>>7408946The 2nd tank Sweden got was a french vehicle this time. At around 1928, they were looking for a tank to replace their aging fm/21s: these things were used to the bone by training exercises, and were not really up to the standard of the era with their slow speed and lack of a main gun.
France, at the time, offered to export a new vehicle, the Renault NC. This tank was basically an old FT from WWI, but with a couple of modifications, including a better suspension and a lengthened hull capable of taking a more powerful engine. The goal was to make the FT, but faster.
Other countries, Japan most notably, bought a few, and so did Sweden. They bought one for testing in 1928. The results were quite horrible: not only was this thing vastly outdated by then, but it was also plagued with mechanical issues of all sorts, making the test an absolute nightmare. Seeing this, the swedish governement simply gave up on the NC. They placed a lot of hopes on this tank however, as they really wanted to get a new vehicle quickly. But this failure meant that they would have to find another solution. After much deliberation, they decided to make a vehicle of their own, using the experience they acquired from the NC and LK II.
Sadly it looks this is it for tonight. I'll keep going tomorrow if people are interested and the thread is still up.
