Strv 103 (Family)
Contents
Description
The Stridsvagn 103 (Strv 103), also known as the S-Tank, is a Swedish post-World War II main battle tank, designed and manufactured in Sweden by Bofors AB (and to some extent Landsverk AB). It was developed in the late 1950s to the mid 1960s and was the first main battle tank to use a turbine engine and the first, and so far only service tank to not feature a turret.
Vehicles
Rank V
Rank VI
Vehicles based on Strv 103 chassis
Rank V
History
The Stridsvagn 103 (Strv 103), also known as the "S-Tank", is a Swedish post-World War II main battle tank, designed and manufactured in Sweden by Bofors AB (and to some extent Landsverk AB). It was developed in the late 1950s to the mid 1960s and was the first main battle tank to use a turbine engine and the first, and so far only service tank to not feature a turret. While some might argue that the S-Tank is not a tank, or that turretless casemate vehicles can be called tanks, it is a fact that the S-Tank was designed as, deployed as and used as a tank by the Swedish army. Besides lacking a turret it was however the first tank with a fixed main gun, meaning that the gun was fixed in the hull on both the X-axis and Y-axis. To aim the gun horizontally the entire vehicle had to be steered side to side (same as the hull gun on the B1 bis). To aim vertically the tank used a new type of controllable suspension, probably also a first in the world, that allowed the tank tilt forwards and backwards using gas-hydraulic hydropneumatics.
The name "S-Tank" is not an English nickname for the tank, but actually a translation of the Swedish name "Stridsvagn S". Stridsvagn S was the name given to the design during its development and it also became the product name for it after development had finished. The "S" in the name S-Tank refers to Sweden (Sverige) and it was one of three base-designs that competed against each other to become Sweden's next generation MBT during the mid to late 1950s. The other two base-designs were called "A-Tank" (Stridsvagn A) and "T-Tank" (Stridsvagn T). The A-Tank (Amerika / America) was a turreted heavily armored MBT that followed the design principles of the Americans and British (such as the M48 Patton and Centurion), while the T-Tank (Tyskland / Germany) was a turreted lightly armoured MBT that followed the design-principles of the Germans and the French (such as the Leopard 1 and AMX-30).
Media
Excellent additions to the article would be video guides, screenshots from the game, and photos.
