The British FV101 Scorpion light tank has been produced by Alvis Vickers. It entered service in 1973 and was a part of tracked combat vehicle family CVR (T).
The FV101 was intended as a light, air transportable reconnaissance vehicle. It was welded from thick aluminum armor plates, making it light but not sacrificing armored protection.
Scorpion was armed with a turret mounted 76-mm L23A1 rifled gun. It fired high-explosive squash head, high-explosive, canister and smoke ammunition.
The original model was powered by a Jaguar 4.2-liter petrol engine, which was used on cars. This engine was chosen for it's high power-to-weight ration. Furthermore it was already commercially available, what decreased the price of a combat vehicle and made it's maintenance easier. Despite that later it was replaced with a Perkins diesel unit, which offered better fuel economy and considerably reduced risk of fire. Both of these engines delivered similar power and were capable of reaching a maximum road speed in excess of 80 km/h.
Production totalled 3 000 CVR (T) vehicles including Scorpion light tanks, which was withdrawn from active service in Royal Army in 1994.
