- Yes
- No
i would like to suggest a rather unique tank, the Swiss A14 flakpanzer HS30
the Hispano-Suiza A14 Flakpanzer HS30 was a Swiss SPAA made on the base of the HS 30 chassis. this was created to modernize the armoured units and provide them with specialized support tanks to improve the efficiency of the mechanized force (which was still been built up) and give them SPAA. the prototype was built in 1955 and featured the newly created 30mm Hispano-Suiza HSS 831 L/70 auto-cannon. this armament offered a great fire rate and range which made them capable of attacking and destroying jets. however, the design remained basic and the tank was unable to detect well the aircraft due to the absence of radar or other proper tracking devices. the prototype was rejected for services at the same time as the light tank version built on the same chassis. Hispano Suiza used this development to offer vehicles of similar conception for the German army, this vehicles were also rejected due to security concerns about the potential leak of the Swiss development to the USSR (the Germans decided to work with the British for mounting the Falcon turret on their HS30).
Firepower
the armament was the well-known 30mm HSS 831. the same auto-cannon as used on the French AMX 30 DCA and British Falcon. the turret is however a lot less advanced and the tank shall not have access to APDS due to the fact it was just not available during the time the prototype was created (the APDS came about a decade later and only in the UK until the license was sold in 1992 and another by USA in 2004) the gun remain powerful against aircraft and light vehicles. it can hope to sometime penetrate the enemy tanks from the side or rear. the main anti-armour round is a 30mm APHE which makes it deal quite a lot of damage once it penetrates. the fast rate of fire and the fact this is a twin cannon make it quite good at ambush and dealing with many targets. the tank has a high gun’s elevation (it’s to be expected from a SPAA) which can reach 80° but the depression is unknown (guesswork needed) there is also no information about the ammo carried. the gun is controlled by the commander and is gyro-stabilized
Mobility
this tank is based on the HS 30 APC which is by itself a fairly mobile tank. powered by a Rolls-Royce B81 Mk 80F 8-cylinder petrol engine offering 220 hp the tank is not having a very strong engine. but it’s still fairly light with only 11.34 tonnes (to be confirmed). this gives a comfortable power-weight ratio of 21.16 hp/tonnes. which allows this tank to move around fairly well. The top speed reported on the secondary source is 60 km/h but this could well be a round-up number of the 65 km/h of the HS 30. in both cases, the tank offers pretty high mobility comparable to many light tanks of the cold war
Protection
the armour of this tank is not extreme but still has decent armour. based on the HS 30, it is assumed that it could retain most of the armour value. but that is not certain as the front hull was heavily modified., the driver has a glassed windshield which makes it quit vulnerable but gives it very good visibility. the commander cupola is also offering glass all around. this indicates that the tank was not well suited for fighting in the front line (it had a lot of weakness) but it also had a pretty good visibility for the crew which made it good at spotting the aircraft. this tank is a anti-aircraft vehicles which mean the armour is just basic and only intended to protect it from Shrapnel and small arms.
source
whole vehicle
- Flakpanzer Gepard | VK
- А как насчет ТАКОГО жужика?! Flakpanzer A14 - HS30 - Не теряйте мужества - худшее впереди! — ЖЖ
- Flakpanzer A.14 | Воины и военная техника вики | Fandom
Spoiler
Chassis
- Private Site
- Швейцарские истребители.: seryj221221 — LiveJournal?
- For the Record: Another German T7 LT alternative
- Правильный ЛТ7 для Германии.: world_of_kwg — LiveJournal
Armament
Spoiler
