War Thunder background
Pbv 301: Trading In Those Bicycles

The first Swedish tracked armoured personnel carrier, built on the chassis of the Strv m/41 light tank.

Pansarbandvagn 301, SPAAG, Sweden, rank II

Pros

  • Rapid-fire automatic cannon
  • Closed fighting compartment

Cons

  • Two-man crew
History

The Second World War was only halfway over when the Swedish army found itself needing a fast and safe way to deliver soldiers to the field of battle. With no APC’s in the arsenal, the only way Swedish troops could move around aside from using their own feet was to cling to special handles on tractors or trucks while riding bicycles or in smaller armoured cars.

The problem was urgent. The army needed a lot of vehicles quickly, so they decided to build them using the chassis of the obsolete Strv m/41 light tank. Given the large engine, however, there wasn’t much available space in the vehicle for carrying infantry, and that necessitated a new and more compact engine. The turret was no longer needed either – the Swedish APC was fitted with an Akan m/45 20 mm anti-aircraft cannon as the primary armament, adapted to the chassis of the light tank.

The automatic cannon with magazines, carrying 75 rounds each, countered both ground and airborne targets, and it was therefore equipped with a ring sight and a dioptre sight. Ultimately, the vehicle and its 150 hp engine were capable of transporting two crew members and eight infantrymen with full kit, it was lightly armoured, and it could reach a maximum speed of 45 km/h. The first Swedish tracked APC was designated Pbv 301 and manufactured until the summer of 1963.

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It isn’t often that post-war machines feature in War Thunder’s lower ranks. However, that’s what the Pbv 301 is: a vehicle built on the chassis of the decommissioned Strv m/41 tanks with an anti-aircraft cannon stripped from the decommissioned SAAB J21 fighters. The first Swedish APC of the 1960’s is coming to War Thunder at rank II as a self-propelled anti-aircraft gun.

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Unlike many early SPAAGs in the game, the Pbv 301 features a closed fighting compartment with relatively strong protection, and that means enemy fighters will need more than a quick machine-gun burst to take out its main ground-based adversary. The 20 mm anti-aircraft cannon on its special mount has a good rate of fire and can easily bring down aircraft flying at low and even medium altitudes. However, while shooting down aircraft isn’t an issue, the Pbv 301 has a much harder time with ground targets due to insufficient penetration of its rounds.

Light tanks and enemy SPAAGs aren’t a problem, but the best strategy when facing better-armoured adversaries is to knock out their cannon and beat a strategic retreat – machine-gun fire isn’t a problem for the Pbv 301. On the receiving end, rounds fired by enemy tanks will be the last thing the commander of the Pbv 301 hears in battle – the two-man crew tightly packed in with the large engine and ammo rack will be knocked out quickly.

The Pbv 301 is a fast-firing Swedish SPAAG that is well protected against aircraft, making it a trusty companion in a setup for tank and combined battles at ranks II–III. It will show up in the upcoming major War Thunder update along with dozens of other machines, new game features, and other improvements!

You can greatly speed up the research on this vehicle with:

SAV 20.12.48
НАБОР SAV 20.12.48
This pack includes
  • SAV 20.12.48 (Rank 2 Sweden);
  • 1000 Golden Eagles;
  • Premium account for 7 days..
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