The Weirdest Main Battle Tank

Decal link: tinyurl.com/42thwzv3
The Swedish tech tree in War Thunder is host to a plethora of very strange vehicles, with the best example being the Strv 103 tanks. Also known as the S-Tank, it has no turret and heavily angled armor. It isn't very meta, but I managed to get a nuke with it anyway.
Check the channel "About" section for the link to the creator of my profile picture.
Songs used (in order from first to last):
Command and Conquer: Generals OST
Second channel: / @spookstoon
Patreon: / spookston
#warthunder​​​​​​​​​​​​ #tanks​​​​​​​​​​​​ #warthundergameplay
The Weirdest Main Battle Tank

[@Spookston]

Gonna see if I can get another historical video done for next week :)

[@Coproductiongarage]

Thank u man for the awesome content over the years

[@Chimera700]

Bruh the Strv got 33% but the get a nuke with a low tier vehicle got 35%

[@peps_hy]

could you play AMX M4 in the 6.7 french line up ?! you will have a lot of fun

[@Fado__]

Could you play the XM-1 (gm), it is very ratlike and a unique MBT.

[@Iron_Blood_Enjoyer1933]

What happened to the video on the Conqueror?

[@djnotnice108]

This guy has gone from just a dude I watched occasionally to one of my favourite KZbinrs. His humour has taken over my friend group

[@thefuturist1867]

same

[@TheGrace020]

Same

[@Fry574]

same

[@yaboianz]

same lol

[@claudiocalabrese3865]

Same here, for me he is by far the best War Thunder youtuber not that other creators are bad, but I find Spookston’s content the only one with a perfect balance of both genuine humour and informative gameplay, aka, he is my first choice whenever I wanna see if a tank’s good before grinding it, having fun watching him struggle playing bad tanks or just playing rare vehicles

[@Cosmetic_Cat.]

The strv 103 is a very funny tank. But the unfortunate thing about it in warthunder is that if your engine gets shot out, you cant move. Unlike in real life, you could use the two engines separately, which is unfortunate.

[@jirinavratil6232]

In that case it would be more OP than it is. Its fire rate is almost like machine gun, frontally almost unpenetrable and very low profile with good speed... I hate facing this thing, its disgusting.

[@barrybend7189]

​@@jirinavratil6232so the Urbanmech of War thunder.

[@MrXPeaceLP]

At least the correctly implemented the ability to use it with just 1 crew member alive, which is cool.

[@01NSh10]

It was possible to use it without engine for some time, but aiming was horrible :(

[@KauppaKomissaari]

Plsy the ho-i it has a very fun aphe shell at 2.0 one of the gems of japan low tier

[@brosefmalkovitch3121]

The bars were actually a form of APFSDS defense. Even at the speeds the darts are moving, any disruption to their flight-path will cause the round to tumble a little when they hit the main armor, potentially greatly reducing the penetration of any dart that hits a bar.

[@kingoftheneeks3623]

It truly does work in game, they were making my m774 rounds Bounce when normally they'd pen with no trouble

[@shadowconquer-yv5yd]

Reason why I aim a bit lower. Thankfully I mostly encounter strv 103s when their engine is down, at their flanks, or I'm at the low ground.

[@Ragedaonenlonely]

APDS, not APFSDS. Don't mixt the two. They are very, very different and it's an important distinction to make. The armour was strictly designed to defuse HEAT, but they did find in testing that it could shatter or disrupt the trajectory of APDS when it impacted the bars as a bonus.

[@Oddball_E8]

@@Ragedaonenlonely Actually, it was found that it worked against both APDS (called underkaliber) and APFSDS (called "pilprojektil" in Swedish, and noted in the original findings to be effective against Pilprojectil and Underkaliber, so yeah... effective against both. (but originally made to combat HEAT, as you said)

[@triplus198]

why are so many leaking classified documents in this reply section? (obvious joke)

[@corwinhyatt519]

"You more or less find an alleyway and sit there" which is more or less what the Strv 103 was designed to do. That and camp behind dugouts or berms, falling back and setting up again two lines back to keep grinding down an invader.

