swiss armoured car Mowag Shark GDD-BOE, Armoured car with some bite

CaID · February 16, 2023

i would like to make a suggestion for an Swiss armoured car, one of the best of the Swiss armoured car ever built. the mowag Shark with GDD-BOE

THe Mowag Shark is a surprising large family of armoured car the was designed by Mowag in 1978 and the first prototype built in 1981. presented as basically a enlarged version of the Mowag Piranha 8X8 with more protection. the Shark was intended to be a wheeled tank and not really a IFV or APC like the piranha. more particularly for tank destroying role but also offer a large versatility of role due to the many turret that could be fitted. the chassis alone weight 16 tonnes and if intended to carry a turret up to 6 tonnes to give a weight of 22 tonnes but the weight was carefully studied to give an optimal agility with a 5 tonnes turret (the center of gravity would be in the exact center of the vehicle). the Shark feature a high quality suspension and high protection. but this come to a cost which was the price itself. the Shark was much more expensive than the Piranha who was often capable to carry the same turret. despite of a high publicity campaign, and trial in different country including Germany, Canada and Switzerland, no order came for the Shark. 3 prototype was built from 1981 to 1983 and the mass-production was ready in July 1983 but this production never took place.

in this suggestion we will focus more precisely on the Mowag Shark GDD-BOE. this version appear to be the initial version of this vehicle and presented for the first time in 1981. presented in Paris for the first time, this turret was less impressive than the fallowing turret and was making the vehicles more suited for reconnaissance than anything else. the armament was reported to be a 35mm by certain source but also a 30mm from the museum board. the visual identification point toward a 35 mm Oerlikon KDE as mounted on the Japanese Type 89 IFV. fallowing the presentation of the Shark with the Oerlikon-Burhle GDD-BOE turret, the vehicle was refitted with the FL-12 turret from Five-Lille.

Firepower

The main armament is likely a 35 mm Oerlikon KDE. this is yet to be confirm as there is little information about the turret that had been found on my end. we can still be expect the turret to have basic IFV performance for the late 70s and early 80s, which should include laser rangefinder, stabilization, night vision, and possibly a thermal. the elevation is likely around. the elevation is probably around +35/-10 but i would not make any guess on the transverse speed as it can range from 24°/sec to 90°/sec. the armament is feed by two link of 17 round each to allow the gun to reload while shooting and the fire-rate is selectable between 200 round or 550 rounds minutes.

+ Laser rangefinder

+ Night vision

35 mm Oerlikon KDE
Capacity (magazine)		firerate	Vertical	Horizontal	Stabilizer	Rotation speed (°/sec)	Reload (sec)
? (17 x 2)		200-550	-10°/+35°	±180°	Probably Two-Plane	?	0.90

Penetration statistics
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Penetration @ 0° Angle of Attack (mm)
Ammunition	Type of warhead	10 m	100 m	500 m	1,000 m	1,500 m	2,000 m
DM23	APDS	127	125	119	111	104	97
DM11A1	HE*	5	5	5	5	5	5

Shell details
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Velocity (m/s)	Projectile Mass (kg)	Fuse delay (m)	Fuse sensitivity (mm)	Explosive Mass (TNT equivalent) (g)	Ricochet
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Velocity (m/s)	Projectile Mass (kg)	Fuse delay (m)	Fuse sensitivity (mm)	Explosive Mass (TNT equivalent) (g)	0%	50%	100%
DM23	APDS	1,400	0.38	N/A	N/A	N/A	75°	78°	80°
DM11A1	HE*	1,175	0.55	0	0.1	204	79°	80°	81°

Mobility

the Shark is powered by a General Motors Detroit Diesel 8V-71 T developing 530 hp at 2500 rpm. this was intended to give a power weight of 25 hp/ton at the weight of 21 tonnes. the shark is designed to offer a high speed on rough terrain with a top speed of 80 km/h off-road and climb very sharp slope of 70% angle. that mean that the Shark was basically capable to hunt his target on any terrain. the Allison automatic box model HT-750 DRD off a 5 forward speed and 1 backward. it is coupled with an auxiliary two-speed transfer box and four self-locking differentials that can be coupled, two to two or all four, pneumatically by the driver depending on the terrain conditions or driving needs. the centre of gravity with a 5 tonnes turret was carefully studied to be placed at exactly 1.25m from the ground right between the 2nd and 3rd axes, which is basically the centre of the vehicle. each wheel have independent suspension. the two middle axes aren't steerable; their suspension is build with shock absorbers and their wheels beign mounted on oscillating arms connected to torsion bar. the first and last are steerable and hydraulically assisted. they are having suspension by wishbone, oversized helical spring and hydraulic damper. the prototype was fitting Michelin 13.00 x 20 tubeless tires

Max Speed (km/h)		Weight (tons)	Engine power (horsepower)		Power-to-weight ratio (hp/ton)
Forward	Reverse	Weight (tons)	530		25.24
100	20 ?	21

Protection

The protection of the Shark was intended to allow it to be used fairly close to the battlefield. but retaining a good weight which was carefully studied to give a perfect balance on the vehicle. the armour was offering a protection against 14.5mm KPV armour piercing round or 155mm HE round at 10m on all side. the armour was build with high-resistance armour plates and sloped on all side to improve the protection while retaining a light weight. this make the chassis have a a protection similar to the Italian Centuro B1 (without add-on armour). this make this vehicle have the protection similar to a light tank except certain tank like the Russian BMP who have rather terrible armour. in the case of the GDD-BOE turret been mounted, the crew include 3 men and for additional protection, the vehicles have 6 smoke launcher. the turret was probably built with he same requirement of protection as the chassis. but little details in known

* this fallowing armour thickness is estimated based on the protection efficiency reported and knowing the armour been made of HHRhA

Armour

Front

Sides

Rear

Roof

Hull

20 mm (30°) upper glassis
20 mm (40°) lower glassis

20 mm (60°) top
20mm (60°) bottom

30mm (0°) under the tower

20 mm (50°) bottom

25 mm (20°) top

12 mm

Turret

?

Cupola

?

Specifications
Mass	21 tonnes (assumed)
Length	7.52 m
Width	3.00 m
Height	1.90 m without turret
Crew	3

Armour	against 14.5mm AP round on all side (chassis)
Main armament	35 mm 35 mm Oerlikon KDE
Secondary armament	1x LMG (Swiss standard are MG 51, one coaxial)
Engine	General Motors Detroit Diesel 8V-71 T developping 530 hp at 2500 rpm
Suspension	varipous, depending of the wheels
Ground clearance	450 mm
Maximum speed	100 km/h (60 mph) , off-road: 80 km/h (48 mph)