Tanks of Sweden

This article deals with the history and development of tanks employed by the military of Sweden, from the interwar period, and World War II, the Cold War and modern era. Following World War I, the Swedish government purchased parts for the German tank prototype LK II and then assembled in Sweden as the Stridsvagn m/21 (Strv m/21 for short), which was essentially an improved version of the LK II prototype. Ten of these tanks were built, their armament a single machine gun. In 1929, five were rebuilt to create the Strv m/21-29 variant which was armed with a 37mm gun or two machine guns and was powered by a Scania-Vabis engine. The Stridsvagn m/31 (Landsverk L-10) tank was the next design and built by AB Landsverk. It was armed with a 37 mm Bofors gun and a light machine gun, and was equipped with 8–24 mm armor. Only three were built and, despite being highly advanced for the time when World War II broke out, they were dug in as static bunkers. Sweden ordered forty-eight tankettes in 1937 as the Stridsvagn m/37 (Strv m/37) after a successful demonstration during winter conditions in the Krkonoše Mountains. They were to be assembled in Oskarshamn with a more powerful , water-cooled, six-cylinder, Volvo FC-CKD gasoline engine and armor, up to thick, from Avesta, although ČKD supplied most of the other components after building one prototype. The vehicle was heavily modified with the driver's machine gun deleted and proved to be the heaviest and largest version of the AH-IV at and a length of , a width of and high. Its turret mounted two Swedish Ksp m/36 strv machine guns and sported a small observation cupola on its top. It carried a radio and 3960 rounds for its machine guns. It had a maximum speed of and a range of . It could ford a stream up to in depth. The last components were shipped in November 1938. On 1 September 1939, at the outbreak of war, Sweden relied on a numerous army through conscription and the use of a Total Defence policy. Throughout World War II, Sweden held the largest infantry army of the Nordic countries with more than 1,000,000 soldiers.