Part I – Introduction

Part II – Italy, Czechoslovakia

Part III – Hungary

Hello everyone,

it’s been a while since the last part, but I hope you haven’t forgotten – it’s time for one of the most interesting parts of the EU tree concept: Sweden.

Hearing about Sweden in connection with computer games always makes me smile – the reason for that is my experience with Warcraft, specifically Frostwhisper server, which was predominantly Scandinavian and “SWE???” equalled to World of Tanks “Siemka kto PL” – it practically became a meme of the server at one point. Make no mistake though – there is nothing funny about Swedish tanks – in fact, using currently known rules for tree creation (“all classes have to end either with a merge, or a tier 10″), Sweden is the only nation in the prospective EU tree, that could actually build a tree of its own, having enough vehicles for each class.

I will be drawing heavily from the work of Renhaxue and sp15 – the first being well-known for digging through Swedish archives on his blog, the latter being the author of the Swedish series on this blog (in case you are interested, click the “History” button, scroll to the bottom of the page, find “Sweden”, the links are all there).

I was a bit reluctant to post about Sweden earlier for four reasons:

- I know only little about tanks

- sp15 is already doing it

- not to steal anyone’s research

- there is SO much stuff and the proposal is quite complex

So, I am going to give you an overview of what the proposed Swedish branch (or more like a tree) is about and will either link you to details, or sp15 will just get to them eventually in the Swedish series on FTR.

This is the draft of the Swedish tree, as proposed by sp15.

Yea, there’s a lot of stuff. Columns from left to right: heavies, meds, lights/meds, tank destroyers, tank destroyers, artillery. Let’s start with the easy stuff.

Heavies

Swedish heavy tank development has already been described on FTR in one detailed post, so I will be brief. Swedish heavy tanks as you can see would branch off the medium and start at tier 8. All three (EMIL 1951, EMIL 1952 and Kranvagn) are the various stages of the Swedish heavy tank program. The vehicles are mostly project/mockup stage only, with the tier 10 hull being actually built.

EMIL 1951 was a “heavy” tank project from 1951 (as the name suggests) and generally, it comes close to the French heavy tank concept – the tank was actually quite light (28 tons) and mobile (550hp engine, 48 km/h), but was to be equipped with an oscillating turret with a 120mm autoloaded cannon. Make no mistake though – the front of the vehicle was heavily armored (140mm and 120mm of sloped armor) for its weight.

EMIL 1952 was basically an upgrade of this design (bigger 15cm gun, stronger 668hp or so engine, heavier – 38 tons, 170mm frontal armor). The ultimate evolution was supposed to be the Kranvagn from 1958, present at tier 8. 15cm L/40 gun (or 105mm L/67), 45 tons, 723 hp engine and quite a thick armor (170/70/30mm turret, 145/40/18mm hull). It generally resembles the French tank layout, with the sides being extremely vulnerable, but the frontal armor was designed to withstand IS-3 fire at any distance.

The hull of the Kranvagn still exists and is on display:

Mediums

Medium tanks are a mess. There are enough lowtier candidates, which are generally unremarkable, apart from some having very comfortable depression. Neither the armor nor the guns are outstanding, mobility is generally mediocre. We covered the lowtier candidates in the FTR series already, with tier 1 being the Strv m/21-29, Strv m/38 is the Landsverk L-60 variant, tier 5 is covered by the Strv m/42:

The “Lago” on tier 4 is its predecessor. Notice that there are two medium branches, with the second having L-100 and L-120 at tier 2 and 3. L-120:

Well, so much for what was already described on FTR. Just so you get an idea, the tier 5 tank of the first branch weighs 22 tons, potentially can has a 380hp engine (45 km/h), has 55/25/20 hull armor and 55/30/20 turret armor and potentially a 75mm L/50 or L/60 gun. Certainly on the lighter side then, with some decent firepower.

Okay, going up the branch.

Tier 6 – Strv 74: a light/medium design, made to compete with the AMX-13 from 1956.

