The Landsverk L-60 was a Swedish tank developed in 1934. It was developed by

AB Landsverk AB Landsverk (full name: Aktiebolaget Landsverk, ) was a Swedish heavy industry company, manufacturing a wide variety of tracked and wheeled military vehicles, such as tractor units, off-road vehicles and armored car (military), armoured vehicle ...

as a

light tank A light tank is a Tank classification, tank variant initially designed for rapid movements in and out of combat, to outmaneuver heavier tanks. It is smaller with thinner vehicle armour, armor and a less powerful tank gun, main gun, tailored for ...

which included several advanced design features such as

torsion bar A torsion bar suspension, also known as a torsion spring suspension, is any vehicle suspension that uses a torsion bar as its main weight-bearing spring. One end of a long metal bar is attached firmly to the vehicle chassis; the opposite end ...

suspension, periscopes rather than view slits and all-welded construction. The L-60 was progressively improved with several turrets, engines and guns offered by Landsverk. The L-60 entered the international market in 1935 and was eventually adopted by the Swedish army in 4 main variants: Stridsvagn (Strv) m/38, Stridsvagn m/39, Stridsvagn m/40L and Stridsvagn m/40K.

Variants

* L-60 - First variant produced and delivered to: ** - 2 ordered in 1935 * L-60 Ö (for Österreich "Austria") - Variant for the Austrian Army and delivered to: ** - 1 prototype ordered in 1936. Similar to the regular L-60 with a 20 mm madsen in the turret but with a raised

idler-wheel {{refimprove, date=June 2015 An idler-wheel is a wheel which serves only to transmit rotation from one shaft to another, in applications where it is undesirable to connect them directly. For example, connecting a motor to the platter of a phonog ...

. Not accepted for service. ** - received L-60 Ö repurposed and delivered to Hungary together with a Landsverk L-62. The idler-wheel was modified back to the state of a regular L-60. Led to Hungary purchasing a license for the L-60. The Hungarians developed their Toldi tanks from the L-60. The Toldi tanks were used extensively by the Hungarians in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. The Hungarians did not use the L-60 itself in combat. **k.hk. C40 (Toldi III) - 12 made. Improved Toldi IIa with thicker armour and ''schürzen'' plates. *L-60 S: Variant for the

Swedish Army The Swedish Army () is the army, land force of the Swedish Armed Forces of the Kingdom of Sweden. Beginning with its service in 1521, the Swedish Army has been active for more than 500 years. History Svea Life Guards dates back to the year 1 ...

. **L-60 S/I (''Strv m/38'') - 15 ordered in 1937 and delivered in 1939. Armed with a 37 mm m/38 Bofors gun. **L-60 S/II (''Strv m/39'') - 20 ordered in 1939 and delivered in 1940. Armed with a 37 mm m/38 Bofors gun. **L-60 S/III (''Strv m/40L'') - 100 ordered in 1940 and delivered in 1941. Armed with a 37 mm m/38 Bofors gun. **L-60 S/IV - Not a direct variant of the L-60. It went under the name Landsverk Terro and was a smaller Landsverk Lago. **L-60 S/V (''Strv m/40K'') - 80 ordered in 1942 and delivered in 1944 by ''Karlstads Mekaniska Verkstad'' (Karlstad Mechanical Engineering), a subcontractor that assembled the tanks. Armed with a 37 mm m/38 Bofors gun, armour up to 50 mm. *Lvkv fm/43 - A.K.A. Luftvärnskanonvagn L-62. Anti-aircraft version armed with dual 40 mm guns. *L-60-S with 7.5 cm kan m/02 - 1942 prototype assault gun. Also fitted with the 7.5cm Kannon m/40. Armor protection was deemed insufficient so the superstructure was moved to a

Stridsvagn m/41 Stridsvagn m/41 (Strv m/41) was a Swedish medium tank. A license-built version of the Czechoslovak Panzer 38(t), TNH medium tank, it served into the 1950s. History Since 1937, the Swedish army had been interested in the Czechoslovakian TNH tank. ...

chassis. *15 cm Stormpjäs fm/43 - Another assault gun prototype. L-60-S fitted with a 15cm recoilless rifle in 1943. Could fire a 34 kg HE shell at 305 m/s. In 1944 the superstructure was fitted to the Strv m/41 chassis. *Pvkv IV “Värjan” - 1952 prototype attempt to upgun the L-60. Rejected in favor of a different conversion based on the Strv m/41 chassis.

