Mowag Shark FL-12, Swiss land-predator

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caid’s suggestion #175

i would like to suggest a Swiss armoured car, one of the best Swiss armoured cars ever built. the mowag Shark with FL-12 turret

The Mowag Shark is a surprisingly large family of armoured cars the was designed by Mowag in 1978 and the first prototype was built in 1981. presented as basically an enlarged version of the Mowag Piranha 8X8 with more protection. The shark was intended to be a wheeled tank and not an IFV or APC like the piranha. more particularly for tank destroying roles but also offer a large versatility of roles due to the many turrets that could be fitted. the chassis alone weighs 16 tonnes and if intended to carry a turret up to 6 tonnes gives a weight of 22 tonnes but the weight was carefully studied to give optimal agility with a 5 tonnes turret (the centre of gravity would be in the exact centre of the vehicle). The shark features a high-quality suspension and high protection. but this came to a cost which was the price itself. The shark was much more expensive than the Piranha and was often capable of carrying the same turret. despite a high publicity campaign, and trials in different countries including Germany, Canada and Switzerland, no order came for the Shark. 3 prototypes were built from 1981 to 1983 and the mass production was ready in July 1983 but this production never took place.

in this suggestion, we will focus more precisely on the Mowag Shark FL-12. this version was Created in 1982 and tested by Switzerland. this version was intended to be a tank destroyer and offer a rather interesting cost-efficiency performance if we do not consider the cost of the vehicle itself. the tank was armed with a 105mm gun that was capable of offering the firepower of a MBT of the 2nd generation. the turret was refitted with the SOPTAC fire-control system which includes a Laser-rangefinder. this turret was built by Five-Lille and was fitted on different vehicles, notably the AMX 13 and the SK 105 (but the SOPTAC fire-control system was optional) the trial was successfully conducted from July 1982 but the Swiss army didn’t order this tank. probably in favour of the Piranha refitted with TWO missiles who was accepted for services in 1984 (Panzerjäger 85 in 1984 and Panzerjäger 90 in 1989)

Firepower
The main armament is a 105mm CN 105-57 which is the same armament of the Sk 105. only the turret wasn’t fitted with a powered auto-loader. the turret has a fire rate of 8 to 12 rounds minutes (the reload gets longer when the revolver gets empty due to the weight balance). the rotation is hydraulically powered which gives a speed of 30°/sec but the elevation speed reaches only 5°/sec, which is a bit slow. the turret is refitted with the SOPTAC fire-control which includes a Cilas TCV107 laser rangefinder for more accuracy at up to 10km. the ammunition load is not well known but the turret includes 12 rounds in two revolvers. the turret is equipped with a M-213 sight with a magnification of X7.5. for night shooting, a Sopelem TN2-12 could be used with light amplification and a magnification of x5. but the TN2-12 was not fitted.



Mobility
the Shark is powered by a General Motors Detroit Diesel 8V-71 T developing 530 hp at 2500 rpm. this was intended to give a power weight of 25 hp/ton at the weight of 21 tonnes. the shark is designed to offer a high speed on rough terrain with a top speed of 80 km/h off-road and climb a very sharp slope of 70% angle. that means that the Shark was capable of hunting his target on any terrain. the Allison automatic box model HT-750 DRD off a 5 forward speed and 1 backward. it is coupled with an auxiliary two-speed transfer box and four self-locking differentials that can be coupled, two to two or all four, pneumatically by the driver depending on the terrain conditions or driving needs. the centre of gravity with a 5 tonnes turret was carefully studied to be placed at exactly 1.25m from the ground right between the 2nd and 3rd axes, which is the centre of the vehicle. each wheel has an independent suspension. the two middle axes aren’t steerable; their suspension is built with shock absorbers and their wheels are mounted on oscillating arms connected to a torsion bar. the first and last are steerable and hydraulically assisted. they have suspension by wishbone, oversized helical spring and hydraulic damper. the prototype was fitting Michelin 13.00 x 20 tubeless tyres


protection
The protection of the Shark was intended to allow it to be used fairly close to the battlefield. but retaining a good weight which was carefully studied to give a perfect balance on the vehicle. the armour was offering protection against 14.5mm KPV armour piercing round or 155mm HE round at 10m on all sides. the armour was built with high-resistance armour plates and sloped on all sides to improve the protection while retaining a lightweight. this makes the chassis have protection similar to the Italian Centuro B1 (without add-on armour). this makes this vehicle have protection similar to a light tank except certain tanks like the Russian BMP have rather terrible armour. in the case of the FL-12 turret being mounted, the crew include 3 men and for additional protection, the vehicles have 10 smoke launchers.

  • This following armour thickness is estimated based on the protection efficiency reported and knowing the armour been made of HHRhA



Sources
https://www.defensa.com/ayer-noticia/mowag-shark-8x8-tiburon-dientes-agudos
MOWAG Shark | Secret Projects Forum

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Spoiler


Museum board

The Switzerland supporter discord is open to everyone

If you like to see some wacky tanks if you want to see unique aircraft, if you want to see something about a new nation that could make it to the game. Switzerland is for you

the Swiss Discord is dedicated to researching Swiss military material and support. no qualification is needed. if you want to help or have a look around, follow this link and we would be happy to welcome you

this link is valid for the first 100 persons
the 50 first to join get an automatic membership

2 Likes
2

and all that will end up in the german TT because of course gaijin won’t make an independant switzerland tech tree.

1 Like
3

A +1 from me would be neat to see as part of a future Swiss Tech Tree.

As for the German Sub TT bit, I feel Switzerland’s potential is wasted in the German TT. All Germany needs from the Swiss in-game is the F/A-18C; every other vehicle the Swiss have already has a German counterpart that performs the exact role that Swiss vehicles would have in the TT. So I mean, at that point, it becomes a question of what happens to all the neat Swiss stuff. Does it end up locked behind a paywall or an event? Alternatively, it just never gets added in the first place, and thus, we lose out on a lot of the really neat and strange Swiss stuff. So, in that sense, I feel like adding a Swiss Sub TT to Germany for just one vehicle is a waste. Just my 2 cents, though.

4

if Gaijin really wants the Swiss as a sub-tech tree, they will overlook most of the vehicles and add only a few of them. i still have a lot of vehicles to suggest for the Swiss. and I do not see how could Gaijin manage to squeeze 4 new lines well stuffed in the German tech tree.

if Gaijin add them to Germany, we are likely to only see the Panzer 61 and 68. maybe the shark. the F-18 for the aviation. the rest will be ignored because Germany just does not need it at all and there is already a lot of vehicles on their own.

if they really want to fill the rank fo Aviation for the top tier, they should just give them the Argentinian F-16 and eventually the Typhoon in 2-3 versions.

5

Germany doesn’t even need the F-18, the initial Eurofighter blocks fulfill the same role in the same manner with the same armament and similar amount of it.

Switzerland is not good enough to be a standalone tree but adding it to Germany is unnecessary IMO. I think it should be located with some other countries in a new tech tree.

Anyways, +1 for the FL-12 Shark, it looks absolutely awesome and would be fun to play

1 Like
6

There is more than enough to have a tech tree. and this tech tree is outdated. i did find a good dozen vehicles to add to this tech tree. and another dozen from Austria as well.

the aviation is not that strong but still has a lot to offer

1 Like