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Spj fm/43-44

2021-07-05T15:52:15Z

U84659725: /* Ammo racks */

{{About
| about = Swedish tank destroyer '''{{PAGENAME}}'''
| usage = other uses
| link = LT-38 (Family)
}}
{{Specs-Card
|code=sw_stormpjas_fm43_44
|images={{Specs-Card-Image|GarageImage_fm43-44.jpg}}
}}

== Description ==

The '''{{Specs|name}}''' is a rank {{Specs|rank}} Swedish tank destroyer {{Battle-rating}}. It was introduced in [[Update 1.97 "Viking Fury"]].

== General info ==
=== Survivability and armour ===
{{Specs-Tank-Armour}}

The fm/43-44 is a deceptively survivable vehicle from the front. Open-topped high-calibre tank destroyers and SPGs are seldom very well armoured, but this example is the exception, with 50 mm of armour covering the upper and and lower plate as well as the turret face, with the tapering sides being 30 mm. The only frontal weak point of this vehicle is the shield directly protecting the breech, which is only 15 mm.

It's also manned by 5 crew members, two in the hull and three in the back, which really helps its survivability. Most of the cannons you'll be encountering around this battle rating are quite low calibre, meaning it will take a fair few rounds penetrating this vehicle to knock out all the crew. Additionally, it's nearly impossible to one-shot this vehicle without detonating the ammo, as the crew in the front and back are completely separate from each other, so a shot entering one compartment won't cause any damage to the other, so after taking a shot you'll still either be able to fire the gun, or drive away, which is a huge advantage. A drawback of this vehicle though is in regards to its protection from the air, the crew operating the cannon have no armour protecting them from incoming air strafing, so even aircraft with weak machine guns can slowly chip away at this vehicle, additionally its also very vulnerable to artillery.

=== Mobility ===
{{Specs-Tank-Mobility}}


{{tankMobility|abMinHp=227|rbMinHp=142}}

The mobility of this vehicle as well is deceptively effective. It can reach a max speed off-road of 42 km/h in RB modes, and 46 km/h in AB modes. It won't outpace many light vehicles, but it certainly isn't slow, and can easily cruise faster than most contemporary tank destroyers and medium tanks. Once upgraded, its hull traverse as well is effective, it can turn from stationary to re-position the gun and change direction easily, which is important for a turretless vehicle like this one. Its reverse speed is about average at 5 km/h, which will be enough to back out of sight into cover, but it wont save you if you're out in the open, so the lack of a fast reverse gear should play into where you choose to position.

=== Modifications and economy ===
{{Specs-Economy}}

== Armaments ==
{{Specs-Tank-Armaments}}
=== Main armament ===
{{Specs-Tank-Weapon|1}}

{{main|fsthaub m/02 (150 mm)}}

This vehicle is equipped with a 150mm recoilless rifle with a small ammo pool of only 10 rounds. It's only equipped with a single ammo type, a standard HE round which sports huge damage potential if it connects with an enemy vehicle, in most engagements with conventional tanks you will only need to connect the round to the vehicle to knock them out in a single shot, which eliminates the tedium spent aiming for particular weak points, which isn't very easy for this vehicle as the muzzle velocity is quite slow at only 285 m/s, meaning that ranging in the gun can be quite tricky. Another slight drawback is the gun depression, at only -4°, this does somewhat limit the locations you can play effectively, as this vehicle can't use many hills or ridge lines to shoot over.

As well as this, the reload is fairly long at 19.5 seconds stock, so if you miss a shot this vehicle will be quite vulnerable, especially considering that the average reload of small calibre guns around this battle rating is around 4 seconds, so an enemy could potentially fire on you 5 times before you reload.

Because of this, its recommended that you use the rangefinder when engaging enemies that aren't aware of you, this way you can almost guarantee the round connects, although it's not wise to spend the time rangefinding if an enemy is aware of you, as in the time you spend sitting and waiting for the range to come in, your enemy will likely be firing at you and knocking out your crew. Ultimately this round wont have any trouble knocking out the vast majority of vehicles you can meet around the battle rating, the only challenging vehicle will be the French B1 Bis, if you engaging one of these tanks it's recommended to aim your shot for just beneath the turret, as this will cripple the tank, avoid hitting the front plate as this likely will result in no damage.

