CV 90105
Contents
Description
The Combat Vehicle 90105 XC-8 is a premium gift rank VII Swedish light tank with a battle rating of 10.0 (AB) and 10.3 (RB/SB). It was introduced in Update 1.97 "Viking Fury".
General info
Survivability and armour
The CV 90105 has 20 mm of frontal hull armour, which is not significant enough to stop anything larger than a 14.5 mm machine gun. But, the upper plate is angled very well and as such could possibly prevent low-penetration autocannons from damaging the vehicle; the hull front, with its slope, can offer from 20 mm on the lower glacis up to almost 90 mm of effective thickness on the upper glacis. The side armour is composed of two spaced plates, one 6 mm and one 10 mm plate (for a total of 16 mm). This is enough to stop low-calibre machine guns, but a .50 cal will penetrate the armour with ease. A fuel tank is located between the spaced armour plates of the left side of the hull, right beneath the turret; the fuel tank is able to absorb machine gun bullets, protecting the turret crew from the left side from machine gun fire. The rear of the hull has a surprising 20 mm of armour, enough to stop low-calibre machine guns.
The turret has 20 mm of all-round base protection. The turret sides and rear have a 5 mm appliqué armour layer, giving a total armour thickness of 25 mm. This is enough to stop machine gun bullets from penetrating. The gun mantlet has 35 mm of protection - enough to protect against some autocannons.
The only part of the vehicle that is vulnerable to heavy machine gun fire is the hull side and rear. The rest of the tank can only be penetrated by autocannons or anti-tank guns. Overall, the armour protection is light. The ammunition of the vehicle is stored in the very back of the hull and turret, and there is a lot of ammunition, so a round hitting there will be hard-pressed to miss the ammunition. Even a shot from the front will often lead to many ammoracks when it passes through the rear of the tank. The only major source of protection for this tank is the engine and transmission. They are located at the very front, right, of the vehicle. A shot through this portion of the tank will often be absorbed, especially chemical rounds and autocannon shells. If a shell manages to penetrate through the engine block, it must also go through a 10 mm armour plate, which absorbs most of the shrapnel. This increases crew survivability extensively. Besides, even if the engine block absorbs the shot the tank will still be immobilized. Because of the ammunition stowage, the CV 90105 will often die to only one shot. Overall, the armour of the CV 90105 is very thin and should not be relied upon, although it can protect the tank in certain situations.
Armour type:
- Rolled homogeneous armour (hull, turret, cupola)
- Cast homogeneous armour (turret front, gun mantlet)
Armour | Front (Slope angle) | Sides | Rear | Roof |
---|---|---|---|---|
Hull | 20 mm Hull plate over tracks 20 mm (78°) Upper glacis 20 mm (30°) Lower glacis - Upper section 20 mm (41°) Lower glacis - Middle section 20 mm (52°) Lower glacis - Lower section |
6 mm Top 10 + 5 mm Bottom + Side skirts 10 mm (51°) Bottom junction plate |
20 mm (16°) Crew compartment 10 mm Hull plate over left tracks 5 mm Hull plate over right tracks |
20 mm (2°) Front glacis 20 mm (2°) Crew compartment 6 mm (2-12°) Hull over tracks |
Turret | 35 mm (37-41°) Turret front 20 + 35 mm Gun mantlet 20 mm (2-6°) Optics and MG port 20 mm Turret ring |
20 + 5 mm (37-41°) Left side 20 + 5 mm (20-41°) Right side 20 mm Turret ring |
5 mm (25°) Upper section 5 mm (10°) Lower section 20 mm Turret ring |
20 mm (0-17°) |
Cupola | 20 mm (0-74°) | 20 mm |
Notes:
- Suspension wheels, tracks and bogies are 15 mm thick.
- Belly armour and the bottom plate above the tracks are 10 mm thick.
- Mudguards are 5 mm thick.
- Additionally to the external armour, armour plates are also found inside the vehicle:
Spaced Armour | Front (Slope angle) | Sides |
---|---|---|
Hull | 10 mm (except driver view port) | 10 mm Top |
Notes:
- Inner armour plates protect the sides of the crew compartment (the upper section over the tracks only).
- The engine is separated from the driver position and the crew compartment by an armour plate.
- The driver viewport is a weak spot as it is the only place where the inner armour does not overlap with the external armour.
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 | 78 | 45 | 25 | 852 | 1,278 | 34.08 | 51.12 |
Realistic | 71 | 41 | 486 | 670 | 19.44 | 26.8 |
With an excellent off-road mobility and a top speed of 70 km/h, the CV 90105 rivals even top tier MBTs, giving the XM-1, AMX-30 Super and Leopard A1A1 L/44 a run for their money. It is also quick to reverse, reaching -43 km/h and has very quick neutral steering. The acceleration is above average and the high hp/ton ratio enables the CV90105 to climb most hills and slopes. However, the light tank has tendency to fishtail in corners and at high speeds due to the high hp/ton ratio. Even slight steering adjustments at high speeds can spin the vehicle out of control: anticipate your braking phases.
