"Combat buses". Before the start of World War II, Sweden favorably stood out among all the Scandinavian countries with a developed industry, which made it possible to create very complex military products, including tanks. It is not surprising that, using its neutral status, the country continued to work on the creation of its own armored vehicles during the Second World War. In particular, it was in Sweden that the first armored personnel carrier in Scandinavia was created. The vehicle was simple enough, but proved to be very practical and actively served in the Swedish armed forces until the early 1980s.
On the way to the first Swedish armored personnel carrier
The Terrangbil m / 42 KP became the first armored personnel carrier of the Swedish army and the first such combat vehicle in Scandinavia. At the same time, Swedish engineers approached the problem as simply as possible, using the chassis of Volvo TLV 141 and Scania-Vabis F10 trucks to create their armored personnel carriers. Given the presence of a developed automotive industry and companies such as Volvo and Scania, which do not give up their positions in the automotive market in the 21st century, such a step was predictable.
Volvo TLV 141
The Volvo TLV 141 was a truly successful truck, one of the best for its time and, importantly, with a 4x4 wheel arrangement. During the Second World War, Volvo produced a whole range of three-ton bonnet trucks specifically for the needs of the armed forces. These were the all-wheel drive models TLV131, TLV140, TLV141 and TLV142. Each such truck was equipped with a powerful gasoline engine that produced 90-105 hp. (for comparison, the famous Soviet three-ton ZIS-5 was equipped with 66-73 hp engines). In total, until 1949, the Swedes produced about a thousand of these cars.
But producing trucks, command buses and special equipment based on them is one thing, and armored vehicles is completely another. For example, the Soviet Union, which the historian Alexei Isaev rightly calls "a great lorry power", neither before the war nor during the war years did not create its own armored personnel carrier. Having retained its neutrality, Sweden managed in a calm atmosphere to digest the experience of military campaigns in Europe and study the tactics of German troops. In the new conditions of war, the Germans increasingly used specialized armored personnel carriers - the famous half-track Sd. Kfz.251, known in our country by the name of the manufacturer's company "Ganomag".
The use of armored personnel carriers helped the motorized infantry follow the tanks, confidently overcoming the barrage of enemy artillery fire. Reservation of new combat vehicles protected the landing from shrapnel of shells and mines, as well as fire from small arms, significantly increasing the combat capabilities of the advancing tank groups. As you know, the capture and retention of territory is ensured not by tanks, but by infantry. Therefore, the more infantry can pass after the tanks, the better. Given the German experience in the use of armored personnel carriers, the Swedish military decided to get a similar vehicle. At the same time, in the conditions of a big war, which had already engulfed the whole of Europe, the Swedes could not count on the acquisition of armored personnel carriers from other countries, it was necessary to create their own vehicle. Work on the creation of its own armored personnel carrier began in Sweden already in 1941.
Features of the Terrangbil m / 42 KP armored personnel carrier
To create an armored personnel carrier, the Swedes chose the easiest and most accessible path for them. The designers decided to install the armored hull on the chassis of a well-developed off-road truck. The development of the armored personnel carrier was mainly responsible for the specialists of AB Landsverk, which had extensive experience in the creation of tanks and armored vehicles. By 1942, the first Swedish armored personnel carrier was ready, which is reflected in its name, this year the first prototypes of the future combat vehicle were ready.
Swedish designers have created an armored personnel carrier of a classic layout with a front engine and control compartment, behind which there was an assault compartment. At the same time, the chassis of a 4x4 truck was left unchanged. The machine also used front single wheels and rear dual wheels. On top of the chassis was placed a welded armored hull of an original shape with a rational arrangement of armor plates and gable sides. The location of the armor plates, which were produced by Bofors and Landsverk, outwardly resembled the body of the most famous German armored personnel carrier in history - Sd. Kfz. 251, but the Swedes did not have their own half-track chassis. At the same time, such a chassis would be much better suited for the conditions of Sweden. In the future, the Swedes themselves noted the insufficient cross-country ability of the chassis of a conventional, albeit four-wheel drive, truck. It was possible to increase the permeability only through the use of chains.