[@Ragedaonenlonely]

Not really. It was designed to operate like any other tank, including on the offensive. They used staggered movement when operating offesively.

[@Shaun_Jones]

To be fair about that anti-HEAT fence being classified, the actual secret part was probably the gaps in the bars, which I bet are the exact space apart to de-fuse Soviet HEAT rounds.

[@aiedenoldstien9751]

Yea but Gajin would see the fact it could defuse Soviet heat and just go "nah". Then let HEAT go through it.

[@ContraGrain]

They also were anti APFSDS with the idea that it would absolutely penetrate the fence but put tumble into the round.

[@andyfriederichsen]

I thought Sweden was neutral during that time.

[@BlueScreenOfDeathPL]

@@andyfriederichsen They sure were, they bought equipment from the USSR... but they definitely would be on western side (culture) if they had to.

[@fuckinantipope5511]

​@@andyfriederichsenneutral but still fearing soviet invasion

[@Iron_Blood_Enjoyer1933]

Ireland made a vehicle combining British & Swedish technology, the Headless Coachmen. A Comet hull with the turret removed & a new open mount armed with the 90mm Pansarvärnspjäs 1110 recoilless rifle, but was cancelled due to lack of available funds.

[@ihatehandleupdate]

that thing looks so dumb

[@jbjb8335]

reminds me of the crusader self propelled gun

[@CAT3_V1]

Looks like a tractor, It'll be great at pulling a plow

[@liladoodle]

This would more likely than not be a premium for the British tree.

[@peepsbates]

I believe we also purchased our Comets without any HE, only AP. Because y'know, ALL the biggest tank battles occurred in Ireland, don't you know?

[@miss_bec]

The Swedes really made a tank-sized robot from Battlebots and it actually works. I was half expecting it to have a flywheel hidden somewhere for melee.

[@robertish4917]

This thing is shockingly survivable, though painful due to constantly getting your engine and trans wrecked

[@allorfh2495]

yeah, every time I play that 54 second time always come up at least once unless I snipe across the whole map.

[@FiveTwoSevenTHR]

I maxed my crew's repair stats before anything else because of this tank.

[@lohenriksson9698]

Probably one of my favorite tanks for how specialized for the exact imagined fighting conditions of sweden it was.

[@No-one-you-know837]

It’s good for protection but you end up just staring at your enemy when they engine hit you

[@gavinthejanitor]

i've had someone fire a ridiculous amount of shells into it without so much as tickling my crew, managed to finish repairing and get on target right as the match was ending

[@patrioticmilkman]

everyone's gangster till the door wedge starts speaking Swedish

[@Lillspratt]

Since shaped charges dont really work like they do in game, the fence was really usefull. Since it destroyed the shaped charge, making it not blow up at all.

[@hellono6501]

Spookston: Conqueror on Friday or Sunday Also Spookston: WE NEED SUFFERING

[@Spookston]

no

[@TheMiraOfAll]

@@Spookstonyes

[@juliosalgado8972]

​@@Spookstonthe British mains demands an sacrifice

[@Fry574]

mhm@@Spookston

[@lucassundwall6639]

​@@Fry574 Mhm monkey

[@pepse6813]

what I find coolest about Sweden is that even though this is one of the most bizarre things in the game, it can be considered "normal" compared to other things in the Swedish tech tree

[@jpppe]

Lol the word "unfortunate" has become part of my daily vocabulary just from your content.

[@leok9920]

Same

[@INSANESUICIDE]

It becomes even more insane when you dive down the rabbit hole of the S tank development, recently they were being refurbished and modernised and even rebuilt to be remote controlled drones, sadly when most of the work done and most tanks ready it was just scrapped. As with so much when it comes to military spending😢

[@mcpuff2318]

Nope, the remote control model was just a one-off prototype with some cameras strapped to it. Not at all a ready product. And it wasn't recently, it was in the 90s. There was also one experimental mine clearing variant with a flail, the prototype is still around

[@arturreinholdunt7974]

Ooh yeah. The forbidden cheese wedge. The silly door stopper. The only tank that has brought me two nukes in a row.

