Schützenpanzer Lang HS.30
| Schutzenpanzer Lang HS.30 | |
|---|---|
HS.30 as presented in the German Tank Museum in 2008 | |
| Type | Infantry fighting vehicle |
| Service history | |
| In service | 1960–1980s |
| Production history | |
| Designer | Hispano-Suiza |
| Designed | 1956–1958 |
| Manufacturer | Hispano-Suiza Hanomag Henschel |
| Unit cost | DM 238,000 |
| Produced | 1958–1962 |
| No. built | 2,176 |
| Specifications | |
| Mass | 14.6 tonnes |
| Length | 5.56 m (18 ft 3 in) |
| Width | 2.54 m (8 ft 4 in) |
| Height | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) |
| Crew | 3 |
| Passengers | 5 |
| Armor | 30 mm at 45° |
Main armament | 20 mm HS 820 autocannon 2,000 rounds |
Secondary armament | 7.62 mm MG3 machine gun 2x4 Smoke grenade launchers |
| Engine | Rolls-Royce B81 Mk 80F 8-cylinder petrol 220 hp (164 kW) |
| Power/weight | 15.3 hp/tonne |
| Suspension | Torsion bar, three bogie, five road wheels |
Operational range | 270 km (170 mi) |
| Maximum speed | 58 km/h (36 mph) |
_Hispano-Suiza_HS_30.jpg){kind=link}
The Schützenpanzer Lang HS.30, officially designated as Schützenpanzer, lang, Typ 12-3 or SPz lg 12-3 for short, (German for "Infantry tank, long, Type 12-3"), was a West German infantry fighting vehicle developed between 1956 and 1958. It was designed by the Swiss company Hispano-Suiza and powered by a Rolls-Royce engine. Due to initial mechanical issues, only 2,176 units were produced out of the 10,680 originally planned. The vehicle was equipped with a 20 mm autocannon, which was a typical armament for infantry fighting vehicles of that era.
The HS.30's design was plagued by numerous flaws and drawbacks, which eventually led to a significant political scandal in West Germany during the 1960s. Of the 2,176 SPz HS.30 and its variants built by 1962, the German government paid 517 million DM, translating to approximately 238,000 DM per vehicle. The HS.30 first entered service with the Panzergrenadier battalions in 1960, but was gradually replaced by the more advanced Marder infantry fighting vehicle starting in 1971.