Strv m/42
Strv m/42
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[Client Values; Actual values in
386,000  Cost |
| 560118 HP Hit Points |
| 21.7/2310.2/25 t Weight Limit |
- Commander (Radio Operator)
- Driver
- Gunner
- Loader
| 324410 hp Engine Power |
| 45/20 km/h Speed Limit |
| 4145 deg/s Traverse |
| 14.9340.2 hp/t Power/Wt Ratio |
| NoNo Pivot |
| // mm Hull Armor |
| 34/28/2055/30/20 mm Turret Armor |
AP/HEAT/HE
AP//HE Shells |
50/2400/75
115/2800/90 Shell Cost |
| 110/110/175150/150/185 HP Damage |
| 88/115/38115/144/38 mm Penetration |
|
12 r/m ▲
9.52 r/m Standard Gun ▲ Rate of Fire Standard Gun |
|
1320 ▲
Standard Gun
▼
Standard Gun
▲
1428 Standard Gun ▲
Standard Gun
▼
Standard Gun
▲ Damage Per Minute Standard Gun |
|
0.38 m ▲
0.38 m With 50% Crew: 0.471 m ▲ Accuracy With 50% Crew: 0.471 m |
| 2.3 s 2.5 s Aim time |
| 3640 deg/s Turret Traverse |
| 360° Gun Arc |
| -10°/+25°-15°/+25° Elevation Arc |
| 9050 rounds Ammo Capacity |
| 2020 % Chance of Fire |
| 330 m 350 m View Range |
| 345 m 400 m Signal Range |
V
386000
The Strv m/42 is a Swedish tier 5 medium tank.
Developed on the basis of the Lago medium tank in the 1930s. The 75-mm Bofors gun was mounted on the 22.5-ton tank. A total of 282 vehicles of different variants were produced. The TM, TH, and TV variants used the Scania-Vabis L-603 twin engines, which provided 160 h.p., while the Strv m/42 EH tanks were powered by a single Volvo A8B engine that provided 370 h.p.
The Strv m/42 is a Tier V medium tank, featuring an excellent main gun, fair armor, and good concealment.
The Strv m/42 leads to the Strv 74.
Modules / Available Equipment and Consumables
Modules
Guns
| Tier | Gun | Penetration (mm) |
Damage (HP) |
Rate of fire (rounds/minute) |
Dispersion (m/100m) |
Aiming time (s) |
Weight (kg) |
Price (  )
| |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IV | 7,5 cm kan m/41 strv | 88/115/38 | 110/110/175 | 13.64 | 0.38 | 2.3 | 575 | 24200 | |
| V | 7,5 cm kan m/43 strv | 115/144/38 | 150/150/185 | 9.52 | 0.38 | 2.5 | 840 | 43100 |
Engines
| Tier | Engine | Engine Power (hp) |
Chance of Fire on Impact (%) |
Weight (kg) |
Price ( )
| |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IV | 2 st Scania-Vabis L 603/1 | 324 | 20 | 1080 | 10300 | |
| V | Volvo A8B | 410 | 20 | 1050 | 13600 |
Suspensions
| Tier | Suspension | Load Limit (т) |
Traverse Speed (gr/sec) |
Rmin | Weight (kg) |
Price ( )
| |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IV | Lago III | 23 | 41 | B/2 | 5064 | 4100 | |
| V | Lago IV | 25 | 45 | B/2 | 5064 | 10230 |
Radios
| Tier | Radio | Signal Range (m) |
Weight (kg) |
Price ( )
| |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IV | 25 W Sv/1 m/39-42 | 345 | 34 | 2200 | |
| VI | 70 W Sv m/43 | 400 | 70 | 21600 |
Compatible Equipment
Compatible Consumables
Player Opinion
Pros and Cons
Pros:
- Good penetration and best-in-class damage from the top gun with AP rounds
- Tied for best gun depression of all Tier V tanks (15 degrees)
- Good gun handling
- Armor holds up against lower tiers
- Top engine gives the tank decent acceleration
Cons:
- Slow reload, lackluster DPM, and poor aim time
- Low top speed and mediocre mobility for a medium tank, even with top engine
- Tracks easily damaged
- Stock gun often fails to pen many same-tier tanks; makes for a rough initial grind
- Hull is very long, gets trolled by the terrain which presents no problem for many other tanks
Performance
The Strv m/42 is a good tank, although it's only exceptional in one way: the top gun is very good, featuring the highest alpha (150 average) from any non-derp gun in its class (Tier V mediums); only one other tank -- the premium M4-85 -- beats the m/42 here (but is worse in other ways). But the gun's long reload time should be taken into account, making the tank almost useless against multiple enemies. This, compared with its squishy armor and low hit points, means that it is an exceptional second-line support tank, but not as good as an assault tank (unless at top tier). The gun depression is very good and should be used to your advantage.
The m/42's armor profile doesn't lend well to angling one's hull; over-angling just makes you a bigger target and exposes your weak side armor. For maximum bounce, with your gun aimed at your target angle your hull so the barrel is just inside either front drive sprocket. (They'll probably pen your turret, and your gun mantlet is almost worthless, but there's a fair choice of incoming rounds catching the turret edges and being deflected.)
With a crew setup of Commander (Radio Operator)/Gunner/Driver/Loader the Strv m/42 is crew-compatible with only one premium Swedish medium: the Lansen C [broken link] -- one crew can be used for both tanks.
