The Alvis Stormer is a military armoured vehicle manufactured by the British company Alvis Vickers, now BAE Systems Land & Armaments. It is a development of the CVR(T) family of vehicles (Scorpion, Scimitar, Spartan and others), essentially a larger, modernised version with an extra road wheel on each side.
Alvis Stormer at a glance
| Maker | Alvis Vickers, now BAE Systems Land & Armaments |
|---|---|
| Origin | development of the CVR(T) family with an extra road wheel on each side |
| Configurations | two-person turret with a 25 mm cannon, air defence, engineer, recovery, ambulance, minelayer, 81 mm and 120 mm mortar carriers, command and control |
| Stormer HVM | Starstreak HVM or Martlet missiles for British Army short-range air defence |
| Stormer 30 (prototype) | turreted reconnaissance version with a 30 mm Bushmaster II cannon, up to 200 rounds per minute, 180 rounds ready to fire; never entered service |
| Stormer Air Defence (prototype, late 1980s) | twin Stinger launcher and a 25 mm GAU-12/U or 30 mm GAU-13/A cannon |
| Operators | British Army; Indonesian Army (deployed in Aceh 2003–2004) |
This page is based on English Wikipedia only, so the figures could not be cross-checked against a second source.
History of the Alvis Stormer
The Stormer is marketed by BAE in many battlefield roles: a two-person turret armed with a 25 mm cannon, air defence with guns or missiles, an engineer vehicle, a recovery vehicle, an ambulance, a minelayer, an 81 mm or 120 mm mortar carrier and a command and control vehicle.
The British Army uses Stormers equipped with Starstreak HVM or Martlet missiles for short-range air defence. Under the Army 2020 plan the Stormer HVM was to equip three regular and two reserve artillery batteries; the reserve batteries have since been converted to the HVM Lightweight Multiple Launcher to reduce the training burden. A flat-bed Stormer carried the Shielder minelaying system.
The Stormer 30 was a tracked reconnaissance development with a turret whose 30 mm Bushmaster II cannon could traverse through 360 degrees, with a TOW missile launcher on either side of the turret. It remained a prototype and was to be air-transportable by Lockheed C-130 Hercules and the Sikorsky CH-53 helicopter. Stormer APCs of the Indonesian Army were deployed to Aceh province during the 2003–2004 offensive.
Design and features
- Family: a stretched development of the Scorpion-based CVR(T) vehicles.
- Roles: APC, air defence, engineering, recovery and many more.
Alvis Stormer versions
- Stormer HVM: the Starstreak air-defence version.
- Flat-bed Stormer: the Shielder minelaying carrier.
- Stormer 30 and Stormer Air Defence: prototypes only.
More Alvis vehicles are in our Alvis collection, for example the Scorpion that it grew out of and the Saracen.
Alvis Stormer questions and answers
What is the Alvis Stormer?
A tracked armoured vehicle by Alvis Vickers developed from the CVR(T) family.
What does the British Army use it for?
Short-range air defence with Starstreak HVM or Martlet missiles.
Did the Stormer 30 enter service?
No, it remained a prototype.
Sources
- Alvis Stormer, English Wikipedia: variants and operational history