Quite a light medium tank – 26 tons, 42 km/h with potentially a 430 hp engine, 75mm L/56,5 gun, very nice depression (-15/+25). Again, on the lighter side. The upgraded turret would strongly resemble the AMX-13 turret, as this was actually proposed. With an autoloader that is. The armor is quite weak though (55/30/20 hull, 30/20/20 turret), the mobility would have to compensate.

Tier 7 – Strv “Leo”: no, that’s not a Leopard. No relation. It’s a mid-40′s advanced 30 ton medium tank design, to be equipped with a high-power 105mm gun.

25-30 tons (30 with additional armor), 450hp engine, 55 km/h, 70/35/20 armor, 105mm high power gun. Quite a balanced, nice design, without any obvious flaws (apart from the armor). Decent depression too (-10/+15). Most likely quite mobile.

Tier 8 LS-50 is a very paper-ish tank concept, based on the hull, that would later become the EMIL 1951 heavy tank and the 20 ton “Lansen” light tank. Basically, the Swedes created a 20 ton “light” tank in 1949 or so, then went like “okay, that’s too light” and proposed to upgrade it. It could either use a Leo turret, or the Lansen light tank turret (below, no actual drawing was discovered, this projection was made by sp15 – the grey-ish outlines refer to the Leo turret):

Weight would be cca 30 tons, armor – 70/20/20 hull, 100/30/20 turret, 550hp engine, 55 km/h, 105mm high power gun.

Tier 9 – Strv K – a hybrid vehicle. In 1958, it was considered to use the Kranvagn (tier 10 heavy) hull and mate it with a Centurion turret to create a medium tank design, but in the end, Sweden simply bought Centurion Mk.X tanks.

Weight was estimated at 40 tons, armor would be 95/40/18 on hull (145mm LFP!), turret armor would be 152/89/89. Maximum speed would be 60 km/h (723hp engine) with the 105mm L7 as its main armament. Quite a fast little devil!

And finally, we come to the “crown jewel” – tier 10 medium tank project, the Strv A. Basically, it was an early proposal of a tank, that would actually resemble the Chieftain or M48 in its concept – well armored, sufficiently mobile, powerful gun. The project was cancelled quite early, but the experience gained would be eventually used in the Strv 103, AKA S-Tank.

We are looking at 42,5 tons, 105mm L/55 gun (with an autoloader!, -7/+15 depression), 120/50/20 hull and 100/60/40 turret armor, 723hp engine. Not bad!

Light tanks

Alright, that was the medium branch, now let’s have a look at the light/medium branch. The L-100 and L-120 we already mentioned above. The tier 4 Varjän is basically an upgunned Landsverk L-60 with a powerful 57mm gun:

Moving on – tier 4 “Terro” light tank is problematic, it was just a 1942 concept of an uparmored light tank, that lost the competition to the m/42. Very little is known.

Tier 6 – “Pilen”, that’s a proposal for export-oriented post-war light tank, heavily resembling the m/42. 17 tons, 380hp engine, shorter 75mm L/31 gun, relatively okay-ish armor (for a light tank) – 55/30/20 turret, 35/18/18 hull.

Tier 7 – that’s “Lansen” – a post-war attempt by Landsverk to create an export-oriented light tank, which was offered to several countries, including Ireland, Norway and Pakistan. A mockup was made. It would weigh 19,5-20 tons, with very thin armor (30-35mm, at this tier it is already quite irrelevant), a 380 or even 450hp engine and 55 km/h maximum speed. The top gun would be 75mm L/54 Bofors.

Now we are looking at tier 8 LT – Lansen 25t. Basically, it’s a heavier and upgunned version of the Lansen. In 1950, the Swedes realized that 75mm gun is no longer enough and instead, they added a 105mm L/40 gun, capable of fighting modern tanks. The project was cancelled a year later in favour of EMIL 1951 development. In WoT terms however, it looks very, very nice – 25 tons, 450hp or even 640hp engine, modern 105mm gun (think L7 type), 60/25/25 armor. Not sure whether the proposal had an autoloader or not, it’s not clear from sp15′s materials.

Tier 9 is actually a medium tank – if I see correctly, it’s pretty much the same thing as the tier 10 medium tank. No extra picture is available and I am not sure how this would work in a WoT tree, but either way, as you can see, there is enough material for an entire light tank branch.

