Pbv 301
Contents
Description
The Pansarbandvagn 301 was a Swedish infantry fighting vehicle based on ageing Strv m/41 hulls that were no longer intended for service. The rebuilding of these hulls was tasked to Hägglund & Söner, to create a vehicle able to safely carry a squad of eight fully equipped soldiers for use by the Swedish Army. A total of 220 Strv m/41s were converted to the Pbv 301, which had a short service life but provided valuable lessons for the upcoming Pbv 302 that would replace them.
Able to carry eight soldiers, the Pbv 301 was also equipped with an oscillating casing housing a 20 mm Akan m/45B cannon taken from old decommissioned J21A-2s to provide direct fire support for the infantry, enabling them to engage both hostile infantry and lightly armoured vehicles. Infantry could also fight from inside the vehicle via two hatches on the roof, which provided cover for the Pbv 301 if the main armament was occupied with other targets. It served from 1962 as troop transport for armoured brigades until it was phased out in the early 1970s in favour of the newer Pbv 302.
Introduced in Update "Direct Hit", the Pbv 301 is a fully enclosed infantry fighting vehicle within the Swedish Army's beginner ranks. The Pbv 301 has a low profile, allowing players to simply hide behind obstacles to avoid unwanted attention from adversaries. The weapon has a high rate of fire and can attack both ground targets and low-flying aircraft. Furthermore, it is outfitted with hull-mounted smoke grenades, enabling retreat in difficult situations - a feature unique among its counterparts. However, due to its incredibly low crew count (just two crew members), the chances of surviving penetrating shots are poor. Finally, since the vehicle has a high reload time, it is critical for players to conserve ammunition throughout combat.
General info
Survivability and armour
The Pbv 301 is a small casemate with a sloped front. The driver and the gunner are located on its right front side, while the engine is located on the left. The back has spare magazines on the floor and otherwise is completely empty.
Due to a slope and the 20 mm of RHA, the hull front will sustain 12.7 mm machine guns and might sustain 20 mm fire from the low ground (but not the high ground) or from about 500 m away. The lower frontal plate is 50 mm RHA and will sustain some explosions.
The sides and the back are only 8 mm RHA and should not be exposed if at all possible, whether fighting against tanks or aircraft. If it is necessary to flank other tanks and expose the sides, only the left side should be visible, as the engine will often take a hit for the crew. Despite poor side armour, the Pbv 301 takes only minor overpressure damage from close artillery strike misses and can survive standing in it.
It's technically possible to penetrate the gunner cupola, since its edges are only 8 mm thick, but it is very difficult to do without knowing, and most opponents won't have a clue.
Due to its low profile, the Pbv 301 can hide behind other tanks, rocks or hills and only expose the autocannon. In such case, it becomes anywhere from difficult to near impossible to take the Pbv 301 out, as many will aim at the gun itself, but not at the ammo belt, and gun hits won't be fatal, unless made with high-explosive shells, which are mostly carried by SPGs at the BR, not to mention that medium tanks of some nations don't have any explosive filler at all in their rounds.
If everything else fails, this SPAA has smoke screens (which is already incredibly rare for SPAA as a class and won't be expected at all) and there is not just one, but two groups of them as well. These can blind enemy players and disable aim assist in AB after 5 seconds. Unfortunately, it is usually necessary to fire off both groups at once, as otherwise the smoke wall is often incomplete.
Armour type:
- Rolled homogeneous armour
| Armour | Front (Slope angle) | Sides | Rear | Roof |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hull | 50 mm (14°) Front plate 8 mm (63°) Lower glacis |
15 mm Bottom | 8 mm | |
| Casemate | 20 mm (53°) Upper glacis 10 mm Gun mantlet |
8 mm (20°) Top | 8 mm | 20 mm (37°) Front glacis 10 mm Crew compartment |
| Gun mount | 15 mm (spherical) | 10 mm Centre 15 mm Outer ring | ||
Notes:
- Suspension wheels and tracks are 20 mm thick.
- Belly armour is 8 mm thick.
