Mowag Pirat

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MOWAG Pirat IFV

Mowag 3M1 Pirat 18.jpg

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.

Infantry tank type of tank designed to support infantry-soldiers in an attack

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.

History and Development

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.

Saurer Tartaruga

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.

Mowag 3M1 Pirat

The armored MOWAG 3M1 Pirat is a armored personal carrier of the company Mowag from Switzerland.

One of these tanks is now in the Full Military museum and one in the tank museum in Thun. [1] [2]

Schweizerisches Militärmuseum Full museum in Full-Reuenthal (Switzerland)

The Schweizerisches Militärmuseum Full is the Swiss military museum, located in Full-Reuenthal, canton Aargau.

Thun Place in Bern, Switzerland

Thun is a town and a municipality in the administrative district of Thun in the canton of Bern in Switzerland with about 43,783 inhabitants, as of 31 December 2013.

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References

  1. Militärmuseum Full Switzerland
  2. Marcus Bauer, Nutzfahrzeuge der MOWAG Motorwagenfabrik AG, Fachpresse Goldach, Hudson & Company, 1996 ISBN   9783857380563