MOWAG Tornado

[Colonial-Marine]

Well I don't have much information on this vehicle which is exactly why I am asking about it. All I have is some information from an old 1980s AFV guide. It was an IFV similar in appearance to the German Marder with a low profile turret carrying a 20mm autocannon. There were two MG turrets in back, similar to the single MG turret on the first Marder variants.

I presume it was designed for export but from the complete lack of information I presume it was a commercial (or technical) failure.

 

[Racer]

It was under evaluation by Swiss Army which chooses CV9030 lastly. In the first evaluation round (1997) were 8 offerings, one was Tornado CH-25 Trojan / TC-500. The final Contenders were the British Warrior, German Kuka M12 and Swedish CV90.

Edit: Sorry, I was wrong! Tornado was much earlier (1968). There is some information in "Jane's Armour and Artillery, 1979-80", page 237. Status at this time: ready for production.

-20,5t
-500hp (2. Proto: 420hp)
-25mm (2. Proto: 20mm) turret, 2x7,62mm MG
-tested 1968 by the Italien Army
-Protection: Front: 23mm, side: 14,5mm

A family of different variants were planed, several prototypes were built.

 

[Apophenia]

Tornado images.

Mowag Tornado SPz 1975 (twin guns)
http://www66.tok2.com/home2/tankguy/full/tornado75.html

Mowag Tornado SPz 1979 (RWS)
http://www66.tok2.com/home2/tankguy/full/tornado79.html

Mowag Trojan Spz (for comparison)
http://www66.tok2.com/home2/tankguy/full/trojan.html

Shots of Mowag SPz Tornado, Pirat, and Trojan (compared with Tornado) at Reuenthal
http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2828189770100192038NErZuG

Mowag SPz Tornado
http://www.armyrecognition.com/europe/Suisse/Exhibition/Swiss_Military_Museum/pictures/SchutzenPanzer_Mowag_Tornado_001.JPG

 

[LVisingr]

I accidentally found this photo in my archive - does anybody know any details? Seems like a tank destroyer (Rheinmetall 105mm?) on Tornado chassis...

 

[Ravinoff]

I accidentally found this photo in my archive - does anybody know any details? Seems like a tank destroyer (Rheinmetall 105mm?) on Tornado chassis...

View attachment 615546

Can't find any details on that from a quick google, but it looks like MOWAG went through several tank destroyer designs in the '60s and '70s using both the L7 105mm and the older 90mm BK90/L40 recycled off the M47 Patton. One was developed as an entrant for the German Kanonenjagdpanzer project but lost out to the Hanomag-Henschel prototype, and was apparently known as the Cheetah. That one is pictured below at the Schweizerisches Militärmuseum Full.



The other was apparently a private venture and called the Taifun (Typhoon), developed in the '70s when it was expected that a replacement for the AMX-13 (which the Swiss bizarrely classed as a tank destroyer) would be needed in the near future. This one used the standard L7 105mm according to what I can find, and was based directly off the Tornado chassis.

Yours, though...that thing is seriously weird. I strongly suspect the gun is a nonfunctional mockup (no elevation mechanism and a strange breech end, and lacking the bore evacuator used on most 105s), and I can't get my head around an open-top design like that from the Cold War era anyways. Possibly intended to be an autoloaded remote-control turret? Looks like several turret designs were tested for the Tornado, though the links in the post further up are dead they appear to be mirrored here, no sign of anything resembling your photo anywhere I can find.

 

[Grey Havoc]

I think it may be the Rh 105-11 105mm super low recoil gun in an experimental turret, similar to one successfully tested on at least one MOWAG Shark prototype in the early 1980s.

 

[PLK]

.. has anybody got the full story of the MOWAG Tornado armoured infantry fighting vehicle family ? - from what I understand there was at least three main version/generations - Tornado (or Tornado 1), Tornado 2 and Improved Tornado - has anybody got the full specifications of the three versions ? .. friendly regards from Denmark ...

 

[LVisingr]

I think it may be the Rh 105-11 105mm super low recoil gun in an experimental turret, similar to one successfully tested on at least one MOWAG Shark prototype in the early 1980s.

Thanks! It looks just very like that!

 

[Voltzz]

Article in german on the MOWAG Tornado with a lot of details and some nice pictures of the inside.

 

[skylancer-3441]

Папка из Облака Mail.ru Tornado

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cloud.mail.ru

pictures & articles from internet (incl. pictures from article in Eserciti e Armi №16 from May, 1974 which @Roshindow have scanned) & from books and magazines I've photographed