15,5 cm bandkanon 1

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15,5 cm bandkanon 1 Bofors VK 155 L/50
Bkan 1C at the military history museum in Boden.
Type	Self-propelled artillery
Place of origin	Sweden
Service history
In service	1967–2003
Production history
Designer	Bofors
No. built	26
Variants	1A, 1C
Specifications
Mass	52 tonnes (114,639 lbs) (bkan 1A) 53 tonnes (116,843 lbs) (bkan 1C)
Length	6.55 m (21 ft 6 in) 11 m (36 ft 1 in)including gun
Width	3.37 m (11 ft 1 in)
Height	3.55 m (11 ft 8 in) 3.85 m (12 ft 8 in) including AAMG
Crew	5
Armor	20 mm (.78 in) maximum
Main armament	155 mm kanon m/60
Secondary armament	7.62 mm ksp 58
Engine	Diesel: Rolls-Royce K60; 240 hp (180 kW) (bkan 1A) Detroit 6V-53T; 290 hp (220 kW) (bkan 1C ) Gas turbine: Boeing 502-10MA; 300 hp (220 kW) (both)
Power/weight	10.38 hp/tonne (bkan 1A) 11.13 hp/tonne (bkan 1C)
Suspension	hydro-pneumatic
Operational range	230 km (143 mi)
Maximum speed	28 km/h (17 mph)

15,5 cm bandkanon 1 (15,5 cm bkan 1, pronounced "b-kan"), meaning "15.5 cm (6.1 in) tracked cannon 1",^[1] was a Swedish self-propelled artillery vehicle in use with the Swedish Army from 1967 to 2003, developed by Aktiebolaget Bofors. Its product name was Bofors Vagnkanon 155 mm L/50 (VK 155 L/50), meaning roughly "Tracked Automotive Gun 155 mm L/50" (literal translation: "Wagon Cannon 155 mm L/50").^[2] Bkan 1 was one of the world's heaviest and most powerful (in terms of volume of fire) self-propelled artillery vehicles in use during its service.

It had a 155 mm autocannon with an exceptionally high rate of fire, being able to fire 15 shells in 45 seconds with one round preloaded and full magazine of two rows of seven rounds in a clip.^[3] The magazine could then be reloaded with a built-in hoist in about 2 minutes.

Each shell had a weight of 47 kg and a tactical range of 28 km.

Its chassis was based on a lengthened Stridsvagn 103 with one extra road wheel. The first variant, the Bkan 1A, used the same engine as the first Strv 103's and was thus somewhat underpowered since that engine was designed to drive a 30-ton tank, while the Bkan 1 weighed over 50 tons. Despite this, its mobility was more than adequate for its role as an artillery piece.^[4]