Pansarvärnspjästerrängbil 9031 (Pvpjtgb 9031)

Veðrfölnir · August 17, 2023, 9:44pm

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Pansarvärnspjästerrängbil 9031 (Pvpjtgb 9031)

Summarized history:

The Pvpjtgb 9031 is a light unarmored terrain vehicle, which were based from the transport version of said vehicle aka.: Personlastterrängbil 903 (Pltgb 903), which were introduced in the 1960’s. Compared to the transport version, the Pvpjtgb 9031 had its chassis modified to accommodate the Bofors 9cm pansarvärnpjäs 1110 (The name of the cannon was originally designated as: " 9 cm Pvpj m/59"). However, the other reason for this was due to previous tests. In which they tried to deploy the gun onto the more conventional Pltgb 903. But, during the testing, they realized that there is a high risk of the recoil flame of the cannon would set the rear part of the vehicle on fire. The Solution came with a new chassis from Volvo. Which gave the vehicle a much lower profile and less total weight compared to its original counterpart. Which caused the vehicle to have a much higher max speed which it was not intended to have originally.

There were several accidents which occured for the Pvpjtgb 9031, which is due to the lighter weight and the cannon mounted onto the vehicle. Mainly it was prone to flip if you’re driving too fast and/or suddenly having to hard break, alternatively if you’re driving the vehicle in a steep angle. Due to the cannon mounted onto the vehicle, it increased the total weight at the front of the vehicle. Which will cause the overall weight distrubution going to the front, rather the center of the vehicle. After several of these accidents occured with the vehicle. The Swedish armed forces decided to modify the Pvpjtgb 9031 to accomodate a foldable roll bar onto the vehicle, to reduce injuries to the crew and vehicle itself. The reason why it was foldale, is so that the crew can aim and fire the cannon in a much broader angle, compared if the roll bar was a fixed object. See image below:

The main armament for the Pvpjtgb 9031 is the Bofors 9cm Pansarvärnpjäs 1110 recoilless rifle. Which was used both as a anti tank gun and a support gun against fortified positions or infantry. That means it could fire the same types of rounds which the Ikv-91 can use (with the exception of the shell), however it could not use any High Explosive rounds. The only rounds it had available to use was HEAT/HEAT-FS rounds (You can read about the ammunition types on the next paragraph). The cannon equipped with a binocular sight with x4 magnification and ontop the the cannon itself: a modified Automatgevär m/42 (AG 42) chambered either in 6.5mm or 7.62mm NATO and were designated as: Inskjutningsvapen 5110. It was used as a secondary armament and carried 20 rounds per magazine. While being a secondary armament, it was primarly used for rangefinding for the Bofors cannon. As the gun itself was adjusted so the bullet path becomes as similar to the Bofors Cannon as possible.(See images below).

The ammunition types which the recoilless rifle used are as followed:

Spårljuspansarspränggranat m/62
Penetration capability: 380 mm
Weight: 10.5~11kg

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Left: Spårljuspansarspränggranat m/62

Right: Patronhylsa m/59

Source: 1972 Försvarets Materielverk, https://web.archive.org/web/20180207211151/https://www.soldf.com/pvpj1110.html

Spårljuspansarspränggranat m/77
Penetration capability: 500 mm
Weight: ~11kg

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source: Swedish 9 cm pvpj 1110 recoilless rifle ammunition - #2 by bdgreen - General Ammunition Discussion - International Ammunition Association Web Forum, AM till 9 cm pvpjäs 1110 - Smålands Militärhistoriska Sällskap • SMHS

Spårljuspansarspränggranat m/84
Penetration capability: 800 mm
Weight: ~10kg

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source: Swedish 9 cm pvpj 1110 recoilless rifle ammunition - #2 by bdgreen - General Ammunition Discussion - International Ammunition Association Web Forum

Spårljusövningsgranat m/62
Penetration capability: N/A
Weight: ~10.5kg
Spårljusövningsgranat m/79
Penetration capability: N/A
Weight: ~10.5-11kg

Ammunition Storage:

Note: Up to 4 containers of additional 9cm Bofors rounds could be placed on the vehicle (See below):

The Pvpjtgb 9031 along with the Pltgb 903 was used extensively by the Swedish armed forces throughout the 60’s and started to phase out by mid 1970’s. As the vehicle started to be replaced by the more modern TGB 11 (Terrängbil 11) . However, due to the large amount of delivered Pltgb 903 and Pvpjtgb 9031. As well the amount of spare parts to them, the vehicle continued to serve the Swedish armed forces till the late 1990’s. The 9cm Bofors Recoilless Cannon which the Pvpjtgb 9031 used, would also be put out of service around the same timeperiod. However instead of scrapping all of the cannons, the Swedish Goverment transfered the ownership of around 300 9cm Bofors Cannons to the newly formed Baltic nations of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania (As it was during the time when Soviet Union collapsed and the Baltic states reaffirmed their independence).

Image: The then Crown Prince, King Karl XVI Gustaf aiming the 9cm Bofors pansarvärnpjäs 1110 on the Pansarvärnspjästerrängbil 9031. The image was taken during 1960’s.

Specifications:

	Pansarvärnspjästerrängbil 9031
Weight:	1.57 Ton (Service weight), 2.2 Ton (Combat weight)
Length:	427 cm
Width:	170 cm
Height:	150 cm
Clearance height:	29 cm
Crew:	3-4 Crew members
Armor:	~5mm (unarmored)
Engine:	4-Cylinder Volvo B 18A diesel engine 65 hp
Gearbox:	Volvo M 40 (Manual gearbox) 4 gears (acceleration) + 1 gear (reverse)
Max Speed:	96 km/h
Armament:	Bofors 9cm pansarvärnpjäs 1110 (90x760R mm Bofors), Inskjutningsvapen 5110 (7.62mm NATO or 6.5mm patron m/94)
Turret elevation:	- 10 ° + 15 °
Turret Traverse :	Between 75 - 115 °
Ammo Capacity:	Bofors 9cm pansarvärnpjäs 1110: 6-10 rounds, Inskjutningsvapen 5110: ~200 rounds (20 Magazines)
Ammunition types:	HEAT/HEAT-FS (Slpsgr m/62, Slpsgr m/77 and Slpsgr m/84)
Rate of Fire/Velocity :	9cm Bofors: 6-8 Rounds per minute, ~ 700 m/s Inskjutningsvapen 5110: 40 Rounds per min (Semi-Automatic rifle), ~ 800 m/s
Number in service:	360