{{commons, Nahkampfkanone I at the Panzermuseum Thun The Nahkampfkanone 1 was an experimental Swiss

tank destroyer A tank destroyer, tank hunter or tank killer is a type of armoured fighting vehicle, predominantly intended for anti-tank duties. They are typically armed with a direct fire anti-tank gun, artillery gun, also known as a self-propelled anti-ta ...

that saw service between 1944 and 1947. Only one was ever built.

History and development

The designed heralded from early experiments made between 1943 and 1944 in Switzerland in the design and construction of an armoured vehicle. The Nahkampf cannon 1 was built onto the chassis of the armoured car Panzerwagen 39,

Panzer 38(t) The 38(t), originally known as the ČKD, Českomoravská Kolben-Daněk (ČKD) LT vz. 38, was a tank designed during the 1930s, which saw extensive service during World War II. Developed in Czechoslovakia by ČKD, the type was adopted by Nazi G ...

type LTL-H CSSR armoured fighting vehicle. The chassis was extended by a roller produced by the company

Berna Berna was a Swiss manufacturer of buses, trolleybuses and trucks, which later also specialized in surface metallurgical treatments and components. Until the 1960s it was primarily a vehicle manufacturer, but between 1965 and 1978 vehicle manuf ...

Olten Olten (; High Alemannic: ''Oute'') is a town in the canton of Solothurn in Switzerland and capital of the district of the same name. Olten grew into a town during the Middle Ages at the location of a bridge over the Aare. After a period of de ...

. Since only a few parts were available, it was partially constructed using parts of armoured cars, mainly the chassis and transmissions. The armour consisted of only thin sheet metal and, in initial experiments, only a 75-millimeter cannon was installed, before future designs sported a 10.5-cm howitzer. The prototype was used by the Swiss Army with the car plate (M + number 7236).

References

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

* Military Museum Thun AG 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