Strv 103-0

This page is about the premium Swedish medium tank Strv 103-0. For other versions, see Strv 103 (Family).

Strv 103-0

Strv 103-0

Sweden

V Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
8.0	8.0	8.0

Class:

PREMIUM

Medium tank

Purchase:8 380

Description

The Strv 103 "zero series" was a preproduction order for the army after the successful display of the S1 and S2 prototypes. 10 units of these series were built, and they were used to test how the Strv 103 would perform in Swedish defense doctrine. The tanks were also tested in order to evaluate logistics, organization, their compatibility with other tank units, and crew training. These trials ended in 1966, following an order placed by the Swedish Army for 70 Strv 103As in 1964. The first batch of these new tanks was delivered in 1967, a year after the "zero series" trials ended.

It was introduced as a pack vehicle in Update 1.95 "Northern Wind". The Strv 103 is a heavily angled tank, with relatively thin armour but a 77-degree slope. This allows the tank bounce most conventional shells like APCBC and even APDS, however it is very vulnerable to HEAT and HEAT-FS projectiles, since those are able to penetrate the tank with ease, and even if the crew is not injured, disabling the engine or transmission immobilizes the tank, and gun, since this is fixed to the hull. So it's better used as a sniper, using its variable suspension to peek over hills and retain a low profile.

The Strv 103-0 was removed from the store after the May 2021 sale but was reintroduced in Update "Direct Hit" as a premium vehicle purchasable in-game for Golden Eagles.

General info

Survivability and armour

Armourfront / side / back

Hull40 / 30 / 30

Turret0 / 0 / 0

Crew3 people

Visibility73 %

With a superbly sloped front hull armour, incoming kinetic rounds are prone to harmlessly bounce off, though chemical rounds will typically do some damage. Side, rear and top armour of the vehicle are weak, most aircraft can penetrate the roof, especially if they have 20 mm rounds or larger. With a total of three crew members, survivability after taking hits tend to be slim. However, the Strv 103 series are the only tanks that can operate with only one crew member! A major drawback is without transmission/engine you can no longer manoeuvre the hull to aim left or right. Check out the Strv 103 Family here!

Armour	Front (Slope angle)	Sides	Rear	Roof
Hull	40 mm (77°) Upper Glacis 40 mm (74°) Lower Glacis	30 mm +10 mm Upper 30 mm Lower	30 mm	20 mm
Cupola	35 mm	35 mm	35 mm	20 mm

Notes:

• Suspension wheels are 15 mm thick while tracks are 20 mm thick.
• The crew compartment is lined with an internal 10 mm RHA plate.
• Storage boxes are 10 mm thick.

Mobility

 

Controlled suspension

It is possible to adjust the ground clearance or more complex suspension positions

Speedforward / back

AB56 / 49 km/h

RB and SB50 / 44 km/h

Number of gears7 forward

6 back

Weight35.0 t

Engine power

AB1 030 hp

RB and SB540 hp

Power-to-weight ratio

AB29.4 hp/t

RB and SB15.4 hp/t

Game Mode	Max Speed (km/h)		Weight (tons)	Engine power (horsepower)		Power-to-weight ratio (hp/ton)
	Forward	Reverse		Stock	Upgraded	Stock	Upgraded
Arcade	56	49	35	732	1,030	20.91	29.43
Realistic	50	44		478	540	13.66	15.43

Modifications and economy

Repair cost

AB2 897

RB3 301

SB4 496

Crew training10 000

Experts550 000

Aces1 300

Research Aces1 550 000

Reward for battleAB / RB / SB

2 × 140 / 200 / 240 %

2 × 202 / 202 / 202 %

Modifications

Mobility	Protection	Firepower
Tracks Suspension Brake System Filters Transmission Engine	Improved Parts Improved FPE Crew Replenishment	Adjustment of Fire 105mm_usa_HESH_ammo_pack 105mm_us_M416_Smoke_ammo_pack Laser rangefinder Artillery Support 105mm_sweden_APDS_ammo_pack

Armaments

Laser rangefinder

Reduces the error and increases the maximum measurable distance of the rangefinder

