Sweetness got some really awesome things about it
Not only is it great for its
Traditions and culture but within its military they have their own gear that is unique to the country and in this video
We are gonna look at Sweden's very own unique striven
122 main battle tank, which is one of the most impressive and heavily armored battle tanks in the entire world
How's it going? Everybody? What's going on
Dave Walpole here and welcome to FTD facts the channel where I look at people cultures and places from all around the world
And guess what? Yes
Even militaries and military gear and that's what we're gonna do today
now before we get in this video
Probably one of those important things if you love learning about military and all that sort of stuff you'll want to subscribe
Because that's what we do
well, that's what I've been doing quite a lot of but the most important thing if you guys are from Sweden well
Just let you know this is a continuation of our Sweden military playlist, which I'm gonna put it in the card
So at this video down in the description box below you can check it out at any time
But today we are gonna look at the street Vaughn 122
Which is literally one of the greatest battle tanks in the entire world, and I'm gonna ask the question
Is it better than the Abrams? Well, we all know the Abrams is a really fascinating tank
So let's learn as much as we can about this straight bond and you guys can answer the question down there in the comment section
Below now this straight von 122. Sure
It's unique to Sweden
But it's basically based on the leopard 2 or the leopard 2a5 which you could theoretically say the leopard
2a5 is kind of like Europe's main battle tank like everybody in Europe
Loves the leopard 2 and that would obviously be for the countries that do use main battle tanks
There are a lot in Europe that just say now we want Weald not tracked vehicles now prior to having the 122
Sweden had what was known as the straight bond
103 also known as the S tank and even before that they had the
Centurion the Centurion was made in service for Sweden from 1962 somewhere in the 1990s
Whereas the S. Tank was a turtle estanque operated from 1967 to
1997 and this is about the time they stood svan 122 came into play for Sweden
So why did they choose the leopard - Wow, let's be real during this time. Sweden was experimenting with many different tanks
Yes, they looked into the m1 Abrams
And yes, they even looked into the French Leclerc main battle tank but for Sweden
They just found that the leopard - and its design was perfect for what Sweden needed and therefore they decided to put their own
Spin on this and one of the main reasons why Sweden shows the leopard - is not only was its design pretty much perfect
But let's be real the cost of this tank was far less than the m1 Abrams and it fits Sweden's budget perfectly
so back in
1994 even though the S tank and the Centurion had many upgrades at the time Sweden was
Investigating these newer tanks to get in the game the leopard 2 had obviously been around since it was introduced in
1979 being produced by the cows Maathai company
But before the 122 had even come around Sweden had actually ordered
160 of Germany's old leopard 2a4 s in which these vehicles were named these Trig's von
121 in which this was the largest order?
Sweden's FMV had ever purchased
Equipment from a foreign supplier and as well when it comes to these hundred and 60 tanks 29 of them were
Constructed in Germany where the rest were constructed in Sweden under a new shared license
Interesting enough though Sweden didn't just purchase the leopard 2a4 s they also invested in the leopard
2a5 s which were newer and more improved the leopard 2a5 had major improvements such as an angled turret and many other major
modifications and when Sweden invested in this they added their own modifications
Thus creating the Striz von 122 which began service in
1997 and by the year 2002 the Swedish army had completed their batch of
122 s which came in at a hundred and twenty of them which by the way these didn't come cheap
As a matter of fact when it comes to the cost of these
122 s and 121 s it came to approximately
770 million dollars at the time so you might be thinking to yourself
where are these numbers currently - day by the year 2000 Sweden had a major reorganization of its army and with that the
122's proved to be more beneficial than the
121 s in which during that time the rest of the 121 s were put into storage and by the year?
2011 most of them were given back to Germany with Sweden keeping only
Approximately 12 of them as of 2014
I have no idea if they still have a couple of these 121 still lying around
I mean some of you military boys that might be watching
This video can fill me in down there in the comments section below without be greatly appreciated
But then again guys, I'm talking about the 122 not really the 121
I do mention the 121 because it is the prior version and it is also important as well
Speaking about these threads Vaughn 122. You might be wondering yourself
What does strands fun actually mean basically off of a loose translation? This means combat vehicle 122?
