Stridsvagn 74
In service 1958 - 1984
Sweden's wartime Strv m/42 rebuilt with a new high-elevation turret, designed to fire from behind Swedish hills and forest crests.
Built byLandsverk
Development history
Sweden entered the 1950s with the domestic Strv m/42 and no money to replace the whole fleet, so 225 hulls were rebuilt as the Strv 74 with an entirely new welded turret carrying a long 75 mm gun. The gun's unusually high elevation was deliberate: Swedish defensive doctrine expected tanks to fight from reverse slopes and forest edges, and the turret could also engage at steep angles in hilly terrain. The vehicles served through the Centurion and S-tank years as a second-line and training type, finally retiring in 1984. Several are preserved at Arsenalen in Strangnas.
Notable actions
- Cold War service (Swedish neutrality)