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="100%"
|-
! colspan="5" | [[fsthaub m/02 (150 mm)|150 mm fsthaub m/02]] || colspan="5" | Turret rotation speed (°/s) || colspan="4" | Reloading rate (seconds)
|-
! Mode !! Capacity !! Vertical !! Horizontal !! Stabilizer
! Stock !! Upgraded !! Full !! Expert !! Aced
! Stock !! Full !! Expert !! Aced
|-
! ''Arcade''
| rowspan="2" | 10 || rowspan="2" | -4°/+10° || rowspan="2" | ±12° || rowspan="2" | N/A || 7.0 || 9.8 || 11.8 || 13.1 || 13.9 || rowspan="2" | 19.50 || rowspan="2" | 17.25 || rowspan="2" | 15.90 || rowspan="2" | 15.00
|-
! ''Realistic''
| 4.8 || 5.6 || 6.8 || 7.5 || 8.0
|-
|}

==== Ammunition ====
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="100%"
! colspan="8" | Penetration statistics
|-
! rowspan="2" data-sort-type="text" | Ammunition
! rowspan="2" | Type of warhead
! colspan="6" | '''Penetration @ 0° Angle of Attack (mm)'''
|-
! 10 m !! 100 m !! 500 m !! 1,000 m !! 1,500 m !! 2,000 m
|-
| sgr m/38 || HE || 48 || 48 || 48 || 48 || 48 || 48
|-
|}
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="100%"
! colspan="10" | Shell details
|-
! rowspan="2" data-sort-type="text" | Ammunition
! rowspan="2" | Type of warhead
! rowspan="2" | Velocity (m/s)
! rowspan="2" | Projectile Mass (kg)
! rowspan="2" | Fuse delay (m)
! rowspan="2" | Fuse sensitivity (mm)
! rowspan="2" | Explosive Mass (TNT equivalent) (g)
! colspan="3" | Ricochet
|-
! 0% !! 50% !! 100%
|-
| sgr m/38 || HE || 285 || 37 || 0 || 0.1 || 5,800 || 79° || 80° || 81°
|-
|}

==== [[Ammo racks]] ====


{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! Full ammo
! 1st rack empty
! 2nd rack empty
! Visual discrepancy
|-
| '''10''' || 9 ''(+1)'' || 1 ''(+9)'' || No
|-
|}


=== Machine guns ===
{{Specs-Tank-Weapon|2}}

{{main|ksp m/36 (8 mm)}}

The fm/43-44 is also equipped with a hull mounted 8 mm ksp m/36 machine gun, it has no viability against armoured targets but can knock out exposed crew members of enemy vehicles. It's recommended to select it directly when using it however as aiming it accurately by eye isn't very easy.

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! colspan="5" | [[ksp m/36 (8 mm)|8 mm ksp m/36]]
|-
! Mount !! Capacity (Belt) !! Fire rate !! Vertical !! Horizontal
|-
| Hull || 2,000 (250) || 648 || ±10° || ±10°
|-
|}

== Usage in battles ==

[[File:Fm-43-44 1.jpg|thumb|689x689px|The fm/43-44 engaging an M13/40]]
The main trick to doing well in the fm/43-44 is to stay around cover, and to not advance too far into the map on your own. Due to the reload you can't afford to get caught out at close range as if you're unable to fire, an enemy can quite easily flank and disable you. To stay in the fight it's imperative you stay around some form of hard cover to retreat behind to reload, as this is the only time that you're really vulnerable.

Another choice to make is at what range you're going to engage at, and there are notable drawbacks and advantages for each distance. At close range the cannon is very very easy to aim which will land you a lot of easy kills, however it is much easy to get caught out here, if you miss a shot an enemy has plenty of time to rush and flank you, as well as this even if you do land a shot and knock an enemy out, enemy enemies that are aware of you in the surrounding area will know they safely have at least 15 seconds to rush you while you're on reload. At long range your armour will be very effective, the weak spots are very hard to hit here and some enemies might not even be able to get through the casemate itself, but as the muzzle velocity on the round is so low, hitting targets at this distance is very tricky, and considering as you only have 10 rounds, you can't really afford to miss very much, as each shot fired takes up 10% of your ammunition effectively.

At long range you're much more survivable but much less effective at taking out enemies, and at close range it's much the reverse, able to engage enemies easily at the detriment of being much more vulnerable. The Goldilocks principle in this situation is as the analogy goes- 'in the middle', where you have the best of both worlds, in essence all you really need to do is position yourself in a location around hard cover, and far enough away that an enemy can't rush you on your reload cycle, this is the ideal spot to be to maximise your survivability and combat effectiveness, if you are in this sort of position and watching a corner or sight-line, it's a good idea to rangefind that corner or sight-line as when an enemy appears you'll already have the perfect range, this really is the idea spot for consistency, there are a few smaller caveats to consider however. As this vehicle is so vulnerable from the air it's a good idea to position yourself around some form of lateral cover, some buildings, a hill, some trees etc- just to give you a slight advantage when hiding from enemies. Another spot in the map to position yourself around would be a friendly cap point, if you're running out of ammunition you can simply drive onto one to replenish your stores, which wont always be necessary but if you start to notice you only have a few rounds left it'd be a good idea to make your way towards one.

