The track arrangement was redesigned to allow for more ground contact through extending track length and wider track plates. Pz 68 models directly succeeded the Pz 61 line.īetween the Pz 61 and Pz 68 offerings, the latter brought about use of an all-new main gun stabilization system which sought to improve both first-shot/first kill probability and firing on-the-move. Armor protection remained Rolled Homogenous Armor (RHA) measuring some 120mm thick at critical facings. Performance included a top road speed of 34 miles per hour and an operational road range out to 120 miles. The 45-ton Pz 68 retained the 105mm L7 rifled main gun and was now powered by an MTU 8-cylinder diesel engine. These served the Swiss Army into 2003 before the line was formally replaced by German Leopard 2 Main Battle Tanks. Production then began in 1971 and spanned into 1983 to which 390 total units were delivered. It was only natural for the series to be refined and improved yet again and this begat the Panzer 68 which saw design in the 1960s and produced the first pilot vehicle in 1968. All tanks were produced locally by Eidgenossische Konstruktionswerkstatte of Thun and powered by Mercedes-Benz diesel engines. The 43-ton Pz 61 improved both the range and speed of the original Pz 58 and fielded the excellent British 105mm Royal Ordnance L7 rifled main gun to content with the latest in Soviet armor. The Pz 61 was produced through 150 examples and these saw service into 1994. The series entered service in 1958 and was out in 1964 as thought gave way to a more refined form in the Panzer 61 of 1965. Thus began an oft-overlooked Cold War-era indigenous tank initiative which produced the short-lived 38-ton Panzer 58 (Pz 58) appearing in 10 pre-production forms as well as two earlier prototypes. The Korean War (1950-1953) tied up major Western powers both logistically and politically leaving nations such as Switzerland to seek alternative avenues for modernizing their armored corps.
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