SK-105 Kürassier II — Early Upgrades

ChieftainWarrior · February 25, 2026, 10:26pm

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SK-105 Kürassier II

TL;DR: An early upgrade of the Austrian SK-105 Kürassier, equipped with a stabilised main gun, an improved FCS, and NVDs

History
Following WW2, Austria was occupied by the Allies. Austria was forbidden from having an official military, although it was permitted to retain its Gendarmerie, and to establish a paramilitary branch in 1949. This formed the basis for the Austrian Army — the Bundesheer — which was established in 1955, as Austria gained its independence. The Bundesheer was initially armed with leftover US and Soviet equipment, including vehicles like the M41 (42 delivered between 1958–1960) and T-34-85 (37 leftover from Soviet occupation). In 1955, Austria ordered 72 AMX-13s from France, which were delivered from 1956–1957.

Austrian AMX-13 in storage at a museum

In 1962, Austria ordered 120 M60A1s from the US, which were delivered by 1963. This massively helped Austria’s move towards a modernised armoured force. Domestic vehicle production had already begun by this time, with the first prototypes of the Saurer APC produced in the late 1950s, and entering full-scale production in 1961. In 1965, Saurer-Werk (Steyr Daimler Puch) began development of a tank destroyer based on the chassis of the Saurer APC. The first prototype of this vehicle — the SK-105 Kürassier — was built in 1967. Serial production began in 1971, and an estimated 600–700 were built in total until production ended in 2001.

SK-105

An early production SK-105

The SK-105 was based heavily on the AMX-13, although retained a number of distinct features. It features a centrally-mounted oscillating turret, housing a French 105mm CN-105-57 cannon (the same as on the AMX-13-105). The SK-105 was designated a tank destroyer by Austria, although is often referred to as a light tank. A number of variants of the vehicle were produced, namely the SK-105A2, which featured, among other upgrades, an enhanced FCS. There are also well-known prototype upgrades of the SK-105, although they are very frequently referred to by incorrect names (e.g. “SK-105A3” Super Kürassier).

However, a much earlier upgrade was developed, prior to the SK-105A2 and Super Kürassier, gone largely unrecognised online. This is the Kürassier II, a sole prototype of which was completed by Steyr Daimler Puch in 1978. It featured a number of upgrades, some not even seen on the last production variant, the SK-105A2 — specifically, a stabilised main cannon. Little else is known about the vehicle, although it was presumably cancelled due to either high costs or issues with the equipment, something likely evidenced by the development of the Super Kürassier in the 1980s.

The only other image of the Kürassier II during trials that I have been able to find

Characteristics
The Kürassier II is armed with an autoloaded 105mm CN-105-57 cannon, known in Austria as the M57, fitted in a fully-stabilised newly-designed upper turret. This cannon was able to fire two main types of ammunition — OCC 105 F1 HEAT-FS and OE 105 F1 Mle.60 HE. OCC 105 F1 is able to penetrate 400mm of RHA at 0° at any range. 42 rounds could be carried total. The FCS fitted to the Kürassier II included, alongside a ballistic calculator, a laser rangefinder. A coaxial 7.62mm MG3A1 was fitted to the left of the main gun, as on the regular SK-105.

The Kürassier II had a new passive night vision camera, mounted on the turret roof, just to the left of the main gun, alongside a searchlight mounted in a box at the rear of the roof. The vehicle also had two sets of three smoke grenade launchers on either side of the lower turret, as standard on production SK-105s.

What appears to be the Kürassier II, on display at a museum, albeit with slight modifications to the turret (removal of the searchlight, moving the night vision camera to the rear)

The new upper turret was more thickly armoured than the original 25mm-thick design, although to what extent is unknown. The lower turret remained the same, as did the turret sides (20mm) and rear (20mm). The hull was also the same as the production SK-105, with the UFP at 25mm @ 62°, the LFP at 25mm @ 49°. The hull sides were 15mm @ 0°, and the rear 15mm @ 1°.

The Kürassier II also retained the same automotive characteristics as the production SK-105s, with a Steyr 7FA diesel engine producting 320hp, connected to a ZF6 transmission with six forward gears and one reverse. The production vehicles weighed 17.7t, and it is likely the Kürassier II was only slightly heavier (still <18t). It had a maximum top speed of 68km/h.

Conclusion
The Kürassier II would be an excellent candidate for a premium or event version of the SK-105, and would fit perfectly between a future early production SK-105 (unstabilised, only HEAT-FS, no LRF, no thermals) and the in-game SK-105A2 (unstabilised, HEAT-FS and APFSDS, LRF, thermal sights), or as a sidegrade to the SK-105A2 (as 8.3 may be too low for a fully-stabilised, autoloading 105mm). It would likely go in the French tree, given the pre-existing SK-105A2, and the fact Switzerland is now a subtree for Germany (preventing any future standalone Alpine tree with Austria).

Specifications
Armament

105mm M57
- Two-plane stabiliser
- Ammunition
  - 42 rounds
  - OCC 105 F1 HEAT-FS
    - 400mm at 0° at 10m
  - OE 105 F1 Mle.60 HE
- Coaxial 7.62mm
- Laser rangefinder
- NVDs

Armour

Hull
- UFP: 25mm @ 62°
- LFP: 25mm @ 49°
- Sides: 15mm @ 0°
- Rear: 15mm @ 1°
Turret
- Upper Front: Unknown, >25 mm
- Lower Front: 40mm @ 42°
- Sides: 20mm @ 8°
- Rear: 20mm @ 0°