Fliegerabwehrpanzer 68 was a Swiss self-propelled anti-aircraft gun which was tested but did not enter service.

History and development

In 1977, a project of

Contraves Rheinmetall Air Defence AG is a division of German armament manufacturer Rheinmetall, created when the company's Oerlikon Contraves unit was renamed on 1 January 2009 and integrated with Rheinmetall's other air-defence products. Oerlikon Contr ...

AG Oerlikon-Buehrle,

Eidgenoessische Konstruktionswerkstaette ''Eidgenössische Konstruktionswerkstätte'' English: "Federal Constructions Works", short K+W, was a Swiss state-owned enterprise, with the aim of making the Swiss military independent of foreign sources for its equipment needs. It was establishe ...

and

Siemens Siemens AG ( ) is a German multinational conglomerate corporation and the largest industrial manufacturing company in Europe headquartered in Munich with branch offices abroad. The principal divisions of the corporation are ''Industry'', '' ...

was presented for an air defense shield. In 1979, the construction of two prototypes was decided in collaboration with the K + W Thun. 1979 saw the delivery of the prototypes to the Group on Arms Services. From 1979 to 1980, the vehicles were subjected to rigorous testing, but the project was cancelled in favor of the

Rapier A rapier () or is a type of sword with a slender and sharply-pointed two-edged blade that was popular in Western Europe, both for civilian use (dueling and self-defense) and as a military side arm, throughout the 16th and 17th centuries. Impor ...

missile. The actual weapon system formed the FlaK-Turm ("Flak turret"), which came from the German Flakpanzer ''Gepard'' based on the chassis of the

Panzer 68 The Panzer 68 was a Swiss main battle tank developed by the Eidgenoessische Konstruktionswerkstaette in Thun in the late 1960s, and was the main tank of the Swiss Army until the late 1990s. History The Panzer 68 was based on the Panzer 61, ...

widened by 180 mm. It mainly included the homing radar, tracking radar, the

fire control Fire control is the practice of reducing the heat output of a fire, reducing the area over which the fire exists, or suppressing or extinguishing the fire by depriving it of fuel, oxygen, or heat (see fire triangle). Fire prevention and control ...

with computers and the twin 35-mm weapons. The crew consisted of the commander, the gunner and the driver. The target search radar allowed a continuous and reliable air surveillance and

Identification friend or foe Identification, friend or foe (IFF) is an identification system designed for command and control. It uses a transponder that listens for an ''interrogation'' signal and then sends a ''response'' that identifies the broadcaster. IFF systems usual ...

while in motion. The target tracking radar detected and tracked an assigned air target automatically in lateral and vertical angle and at a distance. The analog computer calculated the deflection angle for the guns, taking account of the daily influences, the continuously measured values Vo and the tilting of the vehicle. The main armament consisted of two 35-mm guns with ammunition feed and the ammunition boxes. Two vehicles, with the M numbers M0888 and M0889, were used for testing in troop deployment from 1979 to 1980. A vehicle is on display at the Tank Museum in

Thun , neighboring_municipalities= Amsoldingen, Heiligenschwendi, Heimberg, Hilterfingen, Homberg, Schwendibach, Spiez, Steffisburg, Thierachern, Uetendorf, Zwieselberg , twintown = , website = www.thun.ch Thun (french: Thoune) ...

References

* Book Urs Heller: Die Panzer der schweizer Armee von 1920 bis 200

* Military Museum Full AG Switzerland

External links

armeemuseum.ch
{{in lang, de Armoured fighting vehicles of Switzerland Abandoned military projects of Switzerland Self-propelled anti-aircraft weapons