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The Infanterikanonvagn 91 ("infantry cannon wagon 91"), Ikv 91, was a high mobility
assault gun Assault gun (from german: Sturmgeschütz - "storm gun", as in "storming/assaulting") is a type of self-propelled artillery which uses an infantry support gun mounted on a motorized chassis, normally an armored fighting vehicle, which are designed ...
that was developed to meet the operational requirements of the
Swedish Army The Swedish Army ( sv, svenska armén) is the land force of the Swedish Armed Forces. History Svea Life Guards dates back to the year 1521, when the men of Dalarna chose 16 young able men as body guards for the insurgent nobleman Gustav Vas ...
. It was designed and manufactured by Hägglund and Söner (now Hägglunds Vehicle AB) and employed common components with the
Pbv 302 Pansarbandvagn 302 (pbv 302), meaning roughly ''armoured tracked carrier vehicle 302'',), are instead only called wagons (chassis description) to denote that they are tracked but more specialized and less universal. was a Swedish high-mobility inf ...
armoured personnel carrier An armoured personnel carrier (APC) is a broad type of armoured military vehicle designed to transport personnel and equipment in combat zones. Since World War I, APCs have become a very common piece of military equipment around the world. Acc ...
series. The first prototypes of the Ikv 91 were completed in 1969 with production running from 1975 until 1978. The total numbers manufactured were 212. The number 91 in the name means that it was the first armored vehicle in the Swedish armed forces to feature a cannon in the 9 cm caliber category (91 = 9 cm gun, 1st vehicle in category).


Design

The layout of the Ikv 91 is similar to a large
light tank A light tank is a tank variant initially designed for rapid movements in and out of combat, to outmaneuver heavier tanks. It is smaller in size with thinner armor and a less powerful main gun, tailored for better tactical mobility and ease of ...
. The Ikv 91 is divided into three main compartments, the driver's station in the forward left hull, the fighting compartment located in the vehicle's midsection, and an engine compartment in the rear hull.


Armament

The main armament consisted of a
Bofors AB Bofors ( , , ) is a former Swedish arms manufacturer which today is part of the British arms concern BAE Systems. The name has been associated with the iron industry and artillery manufacturing for more than 350 years. History Located in ...
KV90S73 90 mm L/54 rifled low pressure gun, firing
HEAT In thermodynamics, heat is defined as the form of energy crossing the boundary of a thermodynamic system by virtue of a temperature difference across the boundary. A thermodynamic system does not ''contain'' heat. Nevertheless, the term is al ...
and HE rounds. A sloped revolving turret gave protection against projectiles up to 25 mm in calibre. The main gun had an elevation of +15° and depression of −10°. The barrel was equipped with a fume extractor. Additional armament of the Ikv 91 included two 7.62 mm Browning machine guns; one in a coaxial mounting, and the second on a pintle attached to the commander's cupola. Two 71 mm Lyran flare mortars were mounted on the turret along with a set of smoke dischargers (usually 12). The vehicle was equipped with a
laser rangefinder A laser rangefinder, also known as a laser telemeter, is a rangefinder that uses a laser beam to determine the distance to an object. The most common form of laser rangefinder operates on the time of flight principle by sending a laser pulse in ...
,
night vision Night vision is the ability to see in low-light conditions, either naturally with scotopic vision or through a night-vision device. Night vision requires both sufficient spectral range and sufficient intensity range. Humans have poor night vi ...
and a computerised fire-control system for increased first-round hit probability. The Ikv 91 fired at a rate of 8 rounds per minute and 59 rounds of 90 mm ammunition were carried internally. The vehicle was also capable of firing while in water, with the water absorbing most of the recoil. The turret itself has a small hatch that can be opened by the loader to eject used cartridge cases to prevent clutter in the vehicle. With wide tracks and a high
power-to-weight ratio Power-to-weight ratio (PWR, also called specific power, or power-to-mass ratio) is a calculation commonly applied to engines and mobile power sources to enable the comparison of one unit or design to another. Power-to-weight ratio is a measuremen ...
, the Ikv 91 offered exceptionally good off-road mobility. The low
ground pressure Ground pressure is the pressure exerted on the ground by the tires or tracks of a motorized vehicle, and is one measure of its potential mobility, especially over soft ground. It also applies to the feet of a walking person or machine. Ground pre ...
enabled the Ikv 91 to operate through summer
taiga Taiga (; rus, тайга́, p=tɐjˈɡa; relates to Mongolic and Turkic languages), generally referred to in North America as a boreal forest or snow forest, is a biome characterized by coniferous forests consisting mostly of pines, spruce ...
and winter snow. The vehicle was fully amphibious with little preparation by the crew. Screens would be erected to stop water from entering the engine and the cabin compartment with a vane to protect from oncoming waves. The vehicle weighed 16.3 tonnes and had a crew of four. It was powered by a Volvo 12 liter, 330 hp, diesel engine. The maximum road speed was and the range on roads was about . The Ikv 91 was retired from the Swedish army in the late 1990s – early 2000s due to budget cuts among others and was partly replaced by the Strf 90 combat vehicles and
Leopard 2 The Leopard 2 is a 3rd generation main battle tank originally developed by Krauss-Maffei in the 1970s for the West German army. The tank first entered service in 1979 and succeeded the earlier Leopard 1 as the main battle tank of the West Germ ...
tanks. When in active duty, the Ikv 91 was assigned to the Swedish infantry brigades, which had one company of 12 vehicles each. The 10th Mechanized Brigade had two companies in the 1980s. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the 10th Mechanised Brigade had its Ikv 91 replaced with Centurion tanks and in 2000, all Swedish infantry brigades were disbanded. Plans were made to replace its 90 mm gun with a 105 mm gun or even a TOW missile launcher. This was however not followed through in Swedish interests as the role of the Ikv 91 could be filled by new Strv 122 main battle tanks and Strf 90 infantry fighting vehicles. Besides Swedish interests, a prototype armed with a 105 mm gun was made in 1983 for export, named the Ikv 105. The Ikv 105 was marketed for export and was tested by both India and the United States. The weight was 18 tons and the speed in water was increased to 12 km/h, the main gun was a low recoil fully stabilized version of a high pressure Bofors gun. It had an IR system by SAAB which gave it full night capability. Both the gunner and commander had monitors and could fire the main gun.


See also

* List of tanks *
List of modern armoured fighting vehicles This article lists modern armoured fighting vehicles (AFVs) produced or used after the Second World War. Argentina AFVs produced in Argentina * TAM * VCTP * Patagón Australia AFVs produced in Australia Wheeled armoured fighting vehicles ...
*
Swedish Armed Forces The Swedish Armed Forces ( sv, Försvarsmakten, "the Defense Force") is the government agency that forms the armed forces of Sweden, tasked with the defense of the country as well as with promoting Sweden's wider interests, supporting internati ...


References

* 'Battle Tank' - Copyright 2006 by Boulevard Entertainment Ltd. * IKV-91 - http://www.military-today.com/tanks/ikv_91.htm {{Fire support vehicles Main battle tanks of the Cold War Fire support vehicles Tanks of the Cold War Tanks of Sweden Military vehicles introduced in the 1970s