Source: Reddit
Usually, the rank and file consumer of news about military aid to Ukraine only knows of the aid packages sent by the U.S. and other NATO nations. However, this is not the only source of military equipment that is being deployed by Ukrainian ground forces. There are a number of non-profit organizations which utilize crowdfunding to collect monies with which to make purchases of surplus equipment, including vehicles. The largest of these is the Serhiy Prytula Foundation whose funding drive efforts allowed for the purchase of 101 former British Army armored vehicles in 2023. Likewise, since demilitarized British Army vehicles (to include armored ones) are available on the open market, other organizations or even groups of individuals can obtain such vehicles. One of these is shown here in this photograph, belonging to the 1st. Operational Battalion “Forpost”, 1st. Presidential Operational Brigade “Bureviy”. The vehicle is the FV101 Scorpion. Entering British service in 1973, the FV101 is just one of a number of vehicles within the Alvis Vehicles designed and built Combat Vehicle Reconnaissance (Tracked), CVR(T), family. The FV101 was classified as a light tank and also served as a reconnaissance vehicle and while it was withdrawn from British Army service in 1994, the FV101 remains in service with a number of countries. The largest current operator is Oman, with some 120 in service.
Power for the 8-ton FV101 comes from a Cummins BTA series diesel engine that develops 190 horsepower and this is paired to a TN15 transmission manufactured by Self-Changing Gears Limited. The TN15 has a 7-speed gearbox, a Merritt-Brown triple-differential, and a electro-hydraulic, semi-automatic control system. This provides for a top road speed of 45 miles per hour and enough fuel is carried to give a maximum cruise range of 470 miles.
For a main gun, the FV101 was normally fitted with either a 76mm L23A1 gun or the 90mm Cockerill Mk.3 gun along with a L43A1 7.62mm coaxial machine-gun. However, since this FV101 was demilitarized, the main gun and coaxial machine-gun were not present. So, the men of the 1st. Operational Battalion installed a 14.5mm KPVT heavy machine-gun. The KPV, designed in 1944 and entering Soviet service in 1949, continues to see combat and is the primary armament of vehicles such as the BTR-70 and BTR-80 8x8 armored personnel carriers and the BRDM-2 4x4 armored scout car. The KPVT is a variant of the KPV meant for installation in vehicles. With a rate of fire of 600 rounds per minute, the KPVT is fed from 40-round belts. Two of the main rounds are the B-32 API (Armor-Piercing Incendiary) and MDZ HEI (High-Explosive Incendiary). The B-32 uses a full metal jacket with a tungsten-carbide core which is capable of penetrating 32mm of rolled homogeneous armor at a 90 degree slope (RHA) at a range of 500 meters. At further ranges, the penetration value is reduced until it is ineffective against even the lightest armored vehicles. The MDZ round has an effective range of 1.8 miles with a maximum range of 2.5 miles. Assuming the original gun mounting remained, this would allow the KPVT to be elevated to a maximum of 35 degrees and a maximum of 10 degrees of depression. The turret can be traversed a full 360 degrees but as standard, it is not powered. This means the gunner uses a crank to turn the turret.
The three man crew (commander, driver, and gunner) is protected by 7059 aluminum-zinc-magnesium alloy armor. The front hull supports 13mm of armor but due to the slope, the effective armor is 25mm thick. The sides and turret also support 13mm of armor but lack the sloping to increase the protection. Thus, from the front, the FV101 is resistant to some 14.5mm ammunition at 200 meters while the remainder of the FV101 can protect against shell fragments and some 7.62mm rounds. The standard FV101 was NBC (Nuclear Biological Chemical) protected but this was likely removed as part of the demilitarization along with the smoke grenade launchers. Likewise, the standard thermal night sights, communication systems, and navigational systems were also certainly removed as well. However, the commode underneath the commander's seat and the boiling vessel (with its internal water tank) were probably left installed.
In addition to the KPVT, the crew has added at least three drone jammers to the turret. The white smudge on the hull side looks to be a censor, masking some sort of emblem, tactical symbol, or other identifiable insignia. Another photograph of this same FV101 shows the crew posing with their vehicle but they, too, are blocking the view of the hull side.
As a side note, the group Armored Turtle: International Volunteers has been attempting to crowd fund for a FV101 Scorpion that is for sale in Britain which is not demilitarized as of March 2023. It has the L23A1 gun and the gun sights but it appears that the group has not been successful in obtaining it. Of course, one has to consider how available ammunition would be for it. Also, even the British Army did not like the gun as it lacked a fume extractor and so the turret tended to fill with fumes from firing.
