The main purpose of the tank is to provide the Austrian armed forces with their own anti-tank vehicle capable of performing assigned tasks in mountainous and hilly terrain. The beginning of the design - 1965, the development is carried out by the company "Saurer-Werke". The first prototype was released in 1967; in 1971, 5 Steyr SK-105 units were produced for versatile testing. The tank was based on the chassis from the Saurer armored personnel carrier. For 1993, about 600 Steyr SK-105 units were mass-produced, some of which were exported to Tunisia, Bolivia, Argentina and Morocco.
Features of the tank design
The layout of the Steyr SK-105 is quite traditional - the compartment for controlling the vehicle is located in the bow, the fighting compartment is located in the center, and the MTO is located in the stern. The driver's seat is located closer to the port side. Batteries and an ammunition rack are located on the right side of it. In front of the driver's hatch there are 3 prismatic observation devices, the middle one, if necessary, can be used as a passive periscopic night vision device. The main highlight of the tank is the swinging tower. This tower "JТ 1" was created on the basis of the French "FL-12". The Austrians have made their own changes and improvements. The vehicle commander is on the left side of the turret, the gunner is on the right side. All instruments mounted on a swing type tower are in constant communication with the installed weapons and equipment. The team of the car consists of three people. The lack of a charging device is explained by the installation of a semi-automatic loading system in the tank. The location of the MTO in the aft part determined the chassis layout of the tank - the driving type wheels are installed in the rear part, the steering type wheels, respectively, are in front. There are also mechanical track tensioners at the front.
Fire capabilities "Steyr SK-105"
The main armament is the 105 mm gun "105 G1", which is unified for various types of ammunition. The tank's standard projectile is HEAT-type ammunition. Ammunition characteristics: range of use 2.7 kilometers, weight 17.3 kilograms, projectile speed 0.8 km / s, armor penetration of a standard vertical armored plate 36 centimeters, angular installation (65 g.) 15 centimeters. The rest of the ammunition is high-explosive fragmentation, smoke, armor-piercing sub-caliber OFL 105 G1. The sub-caliber ammunition has good armor penetration - from one kilometer it penetrates a three-layer NATO target and a monolithic target from 1.2 kilometers. The gun is automatically reloaded from two magazines. Drum-type magazines, six ammunition each. An empty cartridge case is thrown out through a special hatch in the tower. Firing speed 12 rds / min. The reloading of the drum magazines was left from the French tower - outside the tank. Ammunition - 41 rounds of various types, depending on the tasks performed. Additionally, the tank received a 7.62 mm coaxial MG 74 machine gun. Machine gun ammunition two thousand ammunition. If necessary, another machine gun of this type is installed on the commander's cupola. Three smoke grenade launchers are installed on the sides of the tower.
Possibilities of aiming and observation
On the swinging tower there is a laser-type TCV29 range finder with a range of 0.4-10 kilometers and an IR / BS searchlight XSW-30-U with 950 watts. The vehicle commander is provided with 7 prism instruments and a periscopic sight with adjustable magnification up to 7.5x. Viewing angles 28/9 degrees. Outside, the periscope is protected by a swivel-type cover. The gunner has two prism devices and an 8x telescopic sight, an angle of view of 8.5 degrees. The gunner's telescopic sight is also provided with a protective cover that rises and pivots. The commander of the vehicle, when performing tasks at night, uses a night infrared sight 6 times, a viewing angle of 7 degrees. Guidance equipment is fully duplicated, the commander with the gunner can direct weapons and fire both hydraulic drives and manual drives. The gun pointing angles are from -8 to +12 degrees. In the non-combat position, the gun is fixed with a steady rest, which is located in the front of the body on the frontal upper armor plate.
Characteristics of armor and protection "Steyr SK-105"
The cuirassier received anti-bullet armor, only the frontal and turret sections will be able to withstand 20 mm ammunition. The hull "Steyr SK-105" is of a welded type made of steel armor plates, the tower is made of steel armor plates, welded-cast. The light tank received armor - the frontal part of the hull is 2 centimeters, the frontal part of the turret is 4 centimeters, the rest of the turret armor is 2 centimeters, the left and right sides of the hull are 1.4 centimeters, the rest of the hull armor is 0.8-1 centimeters. When installing additional armor, you can protect the frontal part from 35 mm sub-caliber ammunition. The standard equipment of the Steyr SK-105 includes satellites for all crew members.
Running characteristics of the tank
The Steyr SK-105 is very mobile: it overcomes ascents with a steepness of up to 35 degrees, vertical obstacles up to 80 centimeters, ditches up to 2.4 meters wide. Able to overcome a ford, the depth of which reaches one meter. It can also travel on rough, hilly terrain at a fairly high speed. The tank is powered by a 6-cylinder liquid-cooled Steyr 7FA turbocharged diesel engine. Power characteristics - 320 hp / 235 kW / 2300 rpm. The basic version of the tank received a transmission from a 6-speed manual gearbox, a differential slewing mechanism. Dry friction disc stopping brakes. MTO has a PPO system that can be activated either manually or automatically. Later, when upgrading the tank, he received an automatic transmission "ZF 6 HP 600". The undercarriage consists of five rubber-coated double-sided rollers of the support type and three rollers of the supporting type. Individual torsion bar suspension, on the 1st and 5th nodes of the suspension there are hydraulic shock absorbers. The tracks have rubber-metal hinges, and each has 78 units of tracks. When performing tasks on snowy and icy terrain, steel spurs can be installed on the tracks.
Released modifications of the "cuirassier"
SK 105 / A1 is a further development of the basic version. Received more modern equipment and units.
"SK 105 / A2" - modification of the 1981 model. Reinforced tank. Received tower stabilization, full automatic loader, ballistic digital computer. Receives modern aiming and targeting devices. The modification touched the swinging tower, its ballistic protection was improved. The weight of the tank has slightly increased.
SK 105 / A3 is the last modification of the machine. In this version, the cannon was replaced, the cuirassier receives the American M68 with all modern improvements. The tower is also being modernized, but it remains of the pumping type. All equipment of the tank is electrically driven, but manual control is left in case of an accident. The tank receives a reinforced engine "9FA" with a capacity of 265 kW. The weight of the tank has increased again and is more than 20 tons.
BREM "ARV Greif" is created on the basis of "cuirassier". The car began to be produced in the late 70s. Provided with a 6-ton hydraulic crane. Boom 3-3.9 meters. Winch with a force of 20 tons. Full name - 4K-7FA, SB 20.
The 4KH7FA-AVE is an engineering-type vehicle based on the SK 105 and uses a hull from the 4K-7FA, SB 20 ARRV. A bulldozer-type knife and an 8-ton winch are installed. Where there is a crane on the ARV, a controlled hydroexcavator is installed on the engineering vehicle. A small number of cars were produced, which are listed in the Austrian army.
"4KH7FA-FA" is a simulator for training military drivers.
Main characteristics:
- year of issue - 1971;
- the number of issued units - 600 units;
- full weight 17.7 tons;
- height 2.5 meters;
- travel speed up to 70 km / h;
- cruising range of 0.5 thousand kilometers.