Modifications and economy
Armaments
Main armament
105 mm CN-105-G2 | Turret rotation speed (°/s) | Reloading rate (seconds) | |||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Mode | Capacity | Vertical | Horizontal | Stabilizer | Stock | Upgraded | Full | Expert | Aced | Stock | Full | Expert | Aced |
Arcade | 40 | -7°/+20° | ±180° | Two-plane | 28.6 | 39.5 | 48.0 | 53.1 | 56.5 | 8.7 | 7.7 | 7.1 | 6.7 |
Realistic | 17.9 | 21.0 | 25.5 | 28.2 | 30.0 |
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 | ||
DM12 | HEATFS | 400 | 400 | 400 | 400 | 400 | 400 |
DM502 | HESH | 127 | 127 | 127 | 127 | 127 | 127 |
M735 | APFSDS | 353 | 350 | 342 | 333 | 322 | 312 |
DM23 | APFSDS | 337 | 335 | 330 | 322 | 314 | 306 |
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% | |||||||
DM12 | HEATFS | 1,173 | 10.5 | 0.05 | 1 | 1,270 | 65° | 72° | 77° |
DM502 | HESH | 732 | 14.85 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 4,310 | 73° | 77° | 80° |
M735 | APFSDS | 1,501 | 3.7 | N/A | N/A | N/A | 76° | 77° | 80° |
DM23 | APFSDS | 1,455 | 3.79 | N/A | N/A | N/A | 78° | 80° | 81° |
Ammo racks
Full ammo |
1st rack empty |
2nd rack empty |
3rd rack empty |
4th rack empty |
5th rack empty |
Visual discrepancy |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
40 | 21 (+19) | 13 (+27) | 10 (+30) | 6 (+34) | 1 (+39) | No |
Notes:
- The 1st ammo rack depletes from left to right, top to bottom.
- The 3rd, 4th and 5th ammo racks are First-stage ammo stowages.
Machine guns
The small calibre of the ksp 58 machine gun makes it largely ineffective against all armoured vehicles but the ones with an open compartment. It still can be used to ping targets as a rangefinding help.
7.62 mm ksp 58 | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Mount | Capacity (Belt) | Fire rate | Vertical | Horizontal |
Coaxial | 1,200 (250) | 600 | N/A | N/A |
Usage in battles
Mobility
The CV 90105 TML has great mobility thanks to its powerful engine and light weight. With good top speed, a very quick reverse, good mobility in turns, and very good acceleration, this vehicle's mobility stays competitive even when uptiered to face 10.0 BR MBTs. With this advantage the CV 90105 TML is able to take early-game defensive positions, reach sniping locations, and quickly relocate around the map if needed.
Armament
Another one of this vehicle's strengths is its armament. It's equipped with second generation thermal sights in both gunner and commander/binocular views, which makes enemies very easy to spot and which is incredibly useful in night battles. This tank also has a scouting ability, which can be used to call for support from teammates and locate enemies on the map.
As for this tank's gun, the CV 90105 TML is armed with quite a powerful cannon that easily penetrates MBTs. It has access to both its stock APFSDS round, the DM23, and HESH and HEAT-FS shells. Although the stock shell has higher flat penetration, the DM23 outperforms it in angled penetration, which is the more important metric in most cases at this tier; most enemy armour will be well-angled. Still, it is useful to carry a few rounds of the stock APFSDS shell. The gun has a very good turret traverse speed which helps in situations where quick aiming is required.
Survivability
The CV 90105 TML's greatest weakness is its poor survivability. It is only protected by thin armour on all sides. Due to the internal layout of the tank, ammo detonations and one-shot deaths are very common. Cannon-calibre rounds are able to penetrate the CV 90105 TML's armour, and artillery and aircraft post a serious threat to this tank. The CV 90105 TML has effectively no anti-air capabilities and its thin roof armour makes strafing attacks dangerous.
