- Yes
- No
caid’s suggestion #176
i would like to suggest a Swiss armoured car, one of the best Swiss armoured cars ever built. the mowag Shark with GDD-BOE
The Mowag Shark is a surprisingly large family of armored cars that was designed by Mowag in 1978 and the 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 center of gravity would be in the exact center 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 trial in the 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 GDD-BOE. this version appears to be the initial version of this vehicle and presented for the first time in 1981. presented in Paris for the first time, this turret was less impressive than the falling turret and was making the vehicles more suited for reconnaissance than anything else. the armament was reported to be 35mm by certain sources but also 30mm by the museum board. the visual identification points toward a 35 mm Oerlikon KDE as mounted on the Japanese Type 89 IFV. following the presentation of the Shark with the Oerlikon-Burhle GDD-BOE turret, the vehicle was refitted with the FL-12 turret from Five-Lille.
Firepower
The main armament is likely a 35 mm Oerlikon KDE. this is yet to be confirmed as there is little information about the turret that had been found on my end. we can still expect the turret to have basic IFV performance for the late 70s and early 80s, which should include a laser rangefinder, stabilization, night vision, and possibly a thermal. the elevation is likely around. the elevation is probably around +35/-10 but i would not make any guess on the transverse speed as it can range from 24°/sec to 90°/sec. the armament is fed by two links of 17 rounds each to allow the gun to reload while shooting and the fire rate is selectable between 200 rounds or 550 rounds per minute.
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 steep 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 center of gravity with a 5-tonne turret was carefully studied to be placed at exactly 1.25m from the ground right between the 2nd and 3rd axes, which is the center 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 tires
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 armor was offering protection against 14.5mm KPV armor piercing round or 155mm HE round at 10m on all sides. the armor was built with high-resistance armor plates and sloped on all sides to improve the protection while retaining a lightweight. this makes the chassis have a a protection similar to the Italian Centuro B1 (without add-on armor). this makes this vehicle have protection similar to a light tank except certain tanks like the Russian BMP have rather terrible armor. in the case of the GDD-BOE turret being mounted, the crew includes 3 men and for additional protection, the vehicles have 6 smoke launchers. the turret was probably built with the same requirement of protection as the chassis. but few details in known
- This following armor thickness is estimated based on the protection efficiency reported and knowing the armor been made of HHRhA
https://i.imgur.com/5yVH2L1.png
Sources
El MOWAG SHARK 8x8, un tiburón de dientes agudos - Noticias Defensa Ayer Noticia
MOWAG Shark | Secret Projects Forum
Armoured car #30, 1995
Spoiler
Museum board
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