Landsverk L180, L181 and L182

Landsverk L-180

Landsverk L-180
Type Armored car
Place of origin  Sweden
Service history
In service 1933-1980s
Used by See Operators
Wars World War II
Production history
Designer AB Landsverk
Manufacturer AB Landsverk
Specifications
Weight 7,825 kg (17,251 lb)
Length 5.86 m (19.2 ft)
Width 2.24 m (7 ft 4 in)
Height 2.28 m (7 ft 6 in)
Crew 5 — commander, driver, gunner, artilleryman and loader
Armor 9mm front and sides, 5mm top, 15mm turret
Main
armament
 Bofors 37 mm or Madsen 20mm
Secondary
armament
 2 × Madsen 7.7mm
Engine Büssing-NAG L8V V8-cylinder petrol (L-180)
180 hp
Transmission 3-speed gearbox
Fuel capacity 120 liter
Operational
range
 288 km (179 mi)
Speed 80 km/h (50 mph)

The Landsverk L-180, L-181 and L-182 are a family of armored cars developed by the Swedish company AB Landsverk during the interwar years. They had a good international reputation for being fast, robust and reliable and were acquired in small numbers by Denmark, Estonia, Ireland and the Netherlands, among others.

Design

The different variants were similarly configured, but were built on different chassis; Büssing-NAG, Mercedes-Benz and Daimler-Benz truck chassis. (See Operators)

Armament

These vehicles were also similarly armed, most commonly with a Bofors 37 mm or 20 mm Madsen autocannon but was also manufactured with other similar guns. The only exception, Finland, bought one L-182 and armed it with a 13.2 mm L-35/36 machine gun. (See Operators)

Engine

In the same way, as several different chassis were used, different engines were also used, and where the make of the engine is known, they were manufactured by the same company as the chassis. (See Operators)

Operators

Country Branch Variant Quantity Chassis Engine Main armament Secondary armament Notes
 Denmark Danish Army
L-180
2[1]
 Büssing-NAG[1] Büssing V8-cyl., 160 HP[1] Madsen 20mm M 1933 L/60 cannon[1] 2 x Madsen 8 mm M 1924 type C machine guns[1]
 Estonia Tallinn Police[1]
L-180
1[1]
 Ireland Irish Army
L-180
8[1]
 Madsen 20mm cannon 2 x Madsen .303 machine guns
 Nazi Germany
L-180
 Büssing-NAG[1] Büssing V8-cyl., 160 HP[1] Madsen 20mm M 1933 L/60 cannon[1] 2 x Madsen 8 mm M 1924 type C machine guns[1] Captured Danish vehicles
Wehrmacht[2] Büssing-NAG[2] Bofors 37 mm gun[1][2] 3 x 7.92 mm Lewis machine guns[2] Captured Dutch vehicles[2]
 Netherlands Dutch Army
L-180
13[1]
 Büssing-NAG[2] Bofors 37 mm gun[1][2] 3 x 7.92 mm Lewis machine guns[2] 12 turrets delivered[1]
14 L-180 delivered[2]
 Soviet Union
L-180
 Captured Estonian vehicle?
 Sweden Swedish Army[1]
L-180
5[1]
 Bofors 20 mm akan m/40 cannon[1][3] 2 x Kulspruta m/36 machine guns[1] Ordered by Ireland but undelivered due to British blockade[1]
 Lithuania Lithuanian Army
L-181
6[4]
 Mercedes-Benz[4] Mercedes-Benz 6-cyl., 65 HP[4] Oerlikon 20 mm cannon[4] 2 x 7.92 mm Maxim machine guns[4]
 Nazi Germany Ordnungspolizei[2]
L-181
[2]
 Daimler-Benz G 3 a/P[2] Daimler-Benz M09 6-cyl., 80 HP Bofors 37 mm gun[2][4] 3 x 7.92 mm Lewis machine guns[2] Captured Dutch vehicles[2]
 Netherlands Dutch Army
L-181
12[4]
 Daimler-Benz G 3 a/P[2] Daimler-Benz M09 6-cyl. petrol, 80 HP[4] Bofors 37 mm gun[2][4] 3 x 7.92 mm Lewis machine guns[2]
 Soviet Union
L-181
 Mercedes-Benz[4] Mercedes-Benz 6-cyl., 65 HP[4] Oerlikon 20 mm cannon[4] 2 x 7.92 mm Maxim machine guns[4] Captured Lithuanian vehicles?
 Finland Finnish Army
L-182
1[5]
 Daimler-Benz[6] 13.2 mm L-35/36 machine gun[6]

