Strv m/41 S-II
| This page is about the Swedish light tank Strv m/41 S-II. For other uses, see LT-38 (Family). |
Contents
Description
The Stridsvagn m/41 S-II is a rank II Swedish light tank with a battle rating of 2.3 (AB) and 2.7 (RB/SB). It was introduced in Update 1.97 "Viking Fury". It is a Swedish license-built version of the Czechoslovak TNHP light tank, and is thus quite similar to the German PzKpfw 38(t).
General info
Survivability and armour
The armour on the Strv m/41 S-II is almost identical to that on the PzKpfw 38(t) Ausf. F. The 50 mm frontal armour is fairly decent, though the rest of the tank is quite lightly armoured. It should be noted that the engine deck is only 10 mm thick, and is vulnerable to strafing aircraft with cannons or heavy machine guns.
| Armour | Front (Slope angle) | Sides | Rear | Roof |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hull | 50 mm (18°-20°) Upper Glacis 50 mm (19°) Lower Glacis - Upper 15 mm (60°) Lower Glacis - Lower 15 mm (73°-74°) Center Plate - Between Upper and Lower Glacis |
20 mm Front 15 mm Rear |
15 mm | 8 mm |
| Turret | 50 mm (9°) Turret Front - Sides 15 mm (7°-9°) Turret Front - Lower 35 mm (Various Angles) Center (Around the Mantlet) 15 mm (Various Angles) Gun Mantlet |
20 mm | 35 mm | 8 mm |
| Cupola | 15 mm | 15 mm | 15 mm | 15 mm Front 8 mm Rear |
Note: The commander's cupola has an all-round thickness of 15 mm, but there are four armoured boxes for the optics (one on each side) that have a thickness of 21 mm.
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 | 46 | 7 | 10.9 | 256 | 315 | 23.49 | 28.9 |
| Realistic | 41 | 6 | 146 | 165 | 13.39 | 15.14 | |
The mobility of the Strv m/41 S-II is also almost identical to that on the PzKpfw 38(t) Ausf. F. It is more sluggish than the other Swedish tanks such as the Strv m/40L, with a lower top speed and a rather slow reverse gear.
Modifications and economy
| Mobility | Protection | Firepower | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Armaments
Main armament
The part that truly differentiates the Strv m/41 from its German cousin is the gun. The Strv m/41 uses a Swedish-made 3,7 cm kan m/38 instead of the original Czechoslovak Skoda 37 mm cannon. Its performance with the slpprj m/38 and slpgr m/39 APBC rounds is similar to that of the Czechoslovak gun, but the Swedish gun also has access to the outstanding slpprj m/49 APDS round. This round will easily penetrate anything the Strv m/41 can normally face, though it lacks the lethality of the German APCBC with explosive filler.
| 37 mm kan m/38 | Turret rotation speed (°/s) | Reloading rate (seconds) | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mode | Capacity | Vertical | Horizontal | Stabilizer | Stock | Upgraded | Full | Expert | Aced | Stock | Full | Expert | Aced |
| Arcade | 100 | -14°/+20° | ±180° | N/A | 13.3 | 18.4 | 22.4 | 24.8 | 26.4 | 4.03 | 3.57 | 3.29 | 3.10 |
| Realistic | 8.3 | 9.8 | 11.9 | 13.2 | 14.0 | ||||||||
Ammunition
| 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 | ||
| slpprj m/38 | APBC | 59 | 55 | 41 | 28 | 19 | 13 |
| slpgr m/39 | APBC | 55 | 51 | 37 | 26 | 17 | 12 |
| 3,7 cm slpprj m/49 | APDS | 105 | 103 | 97 | 89 | 82 | 75 |
| 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% | |||||||
| slpprj m/38 | APBC | 785 | 0.74 | N/A | N/A | N/A | 47° | 60° | 65° |
| slpgr m/39 | APBC | 800 | 0.74 | 1.2 | 9 | 15 | 47° | 60° | 65° |
| 3,7 cm slpprj m/49 | APDS | 1,150 | 0.71 | N/A | N/A | N/A | 75° | 78° | 80° |
Ammo racks
| Full ammo |
1st rack empty |
2nd rack empty |
3rd rack empty |
4th rack empty |
5th rack empty |
Visual discrepancy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 100 | 51 (+49) | 36 (+64) | 26 (+74) | 11 (+89) | 1 (+99) | No |
Machine guns
The Strv m/41 S-II is also armed with a coaxial 8 mm ksp m/36 light machine gun. There is a second, non-functional 8 mm machine gun in the hull front.
| 8 mm ksp m/36 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mount | Capacity (Belt) | Fire rate | Vertical | Horizontal |
| Coaxial | 4,000 (250) | 649 | -14°/+20° | N/A |
Usage in battles
Strv m/41 S-II have a similar playstyle as the Pz.38(t) F, though the Strv m/41 S-II has one advantage and that is low tier APDS rounds that can penetrate most enemy vehicles at its battle rating. A strv m/41 S-II is not a vehicle that should be ignored incase if it got APDS or not.