[@MegaJani]

13:09 Bkan 1C Though it uses the same powerpack

[@Ragedaonenlonely]

Yup. The VEAK-40 also uses the same driveline fun fact. Initially it was intended to develop a MBT, SPG, SPAAG and APC all based on the 103's driveline to be parts interchangeable, but in the end they only made the 3 former and only 2 of those actually entered service.

[@fkboyStalin]

I can confirm, he is a bigfoot expert and that WAS a goblin, just look at him he has all the characteristic of a goblin, a turret, a gun, armored plates and wheels to move it, all the standard signs of a goblin stay safe from goblins every1.

[@hris26]

You should try DF 105, it's very fun to play with 400mm of pen and 5 second autoloader.

[@IMAPRO9307]

lol

[@casperreininga3253]

Then the SK105 is more fun. APFSDS with a 4 second reload, thermals and a LR.

[@suzanarubi9254]

​@@casperreininga3253but it's at 8.7

[@agentp5218]

Feel like ppl are sleeping on it.

[@gatoxd7544]

You could play the ab 41 at like 5.7 to show the true italian ww2 experience (pain included)

[@Worldoftankistenoob]

the strv103 wasn't actually made to be a mbt but more of an ambush tank as sweden rely more on a defensive strategy when it comes to war

[@TeamKill52]

Spookston Sweedish videos are always a pleasant watch

[@enkeksinimea4399]

Attempt number 2 of asking Spookston to play the RU-251, the faster and smaller mini-Leopard 1 at a lower BR that gets scouting. It's one of my all-time favourite tanks in the game (my other favourite was the standard American M41 Bulldog before it got nerfed into oblivion), has suffered some BR changes recently but it should still be great.

[@juntingiee2602]

gaijin try not to nerf US vehicles challenge impossible

[@RustyDroid]

14:27 wow, an M2 failing, that's a rare one.

[@YourLocalFrenchMain]

"This is the worst version of it" Proceeds to get a nuke

[@carllinden533]

13:22 Don't think we didn't appreciate that.

[@RavenWolffe77]

The mere two notes of World Beater were enough to send my sides into orbit. It's internet law now that you HAVE to play World Beater whenever a Bradley is on screen.

[@michimatsch5862]

15:20 most competent nuke deployment.

[@foolishsparky]

6:20 Technically correct but technically not. The STRV 103C was supposed to make use of the natural terrain and defensible positions to prevent breakthrough attacks. It's why it has hull aiming and the variable transmission, it's so it could lift itself up over berms to shoot at incoming armor. There's definitely a lot more complicated stuff that goes into its design than that, but it was never meant to function the same way as how we think the Abrams or T-90 tanks function. The Swedes prioritized a defensive front over an offensive one, which heavily influenced battle tactics, vehicle design, and even the way they constructed bunkers. The whole idea was to make Sweden a defensive fortress the likes of which no enemy would ever want to invade, and would cost the enemy terribly even if they did, with the hope being that their home forces could hold out long enough for NATO to reinforce them. Reminder, the STRV was designed at the height of the Cold War, with big bad Russia right on the doorstep. Like everything during that time period, it had a major influence on design mentality, and Sweden wanted to ensure its neutrality by force. Again! This is a very surface level dig into the entire situation, and I'm not an expert in any capacity, so I could absolutely have interpreted certain things incorrectly or misunderstood certain sources, but to the best of my knowledge, this is what I am aware of when it comes to the STRV 103's MBT designation.

[@Ragedaonenlonely]

Funny how you're calling him wrong when that was EXACTLY how it was meant to function. It used the exact same operational doctrine as the Centurions. It was not intended to be used any differently at all. The only thing is they used a staggered advance when operating offensively.

[@foolishsparky]

@@Ragedaonenlonely Operational doctrines differ by country and military. That's why I said "technically correct, technically not." rather than just saying he was wrong. Because he's not. It's just a different implementation vs what would be someone's first thought.