20 mm L-39 anti-tank rifle[6]

 2 x 7.92 mm machine guns[5] or

2 x 7.62 mm L-33/36 machine gun and
1 x 7.62 mm Maxim AA machine gun [6]

 Crew: 4 (without rear driver)[5] or 5[6]

Service

The two L-180 ordered in 1935 and delivered in 1936, were used by the Army Technical Corps of the Danish Army under the designation FP-7 and FP-8.[1]

The only L-180 was acquired by Estonia in 1937, were used by the Tallinn Police.[1]

The L-182 was bought for testing[7] in 1936, it was used by the armored unit of the Ratsuväkiprikaati (English: Cavalry Brigade) and saw limited service in the Winter War. Next, the armored unit of 1. Divisioona (English: 1st Division) employed it, in the Continuation War in 1941, already with the original 13.2 mm L-35/36 machine gun replaced by the 20 mm L-39 anti-tank rifle, conversion made approximately in December 1940. It seems that the armored car was out of service in late 1941 and was scrapped in 1945.[6]

Ireland ordered its first two Landsverk L-180s in 1937 and these were delivered the following year. Six more were then ordered and they were delivered in 1939. A further five were ordered but could not be delivered because of the outbreak of the World War II, these five were used instead by the Swedish army. Irish Landsverk L-180s where armed with a Madsen 20mm Cannon and two Madsen .303 Machine Guns. The Madsen machine guns where replaced with .30 Browning machine guns in the 1950s and the 20mm cannon was replaced in the 1970s with Hispano-Suiza 20mm cannons take from former Irish Air Corps De Havilland Vampire jets. In the 1950s the Landsverks engines were replaced with 5,195cc Ford V8 type 317 petrol developing 155 hp at 3,200rpm. All Irish Landsverks belonged to the 1st Armoured Squadron and used alongside the Irish built Leyland and Dodge Armoured Cars until they re-equipped with Panhard AML armoured cars in 1972. The Landsverks were then transferred to the reserve FCA units, five going to the 11th Motor Squadron and three to the 3rd Motor Squadron until they were all retired in the 1980s.

Lithuanian Army L-181

The Lithuanian Army used the six L-181 ordered in 1933 and delivered in 1934.[4][8]

The L-180s from the Danish and Dutch armies were captured and used by the German Army for reconnaissance tasks, patrol and training, being called Panzerspähwagen L 202 (h).[2] The Dutch L-181s were also captured and put to service by the Ordnungspolizei for security duties.[2]

Dutch L-181 (Pantserwagen M.36)

The Dutch Army bought 13 L-180 in 1938,[1] although it could have been delivered 14 L-180, including two as armored command vehicles without armament.[2] From Landsverk AB were also purchased 12 turrets.[1] The command variant used two special turrets. The command vehicles were used on the two armored squadrons, with one vehicle each.[9] The L-180s were designated Pantserwagen M-38.[2] Netherlands also purchased 12 L-181[4] and designated them as Pantserwagen M-36.[2]

Swedish L-180 (Pbil m/41)

The five L-180 originally ordered by Ireland and not delivered, were used by the Swedish army under the designation Pansarbil m/41 (Pbil m/41). These vehicles had the Swedish-version of Landsverk Lynx turret with the Bofors 20 mm akan m/40 automatic cannon, instead of the Madsen automatic cannon on Irish vehicles or the more common turret armed with a Bofors 37 mm gun.[3]

Probably the armored cars from Estonia and Lithuania were captured during the Soviet occupation of 1940.

Landsverk in Dutch museum

The Dutch Cavalry Museum in Amersfoort has a Landsverk L-180 in its collection.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Landsverk L-180.

See also

Landsverk L-185 — A similar armored car from Landsverk.

References

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 "Landsverk L-180". Landsverk. Retrieved 2012-05-18.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 Regenberg, pp. 8–9
  3. 1 2 "Sweden". Tanks!. Retrieved 2012-05-20.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 "Landsverk L-181". Landsverk. Retrieved 2012-05-18.
  5. 1 2 3 "Landsverk L-182". Landsverk. Retrieved 2012-05-18.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "FINNISH ARMY 1918 - 1945: HEAVY ARMOURED CARS". Jaeger Platoon. Retrieved 2012-05-18.
  7. ↑ "Finland". Tanks!. Retrieved 2012-05-20.
  8. ↑ "Lithuania". Tanks!. Retrieved 2012-05-20.
  9. ↑ "The Netherlands". Tanks!. Retrieved 2012-05-20.
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