If you're confident with your map knowledge or playing with some friends you can use this vehicle to be a bit more aggressive, as the armour is still very effective and if you have support from friends watching your flanks you can really be a battering ram for the team as no enemy vehicle is safe from your cannon, if this way of playing does sound appealing in any case try to stick around some friendly tanks, as they will be able to help you if you get caught out.

=== Pros and cons ===


'''Pros:'''

* Incredibly high damage output from the main gun
* Effective when up-tiered
* Decent mobility
* Effective armour against low tier vehicles
* High survivability with five crew members

'''Cons:'''

* Vulnerable to aircraft and artillery
* Long reload time
* Low ammo count (10 rounds)
* Poor gun Depression at only -4°
* Slow muzzle velocity
* Open top means no protection against aircraft

== History ==

After the experimental Stormartilleripjäs fm/43 project, the Swedish army procurement division, known as the KAFT, asked Scania-Vabis on 11 November 1943, to design and build a prototype for a self-propelled gun with a rear-mounted superstructure. It was to be based off of the Spj fm/43 but with the engine moved forward and the fighting compartment moved to the rear; it retained the open-topped superstructure from earlier designs. The Stormartilleripjäs fm/43-44 (shortened to Spj fm/43-44) gained the nickname 'Trätoffelvagnen', meaning 'clog wagen' in English.

The Spj fm/43-44 was armed with a 150 mm recoilless rifle called the fsthaub m/02, a longer version of the gun mounted on the Spj fm/43. It weighed 10 tons and had a crew of five men: two loaders, a gunner/commander, a driver, and a machine gunner. The driver and machine gunner were located in front of the engine in the hull, while the rest of the crew was situated in the open superstructure at the rear of the vehicle.

The prototype was completed in August 1944, and it test fired seventeen rounds on 18 August, achieving a fire rate of four rounds per minute (15 seconds of reload). The vehicle later went on to mount different guns before the project ended in 1945, resulting in its use as a training vehicle.

== Media ==

<gallery mode="nolines" widths="240" heights="240">
File:Fm-43-44 2.jpg|the fm/43-44 using its machine gun to knock out a GAZ truck
File:Fm-43-44 3.jpg|The fm/43-44 in Winter livery
File:Fm-43-44 4.jpg|The fm/43-44 in standard livery
File:Fm-43-44 5.jpg|The fm/43-44 engaging a BT-5
</gallery>

== See also ==


* [[Ho-Ro]]
* [[15cm sIG 33 B Sfl]]

== External links ==
''Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:''

* ''topic on the official game forum;''
* ''encyclopedia page on the tank;''
* ''other literature.''

{{Sweden tank destroyers}}

Strv m/31

2021-07-05T15:45:28Z

U84659725: Ammo rack count

{{Specs-Card
|code=sw_strv_m31
|images={{Specs-Card-Image|GarageImage_Strv_m31.jpg}}
}}

== Description ==

The '''{{Specs|name}}''' is a rank {{Specs|rank}} Swedish light tank {{Battle-rating}}. It was introduced in [[Update 1.97 "Viking Fury"]].

== General info ==
=== Survivability and armour ===
{{Specs-Tank-Armour}}


The armour of the Strv m/31 is thin and should not be relied on. The frontal hull armour tops at 24 mm and is poorly angled, meaning that almost any tank can penetrate it (eg. [[BT-5]], [[M2]], [[Pz.II (Disambiguation)|Pz.II]]), even the .50 cal! The hull side is 24mm thick which can also be penetrated with ease, but sometimes if the enemy messes up their aim, an angled 24mm side may bounce one or two shots.

The turret front is weak against high-penetrating tanks like [[M3 GMC]] and [[Panzerjager I]], as it is still 24mm thick and not angled. But against weaker small-caliber rounds it may be effective to some extent. The gun mantlet is full of 'obstacles' like the armoured housings for the coaxial MG, the cannon barrels and its hydraulic recoil cylinders which, with the implementation of volumetric shells, became fairly good at catching shells and making them lose penetration. Thus the parts where shells can actually go through without being interferred are very small and hard to target. Other than the gun mantlet, the rest of the turret when viewed from the front are of extreme angles which will certainly ricochet any shells. However when shot from other directions the turret is still poorly armoured and is very unlikely to stop any shell.

The post-penetration survivability is very low since the 3 crew are seated closely to each other. An explosive-packed shot would usually knock all of them out. Even a solid shot/autocannon shells might easily knock out 2 crew, destroying the tank.

The only positive side is perhaps that the transmission is not located near the front so the Strv m/31 will not be immobolised if it gets frontally penetrated.

