Thursday 11 June 2009

Ja vi elsker dette landet ... (more about Forsvaret Skandinavias)

Following my rather abysmal attempt at a photo yesterday, I decided to take a few detail shots of Forsvaret Skandinavias. These have come out rather better than yesterday's attempt. So, without further ado, I present to you the troops that defend the Scandinavian nations and maintain their neutrality throughout the problems that afflict the 31st century. In the description of the following pictures, I have linked the names of each vehicle to the codes on the appropriate manufacturer's website. Remember to click on the pictures for larger images.

A tank section with a self-propelled anti-tank section behind it:

The typical tank section consists of 3 Thor MBTs, a medium hover battle tank. The chassis of the Thor MBT is used for many variants, such as the Thor Salvo Missile Tank section behind the MBTs. The Thor SMT provides effective close support and a devastating punch for taking out enemy armour.

Armour is good for blasting holes in the enemy battle lines, but only infantry can really hold the objectives. A typical FS platoon consists of one infantry command squad carried in a Lynx IFV (front right in the picture), four infantry squads carried in standard Lynx APCs, and a Lynx Mortar Carrier to provide additional fire support. The infantry all carry standard FS Assault Rifles and wear uniforms reinforced with Kevlar in vulnerable areas, heavy Kevlar jackets and a Kevlar helmet (infantry by Baccus).


The Recce Section is an essential part of any armed force. You can't fight the enemy without good intelligence and these guys get the info at the sharp end. This section consists of two squads of infantry carried in a Lynx APC and a Hyane Armoured Car with 20mm Autocannon. The recce infantry are armed in the same way as the ordinary infantry but their role is not really to fight. The armoured car and the APC have weapons primarily so that they can shoot and scoot once they have the intel that they need.


Supporting arms of the FS include artillery and the Luftvern (air force). Here we see two artillery batteries. All artillery in the FS is self-propelled. At the front of the picture is a battery of Sigurd SPGs, another variant on the Thor chassis, and beside them is a Forward Artillery Observer with his comms vehicle, a Thor Command Tank. Behind them is a battery of Lynx Salvo Rocket vehicles, with an FAO in his Lynx Command Vehicle. These chaps provide the occasional artillery stonk when it is needed to encourage the enemy to vacate positions that the FS does not want them in.


The Luftvern provides both air support, in the form of Wespe Light Attack Aircraft, and air defence such as these Lynx AA Gatlings. The Forward Air Controller is carried in a Lynx Command Vehicle, much like his artillery counterpart.


Finally, someone has to take charge, so you have the headquarters unit. Here we see the overall commander (centre) carrying out battlefield analysis and conceptual modelling of the situation in front of his Thor Command Vehicle. His ADC is helping him, while the comms teams relay urgent information from their Lynx and Thor Command vehicles as needed.

2 comments:

  1. Nice pics Ruarigh. I especially like the remnants of a recent snowfall on the bases as I currently have a few 6mm Swedes for Cold War Commander on the back-burner and was thinking about doing something very similar on their bases.

    Thanks for the link to the Wespe aircraft BTW, I honestly couldn't find them on the Brigade site yet now it's fairly bloody obvious where they were!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Great stuff, I'm having to lean back to avoid drooling on my keyboard ;-)

    ReplyDelete