In 1966, the Swedish army adopted the unique Stridsvagn 103 tank. They were used until the 1990s, until they were replaced by the German Leopard-2. Despite the fact that today Strv.103 is a thing of the past and has become mostly museum pieces, these cars are remarkable enough to talk about them.
The Swedish Strv.103 is classified by some experts as a "tank destroyer". Although in reality this vehicle is much more of a tank than an SPG, even despite the rather specific layout and turretless scheme with a rigidly fixed gun in the frontal hull plate. The latter is, in fact, the main drawback of the combat vehicle, since horizontal adjustment when aiming is carried out only by turning the entire body. Vertical guidance, in turn, is carried out using a hydraulic system.
The Swedes began to develop the Strv.103 in 1956 in order to replace the imported British Centurion tanks with at least something of their own. A new machine was created taking into account the specifics of the Swedish army and population. In the 1950s, about 7 million people lived in the country, and the term of service in the army was very short. Therefore, the military wanted to get a car much more powerful and better protected in comparison with the British Centurions. The development also took into account the specifics of the Swedish nature, in particular - a large number of water barriers.
Experienced prototypes began passing state tests in 1963. After three years, the new tank was put into service. The car came out really good. It is important to note here that the STRV-103 was the first tank in history with a gas turbine power plant. 490 hp The car was armed with a 105 mm L74 rifled gun and a trio of KsP 58 machine guns of 7.62 caliber mm. Initially, the crew was protected only by rolled steel homogeneous armor. In the future, additional protective screens had to be installed on the 103rd, since the development of anti-tank weapons did not stand still. In addition, by the end of the 1960s, it turned out that the armor of Soviet, British and American MBTs was significantly superior to what the Swedes could do.
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However, the lack of armor was partly compensated by the very low silhouette of the tank, as well as some nice features. The unique vehicle features unusually fast reverse for a tank, which makes the STRV-103 suitable for organizing tank ambushes in swampy and forested areas. It is important to understand that the 103rd, in principle, was not conceived as a tank for offensive operations. After World War II, Sweden maintained a neutral status. The possibility of war with the USSR was considered as one of the scenarios of the Third World War, however, the Swedish command understood even if their country will be drawn into the conflict, then it will not become the main direction for the Soviet troops, which means that far from the newest T-55s will be thrown to counteract the STRV-103 and T-62. A total of 335 Stridsvagn 103 tanks were produced.
Some sources say that a small number of Stridsvagn 103s were sold to the Middle East in the early 1980s. As a result, the only war in which the 103rd steel took part was the Iran-Iraq conflict. Since the tank was used in atypical conditions for it, its main drawback immediately made itself felt - the lack of a rotating turret. The very first clash with the Soviet offensive T-72 ended sadly. In particular, several vehicles were abandoned without serious damage, simply because they lost their tracks in battle.
In continuation of the topic, read about why old soviet tanks t-72 are still used by many countries.
Source: https://novate.ru/blogs/200522/62972/