MOWAG Pirat IFV | |
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MOWAG Pirat at Military Museum Thun | |
Type | Infantry fighting vehicle / Armored Personnel Carrier |
Place of origin | Switzerland |
Production history | |
Manufacturer | MOWAG factory Kreuzlingen |
Produced | 1960 - 1975 |
No. built | 11 |
Variants | Military version, Police version |
Specifications | |
Weight | 18,000 kg (40,000 lb) |
Length | 6.10 m (240 in) |
Width | 2.90 m (114 in) |
Height | 1.80 m (71 in) |
Crew | 12: driver, commander, gunner and 9 grenadier troopers |
Main armament | 1x 20mm automatic cannon Oerlikon |
Secondary armament | 48mm rocket launcher. |
Engine | Ford 4 cylinder gasoline Displacement 8750 cm³ 225 kW |
Transmission | Manual gearbox 6 forward gears 2 reverse gears |
Operational range | 500 km (310 mi) |
Speed | 70 km/h (43 mph) |
The MOWAG Pirat is an armored Infantry tank made by the Swiss company MOWAG.
The infantry tank was a concept developed by the United Kingdom and France in the years leading up to World War II. Infantry tanks were designed to support infantrymen in an attack. To achieve this, the vehicles were generally heavily armoured to allow them to operate in close concert with infantry even under heavy fire. The extra armour came at the expense of speed, which was not an issue when supporting relatively slow-moving foot soldiers.
Eleven prototypes in different versions were built from 1960 - 1975. Together with the Saurer Tartaruga the MOWAG Pirat was tested by the Swiss Army. But the Army decided to buy the American M113 insted, which was originally not seen as a suitable contender. The MOWAG Pirat was the prototype of the later Mowag 3M1 Pirat.
The Saurer Tartaruga (Turtle) was a prototype of an armored personnel carrier from the Adolph Saurer AG. The Saurer Tartaruga was built in 1959. Together with the Mowag Pirat it was tested by the Swiss Army. But unexpectedly the Swiss Army decided to buy the American M113. A prototype is now in the Thun tank museum.
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