The

Saurer Adolph Saurer AG was a Swiss manufacturer of embroidery and textile machines, trucks and buses under the Saurer and Berna (beginning in 1929) brand names. Based in Arbon, Switzerland, the firm was active between 1903 and 1982. Their vehicles were ...

4K 4FA is an

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

armoured personnel carrier 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 ...

with caterpillar tracks. It was later replaced by the Steyr 4K 7FA G 127. It went into production in 1961.

History

In 1956, the contractor Österreichische Saurer-Werke from

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

(which was taken over by Steyr-Daimler-Puch AG in 1970) started development of an armoured personnel carrier. The first prototype, the 3K 3H, was completed in 1958 and the second, the 4K 3H, the following year. They are both powered by a Saurer 3H 200 hp diesel engine. The next model, the 4K 2P, had a different hull layout, a new torsion bar suspension and was powered by a 250 hp Saurer 2P diesel engine. In appearance it was similar to the first production vehicles which were completed in 1961 and designated 4K 4F. Later production vehicles were the 4K 3FA (230 hp) and the 4K 4FA (250 hp), which differed only in minor details such as their Sauer engines. A total of 445 production vehicles was delivered to the Austrian Army in the following versions: 30 4K 4F, 211 4K 3FA, 38 4K 3FA-FS, 12 4K 4FA-Fü/FIA, 15 4K 4FA-San, 76 4K 4FA-G2, 60 4K 4FA FüA 1 to 4 series, three 4K 3FA Fül and a number of 4K 3FA GrW1 81 mm mortar carriers which were conversions of earlier vehicles. Production was finally completed in 1969. The vehicle was succeeded in production by a new model, described in detail in a separate entry, called the 4K 7FA which uses the same automotive components as the

SK-105 Kürassier The SK-105 ''Kürassier'' is an Austrian light tank armed with a rifled 105 mm gun in an oscillating turret. It is estimated that over 700 have been produced, with initial deliveries in 1971. It shares its CN 105-57 main gun with the French ...

light tank also manufactured by Steyr-Daimler-Puch. Production of the 4K FA and SK 105 are complete and all marketing of these has ceased. In mid-1999, the Austrian MoD awarded Steyr-Daimler-Puch a contract for the supply of 112

ASCOD The ASCOD (Austrian Spanish Cooperation Development) armoured fighting vehicle family is the product of a cooperation agreement between Austrian Steyr-Daimler-Puch AG and Spanish General Dynamics Santa Bárbara Sistemas. Both companies are now ...

Ulan infantry fighting vehicles for the Austrian Army. These were delivered from 2002 to 2004 and has now replaced at least part of the current Saurer 4K 4FA APC fleet of the Austrian Army. The 4K 4FA series will remain in service with Austria for some time.

Description

The hull of the Saurer 4K 4FA series armoured personnel carrier is made of all-welded steel armour and is immune to penetration from 20 mm armour-piercing projectiles over its frontal arc. The driver sits at the front of the hull on the left side with the power pack to his right and has a two-piece hatch cover that opens to the left and right, in front of which are three day periscopes. The centre periscope can be replaced by a passive periscope for driving at night. The gunner sits behind the driver and on the basic model has a cupola with a two-piece hatch cover opening left and right and a single day observation periscope. A standard 0.50 inch (12.7 mm)

M2 Browning machine gun The M2 machine gun or Browning .50-caliber machine gun (informally, "Ma Deuce") is a heavy machine gun that was designed near the end of World War I by John Browning. While similar to Browning's M1919 Browning machine gun, which was chamber ...

is mounted on the forward part of the cupola and most vehicles are fitted with a shield to give limited frontal protection to the gunner. This model is known under the company designation of the 4K 4FA-G1 with its Austrian Army designation being the usMGSPz (''Schützenpanzer''/''Überschweres'' MG). The personnel compartment is at the rear of the hull with the eight infantrymen seated on bench seats, four down each side of the hull. The crew in the rear face inwards. The section leader is the first on the right seat and is provided with a day periscope in the forward part of the personnel compartment roof, on the right side. Access to the personnel compartment is by two doors in the rear of the hull. Two hatches over the roof of the vehicle open to the outside. Mounting sockets for the pivot trunnion of an adaptor mount for the MG 42 machine gun are provided on the front, right, left and rear side of the hatch above the personnel compartment. The suspension is of the torsion bar type with either side consisting of five dual road wheels with the drive sprocket at the front, the idler at the rear and two track-return rollers. The first and last road wheel stations are provided with a hydraulic shock-absorber. The 4K 4FA has no NBC system, night vision equipment or amphibious capability.