I know it's not really a creative title. However, a lot of people refer to these stewards Vaughn
122's as the leopard 2's, I guess the s being Swedish and with that of these
120 stewards Vaughn 122 s or leopard two S's
the country currently only has about 42 of these tanks in active duty that are spread between
Three companies two of these companies are in scars borg and the third one is in norrbotten
As a matter of fact, there's also a second variant of the 122 and that is the 122 B
This version has upgraded armor that was found needed after the conflicts learned from improvised
Explosive devices that were used by enemy forces in Afghanistan and Iraq to give you an idea
They installed composite armor that is aimed to deal with RPGs and is good for 360 degrees
So here's also a major question besides the m1 Abrams
Why is this particular vehicle better than something say as the two a6 that the dutch use or even?
The 2a v when it comes to the leopard 2s
It is considered the most armored version of a leopard 2 tank in the entire world
Not only does Sweden's leopard 2's have an improved fire control system and mechs asturian Armour in the front
That was from the 2a 5s. But also has a frontal hull and roof
That was adopted from the two a-sixes as well
These Trig's von 122 uses the French Galax smoke dispensers. And for those who are wondering where they are on the tank
They're those little tiny tubes that are on the side of the turret
They were also found in the French Leclerc tank within this vehicle
The crew space has also been upgraded with fiberglass to protect them from shrapnel as well
They haven't improved chemical biological radiological and nuclear defense system that protects the crew from those kind of attacks
But now let's look at some of the specifics
So the weight of a 122 is approximately sixty two point five tons the B
However is a little bit heavier by seven hundred and seventy pounds the length of this tank from back to barrel is
approximately nine point nine seven meters with a width of
3.75 meters and a height of 3 meters equally which gives this tank a low profile
however
it is not quite as low as other main battle tanks such as the Abrams the
Challenger or even the t90 within it there is a crew of four like most battle tanks today and as well
It has a 120 millimeter
Rheinmetall smoothbore gun barrel with approximately 42 rounds in one tank as well. It has two
7.62 machineguns with approximately 4,000 750 rounds the engine within this vehicle can go up to
1500 horsepower
With a power weight ratio of 24 horse powers per tonne like many other tanks in its class
It uses the Taurus and bar suspension. It has a fuel capacity of
1200 liters which I'm like wow
I wish my car had that much but then again my car would be giant and because of that it gives it an
operational range of
550 kilometres going at a max speed of 68 or 72 km/h
so here is where we get into some of the interesting aspects of whether or not it's better than the m1 Abrams or
Whether it's not basically in an intensive test from 1994 the leopard
2a5 prototype won competition against the
m1a2 abrams and even the french Leclerc and this was of course one of the major reasons why Sweden invested in this
particular tank
But one of the major issues that Sweden was really looking at when it came to buying this particular
Tank was cost for one of these individual units
It cost approximately five point seven four million u.s
Dollars compared to the m1 Abrams which is about six point seven one million u.s
So either way guys that is me looking at the facts of the Striz Vaughn
122 the question of whether or not one is better than the other
I mean realistically it's all about what Sweden needed and what they were looking for and it fit their requirements
But if you guys want to let me know how you feel about it
You guys can let me know down there in the comment section below
but doesn't that guys my name is Dave Wawa and for all you people out there if you guys want to learn more about
Sweden or sweet and military facts be sure to check out the playlist at the end of this video down in the description box or
Up in the boxes that are in this video, but thanks for watching
I'm Dave Wawa and I will see you guys later and don't forget to hit that subscribe button if it's your first time here
Okay, bye-bye
So, alright, here's those playlists that I was telling you about
You could check out this one here about
Sweden itself really great facts about the country you'd be surprised at what you don't know on the flip side of the coin though you
Can check out the military playlist where I've talked about many many many different departments
Such as the Navy the Air Force and all that sort of stuff
So check him out and you guys have yourself a good one. Bye