Bandvagn 202
Encyclopedia
Bolinder-Munktell
AB Bolinder-Munktell was a tractor and machines manufacturer founded in Eskilstuna, Sweden in 1932 through the merger of the mechanical companies Bolinder and Munktell...
, a subsidiary of Volvo
Volvo
AB Volvo is a Swedish builder of commercial vehicles, including trucks, buses and construction equipment. Volvo also supplies marine and industrial drive systems, aerospace components and financial services...
, for the Swedish Army
Swedish Army
The Swedish Army is one of the oldest standing armies in the world and a branch of the Swedish Armed Forces; it is in charge of land operations. General Sverker Göranson is the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Army.- Organization :...
.
The vehicle is formed of two rubber Kegresse track units with a multi-directional pivot in between. The front unit contains the engine and gearbox through which power is delivered to the front and, via a propshaft in the pivot mechanism, the rear tracks. A hydraulic ram on the pivot "bends" the vehicle in the middle to steer it - there is no braking of track units for steering as on conventional tracklaying vehicles. The controls are a conventional steering wheel on the left hand front of the vehicle.
The Bv 202 carries driver and commander in the front unit and 8 troops in the trailer unit. It can be adapted for other, different, applications.
Production started in Arvika
Arvika
Arvika is a locality and the seat of Arvika Municipality, Värmland County, Sweden with 14,184 inhabitants in 2005.-Geography:The town of Arvika is situated at Kyrkviken, a bay of Glafsfjorden, Sweden's only inland fjord, a remnant of the time following the last ice age .The area is hilly with the...
in 1964 and ended in 1981. The Bv 202 has since been succeeded by the Hägglunds Bandvagn 206
Bandvagn 206
Bandvagn 206 is a tracked articulated, all-terrain carrier developed by Hägglunds for the Swedish Army. It consists of two units, with all four tracks powered...
.
The Bv 202 was designed to transport troops and equipment through snow or bog
Bog
A bog, quagmire or mire is a wetland that accumulates acidic peat, a deposit of dead plant material—often mosses or, in Arctic climates, lichens....
lands in the northern parts of Sweden. The last Swedish units to use this vehicle was the Cavalry
Norrlands dragonregemente
Norrlands dragonregemente , also K 4 or K 8, was a Swedish Army cavalry regiment located in the province of Lappland that traces its origins back to the 17th century. It is still in active service.- History :...
, who found that the manual gearbox Bv 202 was much quieter than the automatic transmission Bv 206.
The Mk1 Bv 202 is powered by a 82.5 bhp Volvo B18
Volvo B18 engine
This B18 was a straight-4 automobile engine produced by Volvo Cars from 1961 through 1968. The five-bearing, cam-in-block engine, had OHV overhead valves operated by pushrods. The B18 is quite different in design from its predecessor, the three-bearing B16....
, the MK2 by the 97 bhp B20. It has less ground pressure
Ground pressure
Ground pressure is the pressure exerted on the ground by the tires or tracks of a motorized vehicle, and is one measure of its potential mobility, especially over soft ground. Ground pressure is measured in pascals which corresponds to the EES unit of pounds per square inch...
than a skier and is fully amphibious
Amphibious vehicle
An amphibious vehicle , is a vehicle or craft, that is a means of transport, viable on land as well as on water – just like an amphibian....
.
The Bv 202 was used by NATO forces, and replaced the older Swedish Snow Trac
Snow Trac
The Snow Trac is a small personal Snowcat that is roughly the size of a modern compact car.-Origins and description:In 1954, Lars Larsson, the chief design engineer for a Swedish farm equipment company, AB Westeråsmaskiner, decided to develop a tracked vehicle to take him and his brother on fishing...
ST4 Over-snow Vehicle which was employed by the British Royal Marines under NATO.
Operators
- replaced by Bv 206 and Sisu NasuSisu Nasu
The Nasu is a tracked articulated, all-terrain transport vehicle developed by Sisu Auto for the Finnish Army. It consists of two units, with all four tracks powered. It can carry up to 17 people, although the trailer unit can be adapted for different applications...
- replaced "ST4 Snow Trac Over-snow Vehicle" and subsequently replaced by Bv 206