Direct proof of use
The British Army Review Gulf War special report identifies 16/5th Queen's Royal Lancers in the British ground order of battle as a formation reconnaissance regiment with four squadrons of Scimitar and Scorpion CVR(T). The same report places 16/5 Lancers overlooking Objective LEAD on the division's second day of action, linking the regiment's reconnaissance vehicles to the ground campaign rather than only to prewar deployment.
A regimental history page for the Scimitar states that 16th/5th The Queen's Royal Lancers fought in the First Gulf War with attached reinforcements and was equipped with Scimitar. It also records a troop of Scimitars engaging Iraqi T-62 tanks, and a separate incident in which a Scimitar was hit by an Iraqi T-55 without crew injury.
Sources: British Army Review Gulf War, 14th/20th King's Hussars Scimitar
Timeline
On 2 August 1990, Iraq invaded Kuwait, and the UK deployed forces under Operation Granby as part of the coalition campaign. The Royal Signals Museum summarizes the British build-up from 7th Armoured Brigade to 1st Armoured Division and places the ground attack on 24 February 1991.
The Queen's Dragoon Guards history states that A Squadron deployed to Saudi Arabia in September 1990 with CVR(T)s repainted desert yellow, and that by the start of the 24 February 1991 ground offensive more than half of the regiment had deployed. It says many QDG personnel reinforced 16th/5th Queen's Royal Lancers, while an image caption identifies an A Squadron Scimitar in action in the First Gulf War.
Sources: Royal Signals Museum Gulf War, QDG Post War Conflicts
Narrative
Scimitar use in the 1990 Gulf War sat inside the British Army's armored reconnaissance contribution to the coalition. The vehicle was not a main battle tank; in this context it gave British reconnaissance regiments a tracked, 30 mm cannon-armed scout vehicle for finding, screening, and, when required, engaging Iraqi armored forces.
The documented operator was British, but the catalog conflict side is the coalition side because the 1990 Gulf War metadata groups the U.S.-led coalition under one side entry. Within that side, the specific units supported by the sources are 16th/5th The Queen's Royal Lancers and Queen's Dragoon Guards elements associated with Operation Granby.
The clearest combat-use detail is the 14th/20th King's Hussars account of Scimitars engaging Iraqi T-62s and one Scimitar being hit by a T-55. The British Army Review volume corroborates the broader operational frame by listing 16/5th Queen's Royal Lancers with Scimitar and Scorpion CVR(T), and by placing the regiment forward during the ground battle around Objective LEAD.
Sources: British Army Review Gulf War, 14th/20th King's Hussars Scimitar, QDG Post War Conflicts
