Warrior MCV UK

Warrior (cont.)

Right: Rear view of Warrior with turret slewed rearwards, revealing infantry access hatch.

Below: Mud-spattered Warrior with all hatches open, showing the driver's periscope.

Opposite: Diagrammatic view of standard section-vehicle seating arrangement.

FV103 Spartan APC UK

The FV103 Spartan tracked APC was not developed in isolation but as part of an armoured combat vehicle family headed by the Scorpion light reconnaissance vehicle armed with a 76 mm gun. There are seven main members in the family, all produced by Alvis Vehicles, in which the Spartan was intended to be a specialist combat team carrier. This means that the Spartan is not normally operated as an infantry combat section vehicle but as a combat engineer, battlefield reconnaissance or air defence missile team carrier,

Since the British Army has reorganised, many Spartans have become available from their former employment so are now widely issued as general purpose liaison and patrol vehicles. The chassis and suspension of the Spartan are shared with all other members of the Scorpion family, as is the Jaguar petrol engine but on the Spartan the aluminium hull is enlarged to a box configuration to accommodate the driver, team commander/radio operator and the vehicle commander who also operates the 7,62 mm MG mounted over his cupola; the MG can be aimed and fired from within the vehicle,

The troop compartment at the rear seats four personnel with space for their specialised and personal equipment; more equipment can be stowed externally in racks or boxes. Some Spartans have provision for mounting a battlefield surveillance radar on the hull roof while others have internal racking for air defence missiles. At one time the British Infantry had tank destroyer Spartans with MILAN ATGW launcher turrets on their roof but these have now been withdrawn. Another variant was known as the Streaker (mainly due to its high speed potential although all members of the Scorpion family are agile and fast). The Streaker was a Spartan chassis with an open flat bed rear to act as a front line stores transporter or mine dispensing equipment carrier - it did not pass the prototype stage,

Specification

Crew: 3 Seating: 4

Weight: (combat) 8,172 kg Length: 5.125m Width: 2,134m Height: 2.26m

Ground clearance: 0.356 m

Track: 1.708m Max speed: (road) 80.5 km/h Fuel capacity: 386 litres Range: 483 km Fording: 1.067m

Vertical obstacle: 0.5m

Engine: Jaguar J60 No 1 Mk 100B petrol Power output: 190hp Suspension: torsion bar Armament: 1 x 7.62 mm MG Variants: None, see text

A Spartan APC as once used by the RAF Regiment but now phased out to other duties.