Remnants of War: Stridsvagn 74 (Range Target)

Source: Michael Westlund

     The remains of a Swedish Stridsvagn 74 (Strv 74) alongside a gravel road on the Kosta Firing Range located within a Swedish military reservation. 

     The Strv 74 was, in a sense, a legacy tank as well as an attempt to modernize and compete with post-WW2 tank developments. The chassis of the Strv 74 was more or less a rebuilt version of the Stridsvagn m/42 chassis, a tank developed in 1941 and remained in service with the Swedish army (after acceptance) from 1943 to 1945. The turret, however, was new and featured a potent high-velocity 75mm gun paired with a fire-control system. At the same time as the Strv 74 was being developed, Sweden purchased 80 British Centurion Mk. 3 and 160 Centurion Mk.5 tanks in the 1950s, putting them in service as the Stridsvagn 81. Later, in 1958, the Swedish added another 110 Centurion Mk.10 tanks to their armored force as the Stridsvagn 101. Thus, the Strv 74 was seen only as an indigenously produced tank to supplement the purchased Centurion tanks rather than be the de-facto tank used by the Swedish. In all, 225 Strv 74 tanks were built, entering service in 1958 and being retired in 1984. Some Strv 74 turrets were used as static gun emplacements, the last of which were torn down in the early 2000s. 

     Even the casual observer would note the large profile of the turret in comparison to the chassis and Strv 74 crews nicknamed the tank "Sanslös" (meaning “Senseless”) as the tank would violently shake and rock if the gun was fired with the turret in the 3 o’clock or 9 o’clock position. 

     The upside down sign leaning against the hull reads “Spärrat Område: Blindgångare LIVSFARA!” which translates (more or less) as “Restricted Area: Unexploded Ordnance DANGER!”