Strv 121

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RANK 4 FRANCE
Somua SM PACK
sw_strv_121.png
Strv 121
AB RB SB
10.3 10.3 10.3
Class:
Research:300 000 Specs-Card-Exp.png
Purchase:830 000 Specs-Card-Lion.png
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Description

GarageImage Strv 121.jpg


The Stridsvagn 121 is a rank VII Swedish medium tank with a battle rating of 10.3 (AB/RB/SB). It was introduced in Update 1.97 "Viking Fury".

General info

Survivability and armour

Frontal armour display of the Strv 121.

The Strv-121's kinetic protection is reasonable, with the turret cheeks near-invulnerable to all but the most powerful rounds (e.g. CL3143) and the upper front plate capable of protecting against less powerful rounds (e.g. M735) - however besides these sections the remainder of the vehicle is largely vulnerable to high-powered kinetic rounds; of note are the weak lower front plate and the gun mantlet, both of which are reasonably visible targets, as well as the gunner's optics.

The vehicle sports significantly better all-round chemical protection, with an upper hull and turret essentially immune to all but the most powerful ATGMs frontally, with upwards of 800 mm worth of equivalent protection in places. Despite this, it's advisable to be wary of incoming ATGMs as a well-placed round may sneak past the heavily protected areas - and some missiles such as those of the ADATS will slice straight through even the turret cheeks.

As with most other MBTs, the Strv 121 is particularly vulnerable from the sides and back.

The Strv 121 is reasonably survivable, with some degree of crew spacing. However, from certain angles, the crew are placed in a straight line and successful penetration may impact three of the four crew members, resulting in a crew knock-out. In addition, well-placed side shots may impact all three turret crew members.

Ammunition is stored in the primary ammunition storage in the rear of the turret, or in the secondary storage next to the driver. The primary rack provides crew protection through the use of blow-out panels, however only has space for 15 rounds. When more than 16 rounds are taken to battle, ammunition will be stored in the significantly more vulnerable hull rack.

The Strv 121's protection proves acceptable for long-range combat, although it's ill-advised to remain in one location for any extended period of time to avoid opposing vehicles being able to hone their shots onto your weak spots. The Strv 121's protection should not be relied upon in urban or other close-range environments.

Armour Front (Slope angle) Sides Rear Roof
Hull 35 mm (53-82°) Upper glacis
40 mm (50-51°) Lower glacis
30 mm (82°) Driver's hatch
10 mm (5°) Upper hull
35 mm (0°) Lower forward hull
20 mm (0°) Lower rear hull
5 mm (0°) Side Skirts
100 mm (0°) Composite screening
20 mm (12-50°) All rear 20 mm (0-8°) Hull roof incl. engine deck
Turret 35 mm (0-6°) Cheeks incl. Gunner optics
35 mm (1°) Mantlet
120 mm Rear Mantlet Plate
35 mm (0°) Forward
15 mm (0°) Rear
10 mm (10°) Basket
20 mm (70°) Turret underside
40 mm (82-85°) Forehead Armour
14 mm (72-77°) Forward sides
20 mm (89°) Rear turret incl. cupolas
5 mm (84°) Basket
Composite armour Front Sides
Hull Upper+Lower glacis
90 - 350 mm Kinetic
243 - 600 mm Chemical
N/A
Turret Turret cheeks
420 - 800 mm Kinetic
535 - 820 mm Chemical

Gun mantlet
100 - 270 mm Kinetic
300 - 480 mm Chemical

Side armour194 - 260 mm Kinetic
280 - 400 mm Chemical

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 76 35 55.2 2,032 2,862 36.81 51.85
Realistic 69 31 1,327 1,500 24.04 27.17

The Strv 121 is powered by an MTU (MOTOREN-UND TURBINEN-UNION FRIEDRICHSHAFEN GMBH) MB 838 Ca-M500 engine which produces a whopping 1,500 hp (1,100 kW), resulting in a power-to-weight ratio of slightly over 27 hp per tonne, comparable to the ratio of the early Abrams and identical to the T-80U. As such, the Strv 121 is quite mobile despite weighing over 55 tonnes, comfortably able to reach 72 km/h on-road and well capable of keeping up with its competitors. This allows for an active, aggressive playstyle, using the Leopard's high speed and good acceleration characteristics to get into an early flanking position or take early cap points - though it is important to keep in mind that opposition forces might attempt the same.

The Strv 121 has a maximum reverse speed of 31 km/h which it reaches easily, allowing for a quick retreat in sub-optimal situations.

Armaments

Main armament

Main article: kan Strv 121 (120 mm)

The 120 mm kan Strv 121 is a domestic production of the famous 120 mm Rheinmetall L/44 cannon and is mounted as the primary armament on the Strv 121, offering a balance of firepower, accuracy, and sustained rate of fire. The 121 has three rounds available to it: slsgr m/95, DM13 APFSDS and DM23 APFSDS. Of these, only DM13 is available when the vehicle is stock, with slsgr m/95 as a tier 2 and DM23 a tier 4 modification. The L/44 is reasonably accurate at long range with any ammunition, however minor round deviation may be evident at extreme ranges (over 2000m).

It's advisable to primarily rely on the best available APFSDS round for engaging other MBTs. HE should rarely be used but can prove to be useful for more experienced players.

