VEAK 40
Contents
Description
The Vagn Eldledning AutomatKanon 40 (English: "Wagon Fire-control AutoCannon 40"), or VEAK 40 for short, is a rank V Swedish self-propelled anti-aircraft vehicle with a battle rating of 7.7 (AB/RB/SB). It was introduced in Update 1.97 "Viking Fury". The name VEAK 40 follows Bofors naming scheme, not the Swedish army's naming scheme. Its full historical Bofors-name was Bofors VEAK 40 X 60, VEAK indicating type (tracked vehicle with FC-radar and autocannons), 40 indicating calibre (40 mm) and 60 indicating year of design (1960).
The VEAK 40 was developed by the Swedish arms manufacturer Bofors by request of the Swedish army as a 1960s next generation Swedish SPAA following the 1940s limited production Lvkv fm/43 SPAA and failed 1950s Lvkv 42 prototype SPAA. A single prototype based on the Strv 103 chassis was built and delivered for testing in 1964. The project was delayed at this point but testing commenced and the vehicle proved to be ahead of its time regarding armament and fire control system. This however made the vehicle too costly and in the end the project had to be scrapped due to resources going to the Swedish air force rather than the Swedish air defense.
The VEAK 40 is armed with two 40 mm Bofors L/70 autocannons (Swedish designation: 40 mm lvakan m/48) which each have a fire rate of 300 rounds per minute and are capable of firing proximity-fused high explosive shells which will airburst and damage aircraft when reaching their vicinity. It has mediocre mobility and subpar protection but does feature excellent vertical and horizontal traverse speed for the guns. It also comes equipped with a tracking and search radar that allows the player to find and track airborne targets within a 12 km radius.
General info
Survivability and armour
 |
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| External armour on the VEAK 40 | Internal armour on the VEAK 40 |
The armour of the VEAK 40 is roughly 15 mm thick all around with very limited sloping angles to back it up. Thus even heavy machine guns can knock it out from all directions. The turret is very big and boxy and also houses all of the vehicles ammunition and crew. Thus a shot to the turret usually results in an ammo rack detonation. The hull however is fairly empty of components and only houses the transmission and engine which are located in their own compartment, resulting in tons of empty space in the hull under the turret. Thus a shot to the hull usually leaves the vehicle combat capable.
Armour type:
- Rolled homogeneous armour
- Cast homogeneous armour (Cupolas)
- Structural steel (Radar mast, Radar dish, Mud skirts, Suspension)
| Armour | Front (Slope°) | Sides [Internal] (Slope°) | Rear (Slope°) | Roof (Slope°) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hull | 5-15 mm (77°) Front glacis 15 mm (18-71°) Lower glasis |
5-15 mm [+5 mm] Upper sides 15 mm Lower sides |
15 mm Upper rear 15 mm (13°) Lower rear |
15 mm (90°) Roof 4 mm (29-77°) Mud skirts |
| Turret | 15 mm (25°) Upper right sheek 15 mm Upper left sheek 15 mm (26°) Upper right front 15 mm (41°) Upper left front 15 mm (17°) Lower front |
5 mm (74°) Upper sides 15 mm Forward sides 5 mm Backward sides |
5 mm (73°) Upper rear 5 mm Lower rear |
5 mm Roof 15 mm (0-35°) Radar mast 15 mm (0-68°) Radar dish |
| Cupola | 15 mm | 15 mm | 15 mm | 15 mm (44-83°) Cupola dome |
Notes:
- Suspension wheels, tracks and torsion bars are 20 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 | 66 | 21 | 29 | 767 | 1,030 | 26.45 | 35.52 |
| Realistic | 61 | 19 | 478 | 540 | 16.48 | 18.62 | |
The mobility of the VEAK 40 is excellent. The vehicle is based on the chassis of the Strv 103A and features the same transmission and engine (although currently lacking turbine engine sound) while being 7.9 tons lighter. The engine gives out 540 hp in realistic when fully upgraded, giving this 29 ton vehicle a power to ton ratio of 18.62. This gives the tank great acceleration on shorter distances and allows it to effectively move around the battlefield like the average speedy light tank.
