- Yes
- No
I would like to suggest the Swiss tank destroyer, the Mowag Radpanzer Doppellenker
This armoured car was a tank destroyer built on the chassis of the MOWAG Doppellenker. this chassis was designed to be twin drive, or more precisely twin driver. this includes a reverse gear and a 2nd driver. intended to offer the best mobility, this vehicle was offering the infantry the capacity to quickly deploy heavy armament around the battlefield. the vehicle was built in 1955 by Walter Fur, and while the turret was reused for the Skorpion light tank, the armament wasn’t the same. this vehicle used an older Pak 50 gun instead of the better Pak 57. The vehicle was not adopted, and the reason is not known to me. some say it might be the recoil has been too strong, but this is a rather ridiculous guess when we know that this gun has a rather low pressure.
Pros
- small profile
- powerful HEAT round
- decent speed (forward and reverse)
- good elevation (+25°)
- good depression (+20°)
- good fire-rate (6 sec reload)
Cons
- Only have HEAT for anti-tank use
- little armour
- exposed crew
Firepower
the armament is the 9 cm Panzerabwehrkanone 50 which is the Swiss designation for the Mecar 90/28. this gun is a low-pressure anti-tank gun that was mainly used by the infantry. offering a decent fire rate and penetration, this gun does not have a particularly good velocity which reduces a lot his effectiveness at a longer range. but fair not because his velocity and accuracy are at a similar level to the 75mm Sherman. it can still penetrate up to 250mm of armour with its HEAT round. but sadly this gun has little more to offer than a HEAT round to engage his enemy. the elevation is decent. with -20° and + 25° you will not feel any real limitation over the other vehicles. the ammo load is also impressive. due to the small rounds, this vehicle can carry up to 78 rounds based on the blueprint.
Mobility
despite looking a lot like the Mowag Rpz Pak 50. this vehicle is not related. the engine was notably better and the transmission was offering a reverse gearbox. that makes this vehicle capable of going as fast forward as it goes backwards. sadly we do not know much about the mobility, it could probably reach 80 km/h or more but without the source, I can’t say for sure. It is known that the engine provides 141 hp and is likely the same as the Mowag Skorpion. the weight is also known to be 6.2 tonnes, making the power weight 22.75 hp/ton. the vehicles offer all drive wheels and all wheels are steerable.
Protection
this tank’s main protection is its size. the vehicle’s hull is just a bit bigger than the Russian ASU-57 and about the same size as the German Waffentragger or the M22 Locust. this makes this tank quite easy to hide. besides the small size, the very good gun depression allows it to fire while standing on the counter-slope of the hills. this makes it even harder to spot when you only have the gun’s visible shield. the protection is not great but still okay. with 15mm of armour on the frontal side and 10mm on every other side, it can protect his crew against HMG. but the biggest flaw in his protection is the open top. the vehicle is so small that even the driver has his head exposed. that make this vehicle quit vulnerable to air attack and artillery. but also HE for sure. the crew of 3 men include 2 men in the turret and one in the front left side of the hull.
source
- E-Periodica - Ausbildungsprobleme der Fliegerabwehr/ Flabwaffen und -Geräte
- Private Site
- https://www.e-periodica.ch/cntmng?pid=rms-001%3A1957%3A102%3A%3A816
- Швейцарский противотанковый прототип: колесная 90-мм САУ. - Не теряйте мужества - худшее впереди! — ЖЖ?
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