FV 101 Scorpion 90 (Belgium)

Suggestions Ground
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  • (independent) BeNeLux tree
  • France: BeNeLux subtree
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Hello all, this is the Belgian sister vehicle for the Alvis program to provide major upgrades to the FV 101 scorpion in Belgian service, but especially so for the export market.

TL;DR: The Belgian CVR(T) Scorpion with a 90 mm Cockerill Mk. III gun

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History

History

The largest user of the CVR(T) after the British has been the Belgian army. Following a Memorandum of Understanding between Britain and Belgium to share development costs of the CVR(T), the first of seven contracts was signed in June of 1971 for a total of 701 Scorpions and its variants which were assembled from ‘knocked-down’ kits’ supplied by Alvis at a British Leyland facility in the Belgian / Flemish town of Malines/Mechelen with the last vehicle being delivered in November of 1980.

As the normal Scorpion had been a major succes Alvis hoped to capitalise on that, by developing an upgrade for more future customers in the early 80’s. The Belgian company CMI Defence (now John Cockerill) was contacted and asked to provide and test their new Cockerill Mark III 90 mm gun. This resulted in a Belgian Army CVR(T) Scorpion being converted by Cockerill to test this gun.

These trials resulted in a succesful implementation of the Cockerill Mk.III gun into the CVR(T) series. This Belgian prototype differs quite a lot from the eventual Scorpion 90 which Alvis would export to other nations. For one, only the new engine, transmission and their subsystems were installed in the Belgian prototype. The gun would later be modified to become the Cockerill Mk. III M-A1 with a muzzle break instead and almost all systems in the vehicle would get an overhaul. These upgrades would result in the Alvis Scorpion 90. One more unique thing about this prototype is the supposed use of an IOP Laser Range Finder gunner sight, which was integrated in the gunners sight (instead of the Thales NVL53 sight).

Specifications

Weight: 9 tons
Engine: Perkins 6-cylinder diesel engine at 200 hp
Speed: 72.5 km/h
Range: 700+ km

Crew: 3 (commander, driver, gunner)

Armament 1x 90 mm Cockerill Mk. III gun and 1x 7.62 mm FN-MAG machine gun
Munition types see below for description: M616, NR 501, M617, M618, M620, M624, M625, SMK(WP)-T (M618A1) - [714 m/s, smoke round], NR 478 and NR 220
Ammunition 34
Elevation & Traverse Powered & manual
Smoke system 2x4 76mm smoke grenade discharges
Fire suppression Automatic
Night Vision Yes
Fire Control modes Manual with Belgian IOP Laser Range Finder
Belgian munition types available and trialed on the Cockerill Mk. III gun
Designation Gun Caliber Type Velocity Weight Penetration Notes Fire rate
M616 Cockerill Mk 3 90 mm HE 700 m/s 5,1 kg (1,02 charge) 18 mm Comp B filler
NR 501 Cockerill Mk 3 90 mm HE 700 m/s 5,1 kg TNT filler
M617 Cockerill Mk 3 90 mm HEAT 730 m/s 5,07 kg 350 mm
M618 Cockerill Mk 3 90 mm SMK 695 m/s 5,3 kg / In-game
M620 Cockerill Mk 3 90 mm HEAT 900 m/s 4,15 kg 250 mm In-game
M624 Cockerill Mk 3 90 mm HE* 338 m/s 6,6 kg (0,95 charge) 13 mm Long range, TNT filler
M625 Cockerill Mk 3 90 mm HESH 800 m/s 4,3 kg 102 mm In-game
NR 478 Cockerill Mk 3 90 mm HEAT 890 m/s 4,1 kg 300 mm The in-game M620A1 has the same weight and velocity, strange
NR 220 Cockerill Mk 3 90 mm HEAT 700 m/s 5,1 kg 330 mm Interesting tradeoff in velocity for some pen, but M617 better
NR 232 Cockerill Mk 3 90 mm APFSDS ? ? ? unsure if tested

You can read more about Cockerill weapons in: Cockerill Weapon systems - Which ones, what weapons and what ammunitions

Place in War Thunder

This vehicle would be a fast light tank with a heavy punch. It would however be the most barebones variant of all Scorpion 90’s we could see in the game.

Regarding nations

BeNeLux

As the BeNeLux subtree for France has now been confirmed, France has the highest chance of recieving Belgian equipment. However an independent BeNeLux would also be very possible. For further info please go to: BeNeLux (Belgium, Netherlands & Luxembourg) Ground Forces.

Pictures

On the field

CVRT90BE
The backside of the cover picture from this suggestion post (Jane’s).

Schermafbeelding 2025-01-04 192011
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A Scimitar and a Scorpion of 2e Jagers te Paard halt at the roadside during an exercise in Germany in 1979. A Scorpion from their sister Brigade was used in the testing by Cockerill.

Sources

Sources
1 Like
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Paradoxically, now that Dutch and Belgian vehicles have been added to the game, an independent BENELUX tree is more likely in future.

+1 because it’s a CVR(T).

2 Likes
3

+1 for CVRT

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+1 for France

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Thomas Belgium. Clearly this must mean that he’s English or something.
copy_3429310137349988960

4 Likes