RAF Regiment Scorpion

RAF Regiment Scorpion

On a recent visit to RAF Cosford Museum I took some more photographs of the RAF Regiment Scorpion that was on display in the Cold War exhibition.

RAF Regiment Scorpion

The RAF Regiment’s mission is protection of RAF bases from ground attack, and patrolling a large area around main operating bases abroad, in order to defend aircraft on ingress and egress from surface to air attack.

It was in November 1981, the RAF Regiment took delivery of its first Scorpions.

RAF Regiment Scorpion

The FV101 Scorpion is a British armoured reconnaissance vehicle. It was the lead vehicle and the fire support type in the Combat Vehicle Reconnaissance (Tracked), CVR(T), family of seven armoured vehicles. Manufactured by Alvis, it was introduced into service with the British Army in 1973 and served until 1994.

In 1989 No. 1 Squadron RAF Regiment was based at RAF Laarbruch. It had 15x Spartan and 6x Scorpion. No. 51 Squadron RAF Regiment, at RAF Bruggen, also had 15x Spartan and 6x Scorpion.

RAF Bruggen was situated next to the village of Elmpt, approximately 43 kilometres (27 mi) west of Düsseldorf near the Dutch-German border.

RAF Laarbruch was also located in Germany, however it on its border with the Netherlands.

The role of the RAF Regiment would have been to defend the airfields from Warsaw Pact attack.

You can imagine in the world of Team Yankee (and Iron Maiden) that the RAF Regiment would be involved in fighting Warsaw Pact forces, though much of it would probably have been Spetsnaz, Soviet Special Forces. This is more appropriate to a 20mm or 25mm skirmish type game rather than the 15mm tank versus tank battles of Team Yankee.

Soviet Airborne forces made use of the BMD1 and BMD2 and these were air-portable.

BMD2
http://vitalykuzmin.net via https://commons.wikimedia.org CC BY-SA 4.0

These could be the ideal opposition for the RAF Regiment Scorpion tanks.

Though once the Cold War turned hot would the Soviets be able to push airborne troops that far west through contested airspace?

Maybe take an alternate perspective and use my own British Civil War background and have them as supporting Royalist forces, or as the Republican opposition.

I have some Team Yankee Scorpions, they are currently in the process of being painted as BAOR versions.

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