{| class="wikitable"
!Armour
!Front (Slope angle)
!Sides
!Rear
!Roof
|-
|Hull
|14 mm (59'''°''') ''Upper Glacis''
24 mm (31'''°''') ''Lower Glacis''

24 mm (1'''°''') ''Machine Gun Port and Upper Hull Front''

14 mm (35'''°'''-46'''°''') ''Driver's Hatch''

14 mm (39'''°''') ''Machine Gunner's Hatch''
|24 mm
|8 mm ''Upper''
20 mm ''Lower''
|8 mm ''Front and Rear''
5 mm ''Middle''
|-
|Turret
|24 mm (14'''°'''-15°) ''Turret front''
24 mm (1'''°''') ''Gun mantlet''
|24 mm
|24 mm
|8 mm
|}

=== Mobility ===
{{Specs-Tank-Mobility}}


{{tankMobility|abMinHp= 310|rbMinHp= 177}}The mobility of the Strv m/31 is in the top range. Though not as fast as tanks like BT-5, this tank is still able to lead the charge with its great speed (both on and off road). On average the Strv m/31 can cruise at around 42 km/h, allowing it to get to any location on time. The reverse speed is also great, topping at 19 km/h meaning the player can usually retreat from danger without turning around, increasing survivability. This also gives it more agility to conduct short range tactical maneuvers. The hull traverse is slightly worse, often needing a forward/backward acceleration before turning. Overall, the Strv m/31 is fast and agile.

=== Modifications and economy ===
{{Specs-Economy}}

== Armaments ==
{{Specs-Tank-Armaments}}
=== Main armament ===
{{Specs-Tank-Weapon|1}}
{{main|kan m/38 (37 mm)}}


The Strv m/31 is equipped with a 37mm kan m/38 cannon, a good gun for a tank its rank. The cannon has adequate accuracy which allows engagement of distant targets to some extent; a rather fast reload time of ~3.5 seconds ensuring quick follow-up shots if failed to one-shot; and an impressive -10° gun depression meaning the tank can comfortably fight among hills.

The default slpprj m/38 round is very average, with around 50mm of penetration which is usually enough to penetrate most tanks, such as [[T-26 (Family)|T-26]], [[M3A1 Stuart|M3A1]], [[Chi-Ha (Family)|Chi-Ha]], etc. The post penetration effect is quite poor, but this is to be expected for a solid APBC shell. Good news is, the fast reload allows you to quickly pinpoint crews untouched by eariler shots.

The unlockable slpgr m/39 shell comes with a 15g explosive filler which can be very helpful given that most early-war tanks are cramped with small number of crew. This will result in the Strv m/31 easily one-shotting cramped tanks like [[BT-5]]/[[BT-7 (Family)|7]], [[Pz.II (Disambiguation)|Pz.II]], [[Ke-Ni]], etc. However this shell does have a slightly worse penetration than the default APBC, so it will struggle more against better armoured tanks such as an angling [[M13/40 (Family)|M13/40]].

The slpprj m/49 APDS will be a nasty surprise should the m/31 fights in an uptier. This shell has a formidable penetration of 105mm max, allowing the m/31 to penetrate tough tanks such as [[B1 bis]]/[[B1 ter|ter]], [[Matilda (Family)|Matilda]], or [[Valentine I|Valentine]]. Its velocity of more than 1000m/s is very fast, meaning sniping moving targets is easier. Such velocity leads to a noticeably flattened trajectory, further easing the task of sniping. However, just like the default APBC, this shell has poor post-penetration damage, so be sure to aim for critical spots and use your fast reload well.
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="100%"
|-
! colspan="5" | [[kan m/38 (37 mm)|37 mm kan m/38]] || colspan="5" | Turret rotation speed (°/s) || colspan="4" | Reloading rate (seconds)
|-
! Mode !! Capacity !! Vertical !! Horizontal !! Stabilizer
! Stock !! Upgraded !! Full !! Expert !! Aced
! Stock !! Full !! Expert !! Aced
|-
! ''Arcade''
| rowspan="2" | 127 || rowspan="2" | -10°/+20° || rowspan="2" | ±180° || rowspan="2" | N/A || 15.20 ||21.08||25.60||28.31||30.12|| rowspan="2" | 4.06 || rowspan="2" |3.57|| rowspan="2" |3.29|| rowspan="2" |3.10
|-
! ''Realistic''
| 9.50 || 11.20 ||13.60||15.04||16.00
|-
|}