Variants

;4K 4FA-G2 (Grenadier-Schützenpanzer) This is similar to the basic 4K 4FA-G1 but is fitted with an Oerlikon Contraves GAD-AOA one-person turret which is armed with a 20 mm Oerlikon Contraves cannon Model 204 GK. This is belt-fed and can be used in both the ground and anti-aircraft roles. The weapon is provided with 100 rounds of ready use ammunition and the empty cartridge cases and links are ejected outside the turret. The 20 mm cannon has an elevation of +70° and a depression of -12°, turret traverse is 360°. Although its company designation is the 4K 4FA-G2 its Austrian Army designation is the MK66SPz Schützenpanzer/Maschinenkanone 66. ;4K 4FA-San (Ambulance) GuentherZ 2008-10-23 1153 Saurer-Schuetzenpanzer Sanitaet

GuentherZ 2008-10-23 1153 Saurer-Schuetzenpanzer Sanitaet

Full designation is 4K 4FA-San (Sanitätspanzer). This model is unarmed and has a crew of two, the driver and the medical orderly, and it can carry four sitting and two stretcher patients. The stretchers are carried in the left side of the hull with the four sitting patients on the bench seat down the right side of the hull, strapped in with waist and shoulder straps. ;4K 4F GrW1 81 mm Mortar Carrier (Granatwerfer-SPz) Mounted in the rear of the troop compartment, firing forwards, is an 81 mm mortar. A 120 mm self-propelled mortar was developed to the prototype stage (GrW2) but never entered service. The vehicle is armed with an 8.1 cm mGrW 82 (Mittelschwere Granatwerfer 82). Minimum range of the mortar is 180 m with maximum range being 5,850 m, normal rate of fire is 6 rounds per minute with maximum rate of fire being 18 to 25 rounds per minute. ;81 mm Multiple Rocket Launcher This is the basic APC with an Oerlikon Contraves 81 mm rocket launcher mounted on a turntable over the rear troop compartment. It is understood that these vehicles have now been phased out of service. ;Schützenpanzer A1/LWT This is the section vehicle for the MBDA Mistral man-portable surface-to-air missile systems in the Pz1FAL batteries. ;ELVO Leonidas Version of the vehicle used by the

Greek Army The Hellenic Army (, sometimes abbreviated as ΕΣ), formed in 1828, is the land force of Greece. The term '' Hellenic'' is the endogenous synonym for ''Greek''. The Hellenic Army is the largest of the three branches of the Hellenic Armed F ...

and the

Cypriot National Guard The National Guard of Cyprus (), also known as the Greek Cypriot National Guard or simply the National Guard, is the military force of the Republic of Cyprus. It consists of air, land, sea and special forces elements, and is highly integrated wit ...

with a few modifications. It is armed with an

M2 Browning Machine Gun The M2 machine gun or Browning .50-caliber machine gun (informally, "Ma Deuce") is a heavy machine gun that was designed near the end of World War I by John Browning. While similar to Browning's M1919 Browning machine gun, which was chamber ...

and powered by a 320 hp engine. It was produced from

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

vehicle manufacturer

ELVO Hellenic Vehicle Industry (ELVO, also spelled in English as ELBO) is a Greek manufacturer of civilian and military vehicles based in Thessaloniki, Greece. History The Hellenic Vehicle Industry started business as ''Steyr Hellas S.A.'' assem ...

from 1981. ELVO developed an upgrade called Leonidas 2 which entered production in 1986. All vehicles in Greek service have been upgraded to that standard. ''Future Tank Destroyer'' Austrian tank destroyer prototype mockup at the Heeresgeschichtliches Museum 04

Austrian tank destroyer prototype mockup at the Heeresgeschichtliches Museum 04

Only a mockup version was made in 1960. The

Austrian Armed Forces The Austrian Armed Forces () are the combined military forces of Austria. The military consists of 16,000 active-duty personnel and 125,600 reservists. The military budget is 1.0% of national GDP (including pensions) or €3.317 billion (20 ...

wanted a Future tank destroyer based on the APC Saurer's hull, and wanted to put the

oscillating turret An oscillating turret is a form of gun turret#Armoured fighting vehicles, turret for armoured fighting vehicles, both tanks and Armored car (military), armoured cars. The turret is unusual in being made of two hinged parts. elevation (ballistics) ...

from the

AMX-13 The AMX-13 is a French light tank produced from 1952 to 1987. It served with the French Army, as the Char 13t-75 Modèle 51, and was exported to more than 26 other nations. Named after its initial weight of 13 tonnes, and featuring a tough and re ...

light tank on it (possibly the 105mm gun version). This idea would go on to become the

later on.

Operators

* - As the Saurer 4K4FA * - As the 4K4FA-SB20 Greif-Recovering vehicle * - As the ELVO Leonidas 2 * - As the ELVO Leonidas * : 250 **

Boko Haram Boko Haram, officially known as Jama'at Ahl al-Sunna li al-Da'wa wa al-Jihad (), is a self-proclaimed jihadist militant group based in northeastern Nigeria and also active in Chad, Niger, northern Cameroon, and Mali. In 2016, the group spli ...

References

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External links