- Yes
- No
Introduction
I took this suggestion from my old suggestion in the old forum and revised it.
The Tridon is a high fire-power, highly mobile autonomous 40 mm L/70 Bofors gun system mounted on a Volvo 6x6 all-terrain chassis.
Generally, wheeled vehicles have several advantages over tracked vehicles. Among them, the ability to quickly deploy along roads is a significant advantage when there is a large coastline to protect. (See Italy.) In the twilight of the Cold War, Sweden also looked to the potential of wheeled mobile combat systems to defend its southern and central coastlines, where the country’s population and industry were concentrated.
This was developed as part of mobile coastal defense along with the Karelin, a 120mm howitzer system based on the same chassis, but plans were canceled with the end of the Cold War. However, the concept of a mobile weapon system based on this chassis was not completely fruitless, as the installation of a 155 mm howitzer was completed in the Artillerisystem 08, or the well-known Archer howitcher system.
Meanwhile, from an in-game perspective, currently in Swedish ground TTs the VEAK 40 (8.7) has proximity fuse ammunition, which is the wrong ammunition and the VEAK 40 has never had it. First of all, there is no ammunition named “slsgr m/484”, and “m/484” is the name of the fuze, not the ammunition. Also, the m/484 fuse is an impact fuse, not a proximity fuse. The Tridon could be a historically accurate proximity-fuse anti-aircraft gun platform to replace the VEAK 40, which would have to have its BR reduced in exchange for losing its proximity fuze.
There are variations of Tridon 1 to 4, each with different specifications. Therefore, it can be implemented according to the required BR.
Moreover, if this is implemented in this game, it will be another Euro Truck Simulator after FlaRakRad. :D
History
Spoiler
Source: Terry Gander. (2013). The Bofors Gun. Pen and Sword Books.
By the end of 1994 AB Bofors were again investigating the possibilities of mounting a L/70 gun on a self-propelled platform. At that time the Armoured Trinity concept was still in being but the Swedish Army and Navy, the latter including the Coast Artillery arm, retained large numbers of towed L/70 guns with potentially long service lives still before them, while the prospect of personnel shortages loomed ahead. By placing those guns, which were regarded as having a low mobility rating, on some form of relatively inexpensive self-propelled carriage it seemed that fewer personnel would be required while the L/70 guns’ useful lives could be extended. At the same time cross-country mobility could be considerably enhanced and in and out of action times could be significantly reduced.
After some investigations there arose the possibility of mounting the gun on a modified Volvo 6 × 6 articulated chassis of the type already in widespread and trouble-free service on numerous construction sites and other such commercial projects. By the end of 1994 a L/70 gun and a Volvo VME 825B 6 x 6 chassis had been brought together to become what could be described as a technology demonstrator and by July 1995 preliminary firing trials to test the viability of the concept in both the ground-to-ground and ground-to-air firing roles had been completed. Mobility trials included driving the vehicle through snow 1m deep. By the end of 1995 a speciallymodified L/70 gun with electrically-powered traverse and elevation controls, the EL-40/70, had been placed on another VME 825B chassis for further trials, the revised chassis being more fully equipped for the air defence role and with extra armoured protection applied to the driver and operator cabs. This version became known as Tridon.
Tridon was able to demonstrate that its concept had considerable promise, especially following the demise of Armoured Trinity. Four different fire-control and other equipment standards were forecast, the overall approach being modular so that individual user requirements could be easily met. The intention was that each vehicle and gun combination would be capable of acting as an autonomous air defence unit for prolonged periods, using the latest PFHE and 3P ammunition to improve the overall air defence performance.
The simplest proposed version was Tridon 1, a relatively low cost, fair weather system with few frills. Tridon 2 would have extras such as a laser rangefinder and add-on units including a proximity fuze programmer, a muzzle-velocity radar and, possibly, a local-search radar on the system control cabin roof. More optronic target sensors would be involved with Tridon 3, including a fully integrated combat control system, while Tridon 4 would have a full, all-weather sensor suite virtually to Trinity standards, the Tridon 4 gun having a cyclic firing rate of 330rpm and an optional 101-round magazine.
All four Tridon models were to be operated by a crew of five, including the driver. At the front were the driver and the target designator, the latter dismounting to set up and connect his target designator sight. The rest of the crew, the commander, target plotter and gunner, would travel and work in an air-conditioned cab located on the rear articulated unit behind the driver’s cab. No crew member needed to be on the gun in action as the gun magazine could contain forty-three rounds, sufficient for eight to twelve engagements. The articulated rear unit had space to carry more ammunition in lockers. Power for all operations could be provided by an auxiliary power unit when the main vehicle engine had been switched off.
Tridon seemed to offer much but once again the entire project came to an end with only prototypes being tested. As the Cold War years receded and defence budgets shrank, the need for a weapon concept along the lines of Tridon faded away. However the Volvo articulated carrier idea, up-rated to a Volvo A30D 6 × 6 chassis, survived in the form of the BAE Systems Project Archer self-propelled 155mm artillery system involving a L/52 version of the Bofors FH-77B howitzer. After a joint Swedish/Norwegian development programme it was ordered by the Swedish Army (twenty-four) and Norwegian Army (twenty-four).
Specifications
- Weight: 23000 kg
- Length: 11.5m
- Height: 3m
- Width: 3.5m
- Max. Speed: 70km/h
- Vertical Guidance: -10˚ to +85˚
- Crew: 5
- Engine: Volvo 255hp diesel
Pros and Cons
- ＋ Good (road) speed
- ＋ Anti-tank capability with APFSDS (same gun as Strf/Lvkv 9040)
- － Literally huge size
- － Poor terrain adaptability
- － Unreliable armor and exposed crew
References
Primary sources
- https://mb.cision.com/wpyfs/00/00/00/00/00/00/21/09/P980701.pdf
- https://news.cision.com/celsius/r/trika-to-the-swedish-coastal-artillery,e3135
- https://mb.cision.com/wpyfs/00/00/00/00/00/00/21/0C/P980701e.pdf
- https://data.riksdagen.se/fil/DD344380-586F-40BC-B45E-40DC68B9F5EC
- https://sfhm.se/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/SFHM-skriftserie_handbok-artilleripjaser-och-eldrorsvapen-1800-2000.pdf
- https://web.archive.org/web/20001219120000/http://www.bofors.se/weapon/bolagisering/english/bws-produkter/luftvarn.htm
- https://web.archive.org/web/20001013015242/http://www.bofors.se/weapon/bolagisering/english/bws-produkter/tridonad.htm
Secondary sources
- Terry Gander. (2013). The Bofors Gun. Pen and Sword Books.
- https://www.militairespectator.nl/sites/default/files/bestanden/uitgaven/1997/1997-0029-01-0011.PDF
- https://hrvatski-vojnik.hr/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/hv_061_95-04.pdf
- https://hrvatski-vojnik.hr/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/hv_068_91_95.pdf
- http://artilleryclub.ie/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/75th-Anniversary-of-the-Artillery-Corps-November-1998.pdf
- http://www.ointres.se/archer.htm