==== Ammunition ====
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center" width="100%"
! colspan="8" | Penetration statistics
|-
! rowspan="2" data-sort-type="text" | Ammunition
! rowspan="2" | Type of warhead
! colspan="6" | '''Penetration @ 0° Angle of Attack (mm)'''
|-
! 10 m !! 100 m !! 500 m !! 1,000 m !! 1,500 m !! 2,000 m
|-
| 3,7 cm slpprj m/49 || APDS || 105 || 103 || 97 || 89 || 82 || 75
|-
| slpgr m/39 || APBC || 55 || 51 || 37 || 26 || 17 || 12
|-
| slpprj m/38 || APBC || 59 || 55 || 41 || 28 || 19 || 13
|-
|}
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center" width="100%"
! colspan="10" | Shell details
|-
! rowspan="2" data-sort-type="text" | Ammunition
! rowspan="2" | Type of warhead
! rowspan="2" | Velocity (m/s)
! rowspan="2" | Projectile Mass (kg)
! rowspan="2" | Fuse delay (m)
! rowspan="2" | Fuse sensitivity (mm)
! rowspan="2" | Explosive Mass (TNT equivalent) (g)
! colspan="3" | Ricochet
|-
! 0% !! 50% !! 100%
|-
| 3,7 cm slpprj m/49 || APDS || 1,150 || 0.71 || N/A || N/A || N/A || 75° || 78° || 80°
|-
| slpgr m/39 || APBC || 800 || 0.74 || 1.2 || 9.0 || 15 || 47° || 60° || 65°
|-
| slpprj m/38 || APBC || 785 || 0.74 || N/A || N/A || N/A || 47° || 60° || 65°
|-
|}

==== [[Ammo racks]] ====

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! Full ammo
! 1st rack empty
! 2nd rack empty
! 3rd rack empty
! 4th rack empty
! 5th rack empty
! Visual discrepancy
|-
| '''127''' || 111 ''(+16)'' || 67 ''(+60)'' || 45 ''(+82)'' || 1 ''(+126)'' || 1 ''(+126)'' || Yes
|-
|}

*

=== Machine guns ===
{{Specs-Tank-Weapon|2}}

{{main|ksp m/14-29 (6.5 mm)}}

The Strv m/31 is equipped with a 6.5 mm machine gun, nothing out of the ordinary. It is useful for attacking AA vehicles or more lightly armoured foes.

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! colspan="5" | [[ksp m/14-29 (6.5 mm)|6.5 mm ksp m/14-29]]
|-
! Mount
! Capacity (Belt capacity)
! Rate of fire (shots/minute)
! Vertical guidance
! Horizontal guidance
|-
| Coaxial || 4,000 (250) || 498 || N/A || N/A
|-
|}

== Usage in battles ==

The Strv m/31 is a light tank with poor armour. It shouldn't be used to rush into the heat of the battle or you will get knocked out very quickly. Its armour is inadequate, it can't even stop 12.7 mm HMG fire. Instead, it should be used to flank other enemy tanks, using your excellent speed to your advantage. The Strv m/31 has an unconventional armour layout. Its frontal area (eg.upper hull, glacis area) armour is very weak while the rear is really strong. This tank also has pretty good speed in reverse, so you can drive into battle facing backwards using your rear armour and engine to soak up damage.

=== Pros and cons ===


'''Pros:'''

* Access to APDS ammunition that can penetrate up to 105 mm
* APDS has high velocity, making it easy to aim at longer distances
* Very good reverse speed, it will save you in many situations
* Can bounce shots if angled properly

'''Cons:'''

* APDS has no explosive filler, multiple shots will be needed to finish off a tank
* Very weak stock shell (low penetration and post-pen damage)
* Armor is poor, even for a rank one reserve vehicle
* Acceleration and top speed is quite poor, will find itself getting outrun by most vehicles.

== History ==

The Strv m/31 was designed during the 1930s as a continuation development of tanks German designer Joseph Vollmer had designed. When the Germans took over AB Landsverk in 1920 they had the idea of a tracked and wheeled armoured vehicle, which during that time was not allowed to be developed under the Treaty of Versailles. From the design and idea Joseph Vollmer had in Berlin, this idea would continue to be developed in Sweden using AB Landsverk. The tank would be designated L-30 by Landsverk and, along with the development of the L-30 which had both wheels and tracks, there was a purely tracked model of the tank which would be designated L-10.

AB Landsverk got an order from KAF in Autumn 1931 to build one L-30 and three L-10 for trials after an in-depth analysis of the vehicles where the L-30 and L-10 would get extensive trials. L-10 would be designated Strv m/31 while L-30, which shared the same construction, would be designated Strv fm/31. After many delays, the L-30 was finally ready from the AB Landsverk, but was deemed to be too outdated and all the advanced technology that had been put into it would make it too vulnerable, as in the meantime tracks had become stronger and suspension systems a lot more comfortable in tanks, favouring the L-10 instead.

