Ikv 103
Contents
Description
The Infanterikanonvagn 103 is a rank III Swedish tank destroyer with a battle rating of 4.0 (AB/RB/SB). It was introduced in Update 1.97 "Viking Fury".
General info
Survivability and armour
The armour of the Ikv 103 is between 5 and 18.5 mm of thickness. This kind of armour shouldn't be considered as survivable since any round will penetrate it and destroy most of what's left inside the SPG. One could argue, that the front is decently protected, but there is a giant visible hole in front of the gunner, which can be hit by a machine gun easily. Since the hole exists, any chemical ammunition will instantly destroy the Ikv 103 regardless of where it hits. It is heavily recommended to avoid any form of damage since even artillery fire has the possibility of guaranteed destruction.
The thin side armour has the occasional ability to result in overpenetration and often fails to set off APHE fuses, but any frontal armour will activate them.
The SPG is also incredibly weak against aerial attacks. The roof won't protect from any calibre larger than a 7.7 mm MG, and even that much is not guaranteed. But, since it actually exists, it makes less knowledgeable fighters attack something else instead, as they often look for an open-topped tank first.
Thanks to the short length of the rounds, as well as compact storage on the hull floor, ammunition explosions are quite rare. Due to this, taking the maximum amount of ammunition isn't something to frown upon.
| Armour | Front (Slope angle) | Sides | Rear | Roof |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hull | 18.5 mm (42°) Upper Glacis 12 mm (28°) Lower Glacis 12 mm (37°) Front Sides |
7 mm Upper Crew Compartment 6 mm Lower hull 6 mm Upper engine Compartment |
12 mm Lower 5 mm Engine Compartment |
5 mm Crew Compartment
5 mm Rear |
| Turret | 18.5 mm (Various Angles) Gun mantlet | |||
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 | 58 | 12 | 8.8 | 190 | 286 | 21.59 | 32.5 |
| Realistic | 53 | 12 | 133 | 150 | 15.11 | 17.05 | |
The Ikv 103 sports a good engine with a fairly high RPM giving it a lot of torque for climbing a lot of obstacles and average terrain. Although the top speed never exceeds 50 km/h, the Ikv 103 cruises comfortably around 40-45 km/h on a straight line and 25-35 km/h on uneven terrain, depending on the driving level and modules unlocked, no matter the surface below it. The vehicle finds no issue traversing snowy and sandy terrain thanks to the low weight and good track surface, but struggles in deep waters due to the low chassis it sports. The reverse rate of the Ikv 103 is also quite good at 11 km/h. Even if this speed can't hold a candle to the regular speed the 103 has, the reverse rate is still enough to safely peek over hills and reverse back into cover before getting fired upon.
Modifications and economy
| Mobility | Protection | Firepower | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Armaments
Main armament
The Ikv 103 is outfitted with a 105 mm cannon firing heavy shells with a reload of 8 to 10 seconds depending on crew qualifications. This cannon is unusually short for its calibre, firing heavy shells with low-velocity. The gun is aimed manually without the help of electrical equipment, resulting in a slow traverse rate. At maximum, the gun traverses at 8° per second, resulting in many deaths at closer ranges. The stock gun accuracy is above average.
Although the early psgr m/49 lacks significant penetration and post-penetration damage, the later slpsgr m/65 HEAT-FS round packs up to 400 mm of penetration, easily penetrating anything it sees with devastating results. This later shell features a higher velocity than the previous round, as well as more explosive filler making the post-penetration much deadlier than before.
This SPG uses X1.9-3.5 scope again unlike the Pvkv m/43, so it's difficult for it to fight at long range.
