Strv m/40L

Strv m/40L

Strv m/38

Strv m/40L

Strv m/38

Sweden

I Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
2.0	2.0	2.0

Class:

Light tank

Research:5 900

Purchase:6 300

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Description

The Stridsvagn m/40L is a rank I Swedish light tank with a battle rating of 2.0 (AB/RB/SB). It was introduced in Update 1.97 "Viking Fury".

General info

Survivability and armour

The Strv m/40L is essentially the Strv m/38 with increased frontal armour. The frontal hull armour is increased to a maximum of 43 mm, while the turret is uparmoured to 50 mm. This provides a decent degree of protection against autocannons and heavy machine guns as well as low calibre anti-tank guns. However, the rest of the tank's armour profile remains identical (13 mm), and it is thus still very vulnerable from directions other than the front.

Armour	Front (Slope angle)	Sides	Rear	Roof
Hull	13 mm (58°) + 30 mm (46°-58°) Upper glacis 13 mm (45°) Lower glacis 13 mm (30°) + 35 mm (29°) Upper plate 13 mm + 35 mm Driver's cupola	13 mm	13 mm (33°) Lower 9 + 15 mm (14°) Upper	4-13 mm
Turret	15 mm + 35 mm (14°) Turret front 15 mm + 35 mm (9°-72°) Gun mantlet	13 mm	13 mm	5-8 mm
Cupola	13 mm	13 mm	13 mm	5 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	51	6	9.4	220	271	23.4	28.83
Realistic	46	6		126	142	13.4	15.11

The engine of the Strv m/40L is identical to that on the Strv m/38. However, the tank is considerably heavier due to the increased armour, thus somewhat worsening its acceleration. Mobility characteristics are otherwise almost identical to its predecessor.

Armaments

Main armament

The Strv m/40L uses the same 3,7 cm kan m/38 gun as the Strv m/38. The turret mounting has been modified, however, to provide an even greater amount of gun depression (15°). The ammunition choice is identical: it starts with the unremarkable slpprj m/38 APBC shot. At tier IV, the slpgr m/39 APBC and slpprj m/49 APDS rounds can be unlocked. The former round has a small explosive filler while having only slightly less penetration than the stock APBC shot. The APDS round has over 100 mm of penetration at close range and a muzzle velocity of 1,150 m/s and is capable of penetrating anything the Strv m/40L is likely to face. The high velocity makes it good for sniping, but the APDS round tends to be less accurate than the APBC rounds.

It should be noted that if the "Camera from tank gunner sight" option is enabled, there is a protrusion in front of the gunner's sight that can block part of the gunner's sight view when depressing the gun.

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	-15°/+25°	±180°	N/A	15.2	21.08	25.60	28.31	30.12	4.06	3.57	3.29	3.10
Realistic					9.5	11.20	13.60	15.04	16.00

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/49	APDS	105	103	97	89	82	75
slpgr m/39	APBC	55	51	37	26	17	12
slpprj m/38	APBC	59	55	41	28	19	13

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/49	APDS	1,150	0.71	N/A	N/A	N/A	75°	78°	80°
slpgr m/39	APBC	800	0.74	1.2	9.0	15	47°	60°	65°
slpprj m/38	APBC	785	0.74	N/A	N/A	N/A	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	7th rack empty	8th rack empty	9th rack empty	10th rack empty	11th rack empty	Visual discrepancy
100	81 (+19)	71 (+29)	61 (+39)	51 (+49)	41 (+59)	34 (+66)	28 (+72)	21 (+79)	14 (+86)	8 (+92)	1 (+99)	No

Machine guns

The tank is also armed with two 8 mm ksp m/36 machine guns mounted alongside the main gun.

8 mm Ksp m/36
Mount	Capacity (Belt capacity)	Rate of fire (shots/minute)	Vertical guidance	Horizontal guidance
Coaxial	1,750 (250)	648	-10°/+25°	N/A
Coaxial	1,750 (250)	648	-10°/+25°	N/A

Usage in battles

The Strv m/40L is a light tank with a large bite for its small calibre. Being armed with a 37 mm Bofors gun doesn't seem like a huge threat to most tanks that it faces, as its contemporaries will often equip similar or larger calibres. However, unlike other nations' tanks, the Strv m/40L is able to research potent APDS rounds.

