Saurer 4K 4FA

History

The Saurer 4K 4FA is designed to perform the same battlefield functions as the classic American M113 Armoured Personnel Carrier (APC), adopted by the Austrian Army during the Cold War. Designed and developed by local Saurer-Werke, the vehicle is a design evolution starting in the mid-1950s. The 4K 4FA introduced a 250-horsepower engine and entered service in 1961, with the last delivery (450 cars in total) in 1968.

The series was replaced by the Steyr 4K 7FA G127 model of similar form and function after it entered service with the Austrian army, but remains active in its ranks. In fact, even the Ulan (ASCOD) Infantry Fighting Vehicle (IFV), launched in 2001, didn't quite go the route of 4K 4FA -- the two served side by side.

The 4K 4FA features a low profile body with a flat front slop and a flat body roofline. The sides of the fuselage slope slightly inward to provide basic ballistic protection.

The turret ring is mounted in the center of the front, the power pack is mounted on the right side of the front, and the driver's position is along the left front. Another crew member is required to manage turret weapons and serve as vehicle commander. There are eight passenger seats, which protect against small arms fire and artillery "spray". The car is 5.4 meters long, 2.5 meters wide and 2.1 meters high. Weight is in the 15 ton range.

The one-man mobile turret is armed with a 20mm Oerlikon Contraf 204 GK automatic cannon or a 12.7mm heavy machine gun (HMG), depending on the model.

Interestingly, the 4K 4FA was not designed to accomplish inherent amphibious capabilities, nor did it demonstrate standard nuclear, biological, chemical (NBC) protection for its crew and crewbut was intended to be in the European theater of operations.

The landing gear consists of five twin tire wheels on one side of the track, a drive sprocket at the front and a track idler at the rear. Two track idlers are used on each side of the hull, and the suspension system consists of a torsion bar arrangement. Power is provided by an in-house Saurer 2P 6-cylinder diesel with 250 hp.

This enables road speeds of up to 65 km/h and a range of up to 370 km.

Operators of 4K 4FA (outside the Austrian Armed Forces) include Bolivia, Greece (ELVO "Leonidas") and Nigeria. Greek Army version updated to Leonidas II standard.

The 4K 4FA model series produced a number of related variants, led by the 4K 4FA-G1 with 12.7mm machine gun turret armament and the 4K 4FA-G2 with 20mm machine gun turret armament. The 4K 3FA Fu1 is a brigade command post vehicle and the 4K 3FA FuA is an artillery command post vehicle. The 4K 3FA Fu/F1A is for air defense command posts, while the 4K 4FA-Fs is a wireless telegraph vehicle.

The 4K 4FA-San is an armored battlefield ambulance and the 4K 4F GrW1 is an 81mm mortar carrier form.

Specification

Basic

Roles

Dimensions

Performance

Performance

Armor

Depends on weapon.

Changes