US Marines in a Norwegian Bv 206 traveling through snow
Diagram of the Bv 206
This tracked vehicle, a Swedish Hägglunds Bv206, achieves low ground pressure through full-length, wide rubber tracks and a lightweight body. The two sections of the vehicle are articulated, allowing it to keep contact with the ground over broken terrain. The ground pressure is low enough that the vehicle can traverse loose snow without sinking. The vehicle is amphibious, and propelled in water by its tracks.
An armored Bv206S ambulance of the German Army
A Bv206D being transported by a German Army CH-53
Bandvagn 206 (Bv 206) is a tracked articulated, all-terrain carrier developed by Hägglunds (now part of BAE Systems Global Combat Systems) for the Swedish Army. It consists of two units, with all four tracks powered. It can carry up to 17 people (6 in the front compartment, 11 in the rear), and the trailer unit can be adapted for different applications (see Variants section).
History[]
Development of the Bv 206 all-terrain articulated tracked carrier began in 1974. Three batches of trial vehicles were delivered between 1976 and 1978 and the first production examples were delivered to the Swedish Defense Administration in 1980.
Like its predecessor, the Volvo Bv 202, the Bv 206 is designed to carry troops and equipment through snow and bog-lands in northern Sweden. The low ground pressure enables the Bv 206 to cope with a wide range of difficult conditions. It is also fully amphibious, with a speed in water of up to 4.7 km/h. Over 11,000 have been produced and they are used in more than 37 countries worldwide.
The total load capacity is 2,250 kg and a trailer of up to 2,500 kg gross weight can also be towed behind the second compartment.
The Bv 206 is referred to as a Small Unit Support Vehicle (SUSV) pronounced "susvee" in United States service. U.S. military variants include the ambulance variant, the flat-bed cargo carrier, tactical operations center variant, and the standard model. U.S. military models are fitted with a 6-cylinder Mercedes diesel engine and a non-halon fire suppression system since 1997 due to several cases where the front car caught fire and burned to the frame.
Additional users include the American and Australian Antarctic research organizations and British, Icelandic and Canadian search and rescue services. They are also used for search and rescue services in the Australian alpine region. As well, the Bv 206 was used in combat by the Canadian Forces during Operation Anaconda. The Singapore Armed Forces also uses the Bv 206 and recently transferred several of them to the Singapore Civil Defense Force to be used as a firefighting platform.
Decommissioned models have been purchased by private owners and rented as transports, particularly in Alberta, Canada, in order to access remote oil wells, as well as cut blocks which need to be reforested by treeplanting.
The Bv 206 is used in Antarctica, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Lithuania, Latvia, Malaysia, Mexico, the Netherlands, Norway, Pakistan, Singapore[citation needed], South Korea, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
Variants[]
Bv 206A[]
The Bv206A is an ambulance version, which is capable of carrying stretchers in the rear compartment.
Bv 206F[]
The BV206F is a fire appliance variant.
RaBv 2061[]
The RaBv 2061 is a radio/command version, fitted with radio equipment and workplaces for staff members.
PvBv 2062[]
The PvBv 2062 is an open top version of the Bv 206 armed with a 90 mm Pvpj 1110 recoilless anti-tank gun.
PvBv 2063[]
The PvBv 2063 is similar to PvBv 2062 but fitted with the launch system for an ATGM, either the TOW (Rbs 55) or the Bofors BILL (Rbs 56).
Bv 206S[]
The Bv206S is an armoured personnel carrier variant of the Bv 206, which provides protection from small arms fire for the occupants. It is in service with the armed forces of France, Germany (379 Bv 206D/S ordered), Spain, Netherlands, Italy (189 units), Sweden (50 units) and Singapore (300 units) which is replaced with the Bronco All Terrain Tracked Carrier.
Using a Steyr M1-"Monoblock" engine (6-cylinder, 130 kW),[1] the vehicle can carry the driver and 12 combat equipped troops — four in the front compartment and eight in the rear. The Bv 206S can be under slung and air lifted by Boeing CH-47 Chinook and Sikorsky CH-53E Super Stallion helicopters or carried in the C130 Hercules airplane, amongst others.
Canadian troops taking part in Operation Anaconda in Afghanistan made good use of this vehicle, riding over rough mountainous terrain with full combat gear, allowing the men to avoid the exhaustion they would have felt moving on foot at such high altitudes and in such conditions.
BvS 10[]
The BvS 10, not to be confused with the Bv 206 or Bv 206S, is a much larger (therefore equipped with a 6-cylinder Steyr M1 engine with 200 kW[2]) and fully amphibious armoured vehicle based upon the characteristic twin-cab, articulated steering system typical of Hägglunds all terrain vehicles. It was originally designed for the British Royal Marines Commandos and named All Terrain Vehicle (Protected) - ATV(P) VIKING. It is in service with the Royal Marines Armoured Support Group and the Royal Netherlands Marine Corps while the French Army have recently ordered 130 Bvs10s.
Other variants[]
Numerous other variants exist including mortar launcher, cargo carrier, fuel carrier, radar, command post and radio relay. The units can easily be customized to meet the specific needs of a customer.
Specifications (original version)[]
- Engine: 2.8L 99 kW Ford Cologne V6.
- Gearbox: MB W 4A-018 automatic transmission
- Weight: 4,500 kilograms (9,900 lb)
- Cargo load: 2240 kg (630 kg in front unit and 1610 kg in trailer unit)
- Length: 6.9 metres (23 ft)
- Width: 1.87 metres (6.1 ft)
- Height: 2.4 metres (7.9 ft)
Operators[]
Military
Austrian Armed Forces- Brazilian Marine Corps
- Canadian Army (78)
- Defence Forces of Estonia (army)
- Finnish Army
- French Foreign Legion
- German Army
- Malaysian Army
- Civil Defence Ireland
- Italian Army
- Latvian Land Forces
- Lithuanian Land Force
- Norwegian Army
- Swedish Army (4 500 including variant BvS 10)
- 86th Infantry Brigade Combat Team and the United States Marines
- Israel Defense Forces
- spanish army
See also[]
Similar vehicles with the Bv206 ATV include:
- Sisu Auto Sisu Nasu
- ST Kinetics Bronco All Terrain Tracked Carrier
- Hägglunds (BAE Systems AB) BvS 10
- (Ishimbai Transport Machine-Building Plant) Vityaz
- Bolinder-Munktell (Volvo BM) Bandvagn 202
References[]
- ↑ BAE Haegglund Bv206 M16 TCI HD: Steyr-Motors.com
- ↑ BAE Haegglund BVS 10 M16 SCI: Steyr-Motors.com
External links[]
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Hägglunds Bv206. |
- All Terrain Tracked Carrier
- Bv206S at Army-Technology.com
- BAE Systems Hägglunds (previously Alvis Hägglunds, before that Hägglunds Vehicle, and in the very beginning Hägglund & Söner)
- Video British Bv S10s part of ISAF convoy in southern Afghanistan (source: British Ministry of Defense).
- The Polish owner and enthusiast of BV206 and BV202
The original article can be found at Bandvagn 206 and the edit history here.