[@Ragedaonenlonely]

@@foolishsparky It's still wrong though. Because the Centurions and 103's share the same doctrine. Ergo they weren't designed to operate as defensive vehicles, they were just designed to operate as tanks the same way the Centurions were. Neither were they designed to not go on the offensive. Sweden never intended to carry out offensive wars, only defensive ones, however even defensive wars still require you to go on the offense to retake lost territory. Ergo the idea that the 103's were designed as defensive vehicles isn't any more correct than saying the Centurions were. In the Swedish military they just operated like tanks, same as any other.

[@HEATSEEKR]

Funny you posted this. Been playing 8.0 Sweden and have really enjoyed diving back into the S-tank

[@Thunderstar7]

Spookston upload to watch right after work? Yes I will never stop asking for T-35

[@eyeblech2001]

1:34 Begleitpanzer? more like BEGONEpanzer!

[@LPLGamer7]

The strv is the definition of smooth brain activity

[@billbillson3129]

Goblin bro made me lol XD Man I almost began the Swedish tech tree yesterday, but I was unable to gather the motivation to do so. Thanks for making and sharing your videos with us Spookston!!

[@Waltuh_Black]

You know your Sunday is good if Spookston uploads

[@blueshark7385]

14:59 Pyrocynical.

[@Tomfooleryman57]

Would love to see a video on the M43 75/46 please

[@Scriptum.]

I’ve been binging Spookston’s videos over the past few weeks. The humor and gameplay is continuously entertaining. Thanks for the countless hours of entertainment Spookston, hope you’re doing well man.

[@Gregorio416]

“Who knew you could get so far by just…being a roadblock?” HR departments everywhere 😅

[@generalmcshooty397]

Y'know what the best MBT is? The AS-42/47.

[@adbp1513]

M60A1 RISE(P) is actually good with the BR changes, I was surprised after my original experience with it and I think you will be too. (It gave me my first nuke friday despite being stock.)

[@Giacomo020189]

I've spaded the RISE, now I started the TTS that got the round of the abrams plus thermal, but I always use them as a back up vehicle cause the grind is a pain in the ass since they are slow, at that BR I start with the XM803 which is cool

[@owenvanscoyk3116]

Petition to make Stridsvagn Sunday, where spookston uploads a video on a Swedish tank every Sunday

[@drplays7978]

yeah i sold the recent swedish top tiered wheeled event vehicle and picked up the lower br premium strv 103 since i knew it was broken, and i knew i could quickly grind the swedish tree with it. ended up getting 2 nukes in a row after about 10-15 matches in it, almost all the matches i have had in it have been fun, which is insane. if you have been playing this game for years and are struggling to still have fun, pick this thing when its on sale and give it some back ups. its just high enough in br to where it gets all the good gadgets but low enough to where you aren't fighting in the terrible top tier.

[@Jump-Shack]

The STRV 103 is honestly the more normal S tank than the Strv 74

[@sundhaug92]

The 74 isn't an S-tank, the S-tank name came from it being the Swedish alternative in a competition

[@Ragedaonenlonely]

@@sundhaug92 Correct. They had 3 alternatives for coming up with the next MBT intended to replace the Centurions (though it never really did). Alternative A was an Anglo-American design, alternative T was a German-Franco design and alternative S was a new Swedish design of tank, aka the S-tank. The 74 was never intended to replace or serve as a MBT, more so as a light tank to give light support to the infantry brigades and it was already in service when the 103 was projected.

[@teppygray4314]

hate to be a beggar but day 91 of ask for pantsir

[@Anonymous-OP-19]

Yeah we’re the pantsir at?

[@Average_Nordic_Guy]

It’s never gonna happen dude he hates top tier

[@TheWomanFace786]

💀 pfp​@@Average_Nordic_Guy

[@teppygray4314]

@@Average_Nordic_Guy does he hate it more than cas though?

[@Just-My-Clips]

@@TheWomanFace786u know spookston is gay right?

[@impala9994]

LFG new spookston vid, only KZbinr I actually check for new vids from

[@HephaestusSystems]

Got my first nuke ever with this tank. Unconventional but ridiculously effective when played right. Thanks for playing this guy!

