Stridsvagn 103: Sweden's Turretless Cold War Super Tank 

As a S 103 tank commander I thank you. Small correction - we had three forward and reverse gears.

My favorite tank of all time- - brilliant design for a specific set of Swedish circumstances and requirements

As a Strv 104 Centurion driver in the Swedish army I can vouch for their lethality. If you knew the S-guys were waiting for you in a defensive position you were in for a real fight. The gun was almost the only part sticking up. If you couldn't find the flow of heat from the turbine you were shit out of luck. The gun was very accurate and with the right gunner things could get uncomfortable real quick.

My absolute favorite tank since I was a kid and my dad took me to an military exhibition where Försvarsmakten had all kinds of systems and vehicles to show. Me, being 7 years old climbing into a Strv S had me happy for months, years even. Really cool experience.

Yes! The Strv 103 is one of my favorite cold-war tanks! The Stridsvagn 103: coming soon to an Ikea near you! Come for the Lingonberry meatballs, leave with the Strv 103 (some assembly required).

Sweden has had one of the most capable military forces amongst western nations since WW2. Their proximity to Russia has made that necessary. Cue jokes about IKEA etc., but they are extremely highly regarded amongst Western military. Same with the Finnish.

Centurion didn't have a 150mm main gun, a version was made with a 153mm to counter soviet heavy armour but was only a prototype.

Would also love a video on the "Bandkanon 1" swedish self propelled gun. the swedes had a lot of interesting stuff during the cold war.

Best history lesson on the Strv103 on YT. An offensive main battle tank, not an ambush tank destroyer! Good job!

Absolutely my favourite tank ever conceived and built! Ingenious, unique and stylistic, they really are something to marvel at and praise Sweden's engineering among its other wacky and wonderful war machines! I would absolutely love to see something expanded on with the Strv 2000, and just how morden and futuristic and ingenious it could've been if was ever produced, great stuff as always!

Many have "Railed" against it for offensive use. But the defensive mode, it would be pure hell to dig out. The S-tank & MBT-70 (Kpz-70) are my top 2 favorite AFVs, warts & all. Many thanx Simon 👍👍

Soviet tank commander: "Tank, 3 o'clock, 1200m" Soviet gunner frantically rotates in the target's direction and spots it: "That's no tank."

Ah finally my country's wacky machines are put to show. Always happy to see the 103 in a video

Do a story about the Swedish Coastal Defences during the cold war! It was MASSIVE

My favorite tank in WarThunder. It’s a 0 death sniper if you use it right. The velocity and auto rangefinder is an insane combo.

It's the first tank child me ever saw, and it has cemented the image of what a tank looks like in my mind. I think I even had a phase where I was drawing nothing but turretless wedge-shaped tanks.

So i have gotten this from a guy with first hand experience. After the cold war we had friendly relation exercises with the russiand. He said the russians always said (after some alchole) that they where always afraid os the s tank. Then never figured out how to actually combat in

I once rode in an "S" when it went full speed through a pine forest, cutting the tree trunks right off. It was hardly noticeable inside.

Just one small correction, HEAT shells should be called High Explosive Anti Tank instead of high energy. Also unique trenches in the ufp also increases protection.

1:25 - Chapter 1 - Background 3:05 - Chapter 2 - Design 7:30 - Chapter 3 - Engines & performance 9:25 - Chapter 4 - Flaws 10:10 - Chapter 5 - Service - Chapter 6 -

The Centurion had a 105 mm cannon, not a 150. Sweden did not use a 155 mm main gun, that would classify it as a self propelled howitzer.

People often say that motivation doesn’t last. Well, neither does bathing. That’s why we recommend it daily

1:30 - 105mm L7 cannons were used on the later Centurions, not 150mm cannons. 2:37 - The Kranvagn tank concept was of a Heavy tank, not a medium tank (one of the reasons it was dismissed). The vehicle was to feature a 150mm (could explain the confusion at 1:30) Additionally, a significant reason for motivating domestic development in Sweden was the fact that Britain's forecast when it came to delivering Centurions stood at 0, meaning in the event of a war, Sweden would be stuck with only the tanks they had available at the time. This is also the reason why the project was later cancelled, and Great Britain was able to deliver Centurions to Sweden which were cheaper and still showed military promise. 3:49 - The last S-tank production model (Model C) weighed 42 tonnes as indicated in the video, yes. However, the earlier variants were 37 and ~40 tonnes for the A and B models respectively. 6:05 - The S-tank featured 40mm thick plates on the upper and lower front. Not 70mm plates. Sode armour was limited to only 20mm, not 40.