Mobility times on flat paved terrain (realistic)
- Time to 60 km/h (max effective) forward: > 25 s
- Time to 20 km/h forward: > 2 s
- Time to 18 km/h (max effective) reverse: > 2 s
- Time to rotate 360°: < 8 s
Mobility times on flat grass terrin (realistic)
- Time to 40 km/h (max effective) forward: < 11 s
- Time to 20 km/h forward: > 2 s
- Time to 18 km/h (max effective) reverse: > 2 s
- Time to rotate 360°: < 8 s
Modifications and economy
| Mobility | Protection | Firepower | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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- Modification route
- Stage 1 (Primary Route): Like with every tank the first modifications to research should be Parts and FPE.
- After those it is best to unlock the ammunition (slsgr m/484 HE-VT* and slpprj m/42B AP). Depending on the desired playstyle you can either go for the HE-VT or AP first. The slsgr m/484 is excellent for taking out aircraft, while the slpprj m/42B is great at taking out tanks in the side.
- Stage 1 (Alternate Route): If you prefer to sit in the spawn or behind cover and solely shooting at aircraft then a viable alternate route would be to unlock slsgr m/484 HE-VT* as your first unlock (before Parts and FPE).
- Stage 2: After unlocking Parts, FPE and ammunition you can either go for mobility upgrades or fire-control upgrades depending on the desired playstyle.
- If you desire to kill tanks then go for mobility upgrades such as Filters, Engine and Transmission. This will allow you to easily flank and outmanoeuvre enemy tanks with some planning.
- If you desire to kill aircraft then go for fire-control upgrades such as Horizontal Drive, Adjustment of Fire and Elevation Mechanism. This will give you one of the best targeting speeds in the game.
- Stage 3: After unlocking enough performance upgrades for comfort then it is viable to unlock Artillery Support.
- Follow this by unlocking the suspension upgrades: Suspension > Brake System > Tracks.
- The last upgrade to unlock is Crew Replacement. Due to the limited survivability of the VEAK 40 and its ability to stay fully combat capable without one crew member there is rarely a need to restore a dead crew member.
Armaments
Main armament
The VEAK 40 uses two Bofors 40 mm anti-aircraft autocannon L/70 guns, in Swedish service designated 40 mm lvakan m/48. These have extremely good stats in all regards. Excellent rate of fire, excellent velocity and excellent effect against both aircraft and tanks.
| 40 mm lvakan m/48 (x2) | 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 | 420 (10) | 300 | -5°/+85° | ±180° | Two-plane | 74.9 | 103.6 | 125.8 | 139.1 | 148.0 | 0.65 | 0.58 | 0.53 | 0.50 |
| Realistic | 50.6 | 59.5 | 72.2 | 79.9 | 85.0 | |||||||||
Ammunition
The ammunition of the VEAK 40 is excellent for its type. While not perfect in all regards, for example the effectiveness of HE-VT* ammunition have had varying effectiveness over the years, and the penetration values of the AP ammunition is too low to penetrate any heavy tank at its tier, the ammunition does do its job in the majority of situations.
