- Yes
- No
caid’s suggestion #169
I would like to suggest a rather unique tank, the Swiss Mowag Mk.1 RWk-007
The Mowag Tornado Mk.1 was a Swiss-made IFV that was created on the base of the Tornado which was a prototype intended to replace the M113 in the Swiss army. the Tornado Mk.1 was his successor and aimed for the export
The Tornado Mk.1 was created in the late 70s on the base of the Tornado Mk.1 the tank featured serial differences which can be somehow considered as an improvement. one of which is the new transmission that was used with the engine which allows 4 forward speed and 4 backward with a torque converter which sort of double the quantities of geat (in the game it works that way). this greatly improved the vehicle’s mobility in ad made it about as good as the Marder, which was the main competitor.
the engine remains the same as the previous model. The rear was changed to reposition the Apex mount on the rear and offer better protection in close combat. an additional fire-port was added for the 9mm SMG which allows the crew to fight from the inside. like the original model, this the crew sits back to back. the ATGM launcher was removed as it was considered impracticable and unneeded. the Tornado Mk.1 comes with many different turrets for different needs, according to the preference of the user.
this suggestion proposes the RWk-007 turret. this turret is different than the other as it wasn’t a normal turret found on IFV and was not suitable for this role. this turret was more suitable for providing close artillery support to the battlefield. armed with 30 SNORA rockets, those rockets were offering a selection of warheads that included powerful HE and HEAT warheads. this allows the vehicle to provide fire support at close range but also to deal with tanks. featuring a high rate of fire and high penetration, this allows this version to be quite suitable for the game and easily deal with 2-3 heavy targets at the same time without giving them time to respond. on the downside, there was probably no additional ammo carried which means once you fire all those rockets, you need to return to the controlled area to rearm. this version was built and tested in the early 80s, it was offered for export but without success.
Firepower
This version of the Tornado was armed with a RWk-007 turret. this turret was an MLRS that was carrying 81mm SNORA rockets. These Swiss rockets were also used on the aircraft (notably on the Swiss P-51) and were capable of direct fire and fire support. while the direct fire was more a secondary use, the indirect fire provided the vehicles with a high fire-support capacity which was close to the artillery tanks. the turret has a good elevation and depression that allow it to fight in long-range and close combat. the rockets are fairly fast, about as fast as the regular tank’s shells. it also features a good penetration with the HEAT rounds. having a maximal range of 9 km, the effective range was closer to 2.5 km which made it a close artillery support.
Mobility
The tank was powered by a MOWAG diesel engine with turbocharging and inter-cooling, water-cooled offering 430 hp, and had a Mowag transmission offering 4 forward speeds and 4 backward this allowed the tank to have a pretty good acceleration and be very reactive. the vehicle’s combat weight reach 22.3 tonnes. this weight may vary from the Mk.1 and Mk.2 and with different turrets, but the source (which is from various encyclopedias and author books) only states 22.3 tonnes without precision if there is a difference in weight from one to another. This remains a pretty decent weight for the engine as the tank remains with about 19 hp/tonnes which is still pretty good. the top speed reaches 70 km/h in both directions which is perfect for those who love to use the mobility of their vehicles.
Protection
The exact armor of the tank is unknown, but due to the weight and size, it is expected to be around 30-35mm on the front and 20mm on the side. besides the protection was reported to be capable of taking fire from a 23mm auto-cannon on the front and a 14.5mm heavy machine gun on the side. this should allow the tank to have a fairly good resistance against HMG and some auto-cannon but not in a way to be immune to them. for sure compared to its main competitor, the AMX 10P, BMP-1, and Marder, this tank has fairly good protection but it remains an IFV. the did receive a smoke grenade launcher in the late stage of his test which allows the tank to fire 2x smoke at a time to cover his movement, the crew normally includes a driver, a gunner, and a commander, but we should also give it 2x passenger who are normally operating the LMG turret (they was on the disposal of the embarked infantry)
Sources
IDF Jane's
International defense review
Spoiler
Armament
- https://ia800901.us.archive.org/34/items/Oerlikon81mmRockets/Oerlikon 81mm rockets.PDF
- SNORA and SURA-D rockets - Wikipedia
Spoiler
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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
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