Bandvagn 202


Bandvagn 202 is an amphibious oversnow tracked articulated, all-terrain vehicle developed by Bolinder-Munktell, a subsidiary of Volvo, for the Swedish Army in the early 1960s.

Description

The vehicle is formed by 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. It can reach a speed of 35 km/h on land and on water.
The Bv 202 carries a driver and a commander in the front unit and up to eight troops or 800 kg in the trailer unit. It can be adapted for other applications.
Production started in Arvika in 1964 and ended in 1981. The Bv 202 has since been succeeded by the Bandvagn 206, originally designed and built by Swedish engineering company Hägglund & Söner and now produced by BAE Systems AB.
The Mk1 Bv 202 is powered by an Volvo B18, the MK2 by the B20. It has less ground pressure than a skier and is fully amphibious.

Operational history

The Bv 202 was used by NATO forces, and replaced the older Swedish Snow Trac ST4 Over-snow Vehicle, which was employed by the British Royal Marines under NATO. The Royal Marines operated around 76 Bv 202 units during the Falklands War, with some of the being present during the capture of Port Stanley and some being transported by the SS Atlantic Conveyor when it sank. One of the surviving Bv 202s is located at the Ontario Regiment Museum, in Oshawa.
The Bv 202 was designed to transport troops and equipment through snow or boglands in northern Sweden. The Norrland Dragoon Regiment was last Swedish unit to use this vehicle, finding that the manual gearbox Bv 202 was much quieter than the automatic transmission Bv 206.
The Norwegian Army used both Bv 202 and Bv 206 concurrently, with the Bv 202 being the one used in situations of deep snow due to better performance in such condition.
Some Bv 202 units were donate to the Armed Forces of Ukraine during the Russo-Ukrainian war, being used by units such as the 115th [Mechanized Brigade (Ukraine)] and 118th [Territorial Defense Brigade (Ukraine)]. Those were donated by the Norwegian government and by private Nonprofit organizations.

Variants

A radiocommunications variant called Bandvagn 203 was used by Sweden, with one of them being in the Kalix Line museum in Kalix, in the county of Norbotten.

Operators

  • - replaced the M29 Weasel and subsequently replaced by Bv 206
  • - replaced by Bv 206. Used by several units, including cavalry and paratroper units, including use by the Swedish Parachute Ranger School.
  • - replaced "ST4 Snow Trac Over-snow Vehicle" and subsequently replaced by Bv 206
  • - donated by Sweden an unnamed number of vehicles.

    Civilian operators

  • At least 27 ex-Norwegian vehicles sold to Russian company for tourist use in the Murmansk area.