The Strv m/40L excels in hull-down combat where it can exploit its outstanding gun depression and relatively good rounded turret armour. The powerful APDS round allows it to easily penetrate and disable even the heaviest of tanks it can normally encounter, such as the B1 bis and Valentine. However, it has relatively low post-penetration effects, and will often require multiple shots to destroy larger tanks due to the larger crew compartments. The tank's mobility is quite respectable and allows it to keep up with other medium tanks and making it able to move around the battlefield with ease and not only fight with hull down position but also bring the fight to the enemy side. The frontal armour is quite good, but quite thin elsewhere making it vulnerable to side shots and rear shots so it is best to always point the frontal armour towards the target.

Strv m/40L might have a lot of positives to it but there are also negative sides. Until the APDS round is researched, it has to deal with using the APCB rounds Slpprj m/38 and Slpgr m/39 which have 59/55 mm penetration at 10 m forcing it to fight up close and personal tank. The APDS also does not hit accurately at longer distances, making it mostly useful at medium range to close range to be a fully effective round. Though forward mobility is good, Strv m/40L lacks the means to reverse away out of danger, making it better for it to turn around fast and drive back into cover. Though doing that exposes the Strv m/40L's weak side armour and possibly the rear armour which will be a good chance for the enemy to knock it out with ease.

Enemies to be aware of include tanks like M4A3 (105), Pz.IV E and StuG III A, which have HEAT rounds that will easily knock out the Strv m/40L. With the crew compartment being so compact they can easily take out the 3 man crew with one shot making a lot of these targets a priority enemy for the Strv m/40L. Targets with large crew compartments and higher numbers of crew like B1 ter, LVT and T-28E can also be a threat to the Strv m/40L as having a lot of crew can make it hard for the Strv m/40L to knock them out fast, which forces it to try to knock out the enemy tank's gun and work down its crew one by one if necessary. But taking too long will expose it to being surrounded or outflanked by nearby enemies that will come to assist the target in need.

Modules

Tier	Mobility		Protection	Firepower
I	Tracks		Parts	Horizontal Drive
II	Suspension	Brake System	FPE	Adjustment of Fire
III	Filters		Crew Replenishment	Elevation Mechanism
IV	Transmission	Engine		Artillery Support	slpgr m/39	3,7 cm slpprj m/49

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Good frontal armour
• Access to an outstanding APDS round
• Good mobility
• Fast reload
• Excellent gun depression in combination with good turret armour makes it great at hull-down

Cons:

• APDS is somewhat inaccurate at long range and lacks post-penetration damage
• Very thin armour other than on the front
• Poor reverse speed
• APDS is tier IV modification, and without it you have to shoot terrible AP shell with 59 mm of max penetration and low post-pen damage

History

In 1934, a new light tank was designed for Sweden by Landsverk, the L-60. It was based on the Landsverk L-10/Strv m/31, but with a new torsion bar suspension system. The torsion bar suspension system was a large improvement over the Christie suspension system. The L-60 S/1 entered service with the Swedish military in 1938 as the Strv m/38. The L-60 S/1 Strv m/38 was armed with a Bofors 37 mm gun. In 1939, Sweden ordered an improved version of the Strv m/38. It was designated as the L-60 S/II Strv m/39. The Strv m/39 was armed with an improved Bofors 37 mm gun and had a new engine. During World War 2, the Strv m/39 was upgraded with additional armor welded onto the glacis and mantlet.

At the same time, there was a need for another upgrade of the Strv m/39. The turret mantlet was modified and a commander's cupola was added along with side hatches. These also received the upgraded armor of the Strv m/39, and were designated as L-60 S/III Strv m/40L. The L-60 served with the Swedish military throughout World War 2, and also became the basis of the L-62 Anti II SPAAG designed for Finland, which also saw service with Hungary as the 40M Nimrod. In 1960, 20 L-60 tanks were sold to the Dominican Republic by Sweden. Rebels, backed by the US Marine Corps, fought against the L-60 during the Dominican Civil War. 3 were destroyed by M48 Patton III's, M50 Ontos, and anti-tank fire. 12 were upgraded and saw service until 2002.

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.

Bibliography

• David B. (2014, December 1). Stridsvagn m/38, m/39 & m/40 L-60. Tank Encyclopedia. https://tanks-encyclopedia.com/ww2/sweden/L60_stridsvagn_M38-39-40.php
• Stridsvagn m/40. (2019, February 1). Military Today. Retrieved May 24, 2020, from https://www.militaryfactory.com/armor/detail.asp?armor_id=549

External links

• [Devblog] Strv m/40L