1st Armoured Cavalry Squadron

Cork boy 55

The Irish Army currently has a unit called the
1st Armoured Cavalry Squadron which deploys the Scorpion armoured reconnaissance vehicle /light tank in the armoured reconnaissance role

These vehicles must be coming to end of working life, I guess.

What should the Government buy to replace them?
Should this unit be disbanded and resources sent elsewhere?


A short clip of the Defence Forces Scorpion tracked reconnaissance vehicle during a recent shoot in the Glen of Imaal(2010)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXSQ7OOfpnI

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FV101_Scorpion
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cavalry_Corps_(Ireland)

tac foley

It's great to see Scorpions actually firing live rounds again. Here in UK there are a good few in private hands, but of course, the guns no longer fire live projectiles, only blanks.

tac

slapper2

eh and who is meant to man collins barracks the have just disbanded the 4 bn leaving the cav and art as the 2 main units in the barracks ,there is lads after bee moved around munster as it is some limerick and kilkenny (even heard a rumour of a few to galway) where exactly do propose the bodies from the cav go
if your thinking of saving money then why not close the barracks in dublin sure the curragh is only a few miles out the road :rolleyes:
cork has lost 2 barracks nearly all the county reserves and you are on about cutting more
scorpian should be retired a few more ltav's would probably do a better job but there is no way you can get rid of the cav just yet unless you move the lads to the navy :rolleyes::pac:

amurph0

Didn't the MOWAG's replace the role the scorpions had already?

The Scorpions are designed for reconnaissance. Something the MOWAG's can do just as well. I doubt they'll be replaced with some other light tank, they'll just use the MOWAG's to fill in the gaps. At the very most I'd say they'll get a MOWAG 105mm mobile gun system, but very unlikely.

Morpheus

scorpion gives a unique and niche tracked mobile gun capability that a mowag cannot replicate

they can tackle terrain the mowag and other wheeled vehicles cant

they were recently enough upgraded

wear and tear isnt heavy on them so dont see how theyre coming to end of life

most importantly it gives us the capability to train and be familiar with operation of tracked armour in the very least.

they are very air-portable and two Scorpions can be carried in a C130 Hercules. they have excellent low ground pressure - similar to that of a soldier on foot - which serves it extremely well in the kinds of boggy conditions found in ireland.

in fact in the UK, the scimitar (very closely related - built on same chassis- only it uses a 30mm Rarden cannon instead of a 76mm like the scorpion) has been so successful that some that some regiments are seeing their Challenger 2 tanks replaced with them.

there are 14 of these vehicles. anyone who thinks that they will be disbanded and replaced in anything close to that number of vehicles hasnt been living through the DF changes here.

and yes i googled a lot of the information for some sort of accuracy, but it also comes from a friend of mine who is an Officer in the unit.

Donny5

Morpheus wrote: »

in fact in the UK, the scimitar (very closely related - built on same chassis- only it uses a 30mm Rarden cannon instead of a 76mm like the scorpion) has been so successful that some that some regiments are seeing their Challenger 2 tanks replaced with them.

They're replacing Challenger IIs because of budget cuts. The SDSR is all about economy over ability. On top of that, the only reason that there are any Scimitars left in their inventory is because the FRES has been put on the long finger by SDSR, and one of the leading candidates for FRES is a mine resistant Piranha.

John Mongo

slapper2 wrote: »

eh and who is meant to man collins barracks the have just disbanded the 4 bn leaving the cav and art as the 2 main units in the barracks ,there is lads after bee moved around munster as it is some limerick and kilkenny (even heard a rumour of a few to galway) where exactly do propose the bodies from the cav go
if your thinking of saving money then why not close the barracks in dublin sure the curragh is only a few miles out the road :rolleyes:
cork has lost 2 barracks nearly all the county reserves and you are on about cutting more
scorpian should be retired a few more ltav's would probably do a better job but there is no way you can get rid of the cav just yet unless you move the lads to the navy :rolleyes::pac:

This rant would make sense if 1 ACS was actually based in Cork.

amurph0 wrote: »

Didn't the MOWAG's replace the role the scorpions had already?

The Scorpions are designed for reconnaissance. Something the MOWAG's can do just as well. I doubt they'll be replaced with some other light tank, they'll just use the MOWAG's to fill in the gaps. At the very most I'd say they'll get a MOWAG 105mm mobile gun system, but very unlikely.

They have been looking at bringing a MOWAG with a larger gun system in, although with cuts and all that jazz it will most likely be put on the back burner.

Morpheus

was the larger gun system not meant as a replacement for the 90s?

Cork boy 55

The panhards are retired now reported today
What will they do with them?

The vehicle was the most powerfully armed vehicle in the Defence Forces. Nearly 50 AMLs served with the Defence Forces.

It has now been replaced in the Cavalry Corps by three different vehicles.

These are two versions of the eight wheeled Mowag armoured vehicle armed with heavy machineguns,

40mm grenade launchers or 30mm cannnon, and another vehicle the LTAV carrying machineguns and grenade launchers.

One UN veteran said last night about the demise of the Panhard fleet:”It’s armour is outdated now but it is still a great weapon.

http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/veteran-armoured-car-fleet-retired-29235903.html

Morpheus

keep one or two in museums
sell turrets and guns - reinvest what little they get for them
use remainder as hard targets in the glen

EWQuinn

What should the Government buy to replace them?



You can never go wrong with the M113 platform

goldie fish

Indeed, lets replace some 1970s platform with a 1950s one.

Cork boy 55

EWQuinn wrote: »

What should the Government buy to replace them?

(img)

You can never go wrong with the M113 platform

Thats an Australian variant where they took the Scorpion Turret and put it on an M113

M113A1 Medium Reconnaissance Vehicle (MRV) - Full designation Carrier, Fire Support, Full Track M113A1 (FS) Scorpion Turret[1] was an Australian variant similar to the M113 FSV, but using the turret from the FV101 Scorpion light tank, instead of the older turret of the Saladin armoured car, that the FSV had previously used. This turret was equipped with an Image Intensifier sight for the main armanent. This II sight was the first effective passive night sight fitted to an Australian AFV, giving the MRVs a night fighting capability exceeding the Leopard AS1 and all other Australian AFVs of the period. Whilst fully amphibious, the MRV was also fitted with a light sheet metal foam filled trim vane and side pods. These pods and the trim vane were intended to provide additional flotation and stability ion the water, they provided virtually no additional armour protection. Other changes include a modified drivers hatch with pivoted toward the centre line of the vehicle instead of opening to the rear of the drivers hatch, this feature preventing the open drivers hatch being caught of the traversing turret, as well as the fitting of the British "boiling vessel" an electric vessel for boiling water and heating rations. As indicated by the designation change the MRVs were roled as reconnaissance vehicles and issued to the Cavalry (medium reconnaissance) regiments whereas the FSVs were originally issued to APC squadrons and used to provide infantry fire support.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Variants_of_the_M113_armored_personnel_carrier

EWQuinn

I thought you might enjoy that. A handy and reliable little track, the 113s will live on for a while.

EWQuinn

Irish lady digs the armour, goes on a ride:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9j1BO9RYJog