Main armament

105 mm L74 cannon

Autoloader

Automatically feeds projectiles into the breech. The speed does not depend on the skills of the loader

Ammunition50 rounds

Reload4.0 s

Vertical guidance-10° / 12°

105 mm L74					Turret rotation speed (°/s)					Reloading rate (seconds)
Mode	Capacity	Vertical	Horizontal	Stabilizer	Stock	Upgraded	Full	Expert	Aced	Autoloader
Arcade	50	-10°/+12°	N/A	N/A	33.6	33.6	40.8	45.1	48.0	4.00
Realistic					21.0	21.0	25.5	28.2	30.0

Ammunition

Penetration statistics
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Penetration @ 0° Angle of Attack (mm)
		10 m	100 m	500 m	1,000 m	1,500 m	2,000 m
slpprj m/61	APDS	358	355	341	324	308	293
slpprj m/66	APDS	272	269	258	246	233	222
slsgr m/61A	HE	23	23	23	23	23	23
slspgr m/61	HESH	127	127	127	127	127	127

Shell details
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Velocity (m/s)	Projectile mass (kg)	Fuse delay (m)	Fuse sensitivity (mm)	Explosive mass (TNT equivalent) (kg)	Ricochet
							0%	50%	100%
slpprj m/61	APDS	1,500	4	-	-	-	75°	78°	80°
slpprj m/66	APDS	1,450	4.53	-	-	-	75°	78°	80°
slsgr m/61A	HE	680	15.5	0	0.1	1.83	79°	80°	81°
slspgr m/61	HESH	760	11.4	0.1	4	3.15	73°	77°	80°

Smoke shell characteristics
Ammunition	Velocity (m/s)	Projectile mass (kg)	Screen radius (m)	Screen deploy time (s)	Screen hold time (s)	Explosive mass (TNT equivalent) (g)
rökgr m/61	330	18.7	20	5	25	50

Ammo racks

Ammo racks of the Strv 103-0

Full ammo	1st rack empty	2nd rack empty	3rd rack empty	4th rack empty	5th rack empty
50	46 (+4)	41 (+9)	36 (+14)	31 (+19)	26 (+24)
6th rack empty	7th rack empty	8th rack empty	9th rack empty	10th rack empty	Visual discrepancy
21 (+29)	16 (+34)	11 (+39)	6 (+44)	1 (+49)	No

Note:

• Shells are modeled individually and disappear after having been shot or loaded.

Machine guns

2 x 7.62 mm ksp 58 machine gun (coaxial)

Ammunition1 000 rounds

Belt capacity250 rounds

Reload8.0 s

Fire rate600 shots/min

7.62 mm ksp 58
Mount	Capacity (Belt)	Fire rate	Vertical	Horizontal
Coaxial	500 (250)	600	N/A	N/A
Coaxial	500 (250)	600	N/A	N/A

Usage in battles

The Strv 103-0 is a heavily angled tank offering 40 mm armour sloped at 77 degrees able to bounce almost any kinetic round in the game from the front. However a HEAT-FS round will penetrate right though the armour. It also lacks any ERA or composite protection, its rear armour is 30 mm thick, the flat sides have an additional 10 mm plate bringing their total thickness to 40 mm, and the roof is a measly 20 mm thick.

In order to stay alive, it is important to always have your front pointing towards the enemy. Its 105 mm L74 cannon is able to offer a maximum penetration of 303 mm. It may seem low compared to other tanks in-game, however with a skilled commander who utilise the map and who can stay stealthy is able to become the tanker version of the legendary Viking called Erik the Red.

One of the great advantages of this tank is its pure survivability, its crew is all located behind the engine and transmission. However one of the weaknesses is also this crew survivability, any shot that is able to penetrate from the side will knockout the engine and transmission, worse case causing fires or disabling the tank in combat allowing the enemy tanker to flank to the rear or sides and fire a single shot into the Strv 103-0 ammo racks or crew compartments.

