraqi T-55 main battle tank during the 2003 Gulf War. The usefulness of the Rarden cannon and the availability of hulls and turrets from decommissioned models led to an interim solution, which is now history.
While the Scorpion was being phased out, another vehicle also experienced its swan song in British troop service: the CVR(W) Fox. Unlike the Scorpion or Scimitar, this 4×4 configured wheeled vehicle was not a particularly successful development or appreciated by its users.
The turret of this armored reconnaissance vehicle was similar to that of the Scimitar, and the 30-millimetre radar weapon system was identical. From 1995, the turrets of several Fox armored reconnaissance vehicles were mounted on the hulls of the Scorpion armored reconnaissance vehicles. The resulting hybrid vehicle was called Sabre. 136 of them were used in the reconnaissance platoons of the British armoured battalions and the British mechanized infantry battalions. During initial troop trials, weaknesses were discovered, new smoke grenade launchers were installed and the coaxial GPMG was replaced by an L94A1 chain gun (both in NATO standard caliber 7.62 millimeters). The hatch covers for the commander and gunner were replaced with domed ones to ensure greater headroom. The Sabre was decommissioned by the British Army in 2004; there were no other users.
