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SAV 20.12.48: Nordic Sledgehammer
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The SAV 20.12.48 was an experimental Swedish SPG, developed by the Bofors company in the postwar years as their first private venture into tank development. Coming soon as part of update 1.95 “Northern Wind”, War Thunder tankers will have the chance to put this experimental design to the test and get a first taste of the Swedish ground forces coming in a future update!

Briefly: An experimental Swedish postwar SPG, featuring a very fast-firing high-caliber cannon and excellent mobility while offering only light protection.

SAV 20.12.48, SPG, premium, Sweden, II rank.

Pros

  • Devastating high-caliber gun
  • Extremely high rate of fire
  • Superb mobility
  • Both HE and AP rounds available

Cons

  • Weak armor protection
History

In 1948, Bofors began work on developing a new self-propelled gun as part of a private venture in an effort to realize a long-lasting goal of establishing itself as a manufacturer of armored fighting vehicles, alongside its already proven reputation in arms production.

To do so, Bofors came up with a design for a new SPG, which incorporated a 12cm cannon, whose design was heavily inspired by those used on destroyer vessels, along with a highly effective autoloading mechanism. The design was ready by the end of 1948 and a single prototype was constructed in the following year.

However, while test results didn’t seem to impress the Swedish military enough to consider placing an order for the vehicle, the factor that certainly sealed the vehicle’s fate for good was its price. Namely, being developed with the use of its own funding, Bofors had to demand a high production price for the vehicle, a price deemed too high by the Swedish military considering the vehicle’s most probable role being an infantry support vehicle.

As a result of the lacking interest, the SAV 20.12.48 never went into production. Despite its failure, the project wasn’t a complete loss for Bofors, as some of the experiences gained during its development later found application in other vehicles, such as the far more successful Strv 103.

In War Thunder, the SAV 20.12.48 will be one of the first Swedish ground units available to tankers upon the release of the upcoming update 1.95. Although the full Swedish ground forces tree will arrive to the game in one of the future updates, the SAV 20.12.48 will allow tankers to catch an early glimpse of what the Swedish ground tech has in store for them and gather some first impressions before the rest of the tree arrives in one of the next major updates.

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The SAV 20.12.48’s most standout feature is no doubt its massive 120mm cannon, dominantly protruding through the vehicle’s upper glacis plate. Besides the cannon itself being powerful, its effectiveness is further enhanced by the use of an autoloading mechanism, which gives the SAV 20.12.48 a mind-bogglingly fast reload of only 1.2 seconds per shot for the first 6 rounds of each magazine!

While firepower can definitely be considered as the SAV 20.12.48’s greatest advantage, its armor protection is the direct opposite of that. Being protected by only 30mm of armor plating at best, the SAV 20.12.48 is only really protected against low caliber machine gun fire and shrapnell, while anything greater than that might pose a serious threat to the vehicle and its crew’s well-being.

Pre-order - SAV 20.12.48 Pack
Pre-order - SAV 20.12.48 Pack
The Kit Includes:
  • SAV 20.12.48 (Rank 2 Sweden) - available after 1.95 update;
  • 1000 Golden Eagles;
  • Premium account for 7 days;
  • Pre-order bonus: unique "Sleipnir" decal;
  • Pre-order bonus: unique "Sleipnir" title
  • Ground vehicle CBT access will be in an upcoming updates.

On the other hand, having such light armor does mean that the vehicle’s weight was kept relatively low - at just around 20 tons. This relatively low weight in combination with a 400 horsepower engine gives the SAV 20.12.48 a very good power-to-weight ratio of 20 hp/t, in turn allowing the vehicle to reach a respectable top speed of 52 km/h and even 20 km/h in reverse, under ideal conditions. Therefore, commanders will be well advised to rely on the vehicle’s excellent mobility to keep them out of harm’s way and not rely on the armor to do much of the protection work.

The SAV 20.12.48 can be obtained as part of a special bundle in our online store and will become available to all its prospective owners with the release of the upcoming update 1.95 “Northern Wind”. In the meantime, be sure to stay tuned to the news in order not to miss out on any new information regarding the next major update, coming to the game very soon. Until then, happy hunting tankers!


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