All of this means that avoiding enemy fire must be a priority. The tank's mobility can be used to flank enemies and attack without their noticing. Indeed, engaging head-on is usually a bad idea, since that makes you a prime target for artillery strikes and attacks from aircraft. If there are enemy aircraft nearby, try to stay near cover (next to buildings, under trees, near bushes or rocks...) and avoid crossing open areas of the map.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Excellent off-road mobility and top speed
- High reverse top speed and quick neutral steering
- Both commander and gunner have access to 2nd generation thermal sights
- Ability to scout
- Two-plane gun stabilizer
- Relatively wide and powerful selection of shells - M735 APFSDS (great against flat armour), DM23 APFSDS (great against angled armour), DM12 HEATFS (great against non-ERA, non-composite and light armour) and DM502 HESH
- Excellent mobility, gives the XM-1, AMX-30 Super and Leopard A1A1 L/44 a run for their money
- Can research the entire Swedish tech tree from rank 1 to rank 7
- Quick turret traverse
- Front mounted engine - can act as a protection screen for the crew
- High hp/ton ratio enables the CV90105 to climb most hills and slopes
- 14 turret mounted smoke shells - fires 7 at a time
- Laser rangefinder
Cons:
- Very thin armour, does not give the possibility to angle or sidescrape
- Vulnerable to artillery and powerful HE shells
- Lack of AA capability makes it vulnerable to aircraft
- Extremely loud engine, if you can just barely hear enemy engines, opponents can definitely hear yours
- No heavy-calibre or roof-mounted machinegun to deal with lightly armoured targets such as the Bradley or BMP-3
- Turret is mounted far back on the hull - needs to show the entire hull when peeking around corners
- Low gun depression of -7° - the XM-1, AMX-30 Super and Leopard A1A1 L/44 have between -8° and -10° gun depression
- Agility at high speeds can make you lose control of the vehicle
- HESH does next to no damage, even to light vehicles
- Huge ammorack in the rear of the tank - APFSDS shells can enter from the front and still detonate the ammunition at the back of the vehicle
- 3 crew members out of 4 are tightly packed in a cramped turret - hits on the turret are usually fatal
History
Chassis
The Swedish company Hägglunds began development 1983 on a combat vehicle capable of both anti-tank and anti-air defence, at the request of the Swedish Army. Due to the nature of the multi-role request, Hägglunds went for a utility vehicle design similar to the ideas of the Swedish Air Force. Initial trials were done with 5 different chassis to determine optimal engineering solutions to the concept. Although the design was unified, trials showed several issues with the clutch and brake systems. This was solved by reconstructing the system altogether. To accompany this, the chassis was raised 35 mm, and tower placement was moved forward. Hägglunds were strictly against this decision but later stated that this adjustment contributed significantly to the great export success of the vehicle.
Turret
The 105 mm turret was a design by the French GIAT (now known as Nexter Systems). This turret was originally made for the AMX-10RC, an armoured car entirely designed by GIAT. The turret was designed to survive heavy machine gun fire up to 14.5 mm. The turret sported a 105 mm F2 cannon capable of firing modern APFSDS rounds, along with a coaxial 7.62 mm machine gun. By the 1990s, the turret started to become outdated, which lead to GIAT modernizing the design with electrically-powered stabilizers for the main armament and sights. This lead to the version found on the CV 90105 TML, known as the TML 105 mm turret.
CV 90105 TML
The CV 90105 TML was unveiled to the public in 1994. The combination of the flexible CV 90 chassis and powerful 105 mm G2 cannon proved lethal. This private venture by GIAT and Hägglunds was strategic, as this concept allowed both companies to market themselves towards the export market. The CV 90 chassis was able to prove its flexibility by carrying large-calibre cannons for anti-tank purposes, while the TML 105 mm turret got to show its upgraded potential and tracked-vehicle performance, along with flexibility. Although this design never attracted any customers, the concept sparked debate regarding the future of light tanks. Hägglunds went on to successfully export their CV 90 chassis, though only via the IFV role, most notably with the CV 9030, which featured a 30 mm Bushmaster II. Larger cannons were later trialled on the chassis, such as the CV 90120, carrying a 120 mm Rheinmetall smoothbore cannon. GIAT went on to market their TML 105 mm turret fitted on the MOWAG Piranha, marketed for the Middle East. Although having lesser success than the CV 90 chassis, their AMX-10RC is still in service, proving its reliability as a wheeled fire-support vehicle, boasting a deadly cannon.
Devblog
Development of the CV 90105 TML began in the early 1990s as a joint venture of the Swedish Hägglunds and French GIAT companies. The idea behind the project was to create a capable new light tank as part of the Strf 90 family of vehicles, while using only components which were already available. On one hand, this would keep development time and costs relatively low, while on the other hand make the new vehicle more attractive to customers which already operated some of the CV 90 series of vehicles.
As such, engineers took the hull of the Strf 90 IFV and fitted it with the GIAT TML turret, housing a 105 mm G2 cannon - an upgraded version of the turret used on the successful AMX-10RC.
The first and only demonstrator vehicle was ready in 1994, undergoing various trials. Despite proving the project’s viability, the demonstrator didn’t convince any foreign operators to place orders for the newly developed CV 90105. As such, further development of the project was cancelled, although the idea of creating a 105 mm armed Strf 90 version would remain, resulting in a renewed attempt some time later, but that’s a story for another time.
Media
- Skins
- Videos
See also
- Vehicles equipped with the same chassis
- Other vehicles of similar configuration and role
External links
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 |
Sweden premium ground vehicles | |
---|---|
Light tanks | ▄T-26E · Strv m/39 · Pbil m/40 · Strv m/41 S-I · CV 9035DK · CV 90105 |
Medium tanks | Sherman III/IV · Strv 81 (RB 52) · Strv 103-0 · Leopard 1A5NO2 · Christian II |
Heavy tanks | ▄KV-1 m1942 · Kungstiger |
Tank destroyers | Ikv 73 · SAV 20.12.48 · VIDAR |