As promised…
Saladin R (FV608 Scarab) Link to build:
https://beyondthesprues.com/Forum/index.php?topic=11717.0During the 1960s the UK began work on what was then called the Armoured Vehicle Reconnaissance. The project called for a series of light, fast and highly mobile tracked vehicles that would replace the British Army’s current fleet of wheeled armoured cars in the reconnaissance and spearhead roles. Introduced into service in the early to mid-1970s, the FV 100 series of Combat Vehicle Reconnaissance (Tracked) (CVR(T)) in the form of the 76mm armed Scorpion, 30mm armed Scimitar, Swingfire missile armed Striker, Spartan APC, Sultan CPV, Samaritan ambulance and Samson ARV proved to be hugely successful both with the British Army and export sales.
At much the same time as the CVT(T) program was being developed for the Regular Army, a somewhat less ambitious program was also being considered for the Territorial Army (TA). Intended to support the defence of the UK mainland and the transit corridor to and from the British Army of the Rhine (BAOR) a wheeled vehicle was deemed more appropriate and spawned the CVR(W) project.
Leyland Motors, which then included Jaguar/Daimler and Alvis were given the task of designing and building the first CVR(W) prototypes. Both Daimler and Alvis had considerable experience in the field of armoured cars having produced the Ferret series of scouts and the Saladin armoured car respectively. However, given the secondary role of the CVR(W), inevitable cost constraints and a degree of political infighting culminated in a number of design compromises that adversely affected the end product. The Fox, as the new vehicle was to be called, used an adapted gearbox and drive train from the earlier, lighter Daimler Ferret which, already at the limits of its potential, resulted in frequent failures when connected to the heavier and faster new vehicle. For commonality and given that Alvis were already producing the CVR(T) series, it was dictated that the Fox would also carry what was, essentially, a slightly modified Scimitar 30mm turret. This is not what Daimler had initially intended and resulted in a dangerously high centre of gravity making the vehicle prone to roll overs during high-speed cornering.
The Fox’s acceptance trials did not go well with two vehicles rolling and all of the others breaking down at one time or another. Although minor adjustments were undertaken the critical limitations were so severe that only a major redesign could save the project. However, in the stringent financial climate of the early 1970s, that was never going to be an option and so Fox, and the potential of a FV720 series, died there and then.
Fortuitously, at the twelfth hour, Alvis stepped up and proposed a low-cost alternative CVR(W) that would, potentially, both provided the TA with the capability they needed whilst also keeping the government’s budgeteers happy.
The alternative CVR(W) proposal would see the Regular Army’s Saladin armoured cars, currently in the process of being replaced by CVR(T), returned to Alvis for a mechanical overhaul. This would include the upgrading of the engine to the B81 Mk 8B model, as fitted to the Stalwart, and the replacement of their 76mm turrets with the new 30mm turret already designed, tooled and produced for the cancelled Fox program. The transformation capitalised on the mechanical reliability and ease of maintenance of the Saladin with the lower profile of the new turret whilst also replacing the worn out 76mm L5A1 guns with the more appropriate and modern 30mm L21 RARDEN cannon already entering service with the CVR(T) Scimitar.
Intended as a stop gap until the universal deployment of CVR(T) throughout the British Army, the FV601 Saladin R, as it was initially designated, entered service in 1975 as the FV608 Scarab. Within the TA, four yeomanry regiments and two independent squadrons eventually converted to the Scarab in the armoured reconnaissance role:
• Queen’s Own Yeomanry (5 x Squadrons) - 15th TA Bde, 2 UK Infantry Division in support of BAOR.
• The Royal Yeomanry (5 x Squadrons) - 49th TA Bde, 2 UK Infantry Division in support of BAOR.
• The Duke of Lancaster’s Own Yeomanry (4 x Squadrons) - 2 Inf Bde, Home Defence
• The Scottish Yeomanry (4 x Squadrons) - 1 Bn, 51 (Highland) Inf Bde in support of 4 Arm Div, BAOR, and Home Defence.
• The Wessex Yeomanry (Independent Squadron) - 19th Inf Bde, 4 Arm Div, BAOR.
• The Northumbrian Hussars (Independent Squadron) - 1st Inf Bde, NATO AMF.
The yeomanry regiments comprised of 4-5 squadrons each of 12 x Scarab, 4 x Ferret Mk 5 (Swingfire), and 4 x Saracen APC split between 4 x troops, and a squadron HQ of 1 x Saracen CPV, 1 x Ferret Mk 4 and 1 x Saracen ambulance. The independent squadrons comprised 24 x Scarab and 21 x Ferret Mk 4 split between 3 x troops and a squadron HQ of 1 x Saracen CPV, 1 x Ferret Mk 4 and 1 x Saracen ambulance.
In the mid-1980s, the Saracen APCs, Saracen CPVs and Saracen ambulances were replaced by Spartan APCs, Sultan CPVs and Samaritan ambulances respectively. Although only ever intended as a stop gap, the FV608 Scarab remained in service until finally retired in 1993. Its longevity, testament to its rugged, practical design and the realities of overseas sales of CVR(T) taking priority over the needs of the TA. It is possible that the Scarab may have served longer were it not for the end of the Cold War and the subsequent peace dividends that slashed the size of the British Army.
FV608 ScarabIn Service: 1975-1993
Mass: 11.4T
Length: Hull - 4.9 m, with turret forward - 6.1 m
Width: 2.54m
Height: 2.23m
Crew: 3
Main
armament: 30mm L21 RARDEN cannon
Secondary
armament: Co-axial 7.62mm L37A2 machine gun
Engine: Rolls-Royce B81 Mk 8B, 8-cylinder, 6.5ltr, petrol – 220hp (164kW)
Speed: 50mph (80km/h)
Range: 250mls (400km)
The model depicts the Troop Sergeant’s Scarab of 2 Troop, B Squadron, The Scottish Yeomanry in support of 1st Bn, 51 (Highland) Inf Bde during Ex LIONHEART 84. Construction is from a combination of three different scaled and reworked Cult3d.com prints, some spare parts from a Tamiya Warrior MICV, some plastic card, some carbon fibre rod, an old paperclip and some home-grown decals.
