Tanks Military
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. It was developed in the 1950s and was the first main battle tank to use a turbine engine and the only mass-produced tank since World War II to dispense with a turret. It has an unconventional design with a unique gun laying process: it is turretless with a fixed gun traversed by engaging the tracks (like the 75mm gun on the 1930s French Char B1) and elevated by adjusting the hull suspension. The result was a very low-profile design with an emphasis on survivability and heightened crew protection level.
Strv 103s formed a major portion of the Swedish armoured forces from the 1960s to the 1990s, when, along with the Centurions, it was replaced by the Leopard 2 variants Stridsvagn 121 and Stridsvagn 122. While most turretless armoured fighting vehicles are classified as assault guns or tank destroyers, the Strv 103 is considered a tank since its designated combat role matched those of other tanks within contemporary Swedish doctrine.
In the mid-1950s, the Royal Swedish Army Materiel Administration (Kungliga Arméförvaltningens Tygavdelning) put out a contract tender for next generation tank design to replace their Centurions. A consortium of Landsverk, Volvo and Bofors responded with a suggestion to revive an earlier domestic heavy tank design, known under the codename KRV, fitted with a 155 mm smoothbore gun in an oscillating turret. However, this was deemed too expensive in comparison to the alternatives: A (Anglo-American), which was to purchase a 50-ton tank with high protection and mediocre mobility from either the UK or US. Alternative T (Tysk-Fransk /German-French) was a 30-ton tank with low protection and good mobility. Then, in 1956, Sven Berge of the Swedish Arms Administration proposed Alternativ S, a domestic alternative (S standing for Swedish).
The Stridsvagn 103 never saw combat and so its design remains unproven. However, for its intended role in the 1960s, it had numerous advantages. In 1967, Norway carried out a two-week comparative observation test with the Leopard 1 and found that, with closed hatches, the 103 spotted more targets and fired faster than the Leopard while the situation was reversed when operating with hatches open. In April to September 1968, two 103s were tested at the British armour school in Bovington, which reported that "the turretless concept of the "S"-tank holds considerable advantage over turreted tanks".
In 1973, the BAOR tested the 103. British crewmen received six weeks training and the vehicles were serviced by Swedish engineers. Over nine days of manoeuvres alongside the Chieftain tank, availability never fell under 90% and the final report stated, "It has not been possible to prove any disadvantage in the "S" inability to fire on the move". In 1975, two 103s were tested at the American armour center at Fort Knox. The trial demonstrated that the 103 fired more accurately than the M60A1E3, but on an average 0.5 seconds more slowly. More details
In the mid-1950s, the Royal Swedish Army Materiel Administration (Kungliga Arméförvaltningens Tygavdelning) put out a contract tender for next generation tank design to replace their Centurions. A consortium of Landsverk, Volvo and Bofors responded with a suggestion to revive an earlier domestic heavy tank design, known under the codename KRV, fitted with a 155 mm smoothbore gun in an oscillating turret. However, this was deemed too expensive in comparison to the alternatives: A (Anglo-American), which was to purchase a 50-ton tank with high protection and mediocre mobility from either the UK or US. Alternative T (Tysk-Fransk /German-French) was a 30-ton tank with low protection and good mobility. Then, in 1956, Sven Berge of the Swedish Arms Administration proposed Alternativ S, a domestic alternative (S standing for Swedish).
The Stridsvagn 103 never saw combat and so its design remains unproven. However, for its intended role in the 1960s, it had numerous advantages. In 1967, Norway carried out a two-week comparative observation test with the Leopard 1 and found that, with closed hatches, the 103 spotted more targets and fired faster than the Leopard while the situation was reversed when operating with hatches open. In April to September 1968, two 103s were tested at the British armour school in Bovington, which reported that "the turretless concept of the "S"-tank holds considerable advantage over turreted tanks".
