Panzer 58 (Pz 58)

History

The small European nation of Switzerland, which has long relied on foreign products to store its armoured forces, is fully exposed to the ongoing Korean War (1950-1953) as its usual Western supplier and committed to his communist-inspired struggle. Meanwhile, Switzerland opted to procure some 200 French-made 75mm armed AMX-13 light tanks from 1952 onwards, but this proved to be only a partial solution to a massive ground war that was engulfing the West and Germany. The Soviet Union's centralized coalition, which still proved to be a real threat to Europe during this turbulent historical period, required a main battle tank with some firepower and protection.

Given Switzerland's geographic location at the heart of another global land war, an operational armored force was needed to slow a possible Soviet advance before an appropriate Western response could be made. The country borders the great powers of France, Germany, and Italyall of which would be embroiled in another European war, if the Soviet leader wanted to.

While most Cold War tank discussions focus on developments in the United States, Britain and the Soviet Union, it is worth noting Switzerland's contribution to armament history, as the country actually managed a small tank industry at the height of the Cold War. During the Cold War, though the joint venture had mixed success with the development of the Panzer 58, Panzer 61 and Panzer 68.

The Swiss government recognized this need and finally approved a domestic tank design in 1953, which soon led to work on the type. However, a project like this required significant engineering effort and funding, and a pilot vehicle (prototype) was not available until 1957. The design was completely conventional at the time, with a fully traversable conical turret on top of a fairly solid-looking armored hull with a track and wheel arrangement. The running gear consists of six twin-tire wheels on one side of the track, the drive sprocket at the rear, the chain idler at the front, and three chain idler pulleys for the upper part of the track. The body has a round, raised front fender, with the driver's seat centrally located in the front.

The fenders have storage boxes, extra chain links and all the "Pioneer" gear the crew needs. The turret houses the main gun, which originates from a solid armored cloak in front, with a raised commander's cupola offset to the right of the turret roof.

The engine is installed in the rear compartment. In relatively cramped combat conditions, the vehicle will be driven by a crew of four, including a driver, commander, gunner and loader.

The first test car was equipped with a 90mm tank gun, and interestingly, the second test car was equipped with a British origin 83.4mm system (British 20pdr series). However, a higher penetration 105mm gun was eventually agreed to counter the threat of Soviet armor (mainly the T-54 MBT), and a limited production of 10 of these weapons, known as the "Panzer 58", was adopted" , or "Pz 58 / MPz 58" ("Middle tank 1958"). Six smoke grenade launchers enabled a self-generated smoke screen.

In addition to the main gun in the turret, a 20mm gun was attached as a coaxial weapon. Self-defense It is carried out by a coaxial 7.5mm machine gun and a 7.5mm machine gun mounted on the turret.

When the main battle tank (MBT) became the norm in main battle tank terminology, the Swiss Army classified their Pz 58 as a medium tank. Light, medium and heavy tank classifications were popular before and during World War II until the British Centurion rewrote the tank classification book in 1946, followed by the arrival of the Soviet T-54 in 1949.

The Pz 58 is powered by a Mercedes-Benz 837 8-cylinder engine with 600 hp. This is supplemented when supporting vehicles from the Mercedes-Benz OM 636 series are required. Depending on the terrain, the unit can achieve a top road speed of 34 miles per hour and off-road travel at around 19 miles per hour. Range is limited to 220 miles and about 100 miles off-road. A disc spring/swing arm suspension system aids off-road riding.

The car weighs 38.7 tons (short), has a barrel length of 8.5 meters (before the gun), a width of 3 meters, and a height of 2.85 meters to the top of the tower.

The production of the completed 12 cars fell into the hands of Eidgenossische Konstruktionswerkstatt Thun (EKT) in Switzerland and lasted from 1957 to 1961.

Despite the relatively "novel" design, the Panzer 58 only served once in the Swiss Army between 1958 and 1964, before a more refined version was considered, which eventually became the "Panzer 61". Tank 61 contributed a lot to Pz 58 because it collected a lot of data from the original that played a role in the development of Pz 61. The Swiss government commissioned 150 prototypes of this type, which remained in use until 1994.

The Panzer 61 itself was followed by the further developed Panzer 68, of which 585 were delivered from 1971 to 2003.

The modern Swiss Army uses 380 (2013) excellent German main battle tanks Leopard 2 (2A4) as "Leopard 87" ("Pz 87"). Thirty-five are ex-Bundeswehr products, the rest are manufactured through local licensing schemes.

Specification

Basic

Roles

Dimensions

Performance

Performance

for everyone else in our database)

Armor

44 x 105mm bullet

240 x 20mm bullet

3,400 x 7.5mm ammo

6 x Smoke Grenade

Changes