The Pansarvärnsrobotbandvagn 551 (pvrbv 551) was a

tank destroyer A tank destroyer, tank hunter or tank killer is a type of armoured fighting vehicle, predominantly intended for anti-tank duties. They are typically armed with a direct fire anti-tank gun, artillery gun, also known as a self-propelled anti-ta ...

developed by Landsverk and

Hägglund & Söner Hägglund & Söner (''Hägglund & Sons''), commonly known as Hägglunds, was a diversified engineering company based in the town of Örnsköldsvik, in Västernorrland, Sweden. Originally a furniture manufacturing company, it diversified into t ...

History

When the Infanterikanonvagn 102/103 was replaced in 1975 to 1978 with the

Infanterikanonvagn 91 The infanterikanonvagn 91 (ikv 91), , was a high mobility assault gun that was developed to meet the operational requirements of the Swedish Army. It was designed and manufactured by Hägglund & Söner (whose military vehicle business is now B ...

, the

Swedish Army The Swedish Army () is the army, land force of the Swedish Armed Forces of the Kingdom of Sweden. Beginning with its service in 1521, the Swedish Army has been active for more than 500 years. History Svea Life Guards dates back to the year 1 ...

used their chassis as the basis for a new

armoured fighting vehicle An armoured fighting vehicle (British English) or armored fighting vehicle (American English) (AFV) is an armed combat vehicle protected by vehicle armour, armour, generally combining operational mobility with Offensive (military), offensive a ...

with anti-tank and anti-air variants. The Pansarvärnsrobotbandvagn 551 was the anti-tank variant while the Luftvärnsrobotvagn 701 was the anti-air variant.

Description

The pvrbv 551 had a new superstructure built on the old chassis. The primary armament was a

BGM-71 TOW The BGM-71 TOW ("Tube-launched, Optically tracked, wire-guided missile, Wire-guided", pronounced ) is an American anti-tank missile. TOW replaced much smaller missiles like the SS.10 and ENTAC, offering roughly twice the effective range, a more ...

launcher, the TOW is known as the rb55 in the Swedish army. Secondary armament was a Ksp 58 machine gun. The vehicle also had a new engine and gear similar to

Bandvagn 206 Bandvagn 206 (bv 206) (meaning ''"Tracked Vehicle 206"'' in English) is a tracked articulated, all-terrain carrier initially developed and manufactured by the Swedish company Hägglund & Söner, and subsequently by BAE Systems Hägglunds, for ...

installed. The vehicle was operated by a crew of four. The commander and driver are seated at the front of the vehicle. The gunner and loader are located in the middle of the hull under two large roof hatches. When the pvrbv 551 goes into firing position, the hatches are opened and the TOW launcher is raised above the vehicle roof. The gunner and loader are exposed in this position.

Production

The work was carried out between 1984 and 1986 at Hägglund & Söner in Örnsköldsvik and 57 pvrbv 551 were produced and served in the Swedish Army from 1984 to 2000.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pansarvarnsrobotbandvagn 551 Fire support vehicles Armoured fighting vehicles of Sweden Landsverk vehicles Tank destroyers of the Cold War Tanks of Sweden Military vehicles introduced in the 1980s Anti-tank missile carrier