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Where would you find a Sabre


agripper

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I know that the Sabre was more of a stop gap than anything else. What I would like to know is which units had Sabre's? Also where would they have been. I was told by a friend of mine that they had used for training and had the colours set for enemy vehicles. Did the Blues and Royals have them or 17/21 Lancers, also been told they may have been with 4/7 Royal Dragoons. Can anyone tell me for sure on this. Thanks.:-D

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I know that the Sabre was more of a stop gap than anything else. What I would like to know is which units had Sabre's? Also where would they have been. I was told by a friend of mine that they had used for training and had the colours set for enemy vehicles. Did the Blues and Royals have them or 17/21 Lancers, also been told they may have been with 4/7 Royal Dragoons. Can anyone tell me for sure on this. Thanks.:-D

 

I cant confirm that this is true. But I heard Scimitars were utilised by The Regular Army. And Sabre was used by the T.A? Sabre remanufactured/modified from Fox Turrets & Scorpion Hulls.

Mike.

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As far as I know the TA used the Sabre was used as follows.

 

Yeomanry Recce Regts x 2 QOY and Royal Yeomanry

Some Armoured Infantry Recce Platoons and I know that the Saxon equipped inf reg at Catterick used them as well.

 

All regular RAC Recce Regts, Armoured Regts and some Inf Armoured Regts recce tps/Plts used Schimitar.

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I remember watching a news report from the Balkans about 1996. The picture showed a number plate 02FDxx and I sat up quickly bcause I recognised the number as belonging to a Scorpion. Camera pulls back, engine decks, mantlet ... Rarden muzzle?!?!?

 

Having turned to family and IDed the Scorpion from its number plate I was in high esteem until I had to admit I was wrong. I was perplexed because I KNEW that 02FDxx belonged to a Scorpion, but this vehicle had a Rarden 30 milly. And the turret looked like it had been got at by headhunters.

 

Next day a TA ex-cavalryman explained to me that Scorpion had been retired and replaced by the hybrid Sabre.

 

Back to the news. The reporter spoke to a cavalry major and after a few seconds I realised that the Major P****y Light Dragoon being interviewed had been Lt P****y 15/19H when I was a lance corporal in the early 80s.

 

So yes, Light Dragoons had Sabres in the Balkans about 1996.

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Alien, The LD's would have had the sabre in the Balkens due to sabre was part of the pool of CVR(T) availible to the troops in that theatre.Created due to the British Ministry of Defence's CVR(T) rationalisation programme, the Sabre is a hybrid vehicle. Created from the body of the Scorpion, and the turret of the Fox the Sabre is fitted with the standard 30mm Rarden Cannon found on similar British Army vehicles of the CVR(T) class. Modifications were made to the manually operated turret of the Fox to include redesigned smoke grenade launchers and the 7.62mm MachineGun was replaced with a more powerful 7.62mm Chain Gun. Domed hatches have also improved headroom for both commander and gunner. Some 136 Sabre vehicles are in service with the British Army, assigned to Reconnaisance Platoons of Armoured and Mechanised Infantry Battalions. Their duty is to covertly locate and observe enemy units and emplacements. In addition to this they are often required to take out such units, and are armed and equipped to work in the forward area of the battle. Although classified as a reconnaisance vehicle the Sabre can easily double as a light Tank for making hard hitting attacks against non-armoured enemy units.

sabrecvrt1.jpg

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