Panzer 61 AA1

CaID · May 6, 2024, 3:52am

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The Panzer 61 AA 1 was the first variant of the Panzer 61 made by Federal Construction Switzerland. the tank introduced in 1961 was based on the Panzer 58 which was a pre-series of the same tank with a 84mm gun (originally), a weaker engine, and a Swiss engine for the turret rotation. the Panzer 61 featured a better engine, a 105mm gun, and the turret transverse engine from the French AMX 30 which was in development. the early version retained the 20mm coaxial auto-cannon to allow the crew to not waste a 105mm round on light targets such as armored cars (mainly for the BRDM and BTR) but this concept was abandoned in 1967 due to the low ammo count carried and the fact that they needed a LMG more than a 20mm against the infantry.
150 of those tanks were built. they formed the bulk of the Swiss tanks until the introduction of the Panzer 68 which was a more mobile and expensive version. even if the Panzer 68 turned out to be superior, the Panzer 61 remained in service until the mid-80s

there were 9 versions of the Panzer 61 that saw services. all named from AA1 to AA9. Another version also existed but they were named differently as the AA was for those in services. that version all feature something new, the difference was usually small and barely mattered to the view of the game, but sometimes the difference is important and could affect the gameplay… To help people understand the tank, I will include here a sort of recap of the family model by model

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KW 30/52 (1952)= first model of the family, featuring Tiger’s engine and transmision, 90mm gun LMG coaxial, welded hull.

KW 30/57-I (1957) = new built tank. featuring a 20mm coaxial, sideskirt, and a 90mm gun in an early turret

KW 30/57-II (1957) = 2nd built tank. first tank who was essentially a Panzer 58. featuring a 90mm gun, same turret as the panzer 58 and have a 20mm coaxial

Panzer 58 prototype (1958)= Rearmed KW 30/57-II with a British 84mm gun. this tank was accepted to production and a pre-series was ordered

Panzer 58 (1961) = identical to the Panzer 58 Prototype but with a 105mm gun. a preseries of 10 tank was buit

Panzer 61 AA1 (1964)= nearly identical to the Panzer 58 but featuring the french Electro-hydolic turret transverse as later used on the AMX 30, slightly thicker armour and a 630 hp engine

Panzer 61 AA2 = modification Unknown but probably replace the 20mm for a 7.5mm lmg

Panzer 61 AA3 = modificaition Unknown

Panzer 61 AA4 = modificaition Unknown

Panzer 61 AA5 = modificaition Unknown

Panzer 61 AA6 = modificaition Unknown

Panzer 61 AA7 = modificaition Unknown

Panzer 61 AA8 (1976) = Thermal sleeve on the gun, Splasher sheild on the hullfront

Panzer 61 AA9 (1982) = Replacement of the 20mm coax by a 7.5mm Coaxial. update of the FCS to allow APFSDS and modification of the ammo rack to hold APFSDS, new Radio, new rangefinder

Firepower

The firepower of this tank will be quite interesting. not that the 105mm is particularly good as mid-era MBT, it is quite limited with APDS and HESH rounds only. a APFSDS could technically be used but the tank ammo rack couldn’t carry it before the AA9 version which specifically introduced the capacity to use the APFSDS in 1982. the armament became interesting mainly due to the powerful coaxial that can deal with soft targets and occasional aircraft. the reload rate, rotation and fire arc are pretty standard for the 105mm. the tank does not feature a stabilizer but it does have a coincidence rangefinder

Mobility

This tank has an average mobility over tanks of the same type (Patton, Centurion, T-54.) which is not the best of the best. but it’s not bad either. weighting 39.7 tonnes, this tank was fairly heavy. Featuring a Mercedes-Benz MB837.931-51 Ba 500, 29900cc, Diesel Supercharged V8 providing 630hp @2200rpm, the tank have a power-weight of around 15.5 hp/ton. the transmission is an SLM Winterthur, 6F/2R, Semi-Automatic. the tank is known to have a particularly sensitive steering which makes the tank prone to react to the driver’s command. feature that was also shared on the German Tiger 1 and probably heritated from the KW 30/52 who used the Tiger’s engine and transmission. the tank still has a pretty decent top speed of 51 km/h and is considered very agile despite its weight. this tank was designed to drive on the tight and dangerous alpine road.

Protection

The KW 30/57 was having a reviewed protection over the KW 30/52. the front of the hull was reviewed and rounded but retained the same thickness as the model from 1952 and was welded with 2 plates. the side armour was also reduced to 30mm but a spare track was added on the front. the turret was the most improved with the frontal armour passing to 100mm and the side armour to 50mm but the rear was also reduced to 35 mm. The tank also received 6 smoke launchers which were to be launched 2 by 2.

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LukTroy · May 6, 2024, 4:45pm

+1.