Krzysztof Kubiak Swedish Armor 1920–1989 Krzysztof Kubiak Swedish Armor 1920–1989 A Review of Organization and Designs Warszawa The original edition was published under the title Szwedzka broń pancerna. Organizacja, przegląd konstrukcji Warszawa 2020 Translation: Katarzyna Winciorek Editors: Roman S. Czarny, Łukasz Przybyło (English edition) Tadeusz Zawadzki, Jolanta Wierzchowska (Polish edition) Cover design by: Teresa Oleszczuk Maps: Tadeusz Zawadzki DTP: Wanda Zawadzka, Tadeusz Zawadzki This publication was financially supported by the Jan Kochanowski University. Copyright © 2020 by Krzysztof Kubiak Copyright for English edition © 2020 by Tetragon Cover photo: Stridsvagn 103 tanks on the Revinge proving ground, 2015 (Jorchr/Wikipedia) Title-page photo: Strv 74 tanks during excercises in Södertälje region. KP AFV visible in the background,1960s (Arsenalen) All rights reserved. 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Tetragon [email protected] www.tetragon.com.pl Print: Print Group Sp. z o.o. booksfactory.pl ISBN 978-83-66687-06-6 Table of contents Introduction. 7 Geographical Features. 7 General Assumptions of the Swedish Defense Concept . .14 Structural Evolvement: 1921−89 . .18 The 1920s, 1930s, and the Second World War: Between National Pacifism and Military Necessity . 33 The Legacy of the Great War and the Threat of a New War . 33 Light Tanks Stridsvagn m/21 and m/21-29 . .35 Light Tank Renault FT-17. 37 Armored Cars Pansarbil fm/25 and fm/26 . 38 Light Tank Stridsvagn fm/28 . .42 Armored Car Pansarbil fm/29 . .42 Landsverk’s Export Experience: the L-180, L-181, L-182 Family . 43 Armored Car Pansarbil m/31 . 45 Light Tanks Stridsvagn fm/31 and m/31. 49 Tankettes Carden-Loyd Mk V and Mk VI . 52 Light Tank (Tankette) Stridsvagn m/37 . 54 Light Tanks Stridsvagn m/38, m/39, m/40L, and m/40K . 59 In Search of Equipment: Armored Car Pansarbil m/39-40 . 65 Light Tank Stridsvagn m/41 . 66 In Search of Equipment: Armored Car Pansarbil m/41 . 71 Armored Car Pansarbil m/31F . .72 Medium Tank Stridsvagn m/42. 73 Armored Recovery Vehicle Bärgningsbandvagn m/43 . 79 Wheeled Armored Personnel Carrier Terrängbil M/42 KP . .80 Self-Propelled Assault Gun Stormartillerivagn m/43. 85 Self-Propelled Anti-Tank Gun (Tank Destroyer) Pansarvärnskanonvagn m/43. 90 Self-Propelled Anti-Aircraft Gun Luftvärnskanonvagn fm/43 . 93 The Cold War: Seeking Harmony between Satisfying the Needs and Permanent Frugality . .98 Self-propelled Gun Infanterikanonvagn 72, 102, and 103 . 100 5 SWEDISH ARMOR 1920–1989 Tanks Stridsvagn 81, 101, 102, and 104 . 104 Armored Recovery Vehicle Bärgningsbandvagn 81 . 117 Tank Stridsvagn 74. 119 Armored Personnel Carrier Pansarbandvagn 301 . 124 Tank Stridsvagn 103 . 129 Armored Cars Pansarbil M8 and M3 . 140 Armored Cars Pansarbil Ferret and Humber . 142 Armored Personnel Carrier Pansarbandvagn 302 . 145 Self-propelled Howitzer Bandkanon 1A/C . 153 Armored Recovery Vehicle Bärgningsbandvagn 82 . 158 Bridge Layer Brobandvagn 941. 160 Self-Propelled Gun (Light Tank) Infanterikanonvagn 91 . 162 Tank Destroyer Pansarvärnsrobotbandvagn 551 and Anti-Aircraft Vehicle Luftvärnsrobotbandvagn 701 . 167 Armored Personnel Carrier Pansarterrängbil 180 . 170 An Attempt to Sum Up . 173 Appendices . 178 Appendix A. Unarmored Infantry Carriers and Fighting Vehicles. 178 Appendix B. Command and Staff Vehicles . 194 Appendix C. Armored Recovery Vehicles Bärgningsterrängbil 965 and Bärgningsterrängbil 970 . .198 Appendix D. Tractors . 201 Appendix E. Värntorn: The Afterlife of Swedish Tanks . 205 Appendix F. Armored Trains. 209 Appendix G. Volvo V Engine . 212 Appendix H. Swedish Fighting Vehicle Armament . 213 Appendix I. 71 mm Lyran Illuminating Mortar . 215 Appendix J. Anti-Tank and Anti-Aircraft Guided Missiles in Sweden. 216 Appendix K. The Swedish Tiger . 221 Bibliography. 222 6 Introduction Geographical Features It is impossible to discuss Swedish armor, even at the level of equipment, without explaining the main assumptions of the Swedish defense doctrine, itself greatly influenced by the country’s geographical situation and natural conditions. At the very beginning, it is worth noting that Swe- den is a fairly big country in Northern Europe, forming the eastern flank of the Scandinavian Peninsula. Within its borders lie Gotland, Öland, and many other coastal islands. With a total area of 173,732 square miles (449,964 sq km), Sweden is the fifty-fifth largest country in the world and fifth-largest in Europe. Its shape should not be left unmentioned: Sweden is visualized as the front paws, chest, body, stomach, and withers of what is known as the Scandinavian Lion. Sweden’s longitudinal extent is 969 miles (1,560 km), running from the Smygehuk