Nice video! One thing worth mentioning is that because of the turret less design the gun barrel could be much longer than turreted tanks. The resulting projectile speed and accuracy was unmatched.

One benefit the 103 had with its long Bofors main gun was that it could open fire long before the T55, T64 and T72 could because of its range and accuracy. This is why this tank was one of the first to use a laser range finder and ballistic calculator for precision hits. The fast auto loader made it possible to hit each target twice to inflict maximum damage before changing target. It was a complex machine for its time, built for one thing, stopping a numerical superior Soviet tank force at the border.

British 105 main gun. Very well thought out design, still able to track a vehicle by moving the entire vehicle in yaw. Super special hydraulic suspension made it really work in a static defensive position. But of course not on the move. However they were a none aggressive country so these were self defence only ...

Sweden's defense doctrine could best be described as "geopolitical and strategically defensive", "operationally (the brigade and battalion level of warfare, where the focus is mire on manuever and position to get your actual shooters into place where they can shape the firefight) offensive", and "tactically (the actual trigger puller level stuff from individual soldiers to about the company level) a mix, depending on circumstances". It's a good plan, fairly common even for nations that don't have a tradition of neutrality. Strategic & geopolitical - try to avoid the war altogether, but make sure if the war happens, it happens on terms most favorable to you as possible. Operational - sieze the ground the enemy *must* take or traverse to win, and set up your front line shooters for success. Tactical - depending on terrain, enemy composition and actions, and your own maneuverability and survivability, either hold from chosen positions or assault at the most vulnerable enemy points, as appropriate. This is literally Sun Tzu stuff, hardly unique to Sweden. But Sweden has done a very good job at the first, and a credible enough job at preparing for the last two that it has reliably reinforced the strength of their strategic and geopolitical goals - Sweden has managed to look like invading them is simply *way* to expensive and risky for an aggressor to bother.

Irish/American: "The Chieftain" tried one of these in his films about tanks and vehicles, and liked it very much, also for its automatic tension-system for the bands! Also the Jerry Cans on each side, which by being hit, eventually would burn outside, or just loose their content. And it is so low.

Would love a modern version of this concept if practical

ah yes, I’ve been waiting for this one.

Love your vids, really helps relaxxing after a hard day

This tank seems almost impossible to take out head on, considering it's shape and low profile. Brilliant!

The long canon was also an advantage. The long barrel due to the tanks design made precision and range better then basicly all counterparts. I think. #Krigshistoriepodden

Germany also experimented with turretless designs: During my service in the Bundeswehr, I was stationed for some time in Augustdorf, and in front of our barracks was a prototyp tank: Turretless with dual (!) cannons (if you search "Kampfpanzer 3 (BW) GVT" you find pictures and some story).

1:28 - 1:34 Just a small correction there. The later model Centurion tanks used the 105mm cannon not the 150mm.

Yay! There it is, the Swedish 🇸🇪 tank we've all been waiting for! Ja! 👍👏👏

Cool looking tank that..Very futuristic looking. I wonder how it would have done on the modern battlefield. The Stug was pretty well represented on the eastern front.

My dad woke up an early morning in the early 90's. Sleep drunk he started to do breakfast, while preparing he looked out the window and it was a thick fog but something wasn't as it usually is in a small rural village at 05:45. A Stridsvagn S was parked right outside our house in the slope. Of course he went out to look at it cause he is A Russo-Swede and didn't care, while walking up to the main road he turned around to look at the tank and he could hardly see it. S is the most fun of a tank ever, anything is a parking space and that's why we are going to buy one.

2:03 The Strv 103 was not intended to replace the Centurion and never replaced any foreign built tanks. Sweden needed a newer tank to replace the aging fleet of Strv m/42 tanks from late WW2. It eventually replaced the Strv 74 (Strv m/42 with new turret and gun) in the armoured brigades.

A World of Tanks legend!

I like how it poops the shell case out the behind 😊. Great tank.

These have the ability to be BEASTS in the right geographic areas.