[@TheMiraOfAll]

Day 17 of asking for a Cromwell v rp3 video

[@Sky_EggYT]

🧀

[@chris_hisss]

Hilarious edits into the great gameplay! What I have been noticing is that people really look mostly for turrets in war thunder. If you aren't moving especially people just don't see you. Seems like the case with this too. Those super flat Italian TDs are great examples. I also wonder if people are blasting music too further adding to your stealth. Like hey team turn down the sabaton and listen ffs! I am not sure I will ever get to these upper tiers to play this but I really want to. I also didn't see the reticle bouncing that took 5 years to fix apparently. I am at 6.7 in US and Ger and like 5.7 in Sweden. GGs

[@Feanor6450]

I listen to Sabaton, but yeah, I have started stopping because it makes it harder to hear enemies.

[@Dhgbro]

definitely the funniest war thunder video ive seen so far , editing on point

[@Ziphoroc]

3:24 'Broken Arrow' is a term for an accident involving a nuke, typically when one is lost or missing. It does not refer to dropping artillery on top of your current position, the closest term would be 'Danger Close'

[@qBigBoo]

I bestow Spookston with the highest award I can think of: always being my background for when I need to eat 🙏

[@i0315]

This is my favorite tank in history (besides its proposed modernisation package though that never entered service) thanks for covering it.

[@Speedyrabbit7795]

A personal favorite. Thanks for the video.

[@TURMlllNATOR]

0:10 I was the first one to recommend the Strv-103, and it was before like 3 weeks. Altho still funny watching you play this tank lol

[@hazajacko]

I never get over listening to the C&C Generals music in your vids hahha

[@fatrobin72]

"Drop the bomb"... tosses it up and forwards, good to see physics is still working...

[@TheOneAndOnlyNat3]

Watching spookston playing a mobile ramp makes me laugh somehow

[@tiger_h1]

This dude is my favorite KZbin creator because he shows the game and nothing more but still makes me get asma from wheezing 😂❤

[@jameshodgson3656]

I bound the hull aim button to left control, I find it helps a bit. I also find that the hull aim tends to under-elevate by a bit, so I set my range to 300m the instant I spawn in. With those two down, I find I can be as nimble and responsive as any other unstabilized MBT, while also having great armour and a 4s reload. Also, fun fact, the S-tank is the only tank in game that can survive on one crew, and the only tank that can traverse it's hull mid repair, which is SUPER useful if you get your barrel taken out.

[@user-rv9zj5zq2v]

When it comes to the classificaion of the cage and bar armour, im pretty sure it wasnt just the cage that whas classified. The horizontal bars across the main hull were also specifically designed to counter apdsfs round and acted like spaced armour.

[@WK-gx2zs]

Spookston's going into the Swedish book of grudges for this one

[@jonvonboatman7062]

Your humor lines right up with the entire friend group, we’ll collectively screen share watch 30 videos at a time

[@xmattthew201]

Spookston favorite word "unfortunate"😂

[@MrX-un8cz]

I just love the fact that this tank can be operated by a single crew if they have to, just goes to show how much thought they put in and they want to make the most out of it Of course if you're on the offensive this is a horrendous tank for that role, but for defensive, it's do the job pretty damn well

[@TheLordNovo]

You should play the SU-85. It’s a soviet casemate TD that has incredible penetration at its 4.0-4.3 BR range, and for a casemate, only having an 8 second reload is a godsend for having around 145mm pen. Easily became one of my favorite vehicles to grind with in the soviet tree

[@Handle423]

Man I can't wait for more StrV 103 videos

[@renox4693]

I've waited so long for this video

[@MaskFky]

I would be intresting to see you play the TAM. The 8.7 tech tree version. It feels like a super mobile tank that still has as much firepower as any mbt

[@kleebl00d84]

How about a full video covering the T 92? Fast, flat and hard hitting goblin tank, got moved to 7.0 some time ago but still is my personal favorite!

[@setesh1294]

I find spacebar works great for turning the hull aim on and off. Especially since I have my coax rebound to F and the quick stop for cruise control bound to spacebar.

[@Hkighlath]

The big foot clip had me dying for some reason

[@TheUndeadslayer221]

I still want to see you play the Nashorn.

