AlienFTM

With that number, it started life as a Scorpion. The earliest Scorpion i number I can remember is 02FD14, which I crewed in 81. It was not old and worn, however, as I had a vehicle in iirc the 04FD** range taken from me for Scorpoling during the summer. 02FD14 had evidently been Scorpoled more recently.

After my father in law died a couple of years ago, I learned that he had been instrumental in getting the Fairey Delta 2 to the start of her legendary record-breaking flight, having been up all night at Boscombe Down sloshing epoxy resin about to seal leaks in the fuel tanks. Sadly this is all I know, and 60 years on I doubt I'll ever know any more.

I am long past trying to explain to civvies who don't want to be told why Scorpion is not a tank. My life is too short.

15/19H got our Sultans hmm — must have been early 1980. By mid 1982 we were tearing off the flotation screens from the Scorpions at least. Somebody had finally clicked that none of the floatable rivers in the corps area actually had banks that would allow you float a CVR(T). It was becoming apparent that firing a Scorpion caused damage to the front of the screen (even though there was a hardened cover over the front half). I cannot say for certain that we ever bothered removing the screens from the Sultans (that only sealed off the engine and driving compartments: the rest of the vehicle was naturally buoyant without the need for a screen).

To be fair the bloke in the video says exactly that, so small it creates different challenges. Thing is on exercise, the river traffic would tend to get upset if their living was brought to a halt by an M2 bridge blocking their way (like the family in the inflatable in the video.) As far as the exercise is concerned, you only need a line. A drainage ditch fills this purpose as well as the mighty Weser. In fact on Salisbury Plain, where there are no meaningful rivers, the roads are used. The crossing points you'll see, hardened to allow tanks to cross without destroying the road surface, are designated as bridges and the roads are generally out of bounds to heavy exercise traffic. Many's the time we spent the night in an OP observing the "bridge". In the Corps area, the Leine regularly represented a stop line of far more significance than it deserved.

Not close enough. On a Saracen appreciation forum on Facebook today, I saw reference to iirc 00 DA 00 and 01 in, again iirc, the early 60s.

If memory serves, all ordnance carries the Royal Armouries badge (Honi soit etc). I know that all Scorpion barrels did.

Call it a Classroom Instructional Module or CIM, pronounced simm?

Apropos of nothing, a couple of days ago I rediscovered Lionheart 84 on YouTube. About day 10, Blue started the counteroffensive and BFBS spent a lot of that day's report watching 28 Ambitious Engineer Regiment* putting in an M2 bridge over the Leine for the Chieftains to cross. Always worth a watch. Sadly, I could only find ten days' worth. A subsequent report again featured Tpr Valentine, Royal Hussars to close, and his end of report was longer and even funnier. _____ * If you think that's a typo, you weren't there, man.

Is it me, 30 years on, or is that front underglacis a nonstandard appliqué?

Strictly, UIN are Unit Imprest Numbers, identifying the public purse imprest account run by that unit's pay services. Said a former member of army pay services.

Correct. I am pretty sure it was ditto for the also-long-barrelled Chieftain, but other way round for short-barrelled Scorpion.

I drove a standard (for NI) 3/4 ton FFR in Tyrone and Fermanagh in the 1970s. There was so much Makrolon (I use the term loosely, some spotter told me not so long ago that it wasn't actually Makrolon) that I swear the front wheel barely touched the ground, especially with the odd dismount in the back. Steering would have benefitted from ballasting, but I shudder to think about the all up weight and driving it at speed.

You may very well be right, though I had the distinct impression it was the same conversion. Oh I don't know. I blame it on getting old.

1982-85, 12 Armd Wksp, Osnabruck, used a Machy Wagon exactly like this as the MRG Radio Truck. Eventually, fed up of being awoken from my precious sleep every night on ex, the former RAC Control Signaller, now pay clerk, told them I'd do permanent nights on exercise, 1800-0600, I'd do the codes myself at midnight (Zulu: everything was done on Zulu time on ex), I'd change the MRG's frequencies on the local defence net and the HF Divisional Logistics Net, I'd change the dipole to match the new frequency and I'd change the Batco and Slidex boards to the next day's codes. After changing the HF, I'd call up Division than tap my foot waiting for them to get back to me. Of course the Log Net wasn't a priority to them, but it was to me: the REME never seemed to manage to reestablish comma after a frequency change. Then I'd sleep all day while others did the mundane work. And I was always served first at the cookhouse truck. Good job. One day in camp, we knew GOC 1 Armd Div was visiting. There was no mistaking the general's voice in the next room (Orderly Room). Unfortunately at this time I was ripping into a craftsman for yet again having more days in the month than pay to cover it. General's voice booms from next door, "I recognise that (Sunderland accented) voice." Head comes round the door, "You're the man who's forever having a go at my signallers on the Log Net for being idle." I was about to apologise when he wasn't on, "Good job. They ARE idle. Crack on"

When sat in a traffic queue near woods or farmyards, I find myself allocating space for two Sultans back to back (three in a T to park Zero Charlie, the Into/NBC Cell if lucky, or four in a cruciform if we had an artillery battery commander attached, with a 432, if we were exceptionally lucky). Rebro Ferrets in there, rovers (CO, 2IC in Land Rovers, RSM in a Ferret) in there. One way circuit for visitors, approach from this direction. Radio masts over here.

