Armor (AFV) Profile # 50 - SWISS BATTLE TANKS, sb booklet

Description: AFV WEAPONS PROFILE # 50 -SWISS BATTLE TANKS ( Pz 61 and 68 ) by R M Ogorkiewicz UK Profile publications, first series, paper covers, 7 x 10 , glossy page stock, 20 pages, numerous B&W photos, 2 pages of color schemes line drawings, history & technical specs. VG condition ( light cover wear & occasional bump) The Panzer 61 was a Swiss Cold War era medium tank. The tank had a weight of 36.5 tons and was powered by a 630hp diesel engine which gave it a top road speed of 31 mph . The primary armament of the Panzer 61 was a 105mm main gun. During the early 1950s the Swiss Army tried to buy modern tanks to reinforce the armoured forces which, due to the war in Korea, proved to be impossible. As a stop-gap solution, the army bought light AMX-13 tanks from France and decided to start the development of a Swiss-built battle tank. This led to a vehicle called Panzer 58 . This tank had most of the characteristics of the later Panzer 61 with the exception of its main gun. The Panzer 58 was fitted with a British Ordnance QF 20 pounder. The Swiss Army took delivery of 10 preproduction models. In 1961 the parliament decided to buy 150 of the improved Panzer 61 which were delivered between 1965 and 1967, produced at the RUAG Land Systems facility at Thun . In the years from 1967 to 1994 (when the last Panzer 61 battalion was reequipped with more modern tanks) the tank underwent a series of changes and improvements which brought it very close to the standard of the Panzer 68 (its successor). Among many other changes, the original and characteristic 20mm secondary gun was replaced by an additional machine gun in a coaxial turret mount. This last development step was called Panzer 61 AA9. The chassis was used as the basis of the Entpannungspanzer 65 armoured recovery vehicle and for the initial prototype of the Brückenlegepanzer 68. ************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************* The Panzer 68 was a Swiss main battle tank developed by the 'Eidgenössische Konstruktionswerkstätte Thun' in the late 1960s. The Panzer 68 was based on the Panzer 61 whose initial development dates back to 1951. The development started immediately after the successful introduction of the Panzer 61. Improvements consisted of wider tracks, stabilized gun, and the introduction of a second machine gun instead of the coaxial 20mm gun of early Panzer 61 models. In 1968, hence the name, the Swiss parliament decided to buy 170 vehicles. Deliveries of the Panzer 68 started in 1971. In 1977 a second batch was manufactured. In the years between 1978 and 1983, a third and fourth batch followed. The last two lots were called either AA3 and AA4 or Panzer 68/75. The most important change was the introduction of a bigger turret. The Austrian army showed some interest in the Panzer 68 in the late 70's, but decided not to buy the model when the deficiencies of the system became public. In 1992 the Panzer 68 underwent one more modernization program which introduced a new fire control system which was on a par with the system used in the new Panzer 87 (German-built Leopard 2) This new, improved version was called Panzer 68/88. Despite the improvements in the Panzer 68/88, the model was relegated to secondary tasks after the arrival of the Panzer 87. All Panzer 68 models were retired in the early years of the new millennium. The responsible authorities tried to sell some 200 to the army of Thailand, but the deal never went through and therefore, the remaining vehicles were demilitarized and sold for scrap in 2005. 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Price: 3.25 USD

Location: Silver City, New Mexico

End Time: 2024-10-20T19:32:34.000Z

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