When the L-10 was delivered from the factory, it could showcase the construction with new modern ideas being presented. Instead of the usually riveted armour, the tanks were welded, which improved the survivability since riveted tanks could eject rivets from enemy shell hits and become projectiles in the crew compartment. Along with the new armour, it also used a prism periscope in glass which would improve the view for the driver and not use the slits tanks used which, though they could be closed to protect from enemy fire, in doing so would turn the driver blind which would be inefficient to have.

L-10, designated Strv m/31 by the army, had adequate armour for the time with a total of 24 mm at the front. Also like the other tanks during this period, they were equipped with a 37 mm Bofors gun and two machine guns, one in the turret and one in the hull. They were also equipped with radio equipment and a strong 150 hp Maybach engine. However, Strv m/31 would come with a lot of problems, it was considered a good vehicle on terrain but the tracks would break a lot and would have a lot of problems with the transmission.

Strv m/31 saw very little use in service and was proposed to be dug down on Gotland as a static defence. They were also proposed as command tanks. The tank will always be an important part of tank history, leading the way for how the tanks would be constructed being the most advanced tank of the time during its early days.

=== [[wt:en/news/6589-development-stridsvagn-m-31-en|Devblog]] ===
Swedish tanks aren't very well known even by many enthusiastic historians or fans of military vehicles. However, many of the design and technological solutions conceived by Swedish tank designers were unique and rather practical. Sweden's armoured vehicles are truly fascinating, and the Swedish ground vehicle line in War Thunder will present to you some highly original tanks with one-of-a-kind features and gameplay finer points. We'll start our overview of the Swedish tech tree by looking at the first tank starting the progress of all the Swedish ground vehicles. Meet the reserve Strv m/31 (from "Stridsvagn", Swedish for "tank"), a 1935 light tank. According to some experts, this little tank came close to being the most high-tech tank of its time!

In 1930, the Swedish firm Landsverk developed two tank designs – one fully tracked and the other with a wheel/track arrangement – differing in their chassis construction and armour. In the autumn of 1931, the Swedish government ordered four experimental prototypes – one wheel-and-track and the other three fully tracked. The versatile tank could switch from tracks to wheels in an incredible 30 seconds flat and reach speeds of up to 80 km/h in such a configuration! However, the wheels were unable to bear the weight of substantial armour, so it was limited to 14 mm for this modification. The fully tracked version could cope with armour up to 24mm thick, which is pretty respectable for a pre-war vehicle. Moreover, the designers took a risk by choosing welded armour plating over the more common riveted design, this also had its advantages. Even more interesting is that they set the angle of the frontal armour plate in order to increase the chance of enemy shells ricocheting. Put into service under the designation Strv m/31, the new tank was given the Maybach petrol engine, which was able to provide a power-to-weight ratio of approximately 17-18 horsepower per ton. The tank's armament comprised a 37mm cannon with 122 rounds. All of the prototypes were put into service, though they required certain improvements. The vehicles' weak point was their unreliable and difficult-to-maintain suspension, as well as the tanks' overreliance on foreign-made components. The tanks were used as training vehicles.

== Media ==
<gallery mode="packed" heights="150">
File:Strv m 31 WTWallpaper 01.jpg|
File:Strv m 31 WTWallpaper 02.jpg|
File:Strv m 31 WTWallpaper 03.jpg|
File:Strv m 31 WTWallpaper 04.jpg|
File:Strv m 31 WTWallpaper 05.jpg|
File:Strv m 31 WTWallpaper 06.jpg|
</gallery>

{{Youtube-gallery|CDl68kOR9ig|'''The Shooting Range #191''' - ''Metal Beasts'' section at 00:50 discusses the Strv m/31.}}

== See also ==
''Links to the articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example:''

* ''reference to the series of the vehicles;''
* ''links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.''

== External links ==


* [[wt:en/news/6589-development-swedish-ground-forces-stridsvagn-m-31-en|[Devblog] Stridsvagn m/31]]

{{Sweden light tanks}}

Strv m/41 S-II

2021-07-05T15:31:16Z

U84659725: Ammo rack counts

{{About
| about = Swedish light tank '''{{PAGENAME}}'''
| usage = other uses
| link = LT-38 (Family)
}}
{{Specs-Card
|code=sw_strv_m41_s2
|images={{Specs-Card-Image|GarageImage_Strv_m41_S-II.jpg}}
}}

== Description ==

The '''{{Specs|name}}''' is a rank {{Specs|rank}} Swedish light tank {{Battle-rating}}. It was introduced in [[Update 1.97 "Viking Fury"]]. It is a Swedish license-built version of the Czechoslovak TNHP light tank, and is thus quite similar to the German [[Pz.38(t) F|PzKpfw 38(t)]].