Strv T:

Tank destroyers

Again, believe it or not, where other nations struggle, Sweden has enough material for TWO tank destroyer branches. Crazy stuff. Let’s have a look at the first one.

Tier 2 – common for both branches. Two options – basically, one could be the L-62 Anti II, strongly resembling the Hungarian Nimród (both share same roots). Equipped with a 40mm Bofors, it had quite a low penetration (50mm in WoT terms or so), but high rate of fire.

Another alternative would be the L-101, of which very little is known – apparently, there was a plan to convert the L-100 light tank to a 20mm-equipped ultra-light tank destroyer (something like the Polish tankettes with 20mm guns), but it is not clear whether that really happened or not.

Tier 3 – the Sav m/43 assault gun on a modified 38t chassis. Light (12 tons) and lightly armored (50/15/13), but equipped either with a low-power 75mm gun, or 105mm L/21 derp. Described in more detail in this FTR article.

Tier 4 – this would be the Sav m/44, or “Trätoffelvagnen”. Again, same chassis, very light armor (50/15/15), same guns as the tier 3 (low power 75mm or 105mm L/21), historically it was an “upgrade” to the Sav m/43. It is described in detail in the Sav m/43 article. It has quite a comfortable traverse (15 degrees to each side), weighs 13 tons, but the engine is underpowered (160hp or so).

Tier 5 – Pvkv m/43. Now we are getting somewhere. A tank destroyer, based on the m/42, mass-produced and used by the Swedish army from 1946 or so to the 70′s. 23 to 25 tons, powerful 75mm L/54 gun (plans to upgrade to L/60 existed), 380hp engine giving it decent mobility (45 km/h) and with decent armor for its tier (70/30/25). Speciality: VERY nice depression (-15/+25). Early models were open-topped, late models had closed compartment.

Tier 6 – Motorlavett m/42 – a paper project from 1944, an attempt by Sweden to create a “heavy” tank destroyer on m/42 chassis, capable of fighting enemy heavy tanks. It would have thin rear-positioned superstructure (55mm front hull, 70mm superstructure), but a powerful 105mm L/50 gun with 15 degrees traverse to each side. 27 tons, 380hp engine, 45 km/h. Never reached prototype stage. Mentioned only in description, a “reconstruction” by sp15:

Tier 7 – TLP-46. Remember the Leo above? Basically, it was based on a platform, on which a tank was created, as well as a tank destroyer proposal. This is the tank destroyer and the research of the platform would eventually lead to the Leo (in 1948). A 30 ton vehicle design from 1946, it was to be heavily armored (130/35/20mm) and it would carry a very powerful 105mm L/50 gun, developed from the ML m/42 model. Nice gun traverse (15 deg to each side) and depression (-10/+20), up to 640hp engine and 55 km/h maximum speed. This would give the Jagdpanther a run for its money!

Estimated look (forgive the… uneven parts):

Tier 8 – S-1959: yep, first S-Tank proposal from (surprise!) 1959. The gun was aimed by the entire hull, making this design difficult to implement in World of Tanks, but iconical nonetheless. Very thin armor (30mm, heavily sloped though), 105mm L7 or a 20pdr (both autoloaded!), cca 30 tons, probably a 540hp engine.

Tier 9 – Strv S1 Prototype – yep, that’s the S-Tank prototype alright. The S-Tank is well described and notoriously known, so in short: 35 tons, 40mm of armor, probably 540hp engine, 105mm L7 or upgraded L74 gun.

Tier 10 – the S-Tank. What more can be said, right? The iconic Swedish vehicle must not be absent from any proposal :)

Of course, that’s not all, there is a second possible TD line as well. That one consists of infantry support vehicles – not very well armored, but with massive guns.

Tier 3 – Tankette fm/49, a 1949 vehicle proposed as a cheap alternative to the Sav m/43. Two prototypes were built tested and the development later led to Ikv 72. Very light (6,5 tons), with a 75mm or 84mm short derpguns, very thin armor (13-19mm), 10 degrees travers and a Volvo 110hp engine. It however had massive depression (-25/+20!!!). Maximum speed was 60 km/h.

