Report on live fire trials against a strv 74 turret
A report from the Royal Military Academy, dated 1960-11-30, regarding live fire trials conducted against a strv 74 turret in August of 1960.
Weapons used:
- 20 mm “tube cannon” for strv 74 (a smaller gun barrel inserted into the full-size one for practice purposes), firing 20 mm spårljuspansarprojektil m/42 (a full-caliber AP tracer round)
- 37 mm anti-tank gun m/34 firing 37 mm spårljuspansarprojektil m/49 (a sub-caliber AP tracer round with a 24 mm penetrator)
- 75 mm tank gun for strv 74, firing 7,5 cm spårljuspansarprojektil m/49 (a sub-caliber AP tracer round with a 50 mm penetrator)
The report concludes that the 20 mm rounds will reliably penetrate the turret side at distances less than 300 meters, with possible penetrations up to 670 meters. The 37 mm sub-caliber rounds will reliably penetrate most of the turret except an area within 20 degrees to either side of the gun barrel at distances under 750 meters, and may be able to penetrate the gun mantlet at distances up to about 850 meters. The 75 mm sub-caliber rounds will reliably penetrate the gun mantlet with considerable behind-armor effects at distances up to at least 1400 meters and most likely significantly longer distances as well, but that has not been tested.
Archive reference: SE/KrA/0266/002/01:H/F I/43
Summary of penetration data for various projectiles (1958)
Original title: Sammanställning av data för genomslag av pansar
Author: Ann Littke-Persson, research engineer 1st class
A research report from FOA 2 (defense research agency, bureau 2), dated 1958-08-01, regarding the penetration capabilities of various projectiles of different kinds. The report is mainly theoretical in nature, but it extrapolates values for planned projectiles from empirical data obtained from various test firings, both Swedish and foreign.
Page 36 has a convenient reference of terms used in the report.
Archive reference: SE/KrA/0266/002/01:H/F I/19
Preliminary plans for guns, autoloaders and ammunition for strv A and strv S
Two documents from 1958 describing early developments in tank gun specifications, intended for two alternatives for a future Swedish tank. The alternatives are called “stridsvagn typ A” and “stridsvagn typ S” where A is a conventional turreted design and S is a very early S-tank (at this point they haven’t yet decided if the S-tank’s hydraulic gun laying system is technically feasible or not, so they plan for both alternatives).
Archive reference: SE/KrA/0266/002/01:H/F I/20
Memo regarding the procurement status of SPG, SPAAG and tanks
Original title: PM ang. akv, lvkv och strv enligt tygmaterielplan 1958/66
A memo from the Vehicle Bureau dated 1958-05-02, discussing the procurement status of current SPG’s, SPAAG’s and tanks (well, one of each, really). The SPG (akv 151) is built on a Krv chassis but now it seems like the Krv project will be cancelled, which is problematic. The Krv project itself is likely to get cancelled because of problems with the ammunition; options for keeping it alive is simply purchasing a new gun plus ammunition for it off-the-shelf abroad. There are two SPAAG alternatives; one is to purchase a “Grantham” SPAAG off-the-shelf, the other is doing something with the indigenous lvkv fm/49 (aka. lvkv 42).
Archive reference: SE/KrA/0266/002/01:H/F I/19
Memo regarding 105mm tracked SPG
Original title: VPM ang. 10,5 cm artilleripjäs i bandlavettage
A memo (dated 1958-06-13) from the Bureau of Weapons regarding tracked 105mm SPG’s. Bofors already has two alternatives based on the VAK 40 (aka. lvkv fm/49) chassis drawn up, one with the gun in the open but space available for the crew to sit under armor while the vehicle is moving, and one with the entire gun installation under 8-10 mm armor. The memo then goes on to discuss the current status of similar foreign projects and mentions a French project with a 105 mm gun on an AMX 13 chassis as well as three American projects (M37, M52 and an experimental T195).
Finally, the memo lists some technical requirements that would seem reasonable for such a weapon system.
Archive reference: SE/KrA/0266/002/01:H/F I/19
Project EMIL: a summary
This is a report of the then-current status of the EMIL project (also known as krv, kranvagn, project 6400, etc), dated 1952-10-15. Over the course of some hundred pages or so (although not all of the original pages seem to be in the archive I found it in) it covers in great detail what a tank like EMIL needs to do and why it needs to do it.
Archive reference: SE/KrA/0266/002/01:H/F I/19
Note that this report was originally classified top secret (“of great importance for the security of the realm”); the reason it’s in an archive volume dated 1958 is because its classification status was reduced to “regular secret” at that point; top secret and regular secret archives are kept separately.
Weapon effectiveness charts, strv 74 and strv 81 vs IS-3 and T-54
A few charts showing the effective weapon ranges and possible penetration angles for the strv 81 (Centurion mk 3) and the strv 74 when pitted against the IS-3 and the T-54. The charts have a note on them referring to what is presumably a more detailed description of these estimations but I have not been able to locate that document (yet).
Archive reference: SE/KrA/0266/002/01:H/F I/13
Note that the charts are dated 1957-10-18, but were found in a volume of documents listed as containing documents from 1956.
If you want bigger pictures, right click on an image and select “view image”.
Report on tactical trials with strv 81
Original title: Rapport över fortsatta taktiska försök med strv 81 9/8 – 14/8 1954
A report authored by the headquarters of the VI. Military Area (VI. militärområdet) dated 1954-09-13, describing the result of tactical trials done in the far north of Sweden, near Kalix, in mid-august 1954. The report concludes that despite the difficult terrain the tanks were quite able to maneuver and fight, and recommends attaching an armored brigade to the 2nd Army Corps (2. armékåren).
Archive reference: SE/KrA/0266/002/01:H/F I/2
Report regarding trials of napalm effects against tanks
A report dated 1954-01-16 regarding trials with napalm against tanks, conducted in November and December of 1952. The report covers a number of practical tests done, some with rabbits placed inside the tank, and concludes that while napalm is mostly harmless against tanks (provided that the air intakes are undamaged and that there are no oil or fuel leaks), the psychological effect is probably significant. The report also contains a draft of a brief crew instruction sheet on what to do in case of napalm.
Archive reference: SE/KrA/0266/002/01:H/F I/1
Report on how tanks and tank crews are affected by nuclear weapons
A report (dated 1954-01-12) from FOA 2 regarding what nukes do to tanks and tank crews. FOA 2 was the second division of the defense research agency, responsible for general physics research. The report is mainly theoretical in nature but there are some experimental verifications of the result as well.
Archive reference: SE/KrA/0266/002/01:H/F I/1