== General info ==
=== Survivability and armour ===
{{Specs-Tank-Armour}}

The armour on the Strv m/41 S-II is almost identical to that on the PzKpfw 38(t) Ausf. F. The 50 mm frontal armour is fairly decent, though the rest of the tank is quite lightly armoured. It should be noted that the engine deck is only 10 mm thick, and is vulnerable to strafing aircraft with cannons or heavy machine guns.

{| class="wikitable"
!Armour
!Front (Slope angle)
!Sides
!Rear
!Roof
|-
|Hull
|50 mm (18'''°'''-20'''°''') ''Upper Glacis''
50 mm (19'''°''') ''Lower Glacis - Upper''

15 mm (60'''°''') ''Lower Glacis - Lower''

15 mm (73'''°'''-74'''°''') ''Center Plate - Between Upper and Lower Glacis''
|20 mm ''Front''
15 mm ''Rear''
|15 mm
|8 mm
|-
|Turret
|50 mm (9'''°''') ''Turret Front'' ''- Sides''
15 mm (7'''°'''-9'''°''') ''Turret'' ''Front'' ''- Lower''

35 mm (Various Angles) ''Center (Around the Mantlet)''
15 mm (Various Angles) ''Gun Mantlet''
|20 mm
|35 mm
|8 mm
|-
|Cupola
|15 mm
|15 mm
|15 mm
|15 mm ''Front''
8 mm ''Rear''
|}
'''Note:''' The commander's cupola has an all-round thickness of 15 mm, but there are four armored boxes for the optics (one on each side) that have a thickness of 21 mm.

=== Mobility ===
{{Specs-Tank-Mobility}}


{{tankMobility|abMinHp= 256|rbMinHp= 146}}

The mobility of the Strv m/41 S-II is also almost identical to that on the PzKpfw 38(t) Ausf. F. It is more sluggish than the other Swedish tanks such as the [[Strv m/40L]], with a lower top speed and a rather slow reverse gear.

=== Modifications and economy ===
{{Specs-Economy}}

== Armaments ==
{{Specs-Tank-Armaments}}
=== Main armament ===
{{Specs-Tank-Weapon|1}}

{{main|Kan m/38 (37 mm)}}

The part that truly differentiates the Strv m/41 from its German cousin is the gun. The Strv m/41 uses a Swedish-made '''3,7 cm kan m/38''' instead of the original Czechoslovak Skoda 37 mm cannon. Its performance with the '''slpprj m/38''' and '''slpgr m/39''' APBC rounds is similar to that of the Czechoslovak gun, but the Swedish gun also has access to the outstanding '''slpprj m/49''' APDS round. This round will easily penetrate anything the Strv m/41 can normally face, though it lacks the lethality of the German APCBC with explosive filler.

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="100%"
|-
! colspan="5" | [[Kan m/38 (37 mm)|37 mm Kan m/38]] || colspan="5" | Turret rotation speed (°/s) || colspan="4" | Reloading rate (seconds)
|-
! Mode !! Capacity !! Vertical !! Horizontal !! Stabilizer
! Stock !! Upgraded !! Full !! Expert !! Aced
! Stock !! Full !! Expert !! Aced
|-
! ''Arcade''
| rowspan="2" | 100 || rowspan="2" | -14°/+20° || rowspan="2" | ±180° || rowspan="2" | N/A || 13.30 ||18.45||22.40||24.77||26.35|| rowspan="2" | 4.06 || rowspan="2" |3.57|| rowspan="2" |3.29|| rowspan="2" |3.10
|-
! ''Realistic''
| 8.30 ||9.80||11.90||13.16||14.00
|-
|}

==== Ammunition ====
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center" width="100%"
! colspan="8" | Penetration statistics
|-
! rowspan="2" data-sort-type="text" | Ammunition
! rowspan="2" | Type of warhead
! colspan="6" | '''Penetration @ 0° Angle of Attack (mm)'''
|-
! 10 m !! 100 m !! 500 m !! 1,000 m !! 1,500 m !! 2,000 m
|-
| 3,7 cm slpprj m/49 || APDS || 105 || 103 || 97 || 89 || 82 || 75
|-
| slpgr m/39 || APBC || 55 || 51 || 37 || 26 || 17 || 12
|-
| slpprj m/38 || APBC || 59 || 55 || 41 || 28 || 19 || 13
|-
|}
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center" width="100%"
! colspan="10" | Shell details
|-
! rowspan="2" data-sort-type="text" | Ammunition
! rowspan="2" | Type of warhead
! rowspan="2" | Velocity (m/s)
! rowspan="2" | Projectile Mass (kg)
! rowspan="2" | Fuse delay (m)
! rowspan="2" | Fuse sensitivity (mm)
! rowspan="2" | Explosive Mass (TNT equivalent) (g)
! colspan="3" | Ricochet
|-
! 0% !! 50% !! 100%
|-
| 3,7 cm slpprj m/49 || APDS || 1,150 || 0.71 || N/A || N/A || N/A || 75° || 78° || 80°
|-
| slpgr m/39 || APBC || 800 || 0.74 || 1.2 || 9.0 || 15 || 47° || 60° || 65°
|-
| slpprj m/38 || APBC || 785 || 0.74 || N/A || N/A || N/A || 47° || 60° || 65°
|-
|}

