This is a Stridsvagn 74 Light Tank, it’s a military vehicle built by AB Landsverk in Landskrona, Sweden in the late 1940s as the Strv m/42, then upgraded to Strv 74 light tank configuration in the late 1950s.
At the moment the tank isn’t operational and will require recommissioning. It’s powered by a pair of Scania-Vabis 607 inline-six gasoline engines which power the tracks through a 5-speed manual transmission.
Above Image: This is the first in a series of episodes from The Chieftain about the Stridsvagn 74 and it makes fascinating viewing for those with an interest in military hardware engineering.
The Stridsvagn 74 was developed as a series of upgrades of the Strv m/42 light tank from the late 1940s. Rather than develop a whole new tank, the Swedish engineers at AB Landsverk designed a new turrent, added some new weapons to it, and wider tracks were installed.
The original pair of engines were also removed and replaced with a more powerful pair of 8.5 liter Scania-Vabis 607 truck engines bringing the top speed up to 45 kilometers per hour (28 mph) with an average range of 200 km/124.3 miles.
Approximately 225 examples of the Stridsvagn 74 were built between 1958 and 1960, and they remained in service until well into the 1980s in various roles. Interestingly, after the tanks themselves were decommissioned, their turrets were removed and used as static gun pillboxes – remaining in service in this role until into the early 2000s.
The Stridsvagn 74 you see here was on display at the American Armored Foundation Museum in Danville, Virginia for over 20 years. When the museum closed earlier in 2024 it was bought by the current owner (now seller) as a non-running project.
The turret is no longer equipped with its electrically powered traverse and the main gun is no longer present – a steel tube and faux mantlet are instead positioned at the front of the turret to replicate the original barrel.
The driver sits on the front left, with the hand and foot controls in front of them, along with the gauges, and visibility through an openable hatch.
The hull has twin “blast panels” designed to shield the grilles from nuclear attack and the tank rides on torsion bar suspension, with cast-steel tracks running on six road wheels per side. Inside you’ll find space for four people, the driver sits at the front left, and the rest of the crew sits up higher in the turret to operate the weaponry.
This Stridsvagn 74 is now being offered for sale out of Taft, California, with a bill of sale. It’s listed on Bring a Trailer and you can visit the listing here if you’d like to read more or register to bid.
Images courtesy of Bring a Trailer
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Silodrome was founded by Ben back in 2010, in the years since the site has grown to become a world leader in the alternative and vintage motoring sector, with well over a million monthly readers from around the world and many hundreds of thousands of followers on social media.