Early Research
The stock suspension can handle whatever you throw at it so feel free to upgrade in whatever order you like, which usually means a choice between going for the top gun for additional hard combat power (recommended) or the engine for some badly needed speed. Next research the radio and then the tracks, and then research the Strv 74 to elite this tank.
Suggested Equipment
External Reviews and Opinions
Gallery
Historical Info
The attempts to sell the vehicle continued, but little interest was shown until 1939, when Hungary decided to buy the L-60 light tank. Hungary was also interested in a new medium tank design and contacted Škoda, Praga and Landsverk about their medium tank designs. Landsverk received an order for one prototype to be ready by 1940, but after numerous delays and with the increasing involvement of Hungary on the Russian front, it was decided by the Hungarians that they couldn’t wait for the Swedish prototype. Instead, the Škoda T-21 prototype was modified and turned into the M40 Turán medium tank.
Landsverk´s 18 ton Lago prototype
By this time, Sweden was desperately looking for a medium tank design of its own. The Swedish force of 37mm armed light tanks was quickly becoming obsolete and because of the war, foreign designs were now mostly out of reach. Therefore, it was decided that the Lago prototype would become the basis for the new Swedish medium tank.
In early 1941, a committee started discussing the requirements for the new tank, which was to be based on the newly completed 18 ton Lago prototype. After a while, an agreement was reached that the tank would not be heavier than 22 tons and would have the armour of 55mm at the front and 30 at the sides. A new turret with a new 7,5cm gun was also chosen, there were however other options discussed for armament, including a high velocity 5,7cm gun or a 10,5cm howitzer. Pherhaps the most impressive feature was the -15dg of gun depression for the main gun.
Although the design was pretty modern when it was concieved, it was not exactly perfect. The tank had been built disproportionately tall compared to its width to allow it to be transported easily on railroads. This however meant that it had a small turret ring, that had a hard time carrying a bigger gun, or turret. Another problem was the choice of armament, the short 75mm gun was not powerful enough to reliably penetrate other medium tanks from frontal angles. The use of difficult to change torsion bars and the use of an unreliable German transmission in some models was also a major cause of problems.
Strv m/42
In early 1943, the production of the newly designated Strv m/42 finally started. It was produced by Landsverk and Volvo, the latter of which refused to equip the tank with the engine from their competitor, Scania, and therefore started development on their own of a more powerful engine. In the end, the army had to point out that they could make Volvo assemble the vehicles with the Scania engine until development of the Volvo engine was complete. Volvo reluctantly agreed and in the end, only 57 of the Strv m/42 tanks would be equipped with the 410hp Volvo engine instead of the two 162hp Scania engines.
It was realized fairly early on during the tank production that the current armament was not sufficient and therefore discussions about rearming the tank started in 1944. Proposals were made for the lengthening of the 75mm or replacing it with the newly developed 5,7cm Pvkan m/43 anti-tank gun. Instead of these options, it was decided to start the development on a new turret, which would be able to mount a high velocity 75mm gun.
Turret schematics
Mockup turret
The new turret had 60mm frontal and 30mm side armor and was armed with the 7,5cm Pvkan m/43 anti-tank gun. But its most interesting feature was a 3 round magazine for an “automatic rammer”, that would allow the tank fire 3 rounds in short bursts. A mock-up of the turret was made and at some point after that a functional prototype was created as well, but by 1946, the tests had bad results and the project was cancelled.
A few special variations of the Strv m/42 existed, the first of which was a command version, which carried a 70W Sv m/43 radio, which replaced the machineguns in the turret. A total of 26 tanks were converted to this command version. Experiments were also made with a recovery version, which was equipped with a crane, capable of lifting 12 tons. Only two were made and both were delivered in 1944. There were also some attempts to create a bridgelayer version, but after disastrous performance in rough terrain due to the disproportionately tall chassis, the project was cancelled. It would later be tested again without a turret, but the results were the same and the project was cancelled once again.
BBV m/42 recovery vehicle and a Strv m/41
Brobv m/42 experimental bridgelayer
Strv m/42 was produced from April 1943 to January 1945 with a total of 287 units produced. It was the most powerful tank to serve with the Swedish army from 1943 until 1953, when it was replaced with the Centurion Mk.3. The Strv m/42 would however continue its service until 1957, when most were rebuilt with a new turret and gun to become Strv 74, but that is a story for another time. The rest of the vehicles was refitted with a new Ra 121 radio and some, mostly visual, changes happened as well, like the removal of the hull mounted machinegun and the addition of more equipment. The vehicle was redesigned to Ikv 73 and was used as an infantry support vehicle until 1973.
Historical Gallery
Sources and External Links
| Light Tanks | IStrv fm/21 • IIStrv m/38 • IIL-60 • IIIStrv m/40L • IIILago M38 |
| Medium Tanks | IVLago • VStrv m/42 • VIStrv m/42-57 Alt A.2 • VIStrv 74 • VIILeo • VIIIStrv 81 • VIIIPrimo Victoria • VIIILansen C • VIIIUDES 14 Alt 5 • IXUDES 16 • XUDES 15/16 |
| Heavy Tanks | VIIIEmil I • VIIIEMIL 1951 • VIIIBofors Tornvagn • IXEmil II • IXStrv K • XKranvagn |
| Tank Destroyers | IIPvlvv fm/42 • IIIIkv 72 • IVSav m/43 • VIkv 103 • VIIkv 65 Alt II • VIIIkv 90 Typ B • VIIIUDES 03 • VIIIStrv S1 • IXStrv 103-0 • XStrv 103B |
| Self-Propelled Artillery |
