Tidbit on "shitboxes":
So I found a nice series of articles on the Swedish Pbv 302 IFV, namely the specifications of the REMO mid-life upgrade tested in December 1979 but never purchased because "the vehicles would still work until they are retired". The upgrade included:
- the same automatic Allison gearbox found on the Ikv 91
- the same uprated Volvo THD 100 diesel engine found in the related Bgbv 82, which had 310hp instead of 270hp on the basic version for the Pbv 302, which would neatly make up for the increased weight of this variant
- doubled front armor (sic!)
- an observation cupola for the infantry squad leader
-umbrella position for the commander's hatch
In parallel, they also worked on improved turrets with a 25mm gun, either the Oerlikon KBA or the Mauser MK25E. Since the Swiss Spz 63 and Norwegian NM135 used that turret, they could have been upgraded with the same armament too. Considering how hopelessly weak the Swedish 20mm gun was (Hispano aircraft gun), this would have neatly solved a major firepower problem. Conversely, the Swedish and Swiss vehicles could have got the same more powerful 20mm Rh 202 gun as the Norwegian one.
Other point: the Spz 63/89 from 1993 and the Danish M113G3 from 1999 both used the same American P900 addon armor kit available since 1989-90. So in theory they could have done the upgrade sooner. In general, any M113 operator would have enjoyed having the full A3 upgrade with that armor pack...
Random Swedish thoughts:
I heard the Ikv 91 hulls were also quite worn out (bent) by 25 years of use...Makes sense because when I look at the armor thicknesses, the steel is too thin to provide adequate rigidity/stiffness in places. The early CV90 also had similarly thin armor.
So for atl-Ikv 91 and CV90: make them out of aluminium, which would greatly increase rigidity and potentially increase protection against certain threats as well (or allow a smallweight reduction with the same protection). It would be extra amazing if they also did it for the superstructures of the Lvrbv 701 and Pvrbv 551 light weapon carriers.
So I found a nice series of articles on the Swedish Pbv 302 IFV, namely the specifications of the REMO mid-life upgrade tested in December 1979 but never purchased because "the vehicles would still work until they are retired". The upgrade included:
- the same automatic Allison gearbox found on the Ikv 91
- the same uprated Volvo THD 100 diesel engine found in the related Bgbv 82, which had 310hp instead of 270hp on the basic version for the Pbv 302, which would neatly make up for the increased weight of this variant
- doubled front armor (sic!)
- an observation cupola for the infantry squad leader
-umbrella position for the commander's hatch
In parallel, they also worked on improved turrets with a 25mm gun, either the Oerlikon KBA or the Mauser MK25E. Since the Swiss Spz 63 and Norwegian NM135 used that turret, they could have been upgraded with the same armament too. Considering how hopelessly weak the Swedish 20mm gun was (Hispano aircraft gun), this would have neatly solved a major firepower problem. Conversely, the Swedish and Swiss vehicles could have got the same more powerful 20mm Rh 202 gun as the Norwegian one.
Other point: the Spz 63/89 from 1993 and the Danish M113G3 from 1999 both used the same American P900 addon armor kit available since 1989-90. So in theory they could have done the upgrade sooner. In general, any M113 operator would have enjoyed having the full A3 upgrade with that armor pack...
Random Swedish thoughts:
I heard the Ikv 91 hulls were also quite worn out (bent) by 25 years of use...Makes sense because when I look at the armor thicknesses, the steel is too thin to provide adequate rigidity/stiffness in places. The early CV90 also had similarly thin armor.
So for atl-Ikv 91 and CV90: make them out of aluminium, which would greatly increase rigidity and potentially increase protection against certain threats as well (or allow a smallweight reduction with the same protection). It would be extra amazing if they also did it for the superstructures of the Lvrbv 701 and Pvrbv 551 light weapon carriers.
