History[]
The Stridsvagn 103 (Strv 103), also known as the S-Tank, was a Swedish post-war main battle tank. It was known for its unconventional turretless design, with a fixed gun traversed by engaging the tracks and elevated by adjusting the hull suspension. Turretless armored fighting vehicles are usually classified as assault guns or tank destroyers, but the Strv 103 is considered a main battle tank because of its gun laying ability and its designated combat role matches those of other tanks. It is the only main battle tank and the only tank of any kind since the World War II era to dispense with a turret. The Strv 103 was designed and manufactured in Sweden. It was developed in the 1950's and was the first main battle tank to use a turbine engine. The result was a very low-profile design with an emphasis on defense and heightened crew protection level. The Strv 103 formed a major portion of the Swedish armored forces from the 1960's to part of the 1990's, but have since been removed from service in favor of the Stridsvagn 122, a Swedish variant of the German Leopard 2 main battle tank.
Gameplay[]
The Strv-103 is a one in a kind “tank” and is the only vehicle in-game that can manipulate its suspension to angle its armor. The role of the Strv 103 is best for defense and sniping. The Strv 103 is meant to have a defensive role despite its label as Main battle Tank due to its cheesewedge design which allows the vehicle to hide its weak point which is the lower hull on a slope or hill, which allows for HEAT rounds to be ineffective. The Strv 103 shines with its 1.5 second reload allowing it to hold a position and mow down tanks in its FOV. The Strv 103 is decently used as a sniper because of its low profile, high speeds, and accurate gun if you are using APDS but when facing lighter armored targets you will have to engage in medium to close range. In Tanktastic the control scheme of the vehicle prevents it to reliably aim on the move forcing it to stay in a general location and camp. If the Strv 103 encounters an enemy while moving it will take time to stop the tank to aim and move the hull down, the recent auto aim update aids this process a bit better. The main downfall of the vehicle is it’s turretless design once a enemy flanks you the Strv 103 must turn the whole vehicle to face the opponent and the controls for it lock up when turning the tank, the vehicle also can’t withstand APDS and once you level the tank higher the armor will crack once facing opponents of higher tiers.
Pros and Cons[]
Pros
- Low profile
- Decent damage per shot
- High top speed
- Defends well against HEAT
- Heavily sloped front armor can repel most shots.
- Superb reload time being 1.5 secs making it an auto cannon.
- Excellent reverse speed allows it to virtually reach the same speed as driving forwards allowing players to back out of bad situations quickly.
- Oddly has the ability to drop mines, best used for defending a flag.
Cons
- Weak side armor
- Turretless
- Weird control scheme makes aiming very odd to aim and move making it best to use as defensive vehicle
- Cannot shoot on the move
- Long set up period to stop the tank to aim at an incoming target.
- No access to HE ammuntion making it difficult to reliably splash and damage soft armored targets as HEAT ammunition has a high chance to repel.
- Accuracy changes between APDS, AP, and HEAT. APDS accuracy being near pinpoint while HEAT accuracy being mediocre.