Strv 124

Stridsvagn 124 Pantera
Acrean Strv 124A8
Type	Main Battle Tank
Place of origin	Acrea
Service history
In service	1980-Present
Used by	Acrea Ruvelka Shalum
Production history
Designer	Landrut Systemet GmbH Landsverk AB Maybach AG Kobalt-Zeiss GmbH & Co KG Thyssen AB
Designed	1970-1979
Manufacturer	Landrut Systemet GmbH
Produced	1979-Present
No. built	10,872
Variants	Strv 124A1 (1980) Strv 124A2 (1981) Strv 124A3 (1983) Strv 124A4 (1985) Strv 124A5 (1992) Strv 124A6 (1995) Strv 124A7 (2007) Strv 124A8 (2017) Strv 124A9 (2019)
Specifications
Weight	64 Tonnes
Length	7,7 metres (hull)
Width	3,7 metres
Height	2,55 metres (Hull)
Crew	4
Armor	VONSBÄK (Classified)
Main armament	KvK m/17-L55 120mm Electrothermal-Chemical Gun
Secondary armament	7.62mm MG 1A3 Various Top-Mounted 7.62mm and 20mm guns
Engine	Thyssen-Maybach MTU K1-89B V12 Turbocharged Diesel 1193,12kw (1600 hp)
Power/weight	19,89kw per tonne
Transmission	Maybach CV-12TC Continuously Variable Transmission
Suspension	Hydropneumatic Active Suspension
Operational range	500 km
Speed	75 km/h (Road) ~50 km/h (Cross-Country)

The Stridsvagn 124 Pantera is a main battle tank developed by Landrut Systemet in the 1970s for the Acrean Armed Forces. It first entered production in 1979 and entered service as Strv 124 in 1980, succeeding the Strv 104 as the main battle tank of the Acrean Army. With its original conception by Armoured Force in 1959, various versions of Strv 124 have served in the armies of Acrea and 2 other nations in several conflicts across Tyran, and its design has inspired new developments in the heavy armour of other nations such as Ossoria and Syara.

The tank has three main development batches, which in current parlance are referred to as 'old hulls' for the first two batches and 'new hulls' for the third batch by the Acrean Army. The first batch includes all original models up to the A4, visually distinguishable due to the vertical frontal armour of their turrets and shorter 44 calibre main guns. The second batch includes the A5 and A6, visually identified by their arrowhead frontal turret armour and, in the case of the A6, the introduction of a longer 55 calibre conventional main gun- although most A5s were upgraded to the A6 standard. The third and most advanced batch is the A7 and all newer models. Though not necessarily visually distinguishable, the third batch is substantially more capable in both armour and armament than its predecessors. A7s were constructed new using first-generation VONSBÄK armour developed by Landsverk, which although classified is known to utilise a layered construction which includes a carbon nanotube metal matrix composite, in addition to new ceramic and nanoceramic and depleted uranium. Brand new hulls were constructed using this new armour composition, giving rise to the terms 'old' and 'new' hulls. Beginning with the A8, Pantera tanks have been armed with the Rh-120 m/17-L55, the first production electrothermal-chemical gun to be put into service in Tyran, having begun its development in 1998. Most information regarding the gun is classified, but it was reported to be approximately as effective as Rh-130 m/17-L51 130mm main gun also proposed as a solution to increasing the firepower of the Pantera. However, both Landrut and the Acrean Army have described the gun to not be a definitive solution going into the future as newer versions of the 130mm gun such as the m/19-L52 prove to be increasingly powerful and existing Acrean ETC technology improves.

Etymology

The Strv 124 follows the Acrean Army's naming conventions for armoured vehicles first established in 1950. This is done via the appropriate name, in this case Strv for a tank, followed by which vehicle numerically the tank is in Acrean service with a given gun size. The Pantera is the 4th tank in Acrean service with a 12cm gun, therefore it received the name Strv 124. It was given the name Pantera as an homage to the Big Cat names that have been used for Acrean tanks since the Eracuran Great War.

History

Development

The desire for a 12cm armed main battle tank was present even as the Strv 104 entered service in 1961. Heavy tanks such as the Strv 121 had been developed of a means of ever-increasing armour on new Azurlav and Ruvelkan heavy tanks. While Azurlav vehicles were small in number and the Ruvelkans were an ally of Acrea, the increasing mobility and protective capabilities of these heavy tanks concerned Acrean military planners that more heavily armoured tanks would the standard for potential adversaries in the near-future. This was combined with the limited utility of heavy tanks such as Strv 121. The remarkable mobility and substantial firepower of Strv 104, Acrea's first purpose-designed main battle tank, despite it not being as heavily armoured as Strv 121, was a major step forward in Acrean armoured vehicle technology. In addition to this, their prior experience with Strv 91 which unintentionally had been designed with many of the same qualities had firmly fixed Acrean military officials that the MBT concept would be the basis for all future tank designs, and considered heavy tanks to be largely unnecessary.

Thus, in 1959, only a few years after Strv 121's introduction, Armoured Force set out a list of general requirements for a main battle tank armed with a 12cm main gun. The decision was made fairly early on that the new tank would be equipped with a 120mm main gun like that found on Strv 121. Improved technology found in the development of Strv 104's 105mm gun could be applied to developing a new 120mm gun based on it.

The first vehicles produced under the requirements were tested in 1964. The design was rather familiar, using a modified Strv 104 chassis mounted with a new, expanded, boxier turret also utilising newly developed composite armour. Despite, for the most part, working, the prototype designated T-11 proved unsatisfactory in several ways. The turret was more cramped, as the use of Strv 104's chassis meant that despite the physically larger turret, the turret ring had not been increased in size, resulting in a relatively small increase in space for the area within the turret that the larger gun now took up. The gun also had less depression and elevation than the 105mm equipped Strv 104, and was slower to load. Ammunition capacity was substantially reduced, and safety concerns regarding the ammunition's stowage were carried over from Strv 104. Ultimately, despite these numerous flaws, new developments from Azurlavaj and other countries meant that T-11 was accepted for limited production as Strv 122 in 1965 while further research and development continued.

Using lessons learned from field use of Strv 122, several major changes were made. Rather than using the same chassis as Strv 104, the same effective layout was kept whilst increasing the proportions, granting a larger hull that could accommodate a larger turret. A new turret design was implemented, which adopted the relatively boxy form of its predecessor but was not constrained by being based on the turret of Strv 104. This new prototype was given the name T-14, and tests of the vehicle were very promising. T-14 fixed several of the flaws present in T-11. Ammunition stowage was rearranged, allowing for a more adequate 41 rounds of ammunition to be stowed in the tank. The bottom of the hull was fitted with blowout-panels for hull ammunition stowage, a feature that was retrofitted to existing Strv 104s and 122s. The hull was better armoured for little effective loss in mobility thanks to a more powerful engine and lighter composite armour in both the hull and turret, and the crew ergonomics were much improved. While it was still not perfect, with Armoured Force seeing greater potential and its designers still continuing further development while existing T-14 prototypes were tested, the type was likewise put into production as Strv 123 in 1969. Though still limited, it saw more substantial use than Strv 122, with 625 examples being put into service.