This makes the gun most effective at medium ranges, where the traverse is ideal, and the shell velocity isn't crucial. It should be noted that the incredible gun depression allows the Ikv 103 to fire from extreme angles allowing it to safely engage targets without the risk of overexposing the tank, something which becomes incredibly useful to increase the vehicles survivability.
| 105 mm kan Ikv | Turret rotation speed (°/s) | Reloading rate (seconds) | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mode | Capacity | Vertical | Horizontal | Stabilizer | Stock | Upgraded | Full | Expert | Aced | Stock | Full | Expert | Aced |
| Arcade | 24 | -16°/+20° | ±10° | N/A | 7.0 | 9.8 | 11.8 | 13.1 | 13.9 | 10.40 | 9.20 | 8.48 | 8.00 |
| Realistic | 4.8 | 5.6 | 6.8 | 7.5 | 8.0 | ||||||||
Ammunition
- psgr m/49, HEAT - This stock shell offers great penetration values and should give you no trouble penetrating the upper glacis of common enemies like the Panther and Pershing series tanks. Even heavy tanks such as the Tiger II will also be vulnerable to this shell. Though it does suffer from the usual characteristics of HEAT which is the low muzzle velocity and sensitive fuse.
- sgr m/34 LT, HE - This shell is able to destroy some medium and heavy tanks in one hit by attacking their roof, but some heavy tanks in up-tier already have 26 mm RHA thick roofs, making them effectively invulnerable to it.
- slpsgr m/65, HEATFS - The HEATFS shell is an upgrade compared to the regular HEAT shells. The penetration is most noticeably increased. It also has a slightly faster muzzle velocity, which is helpful. However the major downside is its cost. In most situations, the stock HEAT shell will suffice.
- rökgr m/49, Smoke - The smoke shell will help blind enemies to allow you to move behind cover.
| 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 | ||
| psgr m/49 | HEAT | 240 | 240 | 240 | 240 | 240 | 240 |
| sgr m/34 LT | HE | 23 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 23 |
| slpsgr m/65 | HEATFS | 400 | 400 | 400 | 400 | 400 | 400 |
| 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% | |||||||
| psgr m/49 | HEAT | 418 | 10.25 | 0.05 | 0.1 | 1,620 | 62° | 69° | 73° |
| sgr m/34 LT | HE | 400 | 11.67 | 0 | 0.1 | 1,820 | 79° | 80° | 81° |
| slpsgr m/65 | HEATFS | 530 | 10.5 | 0.05 | 0.1 | 1,270 | 65° | 72° | 77° |
| Smoke shell characteristics | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ammunition | Velocity (m/s) |
Projectile Mass (kg) |
Screen radius (m) |
Screen deploy time (s) |
Screen hold time (s) |
Explosive Mass (TNT equivalent) (g) |
| rökgr m/49 | 359 | 14.7 | 20 | 5 | 25 | 50 |
Ammo racks
| Full ammo |
1st rack empty |
2nd rack empty |
Visual discrepancy |
|---|---|---|---|
| 24 | 19 (+5) | 1 (+23) | No |
Usage in battles
The Ikv 103 is a nimble vehicle with a small silhouette compared to its peers. The lightweight and powerful gun set it apart from other vehicles at the battle rating.
The general playstyle can be compared to the Jpz 4-5 found in the German tech tree, as the vehicle has to make use of positioning rather than frontal survivability. The Ikv 103 can't use common sniping locations effectively since any form of enemy retaliation will destroy the vehicle completely. Instead, the 103 needs to drive full speed to various locations where enemies are unlikely to expect danger. Although this playstyle requires a lot of map knowledge, the reward is quite high for a successful flank, thanks to the devastating cannon the Ikv 103 carries.
Thanks to the light vehicle weight and strong engine, the Ikv 103 is also able to climb a lot of obstacles, something that helps a lot when fighting on bad terrain. However, maps that lack terrain entirely cripple the 103's performance quite significantly, since the tank cannot hide, resulting in a lot of face-to-face engagements, which the Ikv 103 almost always lose.
