The FV438 carried fourteen missiles and had two firing bins, which could be reloaded from inside the vehicle. It was fitted with a Hensoldt 1x & 10x Military Periscope Monocular Guided Missile Sight, firing station and guidance system. It also carried a separate Barr & Stroud thermal imaging sight and control unit, which could be deployed up to 75 metres away from, and 15m above or below, the vehicle, connected to it by a cable. This enabled the missiles to be aimed and fired whilst the vehicle remained camouflaged, completely hidden from the enemy in dead ground or behind cover. The Swingfire missile had a thrust-vectoring engine nozzle which gave it the capability to make a ninety-degree turn immediately after leaving the launch bin in order to get into the controller's line of sight.
When FV438 entered service in the 1970s, it was operated by specialised anti-tank units of the British Infantry[citation needed] and Royal Armoured Corps. In 1977, the anti-tank role was transferred to the Royal Artillery, which formed the FV438s into four independent Royal Horse Artillery batteries, one for each Armoured Division in the British Army of the Rhine. In 1984, the Royal Artillery relinquished the anti-tank role and the FV438s were formed into guided-weapon troops (each of 9 vehicles), one for each Armoured Regiment.[1][2][3][4]
See also
FV102 Striker, another Swingfire carrier, based on the CVR(T) chassis, with a fixed-azimuth five rail launcher hinged towards the rear of the hull roof.
^"3rd Regiment RHA". British Army Units and Locations from 1945 to present day. Retrieved 20 June 2016.
^Nigel F. Evans. "ANTI-TANK ARTILLERY". BRITISH ARTILLERY IN WORLD WAR 2. Retrieved 20 June 2016.
^Watson, Graham E.; Rinaldi, Richard A. (2005). The British Army in Germany: An Organizational History 1947-2004. Tiger Lily Publications LLC. p. 75. ISBN0-9720296-9-9.
