Pvkv III

This page is about the Swedish tank destroyer Pvkv III. For other versions, see Pvkv II and Pvkv IV.

Pvkv III

Pvkv III

Description

The Pansarvärnskanonvagn III is a Swedish tank destroyer prototype designed in the early 50s along with the Pvkv II in an attempt to reuse the old Strv m/41 hulls. Even though the 57 mm gun showed great potential, the project got cancelled after the Swedish armed forces bought their Centurion tanks.

The Pvkv III was introduced in Update "Danger Zone". It is a well-rounded Swedish tank destroyer with an excellent fire rate for an otherwise competent 57 mm gun which can prove to be a more dangerous opponent than it seems.

General info

Survivability and armour

Like the Pvkv II, the Pvkv III shares its hull with the Strv m/41, and as such has acceptable hull armour for its BR. However, due to the incredibly thin turret armour which is unlikely to resist the .50 cals found on many vehicles it will face, it is not recommended to fight head-on.

The floor armour in the turret combined with the gun placement makes anything but the largest HE, APHE, and HEAT unlikely to incapacitate the turret and hull crew in one shot, allowing the machine gunner and driver to retreat and repair. Due to this, a hull-down position is recommended.

Armour type:

• Rolled homogeneous armour
• Cast homogeneous armour (gun mantlet)

Armour	Front (Slope angles)	Sides	Rear	Roof
Hull	50 mm (20°) Upper plate 15 mm (74°) Upper glacis 50 mm (18°) Lower plate 15 mm (59°) Lower glacis	15-20 mm Front 15 mm Rear	15 mm (15°)	8 mm
Turret	15 mm (0-39°) Turret front	10 mm (6-28°)	10 mm	6 mm

Notes:

• Tracks are 15 mm thick, while suspension wheels and torsion bars are 10 mm thick.
• Belly armour is 8 mm thick.

Mobility

The Pvkv III is very fast for a tank destroyer with a top speed at 43 km/h. With the same engine as on the Strv m/41 S-II, it can climb the steepest of hills and works great on soft terrain. It shines on maps with hills, forests or snow where this tank destroyer maintains its mobility.

Game Mode	Max Speed (km/h)		Weight (tons)	Engine power (horsepower)		Power-to-weight ratio (hp/ton)
	Forward	Reverse		Stock	Upgraded	Stock	Upgraded
Arcade				234			__.__
Realistic				146			__.__

Armaments

Main armament

The Pvkv III is a tank destroyer with a fully rotatable turret and great gun depression, an unusual sight at its BR. It is only matched by the Cromwell V and Sherman II.

57 mm Pvkan m/43					Turret rotation speed (°/s)					Reloading rate (seconds)
Mode	Capacity	Vertical	Horizontal	Stabilizer	Stock	Upgraded	Full	Expert	Aced	Stock	Full	Expert	Aced
Arcade	32	-12°/+15°	±180°	N/A	10.6	14.6	17.7	19.6	20.9	5.20	4.60	4.24	4.00
Realistic					7.1	8.4	10.2	11.3	12.0

Ammunition

With the 57 mm Pvkan m/43, the Pvkv III is a high threat to the enemy with the following shells.

• The slpgr m/43 (APHEBC) shell can penetrate up to 88 mm of armour at 10 m. It is effective at dealing with sloped armour with enough explosive filler capable of knocking out any vehicle in one hit.
• The sgr m/43 is a HE shell and is most effective used on open-topped vehicles and low-flying planes.