Tier 4 – Ikv 72 – a production version of the previous vehicle, serving from 1956 to the 70′s. It recieved several upgrades during its service, including a more powerful gun. 8 tons, cca 18mm or frontal armor, 105mm short derp (-20/+20 degrees depression!, 10 degrees traverse to each side), 57 km/h max speed, 150hp engine. Very light, very fast, unarmored but devastating.

Tier 5 – Ikv 103 – further development of the Ikv 72 – 8,8 tons, but 230hp engine (!), various 105mm derp models. Basically, it was Ikv 72 with a new gun and new engine, producing an extremely mobile vehicle, capable of speeds around 55 km/h.

Tier 6 – Landsverk Ikv 65 Alt 1, a proposal for new infantry support tank by Landsverk from 1965, again it is a further development of Ikv 103. Several 90mm guns were proposed, including the one from AMX-13. 10,5 tons, 190hp engine, 10mm armor all around, 60 km/h, 90mm Bofors L/42 or DEFA 90mm gun (depression: -12/+35, traverse 40 degrees!)

Tier 7 – Landsverk Ikv 65 Alt 5 – after the previous vehicle was rejected, Landsverk proposed a turretted alternative. 14 tons, a fully traversing turret, 12/10/8mm of armor (turret 12/12/12), DEFA 90mm or Bofors 90mm L/53 guns (-10/+15 degrees), 270hp engine, 65 km/h. Hellcat on steroids.

Tier 8 – Ikv 91 Prototype – first made in 1968, modified in 1969, produced since 1974 in series. 14,5 tons and 270-330hp engines, max speed 65-70 km/h, only cca 20mm of armor, but equipped with very powerful guns (90mm L/54, DEFA 105mm, later even 105mm L7, -10/+15 depression).

Tier 9 – Hägglunds Ikv Alt 5, one of the Ikv 91 competition proposals with a turret. 12,4 tons, maximum speed 85 km/h (engine unknown), very thin armor (20/4+8 spaced/4+8 spaced hull, 20/15/4+8 spaced turret), but again 105mm DEFA or L7 with autoloaders! Depression -11/+20, mechanical rate of fire 30 RPM.

And finally, tier 10 – Ikv 120 proposal by Hägglunds from 1964 to mount a massive 120mm gun on a very light chassis. The result?

Schematics:

Weight – 12,5 tons, Max speed – 85 km/h forward (!), 35 km/h backward (!!!), armor cca 20/12/12, gun – 120mm L1 equivalent was considered, as well as the DEFA 90mm (autoloaded). Gun traverse – 40 deg, depression: -11,5/+20.

Now that’s insane.

Okay, what’s left… arty.

Artillery

I will be brief here, because stuff like armor or speed is quite irrelevant for artillery (as both usually get artificially nerfed or don’t play too much a role anyway, unless either is very high).

Tier 2 – Stormpjäs fm/43, 75mm gun, quite mobile (45 km/h), very little armor.

Tier 3 – Ikv 72 SPG project on the Ikv 72 tankette, 105mm gun, 50 degrees traverse

Tier 4 – VAK 40 SPG 1 (105mm gun on Lvkv 42 chassis, 60 degrees traverse to each side)

Tier 5 – VAK 40 SPG 2 (105mm gun on the same chassis, but with a 360 degree turret)

Tier 6 – VH 105×60 Alt II (105mm gun with an rapid fire autoloader in a turret, very light and mobile – 300hp engine for 14,5 tons)

Tier 7 – VH 105×60 Alt I (heavier version with a longer 105mm gun)

Tier 8 – 15cm Kv fm/49 (Akv 1949) (autoloaded 152mm gun project from 1949)

Tier 9 – Akv 151 (Autoloaded 155mm gun on the EMIL prototype chassis, the prototype were made in 1960)

Tier 10 – Bkan 1A (Autoloaded 155mm L/50 on S-Tank chassis, first prototype was ready in 1964, served until 2003)

As you can see, the Swedish arty kinda resembles the French one. Either way, practically all Swedish vehicles are very much on the light side and this is by far not the definitive count of vehicles, that could be WoT-viable.