Mobility
| Game Mode | Max Speed (km/h) | Weight (tons) | Engine power (horsepower) | Power-to-weight ratio (hp/ton) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | Reverse | Stock | Upgraded | Stock | Upgraded | ||
| Arcade | 50 | 8 | 11.5 | 213 | 286 | 18.52 | 24.87 |
| Realistic | 46 | 7 | 133 | 150 | 11.57 | 13.04 | |
Modifications and economy
| Mobility | Protection | Firepower | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Armaments
Main armament
The gun is similar to 40B on the previous SPAA, but with a lot of quality of life upgrades.
There are now 6 belts with 75 shells each, and the gun can fire twice as fast, allowing for smoother shell streams. The turret turns a bit faster and allows the gun to turn slightly more down or up. All of this ensures that SPAA can take down planes before they get into the dead zone.
The Pbv 301 still can fight back against other tanks, whether by firing at their weak spots, or by breaking their tracks (to force them to turn) and then hitting their side or running away. It is ill-advised to attack medium tanks frontally, particularly of higher BR. Most heavy tanks will ignore the 20 mm fire with the present ammunition. Most British and Soviet tanks at a higher BR are immune to the 20 mm attacks (in the case of the British, even their SPAAs can in some situations be immune to 20 mm cannon fire).
Since the autocannon is placed above the tank and, if proper cover is taken, only the gun and ammo belt are visible, the Pbv 301 can obliterate entire light tank squads at its leisure and make charging medium and heavy tanks slip up and become a target for allied SPGs without any fear. It's also possible to ambush tanks from usually impossible angles, as the gun is technically as tall as a heavy tank. This can be done over some hills as well due to a decent gun depression.
The downside of the new gun is that the reload now takes 10 seconds, which technically could be avoided on the predecessor by not overheating the weapon. It is better to unload the half-empty belt somewhere safe before trying to attack.
| 20 mm Akan m/45B | Turret rotation speed (°/s) | Reloading rate (seconds) | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mode | Capacity (Belt) | Fire rate | Vertical | Horizontal | Stabilizer | Stock | Upgraded | Full | Expert | Aced | Stock | Full | Expert | Aced |
| Arcade | 450 (75) | 725 | -15°/+48° | ±180° | N/A | 26.4 | 36.6 | 44.4 | 49.1 | 52.2 | 10.40 | 9.20 | 8.48 | 8.00 |
| Realistic | 17.9 | 21.0 | 25.5 | 28.2 | 30.0 | |||||||||
Ammunition
- Default: AP-T · HEFI-T · HEFI-T
- slsgr m/42: HEFI-T
- slpgr m/42: AP-T
| Penetration statistics | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ammunition | Type of warhead |
Penetration @ 0° Angle of Attack (mm) | |||||
| 10 m | 100 m | 500 m | 1,000 m | 1,500 m | 2,000 m | ||
| Default AP-T | AP-T | 42 | 40 | 30 | 22 | 16 | 11 |
| slsgr m/42 | HEFI-T | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| slpgr m/42 | AP-T | 42 | 40 | 30 | 21 | 15 | 10 |
| Shell details | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ammunition | Type of warhead |
Velocity (m/s) |
Projectile mass (kg) |
Fuse delay (m) |
Fuse sensitivity (mm) |
Explosive mass (TNT equivalent) (g) |
Ricochet | |||||
| 0% | 50% | 100% | ||||||||||
| Default AP-T | AP-T | 815 | 0.15 | - | - | - | 47° | 60° | 65° | |||
| slsgr m/42 | HEFI-T | 845 | 0.14 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 10.2 | 79° | 80° | 81° | |||
| slpgr m/42 | AP-T | 845 | 0.14 | - | - | - | 47° | 60° | 65° | |||
Ammo racks
| Full ammo |
1st rack empty |
2nd rack empty |
3rd rack empty |
4th rack empty |
5th rack empty |
6th rack empty |
Visual discrepancy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 450 |
5 (+1) 375 (+75) |
4 (+2) 300 (+150) |
3 (+3) 225 (+225) |
2 (+4) 150 (+300) |
1 (+5) 75 (+375) |
0 (+6) 0 (+450) |
Yes |
Usage in battles
The Pbv 301 shall be used mainly as an SPAA. Its cannon with its pinpoint accuracy and a high rate of fire for its BR along the slsgr m/42 HEFI-T belt prove devastating to deal with low-flying planes and bombers. During a game, it is recommended to either stay within the confines of your spawn or to stay somewhere safe nearby to the main allies group and scout the skies for any aircraft. The high muzzle velocity and rate of fire make this vehicle effective against aircraft at medium ranges.
