Stridsvagn L-60

Strv L-60
Stridsvagn m/40K at the Hässlehoms Museum, Sweden
Type	Light tank
Place of origin	Sweden
Service history
In service	1935 – 2002
Used by	Sweden Kingdom of Hungary Ireland Dominican Republic
Wars	World War II Dominican Civil War
Production history
Designer	Otto Merker
Designed	1934
Manufacturer	AB Landsverk
Variants	L-60A L-60B L-60C L-60D Toldi
Specifications (Irish Landsverk L60 Light Tank)
Weight	8.5 t (8.4 long tons; 9.4 short tons) (laden)
Length	4.8 m (15.7 ft)
Width	2.075 m (6 ft 9.7 in)
Height	2.05 m (6 ft 9 in)
Crew	3

Armor	5–15 mm (0.20–0.59 in)
Main armament	Madsen 20mm Cannon
Secondary armament	7.92 mm Madsen machine gun
Engine	Bussing-Nag V8 cylinder 7.9 litres 150-160 bhp at 2500-2700 rpm
Suspension	Torsion-bar suspension
Operational range	270 km (170 mi)
Speed	45 km/h (28 mph)

Stridsvagn L-60 (Strv L-60), also known as Landsverk L-60, was a Swedish tank developed in 1934. It was developed by AB Landsverk as a light tank which included several advanced design features such as torsion bar suspension, periscopes rather than view slits and all-welded construction.^[1]

The L-60 was progressively improved and four variants were created: L-60A, L-60B, L-60C (37mm gun), L-60D (new turret and 37mm gun and twin machine guns). The L-60 eventually evolved into the Stridsvagn m/38 and subsequent Stridsvagn m/39 and Stridsvagn m/40 and was adopted by the Swedish army as such.

Variants

L-60 - First variants produced and delivered to:^[2]
- Ireland - 2 ordered in 1935,
- Austria - 1 ordered in 1936,
- Kingdom of Hungary - 1 ordered together with a Landsverk L-62, probably similar to m/38 with 37 mm Bofors cannon and room in the tower for a radio. They also purchased a license to develop their own tank Toldi.
L-60 S: Variant for the Swedish Army.^[2]
- L-60 S/I (Strv m/38) - 15 ordered in 1937 and delivered in 1939.
- L-60 S/II (Strv m/39) - 20 ordered in 1939 and delivered in 1940.
- L-60 S/III (Strv m/40L) - 100 ordered in 1940 and delivered in 1941.
- L-60 S/IV
- L-60 S/V (Strv m/40K) - 80 ordered in 1942 and delivered in 1944 by Karlstads Mekaniska Verkstad (Karlstad Mechanical Engineering), a subcontractor that assembled the tanks.

Foreign service

Hungarian Service

The L-60 was built under license by the Hungarian Weiss Company for the Hungarian army. It was adopted by the Hungarian army as the Toldi.

Irish Service

The first Irish Landsverk L60 was delivered in 1935 and joined Ireland's only other tank a Vickers Mk. D in the 2nd Armoured Squadron. The second Landsverk L60 arrived in 1936. The Landsverk's were still in use up until the late 1960s. One L60 is preserved in running order and the other is in the National Museum of Ireland, Collins Barracks, Dublin.

Dominican service

Twenty were sold to the Dominican Republic army in 1956, having been refurbished and designated L/60L. In the Dominican Civil War in April 1965, these tanks saw use against invading American forces during “Operation Power Pack”. Three of the Dominican L/60Ls were destroyed: one by a US Army M40 recoilless rifle team of the 82nd Airborne Division, and the other two respectively by a M50 Ontos and a M48 Patton of a US Marine Corps armor detachment of the 6th MEU. This 29 April 1965 battle was one of the very few tank-vs-tank battles to ever happen in the Western Hemisphere. After “Power Pack” ended, the United States assisted the Dominican Republic in rebuilding its army and twelve of the original twenty L/60Ls were again refurbished and restored to service. These dozen continued in frontline use until 2002. Today one is preserved in excellent, drivable condition as a historical icon by the Dominican Republic army.

Stridsvagn m/40 at Beredskapsmuseet outside Helsingborg

References

↑ http://www.ointres.se/strv_m_38-39.htm
1 2 "Landsverk Stridsvagn L-60". Landsverk. Retrieved 2012-05-18.

Sources

Tanks of the World 1915-1945 by Peter Chamberlain and Chris Ellis 1972/2002 p 159.

External links

Landsverk - Site about AB Landsverk between 1850 and 1992 (in Swedish)

Swedish armoured fighting vehicles of World War II
Light tanks	Strv m/21-29 Strv m/30-31 Strv m/37 Strv m/38-39-40
Medium tanks	Strv m/41 Strv m/42
Armoured cars	Pbil m/39-40 Pbil m/41
SP guns	Sav m/43
APCs	Tgbil m/42

Weapons and military equipment designed in Sweden 1914–1945

Firearms

Rifles	Carl Gustaf Model 1942
Submachine guns	Carl Gustaf Model 1945
Machine guns	Svenska Automatvapen Model 1940 Carl Gustaf Model 1942

Artillery

Tank and Anti-tank guns	Bofors 37 mm Gun Model 1934
Mountain guns	Bofors 75 mm Model 1934
Field, Medium and Heavy guns	Bofors 105 mm Howitzer Model 1924 Bofors 105 mm Howitzer Model 1935 Bofors 105 mm Howitzer Model 1937 Bofors 105 mm Gun Model 1927 Bofors 105 mm Gun Model 1931 Bofors 105 mm Gun Model 1934 Bofors 120 mm Howitzer Model 1914 Bofors 150 mm Howitzer Model 1931
Anti-aircraft guns	Bofors 20 mm Automatic Gun Model 40 Bofors 25 mm Automatic Gun Model 1932 Bofors 40 mm Gun Model 1936 Bofors 75 mm Gun Model 1929
Coastal guns	Bofors 105 mm Gun Model 1927 Bofors 105 mm Gun Model 1934
Naval guns	Bofors 120 mm Gun Bofors 152 mm Gun Bofors 283 mm Gun

Armored
Fighting
Vehicles

Light tanks	Strv m/21-29 Landsverk L-10 Landsverk L-60 Landsverk L-120
Medium tanks	Landsverk Lago
Self-propelled guns	Stormartillerivagn m/43
Self-propelled anti-aircraft guns	Landsverk L-62
Armoured cars	Pansarbil M/31 Landsverk Lynx Landsverk L-180/L-181/L-182 Landsverk L-185
Armoured personnel carrier	Tgbil m/42
Artillery tractors	Landsverk L-131 Landsverk L-132 Landsverk L-135
Prototypes	Landsverk L-5 Landsverk L-100 Landsverk L-101

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