Foreign service

Hungarian service

The L-60 was licensed by the Hungarian Weiss Manfréd company for the

Hungarian army The Hungarian Ground Forces (, ) constitute the land branch of the Hungarian Defence Forces, responsible for ground activities and troops, including artillery, tanks, Armoured Personnel Carriers (APCs), Infantry Fighting Vehicles (IFVs), and g ...

. It was used as the basis for the Hungarian Toldi tanks which used different guns and were further developed, improved and up-armoured.https://tank-afv.com/ww2/sweden/L60_stridsvagn_M38-39-40.php

Irish Service

The first Irish Landsverk L-60 was delivered in 1935 and joined Ireland's only other tank a Vickers Mk. D in the 2nd Armoured Squadron. The second Landsverk L-60 arrived in 1936. The L-60s were still in use up until the late 1960s. One L-60 is preserved in running order and the other is in the

National Museum of Ireland The National Museum of Ireland () is Ireland's leading museum institution, with a strong emphasis on national and some international archaeology, Irish history, Irish art, culture, and natural history. It has three branches in Dublin, the arch ...

Collins Barracks Collins Barracks () is a former military barracks in the Arbour Hill area of Dublin, Ireland. The buildings now house the National Museum of Ireland – Decorative Arts and History. Previously housing first British Armed Forces and later Iri ...

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

Dominican service

Twenty were sold to the Dominican Republic army in 1956, having been refurbished and designated L/60L. In the

Dominican Civil War The Dominican Civil War (), also known as the April Revolution (), took place between April 24, 1965, and September 3, 1965, in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. It started when civilian and military supporters of the overthrown democraticall ...

in April 1965, these tanks saw use by Constitutionalist troops against invading American forces during “

Operation Power Pack The Dominican Civil War (), also known as the April Revolution (), took place between April 24, 1965, and September 3, 1965, in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. It started when civilian and military supporters of the overthrown democraticall ...

”. Three of the Dominican L/60Ls were destroyed: one by a US Army

M40 recoilless rifle The M40 recoilless rifle is a portable, crew-served 105 mm recoilless rifle made in the United States. Intended primarily as an anti-tank weapon, it could also be employed in an antipersonnel role with the use of an antipersonnel-tracer fl ...

team of the

82nd Airborne Division The 82nd Airborne Division is an Airborne forces, airborne infantry division (military), division of the United States Army specializing in Paratrooper, parachute assault operations into hostile areasSof, Eric"82nd Airborne Division" ''Spec Ops ...

, and the other two respectively by a

M50 Ontos Ontos, officially the Rifle, Multiple 106 mm, Self-propelled, M50, was an American light armored tracked anti-tank vehicle developed in the 1950s. It mounted six 106 mm manually loaded M40 recoilless rifles as its main armament, which c ...

and an

M48 Patton The M48 Patton is an American first-generation main battle tank (MBT) introduced in February 1952, being designated as the 90mm Gun M48, armored, full-tracked, combat vehicle of the medium-gun tank class. It was designed as a replacement for ...

of a

US Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the Marines, maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expedi ...

armor detachment of the 6th MEU. This 29 April 1965 battle was one of the very few tank-vs-tank battles to ever happen in the

Americas The Americas, sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North America and South America.''Webster's New World College Dictionary'', 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio. When viewed as a sing ...

. After “Power Pack” ended, the United States assisted the Dominican Republic in rebuilding its army and twelve of the original twenty L/60Ls were again refurbished and restored to service. These dozen continued in frontline use until 2002. Today one is preserved in excellent, drivable condition as a historical icon by the Dominican Republic army. Strv m 40

Planned Romanian acquisition

In spring of 1936, an offer by the General Technical Inspectorate of the Romanian Army was sent to Swedish engineer Herbert Wiessner, for the purchase of Landsverk tanks. The offer was not materialized.

References

Sources

*''Tanks of the World 1915-1945'' by Peter Chamberlain and Chris Ellis 1972/2002 p 159. *

External links

Landsverk
- Site about AB Landsverk between 1850 and 1992 {{Use dmy dates, date=June 2017 Landsverk vehicles World War II tanks of Sweden World War II light tanks Light tanks of Sweden Light tanks of the interwar period Military vehicles introduced in the 1930s