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 Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

high-mobility

infantry fighting vehicle An infantry fighting vehicle (IFV), also known as a mechanized infantry combat vehicle (MICV), is a type of armoured fighting vehicle used to carry infantry into battle and provide direct-fire support. The 1990 Treaty on Conventional Armed F ...

() used by 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 ...

from 1966 to 2014. The vehicle was commissioned by the

in 1961 as a modern IFV-design which could replace the recently developed

pbv 301 Pansarbandvagn 301 (pbv 301), meaning roughly ''armoured tracked carrier vehicle 301'',), are instead only called wagons (chassis description) to denote that they are tracked but more specialized and less universal. was a Swedish infantry fightin ...

IFV, a placeholder design based on an obsolete tank chassis which did not meet the Swedish Army's future operational requirements. Design and production was handled by

Hägglund & Söner BAE Systems AB is a Swedish defence company and a subsidiary of BAE Systems Land & Armaments, whose ultimate parent is the British defence contractor BAE Systems. The company is a holding company for Land Systems Hägglunds AB and BAE Systems Bof ...

in Örnsköldsvik (today BAE Systems Hägglunds). Production ran from 1966 to 1971 and the vehicles were upgraded and renovated multiple times throughout their service life. The design was eventually replaced by the strf 9040 IFV in the 1990s but saw limited service alongside it until ultimately being removed from service in 2014. Armament consisted of a modified 20 mm Hispano HS-804 cannon ( sv, 20 mm akan m/47D) in a one man turret and internal racks for weapons of the

mechanized infantry Mechanized infantry are infantry units equipped with armored personnel carriers (APCs) or infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs) for transport and combat (see also mechanized force). As defined by the United States Army, mechanized infantry is di ...

( sv, pansarskytte), such as their

service weapon A service rifle (or standard-issue rifle) is a rifle a military issues to regular infantry. In modern militaries, this is typically a versatile and rugged battle rifle, assault rifle, or carbine suitable for use in nearly all environments. Most ...

s, a ksp 58 squad machine gun and a Carl Gustaf 8.4 cm recoilless rifle, along with ammunition. Later variants got updated with racks for

AT4 The AT4 is a Swedish unguided, man-portable, disposable, shoulder-fired recoilless anti-tank weapon built by Saab Bofors Dynamics (previously Bofors Anti-Armour Systems and before that FFV Ordance). The AT4 is not considered a rocket launc ...

s and some vehicles even received a Bofors BILL man-portable anti-tank missile system. As part of the Swedish IFV-doctrine the vehicle came equipped with roof doors allowing the mechanized infantry to fight from within the vehicles.

Description

The Pbv 302 has wide tracks and a high power-to-weight ratio, and has exceptionally good off-road mobility, and 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 ...

enables it to operate over summer bog and winter snow. It is powered by a Volvo 10-liter, 270 hp diesel engine. The vehicle is fully amphibious with little preparation by the crew. It is fitted with a 20 mm Hispano-Suiza type 804 cannon taken from the scrapped

Saab 29 The Saab 29 ''Tunnan'', colloquially ''Flygande tunnan'' or just ''Tunnan'' ( en, "The flying barrel", "The barrel"),. is a Swedish fighter that was designed and manufactured by Saab in the late 1940s. It was the second turbojet-powered comb ...

in a one-man turret. High-explosive cartridges were originally fed from 135-round belts, and armor-piercing cartridges were fed from a 10-round magazine. Three belts and 10 magazines were carried inside the vehicle. The arrangement was deemed overly complicated and was replaced by 30-round magazines, 10 of which were carried. The vehicle, which weighs 14 tonnes, has a crew of three (commander, driver and a gunner) and carries a squad of eight troops. The infantry squad is able to fight through two large roof hatches, though standard procedure would be to dismount through the two side-hinged doors in the rear to fight. Maximum road speed is 65 km/h (restricted for peace time use). The range on roads is about 300 km. The Pbv 302 shares common components with the Ikv 91 tank destroyer and total production was approximately 650 units.

Versions and variants

* Pansarbandvagn 302A: The original standard troop transport/IFV version. Its designation translates literally into ''armoured tracked vehicle''. * Pansarbandvagn 302B: Upgraded with spalling liner and external armour. * Pansarbandvagn 302C: As Pbv 302B, with reinforced suspension, new lights, flare-launcher, new turbo and air condition. It has mainly been used for UN and KFOR missions. ;Variants available in several versions, noted with the appropriate letter (i.e. Epbv 3022C) * Stridsledningspansarbandvagn (Stripbv) 3021: The C3I command post for battalion and brigade commanders and other staff members. Designation means ''battle command vehicle''. * Eldledningspansarbandvagn (Epbv) 3022: Forward observer vehicle for artillery observers fire control personnel. Designation means ''fire directing vehicle''. * Batteriplatspansarbandvagn (Bplpbv) 3023: The battery command control vehicle attached to Bandkanon 1 batteries. Designation means ''(artillery) battery command vehicle''. * Radiolänkpansarbandvagn (Rlpbv) 3024: Communications vehicle for directed radio communications. Designation means ''radio relay vehicle''. * Pjäsrekognoseringspansarbandvagn (Pjrekpbv) 3025: Battery reconnaissance vehicle. Designation means ''cannon reconnaissance vehicle''. * Sjuktransportpansarbandvagn (Sjuktppbv) 3026: Unarmed

medical evacuation Medical evacuation, often shortened to medevac or medivac, is the timely and efficient movement and en route care provided by medical personnel to wounded being evacuated from a battlefield, to injured patients being evacuated from the scene of a ...

vehicle. Designation means ''casualty transport vehicle''. Two more vehicles were developed using the Pbv 302 chassis. * Bärgningsbandvagn (Bgbv) 82: An armoured recovery vehicle. Designation means ''recovery vehicle''. * Brobandvagn (Brobv) 941: A bridgelayer. Designation means ''Bridge vehicle''.

Footnotes

External links

Hägglunds Vehicle AB site

{{ColdWarSwedishAFVs Armoured personnel carriers of Sweden Tracked armoured personnel carriers Military vehicles introduced in the 1960s

Description

Versions and variants

See also

Footnotes

External links