Armored Rapid Bridge 2

Armored Rapid Bridge 2
PSB 2 with relocated bridge
General properties
crew	2 (driver, commander)
length	13.89 m (with bridge)
width	4.0 m
height	3.95 m
Dimensions	62.5 t
Armor and armament
Armor	Composite armor,
Secondary armament	Smoke throwing system
agility
drive	12-cylinder multi-fuel diesel engine, MTU 1,103 kW (1,500 hp)
suspension	Torsion bar
Top speed	68 km / h
Power / weight

The Panzerschnellbrücke (PSB) 2 was a bridge-laying tank in bilateral development by Germany and the Netherlands and a possible successor to the " Biber " rapid armored bridge .

development

In 1999, Germany and the Netherlands decided in a joint project to develop a successor for the Biber bridge layer on a Leopard 1 chassis, which had reached its performance limits (especially the maximum permissible drive-over weight) .

The solution from MAN Mobile Bridges GmbH (part of Krauss-Maffei Wegmann since 2005 ) was selected from four offers from the industry with different concepts . After tests and attempts to drive over the bridge with various loading vehicles, including the Leopard 2 with military load class (MLC) 70, the test sample was handed over to the Federal Office for Defense Technology and Procurement (BWB) for troop testing in 2002 after the deficiencies had been rectified.

After several test runs, in which the laying times of the respective bridge lengths could not be achieved, the project was called into question. As a successor, the Bundeswehr has been testing the Iguana bridge system on a Leopard 2 chassis since 2009 . The PSB 2 project has since been discontinued.

General

The Panzerschnellbrücke 2 belongs to the group of combat support vehicles and consists of the bridge layer on Leopard 2 chassis from Krauss-Maffei Wegmann and the Panzerschnellbrücke 2. Like its predecessor, it is used to overcome gaps in terrain such as bodies of water and gorges in combat. The crew consists of two soldiers, the driver and the commander. The bridge-layer is unarmed, but has a smoke-throw system . Using distance measuring devices , thermal imaging devices and CCD cameras, the laying process is also possible at night.

technology

The PSB 2 consists of a modular bridge system made of aluminum , which is laid horizontally in the free porch. The entire laying system consists of the laying arm and the laying arm tilting cylinder. The swivel arm and the tub form a parallelogram that can be moved with a swivel cylinder. The three bridge modules are each 9.70 m long, which means the laying of three short bridges (3 × 9.70 m; laying time approx. 3 minutes each), one short and one medium bridge (1 × 9.70 m + 1 × 18.70 m) or a long bridge (1 × 27.70 m; laying time around 6 minutes). The height of the individual modules is 0.65 m, the width 4.0 m. One module weighs just under five tons. The bridge parts are coupled automatically. The bridges reach load class 70 for tracked vehicles and MLC 100 for wheeled vehicles.

See also

• List of tank models after 1945

Web links

• Panzerschnellbrücke 2. Archived from the original on June 16, 2009 ; Retrieved December 26, 2015 .  PSB 2 on the Krauss-Maffei Wegmann website
• Bridge layer and PSB 2 on panzerbaer.de
• Extensive picture page on Rommelkiste.de

Individual evidence

1. ^ Frank Lobitz: Leopard 2 battle tank development and use in the Bundeswehr. Panzerschnellbrücke 2, Verlag Jochen Vollert-Tankograd Publishing, Erlangen 2009, ISBN 978-3-936519-08-2 , p. 140.