SWEDISH STRV 103C MBT

The Stridsvagn 103 or Strv-103 is a modern Swedish Main Battle Tank. The first prototypes of the vehicle were built in 1961, and serial production continued in the years 1966-1971, ending with the production of about 300 vehicles. The basic version of the vehicle was powered by a power unit consisting of a 240hp Rolls-Royce K60 diesel engine and a 740hp Boeing GT502 gas turbine. It was armed with a single 105mm Bofors L / 62 tank gun and three 7.62mm KSP 58 machine guns. In the 1950s, the Swedish army had only light tanks, which increasingly clearly did not meet the requirements of the battlefield. Striving to change this state of affairs, it was decided to completely design a new Main Battle Tank from scratch. The design turned out to be avant-garde and very well suited to Swedish topographic conditions. First of all, the new tank did not have a turret, and the gun was installed in the hull, which lowered the silhouette of the car and made it possible to shape the armor very well - especially at the front of the vehicle. Aiming from it consisted of raising or lowering the front of the car. The bottom of the hull was also very unusual, which was to make it difficult to destroy the tank as a result of hitting a mine. A loading automat was also used, allowing to achieve a very high rate of fire. An unusual drive consisting of a diesel engine and a gas turbine was also used. All these elements made the Strv-103 a very successful tank, easy to camouflage, very high mobility, good armor and such main armament. In 1969, a modernized version (Strv-103B) appeared, which had a better SKO (fire control system) equipped with a laser rangefinder. The drive unit has also changed. In the period 1986-1989, all Strv-103 were rebuilt to the Strv-103C standard, in which much more modern electronics and - again - a new power unit were installed. The D version was also created, but it did not enter mass production. The only user of the Strv-103 tanks was the Swedish army, which sent them to the reserve only in the 1990s.