Begleitpanzer 57 AIFSV

Tower in 9 o'clock position

Side view

The Begleitpanzer 57 AIFSV (Armored Infantry Fire Support Vehicle) was a project by Thyssen-Henschel and Bofors . Only a prototype was built. In the mid-1970s, the two companies, Thyssen-Henschel and Bofors, which were still in existence at the time, began developing an infantry support tank without a government mandate, because they believed they had discovered a niche in the market. The vehicle was first presented in November 1977. However, due to a lack of interest on the part of potential customers, the project was not pursued any further.

description

The modified hull of the Marder armored personnel carrier was used as the chassis . Here all the components of the infantry combat such as the bullet cover , rear MG , tailgate and hatches of the crew compartment had been removed in order to accommodate the significantly larger turret and the associated devices. The asymmetrically shaped tower had a recess in the middle in the longitudinal direction, in which the external pipe cradle with crowns was stored. On the left in the direction of travel was the commander's hatch with corner mirrors and a stabilized panoramic periscope on the tower ceiling . On the right side of the tower, which was designed here similar to the Marder tower, there was a launch device for TOW anti-tank guided weapons , including the gunner's hatch . This operated with a telescopic sight with night vision thermal imaging system, a laser range finder and a tracking control system for the guided weapons. There was a monitor for the commander with parallel information. The cannon moved in an elevation range of −8 ° to + 45 °. The vehicle carried an ammunition supply of 48 cartridges of 57 mm ammunition and six anti-tank guided missiles. The cannon was a Bofors 57 mm / L70 Mk.1 marine gun with automatic loading.

The technical data corresponded to those of the marten, except

• the length: 7.48 m (with cannon in 12 o'clock position),
• the height: 2.51 m.

literature

• F. M. von Senger and Etterlin : Taschenbuch der Panzer 1983 - Tanks of the World. Bernard & Graefe, Munich 1983, ISBN 3-7637-5255-2 .
• F. M. von Senger and Etterlin: Tanks of the World 1983. Arms and Armor Press, London 1983, ISBN 0-85368-585-1 (English)