120 mm kan Strv 121 Turret rotation speed (°/s) Reloading rate (seconds)
Mode Capacity Vertical Horizontal Stabilizer Stock Upgraded Full Expert Aced Stock Full Expert Aced
Arcade 42 -9°/+20° ±180° Two-plane 38.0 52.7 64.0 51.1 75.2 7.8 6.9 6.4 6.0
Realistic 23.8 28.0 34.0 37.6 40.0

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
DM13 APFSDS 393 390 384 376 367 359
slsgr m/95 HE 36 36 36 36 36 36
DM23 APFSDS 410 408 401 393 384 376
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%
DM13 APFSDS 1,650 4.44 N/A N/A N/A 78° 80° 81°
slsgr m/95 HE 736 17.50 0.1 0.1 3,540 79° 80° 81°
DM23 APFSDS 1,640 4.30 N/A N/A N/A 78° 80° 81°

Ammo racks

Ammo racks of the Strv 121
Full
ammo
1st
rack empty
2nd
rack empty
Visual
discrepancy
42 16 (+26) (+41) No

First stage only: 16 rounds (15 in rack + 1 in gun), stored within blow-out protected compartment.

Machine guns

Main article: ksp 94 (7.62 mm)

The Strv 121 is equipped with one pintle-mounted machine gun and one coaxial machine gun. These can be used as an anti-air deterrent or for clearing out light obstacles and crew from open vehicles.

7.62 mm ksp 94
Mount Capacity (Belt) Fire rate Vertical Horizontal
Coaxial 4,500 (1,000) 1,200 N/A N/A
Pintle 2,000 (1,000) 1,200 -8°/+20° ±120°

Usage in battles

The Strv 121 may feel somewhat sluggish when stock, but unlike the German Leopard 2A4 that the Strv 121 is based off of, the 121 gets DM13 stock. This allows for more aggressive early research play than its German brother.

The 121 can be used comfortably in both urban and rural environments, providing the vehicle's weaknesses are kept in mind. While it is capable in most forms of engagement, it does lack the precision of the British Challenger MBTs or the extreme round velocities of the Russian T-64/T-80 series. The 121 also has a particularly large and blocky profile, making for a particularly visible target in many situations.

Considering the above, a Strv 121 player should utilize its great mobility and competitive gun to get into early positions to pick off unsuspecting targets, rather than attempting to engage opposing forces head-on.

Modules

Tier Mobility Protection Firepower
I Tracks Parts Horizontal Drive
II Suspension Brake System FPE Adjustment of Fire slsgr m/95
III Filters Crew Replenishment Elevation Mechanism Smoke grenade NVD
IV Transmission Engine Artillery Support DM23 Laser rangefinder

Pros and cons

Pros:

  • Powerful engine, high top speed and acceleration
  • Good neutral steering system
  • Good gunner sight magnification for long-range engagements
  • Reasonably high-velocity kinetic rounds
  • Competitive DM23 APFSDS
  • Turret armour can prove effective for hull-down engagements
  • Primary ammunition is contained within a storage unit with blow-out panels

Cons:

  • Hull armour is mediocre, particularly against kinetic rounds
  • The gunner's optics are a weak spot, enemies who know how to aim can cripple your gun and kill your crew
  • The gun mantlet is relatively weak while being quite prominent, penetration can disable the gun or knock turret crew out
  • The turret cheeks can be penetrated by most APFSDS rounds when hit at the right angle
  • Secondary ammunition storage is extremely vulnerable, although this is avoidable by carrying no more than 16 rounds
  • Both machine guns are relatively light calibre, suffer from mediocre gun elevation and will not prove to be much more an annoyance to aircraft, particularly helicopters
  • Does not get access to HEAT-FS like the 2A4, instead gets access to the slsgr m/95 HE round as a tier II modification

History

When the Swedish Military decided to procure the German-built Leopard Improved (Strv 122), they decided to also lease Leopard 2A4 tanks from Germany as part of the deal. 160 Leopard 2A4s were delivered in 1994, with the stipulation that they would be returned after 15 years. The Bundeswehr was willing to loan out their tanks because of the requirement that they reduce the amount of military equipment in service, due to the end of the Cold War.

The Swedish Leopard 2A4s were designated as the Stridsvagn (Strv) 121. They came from various production series - known as losung - from losung 1 (built in 1979) to losung 5 (built in 1987). As such, there were some minor external variations among the Strv 121 tanks.

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;
  • encyclopedia page on the tank;
  • other literature.


Sweden medium tanks
Strv m/42  Lago I · Strv m/42 EH · Ikv 73 · Strv m/42 DT · Pvkv IV
Centurion derivatives  Strv 81 · Strv 81 (RB 52) · Strv 101 · Strv 104 · Strv 105
Strv 103  Strv 103-0 · Strv 103A · Strv 103С
Strv 121/122  Strv 121 · Christian II · Strv 122A · Strv 122B PLSS · Strv 122B+
Other  Sherman III/IV · T 80 U
Finland 
WWII  ▄T-28 · ▄T-34 · ▄Pz.IV · ▄T-34-85
Post War  ▄Comet I · ▄Charioteer Mk VII · ▄T-54 · ▄T-55M · ▄T-72M1 · ▄Leopard 2A4 · ▄Leopard 2A6
Norway  Leopard 1A5NO2