[@dekkarr2873]

Damn you Spookston! Here I was enjoying my day about to play some game I would greatly enjoy, now I watch your video and am required by law to play at least 1 (actually 20) match(s) of WarThunder! DAMN YOU!!!!

[@chrisbergonzi7977]

Brilliant my msn...thanks...

[@Kirito-qx6zv]

Swedish engineer: *Looks at doorstop*. “I have an idea!”

[@Feanor6450]

Another reason for the weird design was the gun, sweden wanted rapid fire autoloaders but at the time that caused problems with loading guns while elevated so their solution was to either use an oscillating turret like the French which was the emil project, (not to be confused with the Sturer emil) or simply not use a turret and have hull aim, which became the strv 103.

[@christerprestberg3973]

Ive acctually seen one of these driving around irl, its pretty damn cool ^^ . A very specific tank designed for a specific purpose.

[@MrWooaa]

I am so glad you made a vido about my favorate wedge of cheeze.

[@maxinmaniac]

Revisit the LOSAT, but at top tier. It's extremely nice being able to reliably one shot any tank if you can actually hit them just center mass.

[@TheSchultinator]

To be fair to that first CAS, there were three tanks there, it looks like he bombed long rather than targeting you

[@Phos9]

I think of this tank as more along the lines of them attaching the tracks directly to the turret

[@paws0126]

i like you quite alot. I love when you play sweden. Im a sweden main and i love watching you play these goofy vehicles

[@firbolg]

I will never be a decent War Thunder player but it's still a lot of fun to watch your content. Great stuff!

[@vgames1543]

Spookston, heed my beggin, bush up the Sturmtiger to an absurd degree and troll around.

[@Sparta_Teddybear]

I usually switch to my machine gun when driving around in the 103 and when I need to aim the main barrel/hull I switch it back. Very nice since it makes you remember you can switch to only using your 50cal in American tanks.

[@allorfh2495]

If you are worried about the sabot just play the A. the lower penning sabout is a tungsten alloy so it doesnt shatter but also spalls a ton. Like unless I completely wiff my aiming, everything is a onshot beside no armor best armor tanks.

[@freedomisntfreeffs]

Is there a Swedish vehicle you haven't done yet? lol, love the vids!

[@casataco]

Its funny you talked about playing it like a TD cuz in WoT its classed as a TD with a special "siege" mode.

[@FiveTwoSevenTHR]

One thing I recommend as a Strv 103 enjoyer is to still run a full ammo rack since I have had multiple games where I've fired 30+ shots and also because the only times I've been ammo racked I would have been killed anyway because I was getting flanked.

[@pokeydude]

The 103 was also a solution to a problem of the time, maximizing the efficiency of the autoloader, autoloaders would force the gun to return to a base position which severely limit its efficiency, thus they sought to solve this problem, two solution were thought up, the oscillating turret (Kranvagn/EMIL Project) and the unmoving turret/hull-aim (Strv 103)

[@aiedenoldstien9751]

You know the whole thing of shells being blocked by things they shouldn't. I remember playing a Sherman on Japan and the small bushes on the map started eating shots. Not the bamboo, the tiny fern bushes. Then Ive also had some fences just stop rounds too.

[@robloxmusicandgamestoplay3387]

This man has started as explaining if war thunder was historically accurate to my favourite youtuber

[@amarthon6597]

Spookston is so good he gets hit by a nuke and only takes wing damage

[@shinobi_o_o___]

10:30 I've had cars eat KE-W before and gaijin still doesn't bat an eye. not to mention trees/busges only falling into my line of sight

[@HarveyAndToddTheWraith]

1:44 Well as somebody who sometimes take out a plane in Ground RB, I don't always try to pick the guy with most kills. Yes, if there is some annoying camper or somebody in some very strong tank, I go for him, but in general when I see a tank (or my teammates/squadmates mark something) I go for it, that's it, no big calculation just see target - kill target

[@psyborg4706]

2024 CAS montage already looking strong

[@matthewvasta9425]

thats such an obscure pyro clip