==== [[Ammo racks]] ====

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! Full ammo
! 1st rack empty
! 2nd rack empty
! 3rd rack empty
! 4th rack empty
! 5th rack empty
! Visual discrepancy
|-
| '''100''' || 51 ''(+49)'' || 36 ''(+64)'' || 26 ''(+74)'' || 11 ''(+89)'' || 1 ''(+99)'' || No
|-
|}

=== Machine guns ===
{{Specs-Tank-Weapon|2}}

{{main|Ksp m/36 (8 mm)}}

The Strv m/41 S-II is also armed with a coaxial '''8 mm ksp m/36''' light machine gun. There is a second, non-functional 8 mm machine gun in the hull front.

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! colspan="5" | [[Ksp m/36 (8 mm)|8 mm Ksp m/36]]
|-
! Mount
! Capacity (Belt capacity)
! Rate of fire (shots/minute)
! Vertical guidance
! Horizontal guidance
|-
| Coaxial || 4,000 (250) || 648 || -14°/+20° || N/A
|-
|}

== Usage in battles ==

The Strv m/41 S-II relies on sniping and penetrating tanks at medium to long ranges with its powerful APDS round. However, APDS lacks the lethality of explosive filler AP rounds, so the Strv m/41 must rely on sniping and disabling crew or hitting ammunition racks to destroy enemy tanks, especially larger ones like the [[T-28]]. It also has a decent amount of armour for a light tank and great gun depression for playing hull down, though it is by no means invulnerable from the front.

=== Pros and cons ===


'''Pros:'''

* Access to high-penetration APDS
* Fast rate-of-fire
* Decent amount of armour for a light tank
* Excellent gun depression

'''Cons:'''

* Low post-penetration damage with APDS.
* A bit sluggish with a low top speed for a light tank
* Poor reverse speed
* Chassis rocks violently when stopping making it hard to stop and shoot quickly

== History ==


In March of 1940, Sweden ordered about 90 TNH tanks (known as the Panzer 38(t) in German service) from ČDK, but Germany, which had occupied Poland in 1938, confiscated the tanks for its own use as the Panzer 38(t) Ausf. S. Sweden still needed the light tanks, and after negotiations the Swedish manufacturer Scania-Vabis was allowed to produce them under license, and compensation for the lost tanks. Sweden ordered 116 Strv M/41 SI in June, 1941. The Stridsvagn M/41 was armed with a 37 mm Bofors m/38 gun, was powered by a Scania-Vabis Type 1664 engine, and the design utilized riveted construction. In June of 1942, Sweden ordered 122 Strv M/41 SII. The SII featured a number of improvements over the SI. The armor was increased from 25 mm to 50 mm thick. Because of the added weight of the armor, a more powerful engine was added, the Type L 603 engine. This necessitated an elongation of the hull by 65 mm. The fuel tanks were increased from 190 liters to 230 liters. 104 of the SII model were built, with the last 18 being built as the Sav M/43, a casemate assault gun using a 75 mm gun, and later a 105 mm gun. Another 18 Sav M/43 were purpose-built afterwards. The Strv M/41 served until the late 1950's, when all Strv M/41 were converted to the Pansarbandvagn (Pbv) 301, an armored personnel carrier. The turrets were used in static fortifications.

== Media ==


;Skins

* [https://live.warthunder.com/feed/camouflages/?vehicleCountry=sweden&vehicleType=tank&vehicleClass=light_tank&vehicle=sw_strv_m41_s2 Skins and camouflages for the {{PAGENAME}} from live.warthunder.com.]

;Videos
{{Youtube-gallery|4_cJ1CpEatw|'''Best gun depression''' discusses the {{PAGENAME}} at 0:51 - ''War Thunder Official Channel''}}

== See also ==


* [[Pz.38(t) F]]- Axis counterpart of the Strv M/41 SII

== External links ==


* [[wikipedia:Stridsvagn_m/41|[Wikipedia] Stridsvagn m/41]]

=== Bibliography ===

* David B. (2014, December 1). Stridsvagn m/41. Tank Encyclopedia. https://tanks-encyclopedia.com/ww2/sweden/Stridsvagn_M41.php
* Stridsvagn m/41. (2020, April 4). In ''Wikipedia''. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Stridsvagn_m/41&oldid=948984593

{{Sweden light tanks}}