If you are going to get into a gunfight in the forest this is the tank for you. Short wheelbase, low profile, gymnastic for a tank and you could drive it backwards which was a hell of a good idea if you are going to be fighting in Sweden's forests.

5:37 In case you ever wondered what a tank pooping looked like. You're welcome.

Is this a reupload? I swear I saw a notification for this the other day.

It is not turetless, It has the tracks mouted directly to the turret, so it is hull-less.

A little dyslexic today. The Centurion had a 105 not 150mm gun. No biggy. Wow I did not realize it used the 6V53 diesel, that was also used in the M113 and AVGP family of vehicles.

Below hedge level up lanes, rapid movement. Lateral thinkings. 😎 🇸🇪

Thanks

Awesome! More Swedish/Scandinavian tech please!

6:31 the slat armour is actually the fence like thingie shown In earlier pictures.

Any fan of this tank wants a role for it if only that it looks so cool. With modern guided munitions, computer assist targeting/re-acquisition I wonder what could be. The low profile and self-revetment in a forest is sensible. I once lifted a good sized snapping turtle from a road and placed it by the wooded lake and on firm mud. Rather than move away, it swiveled and lowered right down into the earth to leave only a bit of snout exposed. I watched and was impressed and disturbed. I also thought of the s tank.

Can't wait to see a video about the Bkan 1

At 1:31 he made a small mistake. Centurion actually had a 105mm gun, not 150mm.

I love the Strv-103. I am working on assembling a model of it right now.

Here in the US I rarely get to hear a man of around my age speak in such a proper British accent, also well dressed. Great work on all the vids Sir!!!

Ive been told that the Stridsvagn 103 could be used by one person, effecive with two, but sinze only two ppl in a fighting tank would be a strain on any two individuals, so a third member was added, becuse if the war dident kill the two crewmen, they themselfs would. Please correct me if im wrong I would have loved to serve on one of thees beauties, jävla snygg vagn

My favorite tank. I love using it in War Thunder.

Ah a moment if you please. The Centurian tank had a 17 pdr (76.2mm), a 20 pdr (84mm), then the L7 105mm main gun. Not a 150mm canon, it wasn't the Deathstar. 0~o

The L/62 you refererred to is not a designation but a "caliber length ratio" indicating that the barrel was longer than the centurions standard L/52 gun. The "designation" you refer to is actually L74.

