Author: SP15

The strv m/38, m/39, m/40L & m/40k were Swedish light tanks that served with the Swedish army troughout and beyond ww2. At one point they were some of the most advanced tanks in the world but after the war they would be religated to the role of reconnaissance vehicles.

Background

In the mid 1930s as tensions were starting to rise in mainland Europe the Swedish army began looking at the acquisition of new tanks for its first tank battalion. The Swedish army had since 1922 operated an experimental tank battalion at Göta livgarde which had allowed them to gain experience with operating tanks. The tanks used by the Göta livgarde tank battalion were however severely outdated and due to a lack of spare parts half of the vehicles ended up being cannibalized.

Several attempts were made to find a replacement in the late 20’s – early 30’s but despite testing numerous potential designs and even funding the development of a domestic tank design (the strv m/31) mediocre trial results and a lack of funds forced the army to delay the purchase. I wont go into detail about those attempts here but If you want to know more about them I have an article on the Strv m/31’s development. Continue reading →

Honouring the Fallen of the First World War

As we approach armistice day a very apt video.

On a visit to the Cambrai Memorial to the Missing at Louverval, Curator David Willey took the opportunity to explore the Allied First World War graves. In this video he explains how they were set up by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission during WW1 and why they look the way they do.

We will remember them.

Author: SP15

Welcome back everyone!

Im glad to announce that the articles on Swedish tanks are back and (hopefully) better than ever. For those of you interested in shorter and more technical posts and articles not suitable for RSR i have created own blog. There I will archive my older content as well as post semi-regular updates about everything from Swedish composite armor development to translations of datasheets and manuals. You can check it out here: From the swedish archives

Ikv 91

The ikv 91 was a light tank/tank destroyer built specifically to provide Swedish infantry with effective and mobile fire support. Between 1975 and 1978 a total of 212 vehicles were delivered to the Swedish army, these served until the early 2000’s when they were retired without a replacement. Continue reading →

Just as a curiosity we have a photo of a model of a proposed BT-5 tank with a caterpillar-roller drive, designed by engineer N. Tsyganov. 1935.

The track drive (rearmost sprocket) is normal Russian practice of a roller sprocket driving the track center guides. Forward of that is another sprocket with drive pockets in its circumference. This appears to pick up and drive the ends of the road wheel axles. The road wheel axles look to be linked together into a chain with the road wheels forming the chain rollers. The track is tensioned at the front with an eccentric mounted wheel that supports the ends of the road wheel pins. The top run is guided by a channel and the working bottom run has a channel with extra guide plates for the ends of the wheel pins. It didn’t see service, I wonder why.

This is a photo as it saw service with Christie suspension.

Source WoT Leaks and Wikipedia.

Always welcome here a new Chieftain video. Love the casual sarcasm just dropped into the script. Enjoy.

By the Tank Museum Bovington. A major episode in the history of tank warfare. Enjoy.

Swedish Tanks

This covers the history of Swedish tank development and manufacture from the beginning to the present day.Enjoy.

Naval Legends: Maillé-Brézé