The ideal playstyle is to play the tank as an ambusher, stay in the bushes then pop out and fire, reverse and then move to another location, with the idea being to press the attack from their rear and cause mayhem, however if you stay at range, it can function well as a sniper thanks to its good gun depression, rangefinder, small profile and good reverse speed.

Pros and cons

Pros:

• The gun has good penetration and damage
• Four second reload time makes it much easier to knock out enemy tanks
• The frontal armour is heavily sloped
• Has a tiny profile, making it much easier to hide in realistic and simulator battles
• Because the engine is located at the front most shots will not go through the whole tank if they penetrate and will simply be absorbed
• Has a 10 mm gun shield that will block most shrapnel.
• Ammo rarely explodes because it is located far in the back

Cons:

• The sloped frontal armour becomes pointless if angled incorrectly
• Very thin side and rear armour, any gun larger than a machine gun can go through
• The turret is fixed to the hull and cannot swivel
• APFSDS, HEAT, APDS and ATGM projectiles will go straight through the lower front plate, most of the time no matter the angle
• Very vulnerable front lower glacis plate
• HE can very quickly destroy the tank if they can penetrate the base thickness of the armour

History

Strv 103-0 is the prototype series before the head series with Strv 103A was delivered to the Swedish army. After the trial of the two trial vehicles S1 and S2 in 1961, Sweden ordered 10 pre-series Strv 103 which would become the 0-series. They were not finished until 1963, where they were put on trial to be combined with different vehicles to see how to efficiently utilize the tank system in squad and organization attempts. These attempts would have a great impact on how the Strv 103 would be shaped and molded and so the evaluation of the Strv 103 began that would last from 1963 till 1966. It only took half a year before it was decided that the Strv 103 "S" would become Sweden's new tank.

The trials with the 0-series worked well, the test results from the field testings, squad and organization attempts were favourable for the Strv 103-0 and it was not until 1964 that Sweden placed an order in a total value of around 500 million kr (SEK) which would total in 70 Strv 103 being produced to the first main series Strv 103 which would be designated Strv 103A. The main series tank order delivery started by 1967 giving the 0-series to be put to trials until the end of 1966.

Devblog

In the immediate postwar years, Sweden began looking for a replacement to the Centurion tanks, then in service with its army. The most straightforward solution was to once again look into the export market for potential candidates, although engineers were already working on a domestic design - the Kranvagn. While this process was ongoing, an engineer by the name of Sven Berge came up with a radical new tank design in 1956.

This new vehicle featured a turretless design with a cannon fixed to the hull, which would be trained onto its targets with the precise use of an adjustable suspension system. The design was based on results from a study on tank crew casualties during WWII and the Korean War, which showed a correlation between tank height and hit probability. As such, the 'S-Tank' was kept very small in dimensions and low in profile, while also utilizing some innovative new engineering solutions, such as a mixed power plant consisting of a diesel engine and a gas turbine.

In 1959, the Swedish government approved the construction and testing of two prototypes. In 1960, a pre-production batch of 10 vehicles of the '0-serie' was ordered for field trials, which went on into the mid '60s. Generating more than favorable test results, the vehicle was formally ordered into production and procured as the 'Stridsvagn 103'.

Despite its original purpose being to replace the Centurion tanks in the Swedish Army, the Strv 103 ended up serving alongside it for a number of decades, until it was ultimately decommissioned in the late 1990s. By that time, 290 Strv 103s were built, spanning over five variants.

Media

Skins

• Skins and camouflages for the Strv 103-0 from live.warthunder.com.

Images

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Videos

Premium Vehicles: Stridsvagn 103–0 - War Thunder Wiki

Should You Buy: Strv 103-0 - ConeOfArc

The Shooting Range #179 - Pages of History section at 05:25 discusses the Strv 103.

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

• [Devblog] Strv 103-0: Last Man Standing

AB Bofors
MBTs
Strv 103	Strv 103-0 · Strv 103A · Strv 103С
Tank Destroyers	SAV 20.12.48 · Bkan 1C
SPAA	Lvkv 42
Radar	VEAK 40
SAM	ASRAD-R*
See Also	BAE Systems AB
	*Saab Bofors Dynamics