Military Wiki
Military Wiki
Strv L-60
Stridsvagn m40K Hässleholm 31.07.09
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-60
L-60 Ö
L-60 S
Toldi
Specifications (Original Landsverk L-60 specifications)
Mass 8.5 t (8.4 long tons; 9.4 short tons) (laden)
Length 4.8 m (15 ft 9 in)
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)
Maximum speed 45 km/h (28 mph)

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 with several turrets, engines and guns offered by Landsverk. The L-60 entered the international market in 1935 and was eventually adopted by the Swedish army in 4 main variants: Stridsvagn m/38, Stridsvagn m/39, Stridsvagn m/40L and Stridsvagn m/40K.

Variants[]

Stridsvagn m40K

  • L-60 - First variant produced and delivered to:[2]
    • Flag of Ireland Ireland - 2 ordered in 1935
  • L-60 Ö (for Österrike "Austria") - Variant for the Austrian Army and delivered to:
    • Flag of Austria Austria - 1 prototype ordered in 1936. Similar to the regular L-60 with a 20 mm madsen in the turret but with a raised idler-wheel. Not accepted for service.
    • Flag of Hungary (1915-1918, 1919-1946) Kingdom of Hungary (1920–1946) - L-60 Ö repurposed and deliviered to Hungary together with a Landsverk L-62. The idler-wheel was modified back to the state of a regular L-60. Lead to hungary purchasing a license to produce the L-60. The Hungarian variant was named Toldi.
  • Toldi : Variant for the Hungarian Army. (main article: 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 - Not a direct variant of the L-60. It went under the name Landsverk Terro and was a smaller Landsverk Lago.
    • 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 L-60 was delivered in 1935 and joined Ireland's only other tank a Vickers Mk. D in the 2nd Armoured Squadron. The second Landsverk L-60 arrived in 1936. The L-60s were still in use up until the late 1960s. One L-60 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 Americas. 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.[3] Today one is preserved in excellent, drivable condition as a historical icon by the Dominican Republic army.

Strv m 40

Stridsvagn m/40 at Beredskapsmuseet outside Helsingborg

References[]

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 (Swedish)



All or a portion of this article consists of text from Wikipedia, and is therefore Creative Commons Licensed under GFDL.
The original article can be found at Landsverk L-60 and the edit history here.