M91/V Olyfynt
| M91/V Olyfynt | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Type | Armored Fighting Vehicle |
| Place of origin |  Allamunnic States |
| Service history | |
| In service | 1991 - Present |
| Used by | Ottonian Federal Defense Services Royal Ostmarker Army (2004-present) Lion's Rock Army (1998-present) |
| Production history | |
| Designer | Federal Defense Industries |
| Designed | 1988 - 1991 |
| Manufacturer | Vulksaron Heavy Industries, Svaartaron |
| Produced | 1991 - 2004 (original run); 2007 - present (export model) |
| No. built | > 4000 (including export models) |
| Specifications | |
| Weight | 49.5 tonnes |
| Length | 8m (hull) 10.4m (gun-forward) |
| Width | 3.5m |
| Height | 2.8m |
| Crew | 4 (Commander, Driver, Gunner, Loader) |
| Armor | Corvaik Armor explosive reactive armor modules Starling Active Protection System |
Main armament | Vulksaron Heavy Industries SG4 120mm Smoothbore Cannon (47 rounds) |
Secondary armament | 7.92mm coaxial chain gun RWS-mounted 7.92mm machine gun in commander's position |
| Engine | IMC DE-3 4-stroke, V-12 diesel engine 1400 hp |
| Power/weight | 25.45 hp/t |
| Transmission | 9-speed automatic (9 fwd, 3 rev.) |
| Suspension | Torsion Bar |
Operational range | 550km (on road) |
| Speed | 60kph (on road) |
The M91/V Olyfynt (also referred to as the Olyfynt V) is an Allamunnic Main Battle Tank. Designed as a modification of the prolific M48 Olyfynt series that it was designed to replace, the M91 featured a lengthened hull and redesigned turret to accommodate new electronics, gunnery systems, a more powerful engine, and the Vulksaron Heavy Industries SG4 120mm Smoothbore Anti-Tank Gun as its primary armament.
In 2004, the Grimmeburger regime approved the M91/VI upgrade, which featured improvements in the vehicle's fire control system, fitted the commander's hatch weapon to a remote weapon station, and supplemented the vehicle's ceramic composite armor with panels of explosive reactive armor. Since then, most of the M91's in Allamunnic service have recieved the VI upgrade. The Advanced Ground Vehicle Project would produce the M15/VII Olyfynt, which was adopted as the M91's replacement in 2015. M91's still remain in service in a substantial number of Federal Army units, largely among units along the country's western coast.
Development
By the mid-1980's, much of the Federation's M48 fleet, although upgraded to modern standards, were essentially almost forty-year-old machines, with many units showing their age. Rather than resuming production of an upgraded M48/IV, a decision was made by the Junnsunn regime to design a new tank that would utilize some of the same components of the M48, essentially a modernization of that basic design.
Although the original intention was to utilize essentially the same chassis, ultimately the tank hull had to be lengthened to accommodate new systems, a larger engine, and better ammunition storage for the larger 120mm rounds the tank was to carry for its primary armament.
The turret also had to be extensively redesigned and enlarged to accommodate the larger armament.
Armament
Most production models of the M91/V carry the Vulksaron Heavy Industries SG4 120mm Smoothbore Anti-Tank Gun. The gun is larger than the L7 105mm rifled gun placed on the later versions of the M48, and required a redesigned turret to accommodate this. Despite that, because of the fitting of these tanks for some Federal Guard units under Eddard Jaal, many M91/V's were built with the 105mm rifled gun as their primary armament.
The M91/V also carries two 7.92mm machine guns, one on top of the turret at the commander's hatch, and one in a coaxial position with the tank's primary armament.
Protection
In contrast to the homogeneous rolled steel and cast steel that made up the core of the protection on the M48, the M91/V was built primarily to utilize Chobham_armour as the core of its protective systems. Capacity was made to supplement this with panels of explosive reactive armor, and the M91/VI added the Starling Active Protection System to help protect the tank against missiles and man-portable anti-tank weapons.
The tank's belly armor is strengthened and built into a v-shape to help deflect blasts from mines and improvised explosive devices.
Mobility
The M91/V utilizes a four-stroke, V-12 diesel engine produced by IMC, which gives the vehicle approximately 1400 hp of power. With the vehicle's weight of 55 tonnes, this gives it a good power-to-weight ratio of 25.45 hp/t.
The vehicle is controlled with an 9-speed automatic transmission, with 9 forward gears and 3 reverse gears. The hull is supported by a torsion bar suspension.
Variants
The M91/V Olyfynt was designed first and foremost as a main battle tank, with most tracked support vehicles continuing to be built on the chassis or hull of the M48, due to its more compact size and lighter weight. Thus, the two main variants of the M91 are the M91/V (the original production model) and the M91/VI upgrade which brought the tank up to an early 21st-century standard. There was a recovery variant built, the M91 Bone Collector Armored Recovery Vehicle, was actually built on an M48 chassis modified to accommodate a much more powerful engine, so that it could more easily recover M91's.
In 2002, the M91 EBM (Export Basic Model) was designed as a refinement of the M91, with simplified electronic systems and a more modular armor package, as well as other modifications intended to reduce weight and cost, at the expense of some ergonomic features, to provide a relatively modern, rugged tank to entities on a budget. As well as among a few Allamunnic PMC's.
Combat History
The main conflict in which the M91 saw significant service was the Second Allamunnic Civil War between 1999 and 2001, in which all three sides made use of the tank (as well as M48's which had been pressed back into service).