Armarment: The 37mm Bofors have a decent gun but not great as some other vehicles like the M3A1 Stuart or the BT-7 that got great penetration capabilities and good damage output. Strv m/41 S-II have slpprj m/38 and slpprj m/39 APBC rounds which can penetrate the more lightly armored vehicles and can have trouble with some angles but once the Strv m/41 S-II unlocks 3,7 cm slpprj m/49 APDS round can take on the heavier armored vehicles.
Having APDS at low Battle rating makes it a great vehicle to do ambushes and to deal with heavier armored vehicles like B1 bis and M4A3 (105) if it can get the first shell fired on a vital spot. It also gives the Strv m/41 S-II the capabilities to fight at longer distances than what it can face, making the armour of the vehicle more efficent. Main drawback with APDS is the larger crewed vehicles like T-28 and LVT(A)(1) having to pick of their crew one by one.
Armour:Strv m/41 S-II frontal armour is 50mm thick both at the hull and turret, making it the strongest armoured area of the vehicle. Compared to the Pz.38(t) F, the Strv m/41 S-II got weaker side and rear armour making those areas easily penetrateable by weaker enemy guns. So Strv m/41 S-II Strength in armour is by having the front pointing towards enemies at all time.
Manouverbility: Strv m/41 S-II is have one advantage over the counterpart Pz.38(t) F and that is higher horsepower, but also Strv m/41 S-II is a bit heavier with 0.8tons.
Gameplay: Strv m/41 S-II shines if it gets to fight a vehicle on its terms, meaning to keep at a distance and wear the enemy down by using the APDS shells, since close encounter combats the 50mm frontal armour can be a saving grace, but since the armour of the side is lower than the Pz.38(t) F it's best to keep distance instead of using it in close quarter combat. Strv m/41 S-II can also shine in ambushes and hull down positions where the enemy have to advance to it or where enemies does not know where it is and can get good shots on sides. But direct confrontation is not bad but it is not the ideal situation for it aswell.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Access to high-penetration APDS
- Fast rate-of-fire
- Decent amount of armour for a light tank
- Excellent gun depression
Cons:
- Low post-penetration damage with APDS.
- A bit sluggish with a low top speed for a light tank
- Poor reverse speed
- Chassis rocks violently when stopping making it hard to stop and shoot quickly
History
In March of 1940, Sweden ordered about 90 TNH tanks (known as the Panzer 38(t) in German service) from ČKD, but Germany, which had occupied Czechoslovakia in 1938, confiscated the tanks for its own use as the Panzer 38(t) Ausf. S. Sweden still needed the light tanks, and after negotiations the Swedish manufacturer Scania-Vabis was allowed to produce them under license, and compensation for the lost tanks. Sweden ordered 116 Strv M/41 SI in June, 1941. The Stridsvagn M/41 was armed with a 37 mm Bofors m/38 gun, was powered by a Scania-Vabis Type 1664 engine, and the design utilized riveted construction. In June of 1942, Sweden ordered 122 Strv M/41 SII. The SII featured a number of improvements over the SI. The armor was increased from 25 mm to 50 mm thick. Because of the added weight of the armor, a more powerful engine was added, the Type L 603 engine. This necessitated an elongation of the hull by 65 mm. The fuel tanks were increased from 190 liters to 230 liters. 104 of the SII model were built, with the last 18 being built as the Sav M/43, a casemate assault gun using a 75 mm gun, and later a 105 mm gun. Another 18 Sav M/43 were purpose-built afterwards. The Strv M/41 served until the late 1950's, when all Strv M/41 were converted to the Pansarbandvagn (Pbv) 301, an armored personnel carrier. The turrets were used in static fortifications.
Media
- Skins
- Videos
See also
- Pz.38(t) F- Axis counterpart of the Strv M/41 SII
External links
Bibliography
- David B. (2014, December 1). Stridsvagn m/41. Tank Encyclopedia. https://tanks-encyclopedia.com/ww2/sweden/Stridsvagn_M41.php
- Stridsvagn m/41. (2020, April 4). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Stridsvagn_m/41&oldid=948984593
| Sweden light tanks | |
|---|---|
| L-60 | Strv m/38 · Strv m/39 · Strv m/39 TD · Strv m/40L |
| Strv m/41 | Strv m/41 S-I · Strv m/41 S-II |
| Ikv 91 | Ikv 91 · Ikv 91-105 |
| CV 90 | Strf 9040B · Strf 9040C · Strf 9040 BILL |
| CV 90105 · CV 90120 | |
| Wheeled | Pbil m/40 · U-SH 405 |
| Other | Strv m/31 · Strv 74 · Pbv 501 |
| Finland | Vickers Mk.E · ▄T-26E · BT-42 · ▄PT-76 · CV 9030FIN · CT-CV 105HP |
| Denmark | CV 9035DK |
