Nahkampfkanone 2 is a prototype

tank destroyer A tank destroyer, tank hunter, tank killer, or self-propelled anti-tank gun is a type of armoured fighting vehicle, armed with a direct fire artillery gun or missile launcher, designed specifically to engage and destroy enemy tanks, often wi ...

of Swiss design.

History and development

The hull and the superstructure were made of cast steel by the

Georg Fischer AG Georg Fischer (abbreviated GF) comprises three divisions GF Piping Systems, GF Casting Solutions, and GF Machining Solutions. Founded in 1802, the Corporation is headquartered in Switzerland and is present in 33 countries, with 140 companies, 57 ...

. The construction of the chassis was by

Saurer Adolph Saurer AG was a Swiss manufacturer of embroidery and textile machines, trucks and buses under the Saurer and Berna (beginning in 1929) brand names. Based in Arbon, Switzerland, the firm was active between 1903 and 1982. Their vehicles were ...

in Arbon, the assembly of the chassis at Berna in Olten and the design and installation of the gun of the K + W in

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

. Driver, commander and the horizontal gunner sat side left, right vertical gunner and loader. The gun was mounted in a hull based superstructure and had only a limited traverse arc, so the entire vehicle had to be turned onto the target before the gun itself could be aimed. The gun barrel could be retracted for travel. Four different types (A1, A2, B1, B2) were planned, but one prototype was made and that did not see service; only driving tests were made in Thun from 1946 to 1947 for testing in troop deployment. Development was stopped in 1947. The prototype is on display at the tank museum in Thun.

References

{{Reflist * Book Urs Heller: ''Die Panzer der schweizer Armee von 1920 bis 2008'

* Military Museum Thun Switzerland
NZZ newspaper, video clip (German) about Swiss tanks, Nahkampfkanone 1, Nahkampfkanone 2
Armoured fighting vehicles of Switzerland Abandoned military projects of Switzerland Tank destroyers

History and development

See also

References