- Default: SAPHEI · HEFI-T
- slsgr m/484: HE-VT* · HE-VT* · HE-VT*
- slpprj m/42B: AP · AP · AP · HEFI-T
| Penetration statistics | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Belt | Penetration @ 0° Angle of Attack (mm) | |||||
| 10 m | 100 m | 500 m | 1,000 m | 1,500 m | 2,000 m | |
| Default | 66 | 62 | 48 | 34 | 25 | 18 |
| slsgr m/484 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| slpprj m/42B | 95 | 90 | 72 | 55 | 42 | 32 |
| 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% | |||||||
| 40 mm Default HEFI-T | HEFI-T | 850 | 1.0 | 0 | 0.1 | 44 | 79° | 80° | 81° |
| 40 mm Default SAPHEI | SAPHEI | 880 | 1.0 | 1.2 | 9.0 | 43 | 79° | 80° | 81° |
| 40 mm slpprj m/42B HEFI-T | HEFI-T | 850 | 1.0 | 0 | 0.1 | 44 | 79° | 80° | 81° |
| 40 mm slpprj m/42B AP | AP | 910 | 1.2 | 1.2 | 9.0 | N/A | 47° | 60° | 65° |
| Shell details | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ammunition | Type of warhead |
Velocity (m/s) |
Projectile Mass (kg) |
Fuse delay (m) |
Fuse sensitivity (mm) |
Explosive Mass (TNT equivalent) (g) |
Arming distance (m) |
Trigger radius (m) |
Ricochet | ||
| 0% | 50% | 100% | |||||||||
| 40 mm slsgr m/484 HE-VT | HE-VT | 988 | 0.98 | 0 | 0.1 | 120 | 500 | 15 | 79° | 80° | 81° |
Ammo racks
| Full ammo |
1st rack empty |
2nd rack empty |
Visual discrepancy |
|---|---|---|---|
| 42 | 30 (+12) | 11 (+31) | No |
Machine guns
Beyond its main weaponry, the VEAK 40 also features a cupola mounted 7,62 mm FN MAG machine gun, in Swedish service designated 7,62 mm ksp m/58B. This is extremely rare for SPAAs and makes it one of two SPAAs that has a secondary machine gun (the other one being the Lvkv 9040C). However due to the characteristics of its main weaponry there is rarely a need to use the secondary machine gun.
| 7.62 mm ksp 58 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mount | Capacity (Belt) | Fire rate | Vertical | Horizontal |
| Pintle | 1,000 (250) | 600 | -10°/+50° | ±120° |
Usage in battles
The VEAK 40 is a fairly basic tier 5 SPAA. It has a radar and effective anti air guns that will easily take out any aircraft even at longer ranges with ease. The guns also has fairly high penetration on its armour-piercing ammo and will easily take out lightly armoured vehicles in the front and the majority of vehicles in the side. Its protection is more or less none existent and the VEAK 40 can even be dealt with using regular low-calibre machine guns.
When playing the VEAK 40 it is best to stay in spawn and shoot at incoming aircraft, or using the great mobility to follow team-mates into battle and support them with suppressive fire and anti-aircraft support. If there are no aircraft to shoot at then it is viable to cruise around the map at high speeds and hunt lightly armoured targets and capture points.
Due to the large profile of the turret there are rarely options for hiding behind cover and thus it is best to play aggressively and using your high speed, stabilized guns and high fire rate to defeat enemy tanks. The radar mast retracts behind the turret like on a lot of other radar SPAAs when turned off, allowing you to become slightly less visible. Turning it off may be a good choice, if you are not looking to be spotted as easily if you believe enemies may be nearby.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Twin 40 mm lvakan m/48 cannons are very effective against air units
- Has access to proximity fuse HE shells
- Separate ammo belts (fully made of HE or AP)
- Has a pintle-mounted machine gun unlike other SPAA
- Radar is a Combined Search and Tracking radar, and can track targets through a full 360°
- Radar folds back when turned off, reducing profile
Cons:
- Very easy to destroy since all the ammo and the crew are located in the turret
- The turret's armour is very thin (only 5 mm covering roof and sides)
- Can be taken out by even rifle-calibre aircraft armaments
- Radar has poor range, compared to others of its type.
- Can be easily spotted due to large turret profile, and tall radar mast
- Engine is very loud, can easily give away your position while moving
History
Describe the history of the creation and combat usage of the vehicle in more detail than in the introduction. If the historical reference turns out to be too long, take it to a separate article, taking a link to the article about the vehicle and adding a block "/History" (example: https://wiki.warthunder.com/(Vehicle-name)/History) and add a link to it here using the main template. Be sure to reference text and sources by using <ref></ref>, as well as adding them at the end of the article with <references />. This section may also include the vehicle's dev blog entry (if applicable) and the in-game encyclopedia description (under === In-game description ===, also if applicable).
Media
Excellent additions to the article would be video guides, screenshots from the game, and photos.
See also
Links to the articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example:
- reference to the series of the vehicles;
- links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.
External links
Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:
- topic on the official game forum;
- other literature.
| 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 |