The two serviceable components on a Scorpion's L23A1 were the recuperator and the buffer. Because the breech was heavier than the barrel, the gunner had drummed into him always to end the gun lay in ... damn after 40 years I've forgotten. Elevation or depression. To take up any slack in a uniform manner. Whereas the Chieftain gunner was instructed to end the lay in the opposite direction because the barrel was heavier than the breech. Suggests to me that neither had an equilibrator. But I could be wrong, I am, regularly.

When Tiger 131 was still a project at Bovy (either just before or just after they fired up the engine, put it under load and put a conrod through it) I remember visiting and seeing a bloke in overalls inside 131, while next to it was a "T34 Tiger" which Bovy attributed to Kelly's Heroes. Real metal, looked good close up, apart from being fundamentally wrong and too small. I remember looking in through the driver's vision port and seeing the T34 glacis hatch behind.

Apropos of nothing, you may be interested by a passage from the History of 15th/19th The King's Royal Hussars 1939-1945:

I thought it looked familiar and that I had seen one. I think you're right.

I read somewhere that Alconbury was the first place USAAF came to and that, untouched through the Cold War, a lot of it is listed and historically valuable, so I think some of it will survive as is.

No you are absolutely right. As per the bottom of the article, there's very little USAF left at Alconbury. When I was sorting my deceased father in law's estate two years ago, I believed then they had completely gone. Sure there were RAF or MOD police on the gate. As mentioned, the runway is now a container park.

Hi Ralf. I have some good news for you. I followed your link and went straight to the Scorpion pictures. The first colour Scorpion picture, on display with a data board, is 15th/19th the King's Royal Hussars, almost certainly B Squadron though I cannot see a tac sign to confirm it. During my seven years in 15/19H, I shared my time between B Squadron and Command Troop (in HQ Squadron). This picture is after my time (the crew are wearing Boots, Combat, High, which appeared a couple of years after I left. And the callsign board on the Chieftain in the background dates it as certainly after 1 July 1982 when a new callsign and voice procedure system was introduced to tighten security, just days before I transferred out.. I can name for you with absolute certainty the NCO in the middle, a good friend of mine, but I must refrain for Personal Security reasons. At first glance, even through the admirable pixellation, I thought the man on the left was my dear friend Steve Davies, who lost his fight with cancer a couple of years ago, but on second glance, it is just possible it's someone else. If the picture was taken in 1984 (qv boots), this crew will have been 4 Armoured Division's divisional armoured reconnaissance regiment (15/19H moved from 3 Armd Div to 4 Armd Div, I was surprised to learn according to one Order of Battle, as early as 1 January 1981: recently out of Command Troop, my finger not on the pulse as it had been, I was blissfully unaware, even though I continued with the regiment for 18 months thereafter). Based at Alanbrooke Barracks, Paderborn. If the picture was taken between 1987 and 1992 (when 15/19H amalgamated with 13/18H to become The Light Dragoons at Detmold, and back to CVR(T)), this crew must be part of the regiment's (now back on Chieftain) close reconnaissance troop in what I believe was D (Command and Support) Squadron. Based I believe at Hohne. Or maybe 15/19H went to Detmold in 1987 then amalgamated at Hohne. After my time. Welcome to HMVF.

About 1977-8, 15/19H stencilled on their tac signs in white, but being stencilled, they were not particularly prominent. I have a vague idea that a few years later, probably after everything got painted IRR and the tac signs needed doing again, the tac signs were done in battleship grey ( or a meringue? ). I am aware that in previous times, tac signs might have been done in different colours depending on (istr) major brigade in the division; minor brigade in the division; independent brigade ( yellow; red; blue? ) but not in my time. Actually thinking about it, I may very well have seen inverse-colour tac signs as you describe. I think it just goes to show that camouflage and OpSec trump clarity, and local choice trumps everything. FWIW apropos of nothing relating to your question, our A vehicles had callsign boards screwed to the back bin. I think they were white on battleship grey, because being friendly-facing, not enemy-facing, clarity was more important (to the sub-unit and unit commanders at the back - I was going to try and parse in lyrics from Us and Them by Pink Floyd but gave up) than camouflage. Being held on with screws, if a grown-up's wagon packed in, he could hoof the Troop Second Corporal (an appointment, usually filled by a Lance Corporal or rarely a Trooper), usurp his vehicle and retain his own callsign. But since you are talking B vehicles, this won't matter to you. Hope this helps. ;o)

Funnily enough, 82-85 I was RAPC attached 12 Armoured Workshop REME in Mercer Barracks Osnabruck. During that period 4RTR replaced 5DG in Imphal, at the other end of the same barracks complex and on my way home. Would probably have carried a squadron sign on the door. I doubt they'd have carried any REME colours: BAOR was rife with Soxmis and Spetnaz sleepers and markings were strictly limited. Union Flag front and rear. I cannot imagine there being a callsigns board. The REME elements' callsigns were known to all and sundry. They'd have worn black coveralls. Pretty sure they'd have worn black berets, but when your navy beret is minging with oil, etc and brushed with a black boot brush for parade, I can honestly say I doubt I'd have noticed the difference. As senior junior NCO (if you get my drift) in the workshop's HQ, I can safely say that even REME clerks were gungy, something that grated on the ex-cavalry me on parade every morning.