A Stridsvagn 103C during a demonstration at the Swedish Army's Revingehed training ground, April 2022
Type
Turretless main battle tank
Place of origin
Sweden
Service history
In service
1967–1997
Used by
Swedish Army
Production history
Designer
Sven Berge
Designed
1956; 68 years ago (1956)
Manufacturer
Bofors AB
Produced
1967–1971
No. built
290
Variants
A, B, C, D
Specifications (Strv 103C)
Mass
42.5 t (46.8 short tons; 41.8 long tons)
Length
9 m (29 ft 6 in) incl. gun
Width
3.80 m (12 ft 6 in)
Height
With topmounted MG: 2.43 m (8 ft 0 in) To cupola: 2.14 m (7 ft 0 in) To vehicle roof: 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) To barrel centre when horizontal: 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)
Crew
3 (Commander, gunner/driver, rear driver)[1]
Armor
LOS: ≈192–337 mm Actual: 40–70 mm
Main armament
Bofors L74 10.5 cm L/62 rifled gun with autoloader and 50 rounds
Secondary armament
Two fixed 7.62 mm KSP 58 machine guns one anti-aircraft 7.62 mm KSP 58 machine gun two 71 mm Lyran mortars
Engine
Detroit diesel 6V53T, 216 kW (290 hp) and Caterpillar 553 gas turbine, 365 kW (489 hp)
Power/weight
13.6 kW/t (18.3 hp/t)
Transmission
2 forward and 2 reverse speeds
Suspension
Gas-hydraulic hydropneumatic suspension
Operational range
390 km (240 mi)
Maximum speed
60 km/h (37 mph) maximum road speed forwards or reverse[2]
The Stridsvagn 103 (Strv 103), also known as the Alternative S and S-tank,[3] is a Swedish Cold War-era main battle tank, designed and manufactured in Sweden.[4] "Strv" is the Swedish military abbreviation of stridsvagn, Swedish for and tank (literally combat wagon, it also is the Swedish word for chariot), while the 103 comes from being the third tank in Swedish service to be equipped with a 10.5 cm gun.
Developed in the 1950s, it was the first main battle tank to use a gas turbine engine and the only mass-produced tank since World War II to not use a turret besides the German Kanonenjagdpanzer.[5] It has an unconventional design with a unique gun laying process:[6][7][8] it is turretless with a fixed gun traversed by engaging the tracks and elevated by adjusting the hull suspension.[5] The result was a very low-profile design with an emphasis on survivability and heightened crew protection level.
Strv 103s formed a major portion of the Swedish armoured forces from the 1960s to the 1990s, when, along with the Centurions, it was replaced by the Leopard 2 variants Stridsvagn 121 and Stridsvagn 122.[9]
While most turretless armoured fighting vehicles are classified as assault guns or tank destroyers, the Strv 103 is considered a tank since its designated combat role matched those of other tanks within contemporary Swedish doctrine.
^Bovington Tank Museum
^Berge, Sven (March–April 1973). "Engine Design and Placement". Armor. p. 17.
^Mizokami, Kyle (4 April 2016), Sweden's "S-Tank" Had a Super Strange—But Not Stupid—Design
^Chant, C. & Jones, R. (2004). Tanks: Over 250 of the World's Tanks and Armoured Fighting Vehicles. Summertime Publishing. p. 156. ISBN 0-7603-1871-9. Retrieved 9 February 2011.
^ abOgorkiewicz, Richard M (1991). Technology of tanks. ISBN 0710605951.
^"Stridsvagn 103 s tank clutch and break manoeuvre". Archived from the original on 21 December 2021 – via YouTube.
^"Tekniskt Magasin – Stridsvagn 103". Archived from the original on 21 December 2021 – via YouTube.
^"Trafikmagasinet provkör STRIDSVAGN S". Archived from the original on 21 December 2021 – via YouTube.
The Stridsvagn103 (Strv 103), also known as the Alternative S and S-tank, is a Swedish Cold War-era main battle tank, designed and manufactured in Sweden...
was introduced while retaining the manual control as a backup. The Stridsvagn103 is a Swedish post-World War II main battle tank. It is known for its...
Stridsvagn 122 (strv 122, IPA: [ˈstrɪ̂tːsvaŋn] ) is a Swedish main battle tank that, like the German Leopard 2A5, is based on the German Leopard 2 Improved...
Stridsvagn 74 (strv 74) was a Swedish light tank in use with the Swedish Army from 1958 to 1984. It was a modification of the older stridsvagn m/42 medium...
technology have come to fruition at various times in history. The Swedish Stridsvagn103 was designed with a low profile to decrease chances of being detected...
(FMV). 20 February 2019. p. 22(48). Retrieved 19 April 2024. "Stridsvagn 122 blir stridsvagn 123A". Försvarsmakten. Retrieved 11 October 2023. "Sale of surplus...
than engaging an enemy advance from prepared positions. The Swedish Stridsvagn103, while resembling a tank destroyer, was actually a main battle tank...
(Most tanks use reciprocating piston diesel engines.) The Swedish Stridsvagn103 was the first tank to utilize a gas turbine as a secondary, high-horsepower...
with the propulsion motors being located inside the pods. The Swedish Stridsvagn103 utilizes a diesel engine for slow cruising and aiming, and a gas turbine...
Recoilless Gun – tank destroyer armed with two 105 mm recoilless rifles Stridsvagn103 – turret-less main battle tank of the same era Wikimedia Commons has...
then. Thus, the vehicle was armed with the 75 mm m/41 gun L/34 of the Stridsvagn m/42 as a temporary measure. The Ikv 72 fires high explosive (HE) shells...
2 Independent Armoured Battalions, I 19/P 5 Number of tanks 264 MBT Stridsvagn103 (72 per brigade, plus two independent battalions with 24 each) 192 MBT...
placed on vehicles such as the M113 to defeat Vietcong RPGs. The Swedish Stridsvagn103 of the same era employed a much heavier front-mounted metal grid to...
often implemented in an attempt to reduce tank size and profile. The Stridsvagn103 and T-64 are examples of this, both being significantly lower in profile...
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