Editing Stridsvagn 103 (section)

{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2020}}
{{Infobox weapon
| name               = Stridsvagn 103
| image              = STRV-103 demonstrating at P7 Revingehed, 24th April 2022.jpg
| image_size         = 300
| caption            = A Stridsvagn 103C during a demonstration at the Swedish Army's [[Revingehed]] training ground, April 2022
| origin             = Sweden
| type               = Turretless [[main battle tank]]
| is_vehicle         = yes
<!-- Service history -->| service            = 1967–1997
| used_by            = [[Swedish Army]]
| wars               = <!-- Production history -->
| designer           = Sven Berge
| design_date        = {{Start date and age|1956}}
| manufacturer       = [[Bofors]] AB
| unit_cost          = [[US$]]300,000-470,000~ <ref>{{Cite web |title=Stridsvagn 103 |url=https://www.ointres.se/strv_103.htm |website=Ointres.se |author=Rickard O. Lindström |access-date=2025-01-16}}</ref>
| production_date    = 1967–1971
| number             = 290
| variants           = 0, A, B, C, D, MV
| spec_label         = Strv 103C
<!--vehicle parameters-->| crew               = 3 (Commander, gunner/driver, rear driver)<ref name="bovington103">Bovington Tank Museum</ref>
| weight             = {{convert|42.5|t|ST LT|abbr=on}}
| length             = {{convert|9|m|ftin|abbr=on}} incl. gun
| part_length        = 
| width              = {{convert|3.80|m|ftin|abbr=on}}
| height             = With topmounted MG: {{convert|2.43|m|ftin|abbr=on}}<br /> To cupola: {{convert|2.14|m|ftin|abbr=on}}<br /> To vehicle roof: {{convert|1.90|m|ftin|abbr=on}}<br />To barrel centre when horizontal: {{convert|1.70|m|ftin|abbr=on}}
| armour             = LOS: ≈192–337&nbsp;mm<br />Actual: 40–70&nbsp;mm
| primary_armament   = Bofors L74 10.5 cm L/62 rifled gun with autoloader and 50 rounds
| secondary_armament = Two fixed 7.62&nbsp;mm [[FN MAG|KSP 58]] machine guns<br />one anti-aircraft 7.62&nbsp;mm KSP 58 machine gun<br />two 71&nbsp;mm [[Lyran flare mortar|Lyran mortars]]
| engine             = Detroit diesel 6V53T, {{cvt|216|kW|hp}} and <br />Caterpillar 553 gas turbine, {{cvt|365|kW|hp}}
| pw_ratio           = {{cvt|18.3|hp/t|kW/t|order=flip}}
| transmission       = 2 forward and 2 reverse speeds
| suspension         = Gas-hydraulic [[hydropneumatic suspension]]
| vehicle_range      = {{convert|390|km|mi|abbr=on}}
| speed              = {{convert|60|km/h|mph|abbr=on}} maximum road speed forwards or reverse<ref>{{cite magazine|last1=Berge|first1=Sven|title=Engine Design and Placement|magazine=Armor|date=March–April 1973|page=17|url=https://tankandafvnews.com/2015/10/25/from-the-vault-the-gas-turbine-and-the-s-tank/}}</ref>
}}

The '''Stridsvagn 103''' ('''Strv 103'''), also known as the '''Alternative S''' and '''S-tank''',<ref>{{citation |first=Kyle |last=Mizokami |title=Sweden's "S-Tank" Had a Super Strange—But Not Stupid—Design |url=https://www.popularmechanics.com/military/weapons/a20273/sweden-s-tank-no-turret-design/ |date=4 April 2016}}</ref> is a [[Sweden|Swedish]] [[Cold War|Cold War-era]] [[main battle tank]], designed and manufactured in Sweden.<ref name="Chris Chant">{{cite book|author1=Chant, C.|author2=Jones, R.|name-list-style=amp|title=Tanks: Over 250 of the World's Tanks and Armoured Fighting Vehicles|year=2004|publisher=Summertime Publishing|isbn=0-7603-1871-9 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8CwgxzMqrv0C&pg=PA156|access-date=9 February 2011|page=156}}</ref> "Strv" is the Swedish military abbreviation of ''stridsvagn'', Swedish for [[tank]] (literally ''combat wagon'', it also is the Swedish word for [[chariot]]), while the ''103'' comes from being the third tank in Swedish service to be equipped with a 10.5&nbsp;cm gun.

Developed in the 1950s, it was the first main battle tank to use a [[gas turbine engine]] and the only mass-produced tank since [[World War II]] to not use a turret besides the German [[Kanonenjagdpanzer]], which is not classified as a tank by role, but by design.<ref name="Ogorkiewicz404">{{cite book|last1= Ogorkiewicz |first1= Richard M |title=Technology of tanks |date=1991 |publisher= Jane's Information |isbn=0710605951 |url=https://archive.org/details/Janes_Technology_of_Tanks_01/page/n417/mode/2up/search/Char+B}}</ref> It has an unconventional design with a unique [[gun laying]] process:<ref>{{cite web|title=Stridsvagn 103 s tank clutch and break manoeuvre| date=17 December 2007 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vsz1rSQTAfA |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/Vsz1rSQTAfA |archive-date=2021-12-21 |url-status=live|via=YouTube}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Tekniskt Magasin – Stridsvagn 103| date=25 November 2009 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQwsgPYHPd4&t=186s |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/CQwsgPYHPd4 |archive-date=2021-12-21 |url-status=live|via=YouTube}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Trafikmagasinet provkör STRIDSVAGN S|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AjdLJbJBgUM&t=489 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/AjdLJbJBgUM |archive-date=2021-12-21 |url-status=live|via=YouTube}}{{cbignore}}</ref> it is [[Gun turret|turretless]] with a fixed gun [[Gun laying|traversed]] by engaging the [[Caterpillar track|tracks]] and [[Elevation (ballistics)|elevated]] by adjusting the hull [[Suspension (vehicle)|suspension]].<ref name=Ogorkiewicz404/> The result was a very low-profile design with an emphasis on [[survivability]] and heightened crew protection level.

Strv 103s formed a major portion of the Swedish armoured forces from the 1960s to the 1990s, when, along with the [[Centurion tank|Centurions]], it was replaced by the [[Leopard 2]] variants Stridsvagn 121 and [[Stridsvagn 122]].<ref name=Lindström2>[https://web.archive.org/web/20181026053234/http://ointres.se/strv_121_och_strv_122.htm Strv 121 & strv122]</ref>

While most turretless armoured fighting vehicles are classified as [[assault gun]]s or [[tank destroyer]]s, the Strv 103 is considered a tank since its designated combat role matched those of other tanks within contemporary Swedish doctrine.