Lighthouse in the south to a tripoint between Norway, Sweden, and Finland in the north, and its latitudinal stretch is 255 miles (410 km) from a border crossing with Norway in the west between Ørje and Töcksfors to the eastern coast of the Gisslingö island. Sweden is an Arctic country, as about fifteen percent of its area lies within the Arctic Circle. On land, the Kingdom of Sweden borders with: Norway to the west: 1,006 miles (1,619 km) along a watershed in the Scandinavian mountain chain. (The highest mountain in Norway is Galdhøpiggen at 8,100 feet [2,469 m]; in Sweden, the highest mountain is Kebnekaise at 6,903 feet [2,104 m]; in Finland, it is Halti at 4,344 feet [1,324 m].); Finland (previously the Russian Empire) to the northeast: 364 miles (586 km) from the Three-Country Cairn tripoint at lake Goldajärvi (close to Kilpisjärvi), running along a small stream to Kuohkimajärvi, then along the Kuohkimajoki River to Kil- pisjärvi, and by the Könkämäeno, Muonio, and Torne Rivers to Haparanda.1 Sweden has a maritime border, measured along the baseline2 at 2,000 miles (3,218 km). The bor- der is highly developed. There are approximately 222,000 islands and islets within the Swedish borders, and their area is 4,083 square miles (10,574 sq km, or 2.6 percent of the country’s terri- tory). The largest ones are Gotland (1,156 square miles [2,994 sq km] with a 426-mile [686 km] coastline), a particular challenge from the military point of view, and Öland (520 square miles [1,347 sq km] with a 308-mile [496 km] coastline). Gotland lies at a fifty-nine-mile [95 km] dis- tance away from the shore, in the central part of the Baltic Sea. Öland stretches along the coast in the southern part of Sweden and is separated from the mainland by the Kalmar Strait, which 1 “The Swedish-Norwegian cross-border region,” http://www.nordregio.se. 2 The baseline for measuring the breadth of the territorial sea is the low-water line along the coast as marked on large-scale charts officially recognized by the coastal State. (UN Convention on the Law of the Sea art. 5) 7 0 100 200 300 400 500 km SWEDISH ARMOR 1920–1989 0 50 100 150 200 250 300 NM 0 ft. 0 m 160 ft. 50 m at its narrowest point measures three miles (5 km). A bridge crosses it there. The total length of 330 ft. 100 m the coastline, when counting the islands, is 37,780 miles (60,800 km).3 Sweden shares territorial water borders with: 490 ft. 150 m 660 ft. 200 m Finland (previously the Russian Empire) in the Gulf of Bothnia, with a length of Kirkenes approximately 450 miles (725 km) and width ranging from fifty miles (80 km) in 1,640 ft. 500 m Polyarny Severomorsk the Kvarken Strait up to 150 miles (240 km), and on the Sea of Åland (the distance 3,300 ft. 1000 m Tromsø Nikel Murmansk between the Åland Islands and Sweden is about twenty-five miles [40 km]). Both 6,600 ft. 2000 m water bodies usually freeze by the end of December and stay covered with ice until 9,840 ft. 3000 m April. Despite the changing climate, during winter the Swedish Command has to Muonio 4 Narvik Ounasjoki Kandalaksha take into account that the Gulf of Bothnia and Sea of Åland do not form a water Kiruna Torne barrier in the classical sense of the term; Kemisjoki Kalix Denmark through the Sound (connected by a bridge). The narrowest point of the Bodø strait is 2.7 miles (4.4 km). Rovaniemi The coasts of Estonia are separated from Sweden by 110−135 nautical miles (200–250 km) of Mo i Rana Lule Kemisjoki water, the coasts of Latvia, by 145 nautical miles (270 km), but Gotland lies approximately 80 Boden Kemi Belomorsk nautical miles (150 km) away from Latvia. Lithuania’s coast lies 150 nautical miles (280 km) Luleå Skellee Oulu Haparanda away from Sweden, and the distance between the Kaliningrad Oblast and Sweden is about 150 Ume Ångerman Skellefteå nautical miles (290 km). The smallest distance between Sweden and Poland is ninety nautical Kontiomäki miles (170 km)—between the town of Ustka and the islands located south of Karlskrona. The German mainland coast is seventy-five nautical miles (140 km) away from Sweden, and the Umeå Trondheim Kuopio 5 Petrozavodsk northern coast of Rügen is fifty-five nautical miles (100 km) away. Indalsälven Vaasa Lake Östersund In relation to the area, Sweden is not a populous country. In 1939 it had 6.2 million inhabitants Onega (currently ca. ten million). The majority of the population is of Swedish ethnicity. The largest mi- Ljusnan Härnösand 6 nority group continues to be Finns, currently at 156,000 people. The population is not evenly dis- Glomma Österdalälven Tampere Pori Lake Ladoga 3 “Sweden Case Study Analysis of National Strategies for Sustainable Development,” https:// Vyborg Lillehammer www.iisd.org.