At the same time, the first Swedish armored personnel carrier could not boast of serious armor protection. The frontal part of the vehicle hull had a maximum armor thickness of 20 mm, the sides and rear of the hull - 8 mm. The armored personnel carrier received an open-top transport and troop compartment, the roof was missing. In case of precipitation in the form of rain or snow, a tarpaulin could be pulled from above, which was part of the packing of the combat vehicle. The crew of the first armored personnel carrier in Scandinavia consisted of two people - a driver and a commander, later a shooter was added to them. The troop compartment allowed to transport up to 16 fully equipped soldiers, who sat on benches with their backs to each other, but usually there were much fewer of them - up to 10 people in the back. The paratroopers went out through the door in the rear of the hull; in an emergency, the fighters could leave the car by simply rolling over the side. For the characteristic shape of the corps, Swedish soldiers quickly called the new armored personnel carriers "coffins".
A curious feature of the car was that the first armored personnel carriers that entered the troops did not have any weapons at all. It was assumed that the paratroopers themselves would fire at the enemy, having risen over the side. Later, a turret machine gun mount, which was located above the cockpit, began to be installed on armored personnel carriers. A pair of two 8-mm water-cooled Kulspruta m / 36 machine guns, which were a copy of the American Browning M1917A1 machine gun, was installed here. On some versions of armored personnel carriers, the Swedes installed two similar turrets, one located in the rear of the hull. Also, as part of the upgrades carried out, armored personnel carriers received two three-barreled smoke grenade launchers, which were located in the front of the hull above the wings.
The heart of the armored personnel carriers were 4-cylinder Scania-Vabis 402 engines with 115 hp. at 2300 rpm, or a 6-cylinder Volvo FET with 105 hp. at 2500 rpm. The engine power was enough to accelerate a vehicle with a combat weight of 8, 5 tons and a length of almost 7 meters up to a speed of 70 km / h, over rough terrain the armored personnel carrier could move at a speed of 35 km / h, but in practice such a speed was practically unattainable. and the maneuverability of the armored personnel carrier left much to be desired.
Production and operation of Terrangbil m / 42 KP armored personnel carriers
Serial production of the Terrangbil m / 42 KP began in 1943, the first vehicles entered service with the Swedish army in 1944, when the first 38 armored personnel carriers were handed over to the military. Before the end of serial production, more than 300 combat vehicles were assembled. It is known that two companies Volvo, which received 100 hulls, and Scania, which received 262 hulls, were engaged in the production of armored personnel carriers. Both companies installed them on their Volvo TLV 141 and Scania-Vabis F10 all-wheel drive trucks, respectively. The armored personnel carriers produced at the Volvo plant were designated Terrangbil m / 42 VKP, and the vehicles assembled at the Scania plant were designated Terrangbil m / 42 SKP, respectively. In addition to the armored personnel carriers themselves, a number of command-staff and ambulances were also made, the latter made it possible to transport up to 4 wounded on stretchers inside the corps.
Already the first months of operation of the new cars revealed their shortcomings, which included insufficient maneuverability, problems with the transmission, which was considered not entirely successful, as well as poor visibility from the driver's seat. Later, weak booking began to be attributed to the disadvantages. At the same time, in the course of operation, armored personnel carriers were modernized several times, which made it possible to extend the period of their active use until the early 1980s. In particular, in later versions, archaic water-cooled machine guns were replaced with more advanced KsP 58 machine guns chambered for the standard NATO cartridge 7, 62x51 mm. Also, a full-fledged roof appeared over the troop compartment, the armored personnel carrier became airtight, but now no more than 7 people were transported in the troop compartment.
Despite the fact that Sweden remains neutral, the armored personnel carriers created during the Second World War managed to take part in the battles. The Swedish military used their vehicles during peacekeeping missions in Africa, and also armed peacekeeping units of other countries with them. In 1960, the Swedes used 11 armored personnel carriers in the Congo, where they arrived by the decision of the UN, here armored vehicles first took part in battles. Later, another 15 Swedish armored personnel carriers were specially purchased by the UN to arm the Irish and Indian peacekeeping battalions. In addition to the Congo, Terrangbil m / 42 SKP armored personnel carriers were used as part of the UN peacekeeping force in Cyprus until 1978. Finally, the last modernized armored personnel carriers were removed from the armament and storage of the Swedish army only in 2004.