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/43	AP	101	97	81	65	52	42
sgr m/43	HE	8	8	8	8	8	8
slpgr m/43	APHEBC	88	86	78	69	61	53

Shell details
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Velocity (m/s)	Projectile mass (kg)	Fuse delay (m)	Fuse sensitivity (mm)	Explosive mass (TNT equivalent) (g)	Ricochet
							0%	50%	100%
slpprj m/43	AP	830	2.7	-	-	-	47°	60°	65°
sgr m/43	HE	600	2.82	0	0.1	500	79°	80°	81°
slpgr m/43	APHEBC	850	2.51	1.2	9	60	48°	63°	71°

Ammo racks

Ammo racks of the Pvkv III

Full ammo	1st rack empty	2nd rack empty	3rd rack empty	Visual discrepancy
32	25 (+7)	17 (+15)	1 (+31)	No

Notes:

• Shells are modeled individually and disappear after having been shot or loaded.
• Turret empty: 17 (+15) shells.

Machine guns

8 mm ksp m/36
Mount	Capacity (Belt)	Fire rate	Vertical	Horizontal
Hull	1,000 (250)	649	±10°	±10°

Usage in battles

The suggested playstyle of the Pvkv III is flanking or sniping. It is effective at defence thanks to its quick reload and great gun depression and with its speed, it Can be a great flanker.

The opponents you may have trouble dealing with is the KV-1, KV-2, T-34, M4A3 (105), Churchill I, ARL-44 because of their thick armour. To deal with these vehicles, you simply need to shoot them in the sides (T-34, M4A3 (105), Churchill I) or in the rear of the turret ring (KV-1 , KV-2 , ARL-44).

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Considerable speed
• Good penetration capabilities
• Good gun depression
• Slightly decent armour angling
• Armour angling and turret positioning results in better hiding behind hills
• The turret and hull are separated leading to great survivability if shot in the turret

Cons:

• Very tall; hard to hide
• Extremely vulnerable to artillery
• Very thin turret armour
• Very limited range of the machine gun
• Extremely thin top hull armour results in easy death by planes
• Extremely vulnerable to HE and HEAT because of its open turret

History

Devblog

At the beginning of the Cold War, the Swedish military was looking to equip its armed forces with new armoured units. However, as the state budget didn't allow for the procurement of completely new units, the military resorted to converting existing chassis into new vehicles. As a result, a range of experimental vehicles were hastily designed and tested to act as a stopgap measure until more modern equipment could be acquired.

Among these vehicles was the Pvkv III - a Strv m/41 converted into a tank destroyer by having its old turret replaced with a new one, housing a dedicated 57 mm anti-tank cannon. Differing only from the Pvkv II - a vehicle we already covered in one of our previous articles - by the weapon choice and by the intention to act as a stopgap itself for the Pvkv II until its production could be ramped up, all vehicles underwent testing in the early 1950s. Despite proving itself as a capable vehicle during these tests, the Swedish military soon adopted the Strv 81 into service, making further work on the project redundant and thus leading to the project's cancellation soon thereafter.

Media

Skins

• Skins and camouflages for the Pvkv III from live.warthunder.com.

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] Pvkv III: Swedish Pop-Head

AB Landsverk
Light Tanks
L-10	Strv m/31
L-60	Strv m/38 · Strv m/39 · Strv m/40L
Pbil m/40	Pbil m/40
Strv 74	Strv 74
Unimog 404	U-SH 405
Medium Tanks
Lago	Lago I · Strv m/42 EH · Ikv 73 · Strv m/42 DT
Tank Destroyers
Ikv 72	Ikv 72 · Ikv 103
Pvkv m/43	Pvkv m/43 (1946) · Pvkv m/43 (1963)
Pvkv II/III	Pvkv II · Pvkv III
SPAA	Pvlvv fm/42 · L-62 ANTI II

Sweden tank destroyers
Strv m/41 derivatives	Spj fm/43-44 · Sav m/43 (1944) · Sav m/43 (1946) · Pvkv II · Pvkv III
Ikv 72/103	Ikv 72 · Ikv 103
Pvkv m/43	Pvkv m/43 (1946) · Pvkv m/43 (1963)
ATGM	UDES 33 · Pbv 302 (BILL) · Pvrbv 551
Other	SAV 20.12.48 · Bkan 1C
Norway	VIDAR