EKT Brückenlegepanzer 68/88

     Notes:  In the original design for the BruPz, the AVLB was meant to be based on the Pz-61 MBT.  There were, however, considerable design and production delays, and when it came time for a prototype, the Pz-68 MBT became available.  SW dispensed with the original design and based it on the chassis of the more powerful Pz-68 instead.  There have been no export sales, and Switzerland has never put it on the export market.  Germany offers the bridge and bridgelaying machinery for export along with its own design, but no sales of the Swiss-designed system have been sold.

     The turret is removed and replaced with a single-span bridge and laying machinery.  The bridge and bridgelaying machinery were designed by SW, but used a German Jung-Jungenthal design as a base, the one used on German conversions of the Leopard 1 and M-48 in their conversions to the AVLB role.  The bridge has a weight of 9.8 tons, has a length of 18.23 meters, and can carry 60 tons in an emergency, though Swiss regulations normally limit the load carried to 50 tons.  The trackway is 3.55 meters wide. The laying and recovery is fully automatic once started and can be done without the crew leaving the vehicle or unbuttoning.  The laying and recovering system is completely hydraulic, powered by a power take-off from the engine. The bridge takes 2 minutes to lay and 5 minutes to recover.  The bridge is deployed by the bridge operator sliding a beam across the gap to be crossed, then using it as a guide rod to lay the bridge.

     The BruPz-68/88 is not normally armed as a part of the vehicle, except for the personal weapons of the crew and one infantry-type machinegun on a bipod for the commander.  The crew also has 20 grenades as part of its basic load, like most armored vehicles. The driver is in front behind a large windshield in the front to keep the driver from being sprayed by water or mud.  He is otherwise in a normal driver’s type compartment, with vision blocks and a hatch.  The driver is in the same center front of the hull, with three vision blocks; the center one of the driver can be replaced with a night vision block. The commander and bridge operator are seated side by side in the center of the hull; the commander has vision blocks on all but the right side, and the bridge operator has vision blocks to all but the left side. The bridge operator is to the rear of the commander; he has a simple hatch and vision blocks that are high enough to allow him to deploy the bridge from inside the vehicle with the hatch closed. A fourth crewmember is in the hull; he also has high vision blocks, and can assist the bridge operator or get out of the vehicle and be employed as a spotter. There are small storage at each crew position for the storage of personal gear. There are four smoke grenade launchers on each side of the glacis.  The BruPz-68/88 has a vehicular collective NBC system, as well as a heater. 

 

     The chassis is almost unchanged from that of the Pz-68, with an MTU MB-837 diesel developing 660 horsepower.  The transmission is semiautomatic and allows the driver to pick a gear without pushing a clutch pedal, but is not fully automatic. The BruPz-68/88 has a Bellville-type suspension and each roadwheel is independently sprung, giving a decent ride.  The 68/88 improvements gave the bridge its fully hydraulic bridge deployment mechanism, and several other engine, transmission, and electrical improvements, which are not important for game purposes.

Price

Fuel Type

Load

Veh Wt

Crew

Mnt

Night Vision

Radiological

314,569

D, A

600 kg

47 tons

4

33

Passive IR (D)

Shielded

 

Tr Mov

Com Mov

Fuel Cap

Fuel Cons

Config*

Susp

Armor

120/84

33/23

855

243

CiH

T6

TF4  TS4  TR4  HF43  HS13  HR8*

 

Fire Control

Stabilization

Armament

Ammunition

None

None

M-51 (C)

1000x7.5mm

*The bridge has an AV-4.  When the bridge is mounted, the Config is CiH, though no crew hits are possible is the bridge is hit.  When the bridge is deployed, the vehicle has a Config of Stnd, and the bridge must be targeted independently.

 

EKT Entpannungspanzer 65/88

     Notes: Similar to the story of the BruPz, the EntpPz was originally to be based on the chassis of the Pz-61 MBT.  Long lags in development, prototyping, and production led to the adoption of the Pz-68 chassis instead of the older Pz-61. The EntpPz-68 is not only used to recover and repair the Pz-61 and Pz-68, but also the M-109 and the Swiss variant of the Leopard 2.

     The hull is of sheets of steel, with the crew at the front and the engine at the rear.  The crew has a door on the left side of the hull towards the front, and there are hatches for the driver and commander on the front deck.  To the rear of the driver is a second cupola for the crane operator.  The commander's cupola is armed with an M-51. The rear area is mostly open, with sides of sheet steel. 

     The driver is in the front left, and he has three vision blocks; the center one can be exchanged for a night vision block. The commander is behind him and on the right.  The crane operator's cupola has all-around vision blocks, as does the commander.  The commander also has two vision blocks on the front of the hull at the top of the glacis. The crane operator’s position faces to the rear and is behind the driver. The driver and crane operator have armored enclosures consisting of AV2 gun shields, though the bridge operators gun shields may be easily removed to give him more visibility for operating the crane.  (The gun shields are not normally mounted in peacetime.) The driver is in the same center front of the hull, with three vision blocks; the center one can be replaced with a night vision block. Four smoke grenade launchers are found on the front left side, and are launched over the front of the vehicle. The crew compartment has an NBC overpressure suite and a heater. The crew has a small computer with most tech manuals of most Swiss Army vehicles, as well as large caliber guns used by those vehicles.  There are two clusters of five smoke grenade launchers on each side of the glacis. In the crew compartment of the vehicle is an 18-liter drinking water tank.

     The main winch has 120 meters of cable and has a capacity of 25 tons, or 75 tons with block and tackle.  The auxiliary winch has 240 meters of cable and has a capacity of 10 tons.  On top of the vehicle is an A-frame crane with a capacity of 15 tons, enough to lift the complete turret of most vehicles in Swiss service.  At each base of the A-frame is a hydraulic jack, used to make minor adjustments while lifting. At the front is a dozer blade for bracing, and with a secondary purpose of digging vehicular fighting positions. The Entp Pz 65/88 is normally equipped with excavating tools, basic tools, tracked vehicle tools, wheeled vehicle tools, welding gear, an air compressor, a tow bar, and various ropes, chains, and pulleys.

     Being a subtype of the Pz-68, the EntpPz-68 is powered with an MTU MB-837 diesel developing 660 horsepower.  An auxiliary power unit is used to power the tools at a halt and develops 28.3kW. The transmission is semiautomatic and allows the driver to pick a gear without pushing a clutch pedal, but is not fully automatic. The BruPz-68/88 has a Bellville-type suspension and each roadwheel is independently sprung, giving a decent ride.  The 68/88 improvements gave the bridge its fully hydraulic bridge deployment mechanism, and several other engine, transmission, and electrical improvements, which are not important for game purposes.

 

Price

Fuel Type

Load

Veh Wt

Crew

Mnt

Night Vision

Radiological

$703,021

D, A

6 tons

39.8 tons

5

31

Passive IR (D)

Shielded

 

Tr Mov

Com Mov

Fuel Cap

Fuel Cons

Config

Susp

Armor

135/95

38/26

870

244

Stnd

T6

HF43  HS13  HR8*

 

Fire Control

Stabilization

Armament

Ammunition

None

None

M-51 (C)

3200x7.5mm

*The rearmost working area has no roof and therefore no roof AV.  The dozer blade can protect the front and has an AV of 4Sp.