In AB, when it's impossible to find a good hill or the enemy is just too good, one can use this SPG as a mortar to bombard enemy tanks at about 800 m range with HEAT straight out of cover. This works quite well over flat plains, which are incapable of stopping shells with low velocity, but will likely block high-velocity APHE of all enemy tanks. Use binoculars to track enemy movements and to pre-aim. Be careful to not provoke other HEAT tanks into an artillery battle, as the Ikv 103 won't survive even a single HE/HEAT hit.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Excellent HEAT round for its rank, able to penetrate the upper glacis plate of the Tiger II
- Excellent upgraded HEATFS round, effective even way outside of tanks own rank (can penetrate T95)
- Good speed, able to secure crucial positions or even flank the enemy
- Neutral steering
- Small silhouette
- Incredible gun depression
- Due to having a roof, will not be as interesting to fighters as previous SPG models (although it won't really save from them)
Cons:
- Poor armour, counts as open-topped, sides able to be penetrated even by rifle-calibre bullets, especially behind the tracks - Ikv 103 must rely on stealth
- No MG to destroy light fences that can fuse the HEAT shells
- Will struggle through any obstacles due to its low mass. Shooting is not an option as the shells explosion will draw attention towards you
- Slow gun traverse, makes aiming in CQB or at a moving target harder
- Vehicle reverses slightly when firing, forcing you to reacquire range of target after every shot
- HEAT shell has a relatively low muzzle velocity, may be hard to fire accurately over long ranges
- HEATFS shell is expensive and should thus be used conservatively
History
The Infanterikanonvagn 72 was a project started in 1949 by Sweden for an assault gun. The intended role of this vehicle was to support the infantry in the attack, replacing towed artillery guns. The design was to be small, and of light weight, around 6 tons. This was to reduce costs so a larger amount could be produced. The first prototype from Landsverk, completed in 1950, was armed only with three machine guns. This was insufficient, and it was re-armed with a 75 mm cannon, the same gun from the Strv m/42. It was a small, lightly armoured vehicle, with a casemate superstructure housing the 75 mm gun. It had a crew of 4, and it was open topped. Starting in 1956, the Ikv 72 was upgraded to the Ikv 102 standard. This upgrade added an armoured roof for the crew compartment and a 105 mm gun replaced the 75 mm gun. The Ikv 102, in turn, was upgraded to the Ikv 103 standard. The Ikv 103 featured an improved engine, the Volvo B42 engine. The air intake was moved to grills on the rear of the vehicle, instead of through the crew compartment.
Devblog
In 1949, the procurement division of the Swedish army placed an order for the development of a light assault self-propelled gun to substitute the Sav m/43 SPG. Three companies took on the work: AB Landsverk took on the development of the platform, Volvo was responsible for the powertrain, and Bofors for the armament. In fact, three versions of the vehicle for different purposes were planned at first: one with a 75 mm cannon, a machine-gun-equipped modification, and also a special one that was intended for the deployment of specific weaponry, such as flamethrowers and rocket launchers. Thus, a light (merely eight tonnes in all), tracked infantry-support vehicle was produced, with an open cabin and bulletproof armour.
In 1952, a cannon-equipped version, under the designation the Ikv 72 (short for "infanterikanonvagn", meaning "cannon-equipped infantry-support vehicle" in Swedish), was put into service. A little later, the SPGs were re-equipped with 105 mm howitzers and the cabin was retrofitted with a roof, which could protect the crew from bullets and shrapnel. This modification received the designation Ikv 102. Meanwhile, the Swedish army ordered another series of the vehicle with an upgraded chassis to allow installation of a new air-cooled engine, while the gun and the armour remained the same as the Ikv 102's. This new version was designated Ikv 103. The Ikv 102 and 103 SPGs remained in use by the Swedish army until the mid-1970s, when they were replaced with the Ikv 91 SPG.
Media
- Skins
- Images
- Videos
See also
- Similar hull vehicle
- Similar role
External links
References
- Bibliography
- GlobalSecurity.org. (n.d.). Infanterikanonvagn 72 / 102 / 103. GlobalSecurity.org. https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/europe/ikv-72.htm
- Infanterikanonvagn 72. (2020, May 14). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Infanterikanonvagn_72&oldid=956568359
| Sweden tank destroyers | |
|---|---|
| Strv m/41 derivatives | Spj fm/43-44 · Sav m/43 (1944) · Sav m/43 (1946) · Pvkv II · Pvkv III |
| Ikv 72/103 | Ikv 72 · Ikv 103 |
| Pvkv m/43 | Pvkv m/43 (1946) · Pvkv m/43 (1963) |
| ATGM | UDES 33 · Pbv 302 (BILL) · Pvrbv 551 |
| Other | SAV 20.12.48 · Bkan 1C |
| Norway | VIDAR |