The video did not go into detail about all of its abilities. 1) In western tanks sharp angles caused by sloping armour wastes space as it is unusable. This either means cramped interiors causing crew stress and inefficiencies like the Russian tanks, or caused bigger tanks (easier to spot and easier to hit) which meant more heavy armour meaning more weight creating a slower underpowered tank with extra costs in manufacturing and maintenance. Instead the S-Tank used the sharply angled and unused space at the front of the hull to put a rubber fuel cell in the wedge area at the front, using the otherwise useless space as fuel storage and as spaced armour. Rubber fuel cells were stuffed elsewhere too in unused spaces adding extra spaced armour and using all free space. 2) The hull was split into 3 separate sealed compartments each acting as spaced armour with the crew being in the third and last compartment, being safe at the back of the tank. 3 layers of spaced armour instead of one as in other tanks. 3) The engine and transmission were in the first two compartments acting as extra spaced armour for the crew. 4) The crew were in the largest compartment and the safest being the last compartment and hardest to hit. No swimming pool and holo deck for the crew but nonetheless roomy and comfortable compartment compared to Russian and other tanks. 5) Using an automatic loader reduced the crew size making for a smaller and cheaper and more manoeuvrable tank. The ride was very uncomfortable though because of the short wheelbase but then longer wheelbases increase the chance of throwing a track when turning. 6) The auto-loader gave it a VERY HIGH rate of fire. 7) Reloading was done in the safety of behind the tank. 8) The plastic fuel drums attached to the sides over the tracks added extra spaced armour. Diesel is very good for this. 9) The high angle of the frontal armour more than doubled the effectiveness of the thin armour, giving reasonable protection without the weight plus the added advantage of a chance of the shells ricocheting off and HEAT rounds not forming a proper penetrating jet. 10) The spade added extra spaced armour as well as for digging a defensive position to fire from providing extra protection and cover. 11) The fence set off HEAT rounds before the shells hit the tank or destabilized the shell’s trajectory causing a chance of ricocheting or HEAT rounds failing to form a penetrating jet properly. 12) The stepped ribs up along the hull front were a very light yet highly effective spaced armour that destabilized the incoming shell causing it to ricochet or break up before hitting the tank’s hull armour. Such an insufficient looking and minor thing but with major effects against HEAT and solid shot beyond belief. 12b) The ribs also stopped shell splinters from sliding up the hull taking out sighting and ranging gear on top. 13) The low height of the tank makes it hard to spot, and hard to hit. During WWII over 50% of hits were to the turret. The S-Tank did away with the turret. Being the size of a large family car instead of a country barn made it a very small target, hard to spot, hard to hit. 14) Had a river-crossing screen that after being erected enabled it to cross any river. No stuck in the mud for this tank. 15) Duplicate controls at all stations allowed a single crewman to drive or fire the tank in emergencies. 16) Designed to fire and kill large numbers of advancing enemy tanks like a shoot-em-up arcade game until the Russian hordes were nearly on top of them then be able to skoot backwards at high speed to another pre-prepared defensive position to start the killing all over again while keeping their hull front (thickest armour) always towards the enemy, as the third crewman faced backwards and drove the tank to the rear at high speed (Most Russian tanks even today only have one reverse gear and can only move in reverse at a couple of miles per hour meaning they can not dodge by quickly backing back into cover in a hull down position, and the Russian driver being in the front of the tank can't see where they are going backwards). Shooting while halted greatly improves accuracy while the rushing Russian horde either had to stop to fire and make themselves a target or fire on the move and have an inaccurate fire, as the Russian fire control/gun stabilisation/ turret stabilization, ballistic computers, range finders, etc., we're either nonexistent or no better than their WWII tanks. 17) Highly efficient and cheap diesel engine plus a gas turbine engine for that super power and speed when needed. Only the US Abrams tank has a gas turbine engine too, and it earned the nickname ‘The Whispering Death’. But it took the US decades to add an aux power plant to run when idle to keep the turret powered and operating, as a turbo engine spins at a constant gas-guzzling rate even in idle. The S-Tank had the best of both worlds. 18) having the gun mounted so the breech was at the back of the tank instead of the middle meant a longer barrel could be used and most of the barrel was protected. 19) Like hot women and hot sports cars, sexy makes for a very dangerous and fast tank, and the S-Tank has it all, in spades.

1:18 background 3:01 design 7:23 engine and performance 9:22 flaws 10:05 service

Great video mate, thanks for the effort put into this!

While there were some centurions modified for experimental or demolition roles with their guns getting up to even a bore diameter of 183mm, most main line centurion variants had either a 84mm or a 105mm gun, with Sweden never operation any centurions that had guns bigger than 105mm.

This tank on the defensive side of a battlefield today, has so many possibilities of being a very effective weapon for sure. 👍

Stridsvagn means tank in swedish so it souneds like you said tank 103 when you say it's name in swedish. I LOVE sewdish engenering.

Apart from Ikea,Saab (partly dead company) Koeinigsiegg, Volvo, meatballs and the author - Stieg Larsson - I wasn't aware of any other significant thing made in and by Sweden 🇸🇪 Now this tank is added on to that list! 👍👍

When the STRV 121s(Leopard 2) came into service the STRV 103s beat the crap out of them in the last exercises. A few years later it would have been the opposite.

Small corrections: HEAT stands for High Explosive Anti-Tank, and NOT “High Energy”. Secondly, the L7 is the “Royal Ordnance L7” not “Royal Armament L7”.

För Kung och Fosterland! 🇸🇪 Thank you for showing our beloved Strv 103!

Great video, thank you

Tanks with turrets of that era had to stop in order to shoot straight so getting rid of the turret wasn't a big disadvantage but a great plus.

Flaws??? Strv 103 didn´t have any flaws... It was marvelous

They may have increased it's viability for a little longer by keeping a few low explosive "blanks" to clear the dirt sqwibbies. It'd be a fast, cheap, and easy way to clean out barrels and allow them to hold off the deep cleaning until it was more convenient to do so. Just an idea tho, not really applicable now that it's been retired so long. Something about the increased visual acuity of looking behind one's self.

Sven Berge, the father of the S-tank later helped the Israelis to develop the Merkava.

