| Terrängbil m/42D SKP | |
|---|---|
 Last version of the SKP at the Swedish Army Museum in Stockholm. | |
| Type | Armoured personnel carrier |
| Place of origin |
 Sweden |
| Specifications | |
| Mass | 8 500 kg |
| Length | 6.30 m |
| Width | 2.30 m |
| Crew | 3 (commander, driver, gunner) + 7 fully equipped soldiers |
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| Armor | Mostly 8 mm, but variable between 4-20 mm. |
Main armament | dual-mounted ksp m/36 (8x63mm dbl lv), last version dual-mounted KSP 58 |
Secondary armament | Smoke dischargers x6 |
| Engine |
Petrol/Motyl, 4-cyl Scania-Vabis 402/1 115 hp (85 kW) at 2300 rpm |
| Power/weight | 300 km |
Terrängbil m/42 KP (Tgbil m/42 SKP/VKP), meaning "Off-road vehicle [19]42" with a secondary designation of "Scania, Bodywork: Armoured" or "Volvo, Bodywork: Armoured", was the Swedish army's first armoured personnel carrier, developed as a stop-gap measure during World War II.
History[]
In 1941, when tanks were organized into a unit of their own, it was clear there was a desperate need for a troop carrier able to both keep up with the tanks and provide protection against artillery shrapnel and small-arms fire. Due to the war there were no international suppliers to buy from, so the only option was to develop a domestic solution. AB Landsverk designed an APC consisting of a chassis from a regular army lorry equipped with an armoured shell. The armour-plates were made by Bofors, Landsverk, Bröderna Hedlund and Karlstads Mekaniska Werkstad and then delivered to Volvo and Scania-Vabis for final assembly. The first approved delivery was made in 1944, after some 38 vehicles had been failed due to tensions caused by welding the hardened steel. This was rectified by switching to a soft-hardened steel and then heating the completed body-work in purpose-built ovens to remove the tensions.
The KP saw combat with Swedish UN forces during the Congo Crisis in the 1960s (Scania variant only). 15 KPs were also bought by the UN and used by the Indian and Irish battalions in Congo. An armoured, open top turret for the machine gunner was added to the KPs in Congo after a number of gunners were shot in the abdomen. KPs were also deployed by United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus during the Cypriot intercommunal violence.[1]
See also[]
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The original article can be found at KP-bil and the edit history here.