In an anti-tank role, the Pbv 301 is only effective against light tanks, light SPGs and SPAAGs, as the frontal armour of most medium tanks at its BR or higher is thick enough to resist 20 mm cannons shells. It is therefore not recommended to play this tank offensively in an uptier, since attacks have to be done from the sides, which is not always possible. Avoid playing super agressive against Soviet or British, which have a lot of tanks being completely immune to the 20 mm.
Situation changes drastically if proper medium-sized cover is present, as the Pbv 301 then can work as a portable indestructible turret, particularly if that cover is also a capture point, as they provide spare ammunition. While it's still necessary to pay attention to the skies (to avoid being strafed through poor side armour or bombed), most tanks would need explosives or a lot of artillery to be able to deal any real damage or to force it to move. The engine also has a tendency to catch lucky overhill shots, if the left side is in the front. Depending on the distance between enemy cover and SPAA, it can cause various levels of nuisance even to the tanks which are immune to the 20 mm, starting with annoying sprays into their viewports (which can tilt them and force them to make a mistake) and ending with actually deadly track breaks, as charging behemoths will be forced to turn about 90 degrees upon losing a track if they do not hit the brakes immediately, which is more than enough for any medium tanks nearby to instantly destroy them.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Fully-enclosed design, granting the crew a higher chance of survival
- Can employ full hulldown tactics due to its cannon being mounted above the tank, effectively making it to be only vulnerable to explosives
- Front can sustain direct assault of a 12.7 mm and might sustain 20 mm from long range, will sustain some bombs from moderate range
- Equipped with hull-mounted smoke grenades, which is incredibly rare for an SPAA (and its BR in general)
- Low profile allows it to hide behind many other tanks
- Adequate mobility
- Good rate of fire, can sometimes win a fight with poor aim
Cons:
- Side, back and roof armour is still lacking and vulnerable to rifle-calibre machine gun fire at close range and to airstrikes in general
- Only 2 crew members, very low chance of surviving a penetrating shot, unless it was from the left
- Limited gun elevation angle, it's necessary to pay attention to the skies before it is too late
- Long reload time and rather limited belt capacity
- Confined to a strict AA role in an uptier when no good cover is present, inadequate on its own against ground forces consisting of medium or heavy tanks
History
The Pbv 301's first prototype was made in 1959 and put into service in 1961. It was fitted with a 20 mm Bofors cannon and a crew of 2, with room for 7 soldiers. It had a Svenska Flygmotor B44 engine producing 160 hp.
Media
- Skins
See also
- Vehicles equipped with the same chassis
- Related development
External links
| Hägglund & Söner | |
|---|---|
| Light Tanks | |
| Ikv 91 | Ikv 91 · Ikv 91-105 |
| Tank Destroyers | |
| ATGM Carriers | UDES 33 · Pvrbv 551 · Pbv 302 (BILL) |
| SPAA | |
| Strv m/41 | Pbv 301 |
| SAM | Lvrbv 701 |
| See Also | BAE Systems AB |
| Sweden anti-aircraft vehicles | |
|---|---|
| SPAA | Pvlvv fm/42 · Lvtdgb m/40 · Pbv 301 · Lvkv 42 · U-SH 204 GK |
| Radar SPAA | VEAK 40 · Lvkv 9040C |
| SAM | Lvrbv 701 · ASRAD-R |
| Finland | L-62 ANTI II · ▄ZSU-57-2 · ItO 90M · ItPsV Leopard |
