The 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]
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)
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.
L-60 Ö (for Österreich "Austria") - Variant for the Austrian Army and delivered to:
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.
Hungary - L-60 Ö repurposed and delivered to Hungary together with a Landsverk L-62. The idler-wheel was modified back to the state of a regular L-60. Led to Hungary purchasing a license to produce the L-60. The Hungarian variant was named Toldi.
L-60 S/I (Strv m/38) - 15 ordered in 1937 and delivered in 1939. Armed with a 37 mm m/38 Bofors gun.
L-60 S/II (Strv m/39) - 20 ordered in 1939 and delivered in 1940. Armed with a 37 mm m/38 Bofors gun.
L-60 S/III (Strv m/40L) - 100 ordered in 1940 and delivered in 1941. Armed with a 37 mm m/38 Bofors gun.
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. Armed with a 37 mm m/38 Bofors gun, armour up to 50 mm.
Foreign service
Hungarian service
The L-60 was licensed by the Hungarian Weiss Company for the Hungarian army. With development and changes to armament and construction it first entered service in the Hungarian army as the 38M 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.[3] 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 the 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.[4] Today one is preserved in excellent, drivable condition as a historical icon by the Dominican Republic army.[citation needed]
Stridsvagn m/40 at Beredskapsmuseet outside Helsingborg
Planned Romanian acquisition
In spring of 1936, an offer by the General Technical Inspectorate of the Romanian Army was sent to Swedish engineer Herbert Wiessner, for the purchase of Landsverk tanks. The offer was not materialized.[5]
Tanks of the World 1915-1945 by Peter Chamberlain and Chris Ellis 1972/2002 p 159.
Moșneagu, Marian; Boțoghină, Iulian-Stelian; Manolescu, Mariana-Daniela; Stoica, Leontin-Vasile; Șoitariu, Mihai-Cosmin (2012). Armata română și evoluția armei tancuri. Documente (1919–1945) [The Romanian Army and the Evolution of the Tank Weapon. Documents (1919–1945)] (PDF) (in Romanian). Pitești, Romania: Editura Universității de Stat din Pitești. ISBN978-606-560-252-6.
External links
- Site about AB Landsverk between 1850 and 1992 (in Swedish)
January 07, 2023
landsverk, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, january, 2013, l. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Landsverk L 60 news newspapers books scholar JSTOR January 2013 Learn how and when to remove this template message The 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 Strv L 60Stridsvagn m 40K at the Hasslehoms Museum SwedenTypeLight tankPlace of originSwedenService historyIn service1935 2002Used bySwedenKingdom of HungaryIrelandDominican RepublicWarsWorld War IIDominican Civil WarProduction historyDesignerOtto MerkerDesigned1934ManufacturerAB LandsverkVariantsL 60L 60 OL 60 SToldiSpecifications Original Landsverk L 60 specifications Mass8 5 t 8 4 long tons 9 4 short tons laden Length4 8 m 15 ft 9 in Width2 075 m 6 ft 9 7 in Height2 05 m 6 ft 9 in Crew3Armor5 15 mm 0 20 0 59 in MainarmamentMadsen 20 mm cannonSecondaryarmament7 92 mm Madsen machine gunEngineBussing Nag V8 cylinder 7 9 litres150 160 bhp at 2500 2700 rpmSuspensionTorsion bar suspensionOperationalrange270 km 170 mi Maximum speed45 km h 28 mph 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 Contents 1 Variants 2 Foreign service 2 1 Hungarian service 2 2 Irish Service 2 3 Dominican service 2 4 Planned Romanian acquisition 3 References 4 Sources 5 External linksVariants Edit Stridsvagn m40K L 60 First variant produced and delivered to 2 Ireland 2 ordered in 1935 L 60 O for Osterreich Austria Variant for the Austrian Army and delivered to 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 Hungary L 60 O repurposed and delivered to Hungary together with a Landsverk L 62 The idler wheel was modified back to the state of a regular L 60 Led to Hungary purchasing a license to produce the L 60 The Hungarian variant was named Toldi Toldi Variant for the Hungarian Army k hk A20 Toldi I 80 made Armed with 20 mm Solothurn S 18 100 a semi automatic anti tank rifle k hk B20 Toldi II 110 made Had a 20 mm semi automatic anti tank rifle k hk B40 Toldi IIa 80 Toldi II rearmed with 40 mm 37 42M guns k hk C40 Toldi III 12 made Improved Toldi IIa L 60 S Variant for the Swedish Army 2 L 60 S I Strv m 38 15 ordered in 1937 and delivered in 1939 Armed with a 37 mm m 38 Bofors gun L 60 S II Strv m 39 20 ordered in 1939 and delivered in 1940 Armed with a 37 mm m 38 Bofors gun L 60 S III Strv m 40L 100 ordered in 1940 and delivered in 1941 Armed with a 37 mm m 38 Bofors gun 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 Armed with a 37 mm m 38 Bofors gun armour up to 50 mm Foreign service EditHungarian service Edit The L 60 was licensed by the Hungarian Weiss Company for the Hungarian army With development and changes to armament and construction it first entered service in the Hungarian army as the 38M Toldi Irish Service Edit 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 3 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 Edit 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 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 4 Today one is preserved in excellent drivable condition as a historical icon by the Dominican Republic army citation needed Stridsvagn m 40 at Beredskapsmuseet outside Helsingborg Planned Romanian acquisition Edit In spring of 1936 an offer by the General Technical Inspectorate of the Romanian Army was sent to Swedish engineer Herbert Wiessner for the purchase of Landsverk tanks The offer was not materialized 5 References Edit STRV m 38 39 a b Landsverk Stridsvagn L 60 Landsverk Retrieved 18 May 2012 Tracol Xavier October 2010 Le Blindorama L Irlande 1919 1938 Batailles amp Blindes in French No 39 Caraktere pp 4 5 ISSN 1765 0828 Sebastien Roblin 22 June 2016 In 1965 U S and Dominican Tanks Fought Brief Violent Skirmishes War is boring Moșneagu et al 2012 p 55 Sources EditTanks of the World 1915 1945 by Peter Chamberlain and Chris Ellis 1972 2002 p 159 Moșneagu Marian Boțoghină Iulian Stelian Manolescu Mariana Daniela Stoica Leontin Vasile Șoitariu Mihai Cosmin 2012 Armata romană și evoluția armei tancuri Documente 1919 1945 The Romanian Army and the Evolution of the Tank Weapon Documents 1919 1945 PDF in Romanian Pitești Romania Editura Universității de Stat din Pitești ISBN 978 606 560 252 6 External links EditLandsverk Site about AB Landsverk between 1850 and 1992 in Swedish Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Landsverk L 60 amp oldid 1094085255, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
