"The Amazing Strv 103 " Topic

"The Strv 103, also called the S-Tank, is Sweden's trademark tank. A lack of turret, fixed gun with an autoloader, active suspension, three driver positions (one per crewman), these are only some of its unusual features. Swedish tank designers managed to surprise the world. However, the Strv 103 didn't come out of nothing, and a significant portion of the components that went into the tank came from experimental vehicles. How did Sweden assemble this industrial "Lego set"?

A Call for Centurions

Sweden suffered from "tank hunger" in the 1950s. Old designs were weak compared to tanks of potential enemies, but development of new designs wasn't working out. In an attempt to solve this problem or at least postpone it, the military was forced to consider buying foreign tanks. After several years of negotiations, they chose the Centurion Mk.3 British medium tank.

However, the Centurion was not a good match for the technical requirements formulated by the Royal Army Armament Department (KATF, Kungliga Arméförvaltningens Tygavdelning). The military wanted a 25-30 ton tank with a 75-105 mm gun and 20 hp/ton. The requirements also stated that the tank should be low…"
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Amicalement
Armand

Thanks. I have several of these in micro scale (I think 1:285, but they could be 1:300), but I don't think that I've ever painted them.

We do one in 1/100

Yeah, the "amazing" S-Tank…. So good that when tested post 'fall of the wall' against real Russian 125mm rounds (you know, the ones they would have used in wartime), the rounds went clear through, front to back, and embedded in the engine block.

It was made to fight against the T-55…I doubt many tanks designed during the same period would do well.

@Charlie 12: What do you expect from a tank designed in the late 1950s?

Of course 125mm shells are going to through-and-through, they do that to just about everything!

Strange that the 125mm round went "clean through, front to back," and then embedded in the engine block when the engine is in the front…

Like Minipatton states, it was designed to fight the T55.

Has a very low profile too, so no doubt difficult to spot, and hit, I suspect, especially when dug in with the integral dozer blade, which IIRC, they got later.

And gun mounted at the very top of the hull, so you hardly had to expose anything.

In any case, reading the actual article about the development process, and all of the problems and obstacles, would be more useful than mouthing off …