The FV107 Scimitar Tank Killed a Fighter Jet During the Falklands War
The FV107 Scimitar is considered a light tank by some and an armored tracked reconnaissance vehicle by others.
Among other things, the 1982 Falklands War (aka, “La Guerra de Las Malvinas“) between Great Britain featured some intense aerial combat, air-to-ground, air-to-sea (Argentine A-4 Skyhawks sinking multiple Royal Navy warships and Royal Fleet Auxiliary vessels, including the frigate HMS Antelope), and air-to-air (wherein Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm‘s British Aerospace Sea Harriers enjoyed a 23:0 kill ratio against their Argentine opponents).
Ultimately, the Argentines lost the Falklands War, and one of the key factors in their defeat was the far more grievous aircraft losses they suffered. Though the aforementioned Harriers were the best-known killer of Argentine aerial assets, they weren’t the only factor. At least one Argentine fighter-bomber was shot down by … would you believe a British tank?
Profile of the Killer: FV107 Scimitar Brief History and Specifications
The FV107 Scimitar is considered a light tank by some (including the narrator of the video we’ll be citing shortly) and an armored tracked reconnaissance vehicle by others. However, regardless of what semantic label one chooses, there’s no dispute that this Scimitar, just like the medieval Middle Eastern sword design that was the namesake for the armored vehicle, was definitely deadly.
Officially debuting in 1974, the Scimitar was built by Alvis Car and Engineering Company Ltd, the same company that manufactured the very similar FV101 Scorpion; a key difference was that the former wielded a high-velocity 30mm L21 RARDEN cannon whilst the latter packed a more powerful but lower-velocity 76mm main gun. Other tech specs and vital stats included:
- Crew: Three (commander, gunner, driver)
- Weight: 7.8 tons
- Length: 5 meters (16.4 feet)
- Width: 2.24 meters (7.34 feet)
- Height: 2.24 meters (7.34 feet)
- Operational Range: 450 km (279.6 miles)
- Max Speed: 80.5 km/h (50. 02 mph)
Britain retired the Scimitar from active service in April 2023. The tank remains in service with the militaries of Latvia, Ukraine, Honduras, Nigeria, and Jordan.
Profile of the Victim: Mirage IIIEA Brief History & Specifications
The French-made Dassault Mirage III made its maiden flight on November 17, 1956, and operationally debuted in 1961. Argentina purchased several different export model variants of the Mirage III, but the only one it actually used in the Falklands War was the IIIEA version, of which the Argentine Air Force (Fuerza Aérea Argentina; FAA) acquired a total of seventeen airframes beginning in September 1972.
Mirage III specs and vital stats include:
- Crew: One (pilot)
- Fuselage Length: 15.03 m (49 ft 4 in)
- Wingspan: 8.22 m (27 ft 0 in)
- Height: 4.5 m (14 ft 9 in)
- Max Takeoff Weight: 13,700 kg (30,203 lb)
- Max Airspeed: Mach 2.2
- Service Ceiling: 17,000 m (56,000 ft)
- Combat Range: 1,200 km (750 mi, 650 nmi)
- Armament:
- Guns: Two 30 mm (1.181 in) DEFA 552 cannon
- Rockets: Two Matra JL-100 drop tank/rocket packs, each with nineteen 68 mm (2.7 in) SNEB rockets and 250 L (66 U.S. gal; 55 imp gal) of fuel
- Missiles: Two Matra R.550 Magic air-to-air missiles (AAMs) plus one Matra R.530 AAM
- Bombs: 4,000 kgs (8,800 lbs.) of payload on five external hardpoints
Argentina retired the Mirage III in 2015. One of its IIIEA specimens is preserved for posterity at the Museo Nacional de Aeronáutica in the city of Morón, Buenos Aires Province.
The Battle
The Mirage IIIEAs’ usefulness in combat proved to be fairly limited during the Falklands campaign, due to the warbird’s inherent lack of any aerial refueling capability, which in turn meant that the planes had no more than five minutes over the combat area before they had to return to base. Accordingly, the Argentines only used them in combat once, on May 1, 1982, with one being shot down by an AIM-9L Sidewinder launched from a Sea Harrier, and another downed by friendly fire.
Which makes for a convenient segue to the crux of our story.
The narrator of the Dark Skies MSN channel video titled “The Tank that Shot Down a Fighter Jet“ states that the engagement took place on March 28, 1982, which is a tad bit impossible seeing how the war didn’t actually commence until April 2 of that year. In any event:
“Suddenly, one of the Scimitars found itself across an open field when 18-year old Reg Hastings spotted an Argentine Mirage fighter swooping in. In a moment charged with adrenaline, the Briton took his chances and unleashed a barrage of high explosive shells from the RARDEN cannon. As he tracked the jet through his sights, Hastings recalled ‘I have panicked.’ His fourth rounds struck below the cockpit, sending the Mirage to a fiery demise and demonstrating the lethal efficiency of Britain’s nimble Scimitar.”
Bravo Zulu, Reg Hastings! You didn’t panic, you did your duty, and quite possibly saved your friends’ lives in the process.
About the Author: Christian D. Orr
Christian D. Orr was previously a Senior Defense Editor for National Security Journal (NSJ) and 19FortyFive. He is a former Air Force Security Forces officer, Federal law enforcement officer, and private military contractor (with assignments worked in Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, Kosovo, Japan, Germany, and the Pentagon). Chris holds a B.A. in International Relations from the University of Southern California (USC) and an M.A. in Intelligence Studies (concentration in Terrorism Studies) from American Military University (AMU). He has also been published in The Daily Torch, The Journal of Intelligence and Cyber Security, and Simple Flying. Last but not least, he is a Companion of the Order of the Naval Order of the United States (NOUS). If you’d like to pick his brain further, you can ofttimes find him at the Old Virginia Tobacco Company (OVTC) lounge in Manassas, Virginia, partaking of fine stogies and good quality human camaraderie.
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