Stridsvagn 103

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Stridsvagn 103
Stridsvagn 103 C

Stridsvagn 103 C
General properties
crew 3 men (commander / gunner, driver, radio operator / reverse driver)
length 8.99 m (including cannon and stern boxes)

7.04 m (tub only)

width 3.60 m
height 1.90 m
Dimensions 39 t
Unit price Strv 103: € 553,300

Strv 103C: € 805,710

Armor and armament
Armor 40 / 50mm front, 30mm side, 20mm rear
Main armament Bofors 105mm L / 62 cannon
Secondary armament 3 × 7.62mm machine guns
agility
drive Diesel engine + gas turbine
177 kW (240 PS) + 360 kW (490 PS)
suspension Hydropneumatic suspension (height adjustable)
Top speed 50 km / h (before)
Power / weight
Range 390 km

The Stridsvagn 103 (German: Kampfpanzer 103 ) or Strv 103 was a Swedish battle tank . In contrast to the normal main battle tank, the Stridsvagn 103 did not have a turret, but a cannon built into the hull, which makes the Stridsvagn 103 unusual even in comparison to other turretless tanks.

technology

The Stridsvagn 103 was the last casemate tank still in service . From 1966 to 1971 Bofors built 290 copies. It has since been replaced in the Swedish army by the Stridsvagn 122 , a variant of the Leopard 2 A5. Both the commander and the driver had the necessary instruments for steering and for aiming or firing the cannon. The third man took over, similar to the German Luchs , reversing and sparks, while the main armor and armament remained on the enemy side.

The solution, revolutionary and promising at first glance - good shape and low height of the vehicle, new combination drive and new type of suspension - did not meet expectations in any way. Due to the short chain support, the tank swayed strongly on uneven ground and the rather weak diesel engine was only sufficient for moderate road speed. The turbine had an extremely high fuel consumption, which resulted in a small driving range at top speed, and because of the very hot turbine exhaust gases , the MBT S could be located with thermal imaging devices at very large distances. The hydropneumatics were prone to wear and tear and expensive because of high maintenance and repair costs. The casemate construction did offer some tactical and technical advantages, but the disadvantage was the inability to aim and shoot the main weapon while driving.

construction

The Stridsvagn 103 consists of the armored hull with the engine and fighting compartment, the cannon and the drive. The crew consisted of three men: the commander, the rifleman / driver and the radio operator / reversing driver, whereby in an emergency one of them could use the cannon alone. When recognizing a target, the commander could override the driver and fight the target independently. He sat to the right of the cannon, the driver and radio operator to the left, back to back.

drive

StrV 103 without additional armor and side skirts

The Stridsvagn 103 was equipped with a combined drive system consisting of a Rolls-Royce diesel engine with 177 kW (240 hp) and a switchable Boeing gas turbine with 360 kW (490 hp).

The hybrid drive also avoided some development risks and disadvantages of a pure gas turbine drive that was still new at the time. A generator that could be retrofitted would have avoided the need to run the engine; the diesel engine in the 103-C model was replaced by a Detroit diesel with 290 hp.

The drive is a support roller drive with four rollers, two support rollers and one drive and one idler per side. The drive system and the gearbox are located at the front, as is the drive wheel. The suspension is hydropneumatic.

The casemate construction required an extreme solution for the drive - very short chain support for better side alignment and the resulting very wide chains in order to achieve an acceptable specific ground pressure .

Armor

The bow plate was extremely inclined, a grid spacing armor mounted on the bow was supposed to detonate shaped charge ammunition prematurely and also serve as camouflage. The sides were provided with aprons.

Armament

The 105 mm L / 62 cannon , manufactured under license by Bofors, was rigidly installed and fitted with an automatic loading device that could hold 50 cartridges. The breech of the cannon was located close to the rear, which means that the rather long weapon only protrudes slightly from the vehicle floor plan. Among other things, this also made it possible to automatically eject empty cartridges through a tailgate.

Due to the casemate construction, in which the weapon was firmly connected to the hull, the entire vehicle had to be used to align the cannon. For this, the landing gear had a hydropneumatic suspension, whereby the bow or stern could be raised in order to aim the main weapon up to 22 ° in height, while the lateral direction was done by swiveling the vehicle. As a result, the MBT S , like some tank destroyers and assault guns , was only ready to straighten sideways with the engine running. In addition to the disadvantage of the resulting higher fuel consumption, the effect of the Stridsvagn 103 increased insofar as the weapons of most casemate tanks allow at least a swivel range of a few degrees in all directions, while the Stridsvagn 103 itself allows the entire vehicle to swivel by one degree or less had to be rotated.

Additional equipment

The S-Tank / S-Panzer was buoyant with the erectable buoyancy aid (type DD-Tank ) carried; a solution that had been developed on the Allied side during World War II . A grave sign on each unit helped digging and looking for cover. A mine clearance device could be attached to the vehicle.

variants

The armored howitzer Bandkanon 1 of the Swedish Army was based on the modified chassis of the Stridsvagn 103 .

literature

Web links

Commons : Stridsvagn 103  - album with pictures, videos and audio files