The Mowag Puma is one of the armored personnel carriers produced by

Mowag MOWAG is a Swiss company which develops, designs and produces armoured vehicles for military applications in both land-only and amphibious configurations. These vehicles have gross vehicle weights ranging from 9 tonnes to 30 tonnes. The compa ...

based in Switzerland.

Design

Emphasized in the Puma vehicles were

buoyancy Buoyancy (), or upthrust, is an upward force exerted by a fluid that opposes the weight of a partially or fully immersed object. In a column of fluid, pressure increases with depth as a result of the weight of the overlying fluid. Thus the ...

, high payload, high maneuverability and ease of operation in nuclear/biological/chemical (NBC) contaminated areas. The 6x6 Puma has steerable wheels on the first and the third axles, while the wheels of the middle axle are fixed, which enables a tight turning circle. Behind the two rear wheels is a ship propeller. The motor is housed in the front. Grenadiers leave the vehicle through a door behind the turret hatch in the roof or through a large double door at the rear of the vehicle.

History

The Puma was the first of a family of vehicles including the 4x4, 6x6 and 8x8, which were designed and built in the 4x4 and 6x6 versions with different weight divisions. The Puma yielded important results for the 8x8 armored personnel carriers weapon carrier

Mowag Shark The MOWAG Shark is an armored personnel carrier produced by the MOWAG Motor Car Factory, Kreuzlingen, Switzerland. Development The Shark was developed by the MOWAG Company as a private venture specifically for the export market. It builds up ...

. A prototype of the Puma, which took part in various trials in Switzerland and at presentations at the

Gurnigel Gurnigel Pass (el. 1608 m.) is a high mountain pass in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. It connects Riggisberg and Zollhaus. The culminating point of the road lies on the eastern flank of the Selibüel. The pass is the venue for an annual ...

Brugg , neighboring_municipalities = Gebenstorf, Habsburg, Hausen, Holderbank, Lupfig, Riniken, Rüfenach, Schinznach, Untersiggenthal, Villigen, Villnachern, Veltheim, Windisch , twintowns = Rottweil (Germany) , website ...

rugg and

Oerlikon-Bührle ''Oerlikon-Bührle'' (full name ''Werkzeugmaschinenfabrik Oerlikon, Bührle & Co.'', initially ''Werkzeugmaschinenfabrik Oerlikon'') was a Swiss armaments company based in Oerlikon (Zürich) from 1906 to 1999.Jürg Fink: ''Switzerland as seen by t ...

premises Ochsenboden, is now in the

Schweizerisches Militärmuseum Full The Schweizerisches Militärmuseum Full is the Swiss military museum, located in Full-Reuenthal, canton Aargau. Collection The museum displays military hardware and uniforms of Swiss and foreign armed forces, mainly from World War II and the Co ...

. The Puma never went into series production.Militärmuseum Full SwitzerlandMarcus Bauer, Nutzfahrzeuge der MOWAG Motorwagenfabrik AG, Fachpresse Goldach, Hudson & Company, 1996

References

{{Modern IFV and APC Off-road vehicles Armoured fighting vehicles of the Cold War Armoured personnel carriers Military vehicles of Switzerland Abandoned military projects of Switzerland Six-wheeled vehicles