How about a megaproject on the Severn Barrage? Massive opportunity for tidal power... if it ever gets built

This is true. I live in a swedish county that is called the county of a 1000 lakes. And with lots of lakes comes alot of swamps. Hence the specialisation of equipment and machinery.

I would be so bold as to state that "battle wagon" would be the best translation.

Any chance of a video on the Merkava family?

I think Chieftain from Inside the Cheiftain's Hatch did a better job of explaining both the history and functions of this tank. Not once was Sven Berge mentioned in this video. You could also watch the British Tank Museum's video as well.

Behind some elevated terrain you woudn't see it but the gun smoke, shooting at it and the shells either fly over or hit the ground cover. Nightmare ambush tank. Flanking it or strike it vertically using mortar/artillery or air strike only options. But the S tank crew knows this so won't linger too long in one place. Hit and run.

Alright, it's done... So, found any weaknesses? Well... It can get uncomfortable... That's the most Swedish thing I've ever heard about military situations.

My favorite door stopper

ha. it's back! what was wrong with the first video?

Number one thing that is being overlooked is the perception that the S tank couldnt fire while moving when other tanks could. While it is true that the S-tank couldnt fire while moving, neither could other tanks, at least not efficiently enough to do so. It was no until the late 80s that regular tanks actually had a good stabilized gun that could fire while moving. Test by the British army during the early 70s showed that the S-tank was just narrowlingly slower at first shot that a Chieftain.

The pronounciation of "Kanonenjagdpanzer" made me burst out laughing :D

Tanks a lot 😁

Make a video about Karlsborg Swedens backup Capital.

You manage to release this on my birthday, great day to be born and better to be in the swedish armed forces! :D

Think you got something wrong, no tank had 150mm guns (kv2 had a 152mm, but no production western tank that was called a tank had a 150mm). Largest common gun in the west was and still is (while becoming even more common) 120mm. In the 60s, tank guns were usually 90mm or 105mm on Western tanks.

Reading tip if you want to know more: "Strv 103 Photo guide till stridsvagn 103 "S-tank"" by the Swedish Armour Historical Society. Text in Swedish and English. It is probably out of print but you may find it on eBay or at armour museums.

A few other minor corrections. It had a 105mm not 150mm cannon. Also... HEAT stands for High Explosive Anti Tank. Not High Energy.

You're mistaken, the Strv 103 isn't a tank without a turret. It's a tank without a hull. Instead, the tracks are mounted directly to the turret. :P

The Canadian Avro Aero is an interesting one, The story is the us bought it and burned the plans. I believe the fastest jet of its time. The alloy used on almost aircraft was invented for this Jet. 1 is MIA to this day stolen by a pilot.

About the Kranvagn (KRV) , the issue never was light armour but armament. HEAT-rounds, basically a cone of metal with explosives on one side, that on detonation gets formed into a metal spear travelling at 6000-10000 metres per second, was regarded the future of anti-armour, but it has a few particulars. One of them is that the penetration is proportional to the diameter of the cone, siply put the wider the cone, the longer the resulting spear. The second is that rotation (like the one used to stabilise projectiles) distorts the spear and makes it less efficient, which is why the Soviet tanks who heavily relied on HEAT had smoth bore barrels in their guns. The Swedish army wanted a HEAT round that was cheap, accurate with good penetration and short travel time even at long distance. Bofors engineers never managed to solve this, as fast shells require really fancy fuzes to be able to detonate the charge in the fraction of a second between impact and the shell smashing itself to pieces against the armour... while a highly accurate shell would rotate so fast that the penetration got severely reduced. Before a round was decided on, no one knew what cannon to pick (imagine finding out that the gun you installed in all you tanks are the wrong type for your shells!), and without a final gun, there was no point in making a turret as the exact shape and construction depended on what weight and dimensions the gun would have. In the end, one of the KRV chassies built became a test bed for the S-tank suspension, while the other was rebuilt as a SPH, that served as a concept for what became the Bandkanon 1.

1:30 150mm gun? You mean 105mm gun.. cmon

JAS 39 GRIPEN next Simon plz

without google,... as a german... I would translate it as: German: *Streitwagen* Sweden: Strids-vagen >> Both consisting of 2 words Streit- (Strids-) & Wagen (Vagen) >> Direct word for word eng. translation: Strife-/Fight- & Vehicle/Car

one of my favourite tank

Known for being early to this channel 😂😂 lol