British Army FV721 Fox armoured car
This Fox is seen at the Norfolk Tank Museum's Armourfest 2022.
The FV721 Fox Combat Vehicle Reconnaissance (Wheeled) (CVR(W)) was a 4 x 4 armoured car manufactured by Royal Ordinance Factory Leeds, deployed by the British Army as a replacement for the Ferret scout car and the Saladin armoured car. The Fox was introduced into service with 'B' Squadron, 1st. Royal Tank Regiment at Aliwal Barracks, Tidworth in 1975 and withdrawn from service IN 1993/4.
The Fox has a crew of three. The driver sat at the front and had an integral periscope/hatch cover that lifted and opened to the right. The centre mounted turret held the commander-loader on the left and gunner on the right. They each had a rear-opening hatch cover.
The low profile rotating turret is armed with a 30 mm L21 RARDEN cannon, which was manually fed with three-round clips, 99 rounds were carried. A coaxial L37A2 7.62 mm machine gun was mounted with 2,600 rounds. The turret was also equipped with a set of two 4 barrelled smoke dischargers. The all-welded aluminium armour hull and turret protected against small arms fire and artillery splinters but not from .50 calibre heavy machine gun fire. It lacked protection against nuclear, biological and chemical weapons.
Powered by a Jaguar 4.2-litre, 6 cylinder petrol engine, the Fox was one of the fastest vehicles of its type.
The Fox was fitted with a flotation screen that could be erected in two minutes. Drive when floating was solely from the road wheels, giving poor performance and the screens were removed from most UK vehicles early in their service life. Without preparation, the Fox can ford 39 in. (1m) of water.
The vehicle had a combat weight of 6.64 tons and was designed to be air-portable. Three Foxes can be carried by one Lockheed C-130 Hercules aircraft, two of which can be parachute dropped.
The Fox was principally used by the Royal Yeomanry and the Queen's Own Yeomanry, the brigade reconnaissance regiments in 2 Division, BAOR's rear area formation. Small numbers were also attached to air mobile, armoured and mechanized infantry battalions to form a reconnaissance platoon.
Type: Armoured car
Builder: Royal Ordinance Factory Leeds
Number built: 325
UK use:180
Exported: 145
Crew: 3, commander/loader, gunner, driver
Length: 16 ft. 8 in. (5.08 m)
Width: 7 ft . (2.13 m)
Height: 7 ft. 3 in. (2.2 m)
Weight: 6.64 ton (14873 lb. - 6746.5 kg)
Engine: 1 x Jaguar J.60 No. 1 Mk. 100B, petrol
Engine output: 190 hp (142 kW)
Max speed: 64.5 mph (104 km/h)
Operational range: 270 miles (434 km)
Main armament: 1 x 30 mm L21 RARDEN cannon
Rounds: 99
Secondary armament: 1 x Co-axial 7.62 mm L37A2 machine gun
Rounds: 2,6
Armor: Aluminium
British Army FV721 Fox armoured car
This Fox is seen at the Norfolk Tank Museum's Armourfest 2022.
The FV721 Fox Combat Vehicle Reconnaissance (Wheeled) (CVR(W)) was a 4 x 4 armoured car manufactured by Royal Ordinance Factory Leeds, deployed by the British Army as a replacement for the Ferret scout car and the Saladin armoured car. The Fox was introduced into service with 'B' Squadron, 1st. Royal Tank Regiment at Aliwal Barracks, Tidworth in 1975 and withdrawn from service IN 1993/4.
The Fox has a crew of three. The driver sat at the front and had an integral periscope/hatch cover that lifted and opened to the right. The centre mounted turret held the commander-loader on the left and gunner on the right. They each had a rear-opening hatch cover.
The low profile rotating turret is armed with a 30 mm L21 RARDEN cannon, which was manually fed with three-round clips, 99 rounds were carried. A coaxial L37A2 7.62 mm machine gun was mounted with 2,600 rounds. The turret was also equipped with a set of two 4 barrelled smoke dischargers. The all-welded aluminium armour hull and turret protected against small arms fire and artillery splinters but not from .50 calibre heavy machine gun fire. It lacked protection against nuclear, biological and chemical weapons.
Powered by a Jaguar 4.2-litre, 6 cylinder petrol engine, the Fox was one of the fastest vehicles of its type.
The Fox was fitted with a flotation screen that could be erected in two minutes. Drive when floating was solely from the road wheels, giving poor performance and the screens were removed from most UK vehicles early in their service life. Without preparation, the Fox can ford 39 in. (1m) of water.
The vehicle had a combat weight of 6.64 tons and was designed to be air-portable. Three Foxes can be carried by one Lockheed C-130 Hercules aircraft, two of which can be parachute dropped.
The Fox was principally used by the Royal Yeomanry and the Queen's Own Yeomanry, the brigade reconnaissance regiments in 2 Division, BAOR's rear area formation. Small numbers were also attached to air mobile, armoured and mechanized infantry battalions to form a reconnaissance platoon.
Type: Armoured car
Builder: Royal Ordinance Factory Leeds
Number built: 325
UK use:180
Exported: 145
Crew: 3, commander/loader, gunner, driver
Length: 16 ft. 8 in. (5.08 m)
Width: 7 ft . (2.13 m)
Height: 7 ft. 3 in. (2.2 m)
Weight: 6.64 ton (14873 lb. - 6746.5 kg)
Engine: 1 x Jaguar J.60 No. 1 Mk. 100B, petrol
Engine output: 190 hp (142 kW)
Max speed: 64.5 mph (104 km/h)
Operational range: 270 miles (434 km)
Main armament: 1 x 30 mm L21 RARDEN cannon
Rounds: 99
Secondary armament: 1 x Co-axial 7.62 mm L37A2 machine gun
Rounds: 2,6
Armor: Aluminium