Alvis produced a variety of armored vehicles for the British Army during the Cold War decades including several car and light tank types built upon a common chassis to fulfill a variety of battlefield roles. In 1973, the British Army began taking a stock of the Alvis FV721 "Fox" armored cars - a three-man, 4x4 wheeled armored system primarily for the for the mechanized scouting role. The vehicles replaced the aged inventory of "Ferret" light-class and the 6x6 wheeled "Saladin" armored cars then in service. The Fox line served British Army forces until their eventual retirement in 1994.
The finalized end-product became a 7.4 ton vehicle with a lightly armored hull superstructure sat upon a two-axle chassis featuring four large road wheels in a conventional configuration. The crew of three included the driver at front-center in the hull with the command and gunner in the hull superstructure/turret proper. Power was served through a Jaguar J.60 No.1 100B gasoline-fueled engine developing 190 horsepower. Operational ranges reached 270 miles with road speeds nearing 65 miles per hour. There was an amphibious capability by way of a flotation screen being arranged. Armor protection was of all-welded aluminum which provided only basic service against battlefield dangers including small arms fire and artillery spray. Unlike other Cold War vehicles, the Fox lacked any NBC (Nuclear, Biological, Chemical) protection for its crew.
The Fox was a tactically-minded vehicle through-and-through. Its relatively compact size and controlled weight allowed it to be air-transportable to any front in the world - capable of fitting within the belly of a Lockheed C-130 "Hercules" transport or similar. Speed was essential to the survival of the vehicle and crew and the Fox held inherently strong running capabilities. The 30mm cannon gave it good firepower against like-minded vehicles and other soft targets but was limited against the armor showcased by frontline combat tanks. The enemy of the day would have been the Soviet Union and its vast collection of armored vehicles in light, medium, and heavy weight classes - some of which the Fox crew could counter and others that the Fox would have been highly vulnerable against.
The Fox was not heavily produced nor widely exported. Beyond the British Army, usage centered on the armies of Malawi and Nigeria with about 325 total vehicles manufactured by Alvis. Several prototype and developmental variants emerged that went nowhere including a 25-mm turreted form, a machine-gun-only form with a one-man turret, and an Anti-Tank Guided Missile (ATGM) carrier vehicle. Some Fox turrets were reconstituted for use in the "Sabre" tracked vehicle, the work producing 136 models of this form.
Note: The above text is EXCLUSIVE to the site www.MilitaryFactory.com. It is the product of many hours of research and work made possible with the help of contributors, veterans, insiders, and topic specialists. If you happen upon this text anywhere else on the internet or in print, please let us know at MilitaryFactory AT gmail DOT com so that we may take appropriate action against the offender / offending site and continue to protect this original work.
ARMOR CAR / SECURITY
Design, of typically lightweight nature, providing onroad/offroad capabilities for the scouting or general security roles.
16.4 ft (5 meters) Length
7.0 ft (2.13 meters) Width
7.2 ft (2.2 meters) Height
14,881 lb (6,750 kg) Weight
7.4 tons (Light-class) Tonnage
1 x Jaguar J.60 No 1 Mk 100B gasoline-fueled engine developing 190 horsepower. Drive System
65 mph (104 kph) Road Speed
270 miles (434 km) Road Range
1 x 30mm L21 RARDEN autocannon
1 x 7.62mm L37A2 coaxial machine gun
AMMUNITION
99 x 30mm projectiles
2,600 x 7.62mm ammunition
FV721 "Fox" - Base Series Designation; base armored and armed production model.
FV722 "Vixen" - Proposed variant sans turret installation.
"Fox 25" - Proposed variant; outfitted with 25mm autocannon in Sharpshooter turret.
"Fox MILAN" - Anti-tank vehicle with MILAN ATGM system fitted.
"Fox-Scout" - Proposed convoy escort vehicle; 1 x 7.62mm FN MAG GPMG with 4,500 rounds of ammunition; not adopted.
"Sabre" - Fox turrets installed on FV101 Scorpion light tanks; 136 conversions completed
FV432/30 - Fox turrets on FV432 hulls; 13 conversions completed.
"Panga" - Mayalsian Army export model
Images
1 / 5
Image copyright www.MilitaryFactory.com; No Reproduction Permitted.
2 / 5
Image copyright www.MilitaryFactory.com; No Reproduction Permitted.
3 / 5
Image copyright www.MilitaryFactory.com; No Reproduction Permitted.
4 / 5
Image copyright www.MilitaryFactory.com; No Reproduction Permitted.
The "Military Factory" name and MilitaryFactory.com logo are registered ® U.S. trademarks protected by all applicable domestic and international intellectual property laws. All written content, illustrations, and photography are unique to this website (unless where indicated) and not for reuse/reproduction in any form. Material presented throughout this website is for historical and entertainment value only and should not to be construed as usable for hardware restoration, maintenance, or general operation. We do not sell any of the items showcased on this site. Please direct all other inquiries to militaryfactory AT gmail.com. No A.I. was used in the generation of this content; site is 100% curated by humans.
