Bandkanon 1

15,5 cm bandkanon 1 / Bofors VK 155 L/50
Type - Self-propelled artillery
Place of origin - Sweden
Service history
In service - 1967-2003
Production history
Designer - Bofors
No. built - 26
Variants - 1A, 1C
Specifications
Mass - 52 tonnes (114,639 lbs) (bkan 1A) / 53 tonnes (116,843 lbs) (bkan 1C)
Length - 6.55 m (21 ft 6 in) . 11 m (36 ft 1 in)including gun
Width - 3.37 m (11 ft 1 in)
Height - 3.55 m (11 ft 8 in) . 3.85 m (12 ft 8 in) including AAMG
Crew - 5
Armor - 20 mm (.78 in) maximum
Main armament - 155 mm kanon m/60
Secondary armament - 7.62 mm ksp 58
Engine - Diesel: Rolls-Royce K60; 240 hp (180 kW) (bkan 1A) / Detroit 6V-53T; 290 hp (220 kW) (bkan 1C ) // Gas turbine: Boeing 502-10MA; 300 hp (220 kW) (both)
Power/weight - 10.38 hp/tonne (bkan 1A) . 11.13 hp/tonne (bkan 1C)
Suspension - hydro-pneumatic
Operational range - 230 km (143 mi)
Maximum speed - 28 km/h (17 mph)

Bandkanon 1 (officially 15,5 cm bandkanon 1, abbr. 15,5 cm bkan 1, lit. "15.5 cm (6.1 in) tracked cannon 1") was a Swedish self-propelled artillery vehicle in use with the Swedish Army from 1967 to 2003 developed by Aktiebolaget Bofors. Its product name was Bofors Vagnkanon 155 mm L/50, abbr. VK 155 L/50, meaning "Tracked Automotive Gun 155 mm L/50" (terminological translation) or "Wagon Cannon 155 mm L/50" (literal translation). Bkan 1 was one of the world's heaviest and most powerful (in terms of volume of fire) self-propelled artillery vehicles in use during its service.
It had a 155 mm autocannon with an exceptionally high rate of fire, being able to fire 14 shells in less than 45 seconds. With one round already loaded in the gun beside the two seven-round clips in the magazine, the rate of fire rose to an official world record of 15 rounds in 45 seconds. The magazine could then be reloaded with a built-in hoist in about 2 minutes.
Each shell had a weight of 47 kg and a tactical range of 28 km.
Its chassis was based on a lengthened Stridsvagn 103 with one extra road wheel. The first variant, the Bkan 1A, used the same engine as the first Strv 103's and was thus somewhat under powered since that engine was designed to drive a 30-ton tank unlike the Bkan 1 which weighed over 50 tons. Despite this its mobility was more than adequate for its role as an artillery piece.
Use
The plan was to produce about 70 vehicles, but due to cuts in defence budget only 26 bandkanon 1s were manufactured. They were used as divisional artillery in Norrland, used by Boden Artillery Regiment and later Norrbotten Regiment. They were organized in two battalions of 12 vehicles each until the late 1980s and after that, three battalions of 8 vehicles each until the bandkanon 1 was discontinued in 2003.
History
Development of what would become the bkan 1 started at the end of the 1940s but it was not until the 1950s when development really took off. When the KRV tank project was cancelled it was decided that one of the prototype chassises (developed by AB Landsverk) was to be repurposed as the prototype of the new self-propelled gun under the designation Artillerikanonvagn 151 (Akv 151), translating to "Artillery cannon wagon 151", the number 151 meaning 1st vehicle with a gun in the 15 cm caliber category. The chassis was reversed so the rear became the new front and an oscillating gun turret constructed by AB Bofors was fitted at the back (prior front). As the concept seemed promising, the self-propelled gun was re-designed by Landsverk under supervision of the Royal Swedish Army Materiel Administration to use the same drive train as the S-tank to speed up production. Bandkanon 1 appeared in two versions, the original version was Bandkanon 1 (later designated Bandkanon 1A). After modification done to the vehicle during the 1980s, the new version was designated Bandkanon 1C. The main difference was the introduction of a drive train more similar to the one introduced on the new "C" version of Stridsvagn 103, other modifications were the removal of the built-in ammunition crane and the introduction of the POS 2 system for navigation, positioning and directing.