The Mowag Puma is one of the

armored personnel carriers An armoured personnel carrier (APC) is a broad type of armoured military vehicle designed to transport personnel and equipment in combat zones. Since World War I, APCs have become a very common piece of military equipment around the world. Acc ...

produced by

Mowag Mowag is a Swiss company founded in 1950, which develops, designs and produces armoured fighting vehicles for military applications in both land-only and amphibious configurations. These vehicles have gross vehicle weights ranging from 9 tonn ...

based in

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

Design

Emphasized in the Puma vehicles were

buoyancy Buoyancy (), or upthrust, is the force exerted by a fluid opposing the weight of a partially or fully immersed object (which may be also be a parcel of fluid). In a column of fluid, pressure increases with depth as a result of the weight of t ...

, high payload, high maneuverability and ease of operation in nuclear/biological/chemical (NBC) contaminated areas. The 6x6 Puma has steerable wheels on the first and the third axles, while the wheels of the middle axle are fixed, which enables a tight turning circle. Behind the two rear wheels is a ship propeller. The motor is housed in the front.

Grenadiers A grenadier ( , ; derived from the word ''grenade'') was historically an assault-specialist soldier who threw hand grenades in siege operation battles. The distinct combat function of the grenadier was established in the mid-17th century, when ...

leave the vehicle through a door behind the turret hatch in the roof or through a large double door at the rear of the vehicle.

History

The Puma was the first of a family of vehicles including the 4x4, 6x6 and 8x8, which were designed and built in the 4x4 and 6x6 versions with different weight divisions. The Puma yielded important results for the 8x8 armored personnel carriers weapon carrier Mowag Shark. A prototype of the Puma, which took part in various trials in Switzerland and at presentations at the

Gurnigel Gurnigel Pass (el. 1608 m.) is a high mountain pass in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. It connects Riggisberg and Zollhaus. The culminating point of the road lies on the eastern flank of the Selibüel. The pass is the venue for an annual cr ...

Brugg Brugg (sometimes written as Brugg AG in order to distinguish it from other ''Brugg''s) is a Switzerland, Swiss Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality and a List of towns in Switzerland, town in the canton of Aargau and is the seat of the Bru ...

rugg and

Oerlikon-Bührle ''Oerlikon-Bührle'' (full name ''Werkzeugmaschinenfabrik Oerlikon, Bührle & Co.'', initially ''Werkzeugmaschinenfabrik Oerlikon'') was a Switzerland, Swiss arms industry, armaments company based in Oerlikon (Zürich) from 1906 to 1999.Jürg Fink ...

premises Ochsenboden, is now in the

Schweizerisches Militärmuseum Full The Swiss Military Museum () is located at Full-Reuenthal in the Canton of Aargau. History of the museum The origins of the museum go back to the ''Verein zur Förderung eines wehrtechnischen Museums'' ("Association for the Promotion of a Mili ...

. The Puma never went into series production.Militärmuseum Full SwitzerlandMarcus Bauer, Nutzfahrzeuge der MOWAG Motorwagenfabrik AG, Fachpresse Goldach, Hudson & Company, 1996

References

{{Modern IFV and APC Off-road vehicles Armoured fighting vehicles of the Cold War Amphibious armoured personnel carriers Armoured fighting vehicles of Switzerland Abandoned military projects of Switzerland Six-wheeled vehicles Armoured personnel carriers of the Cold War Wheeled amphibious armoured fighting vehicles Wheeled armoured personnel carriers