AB Landsverk Landsverk ( AB Landsverk ) was founded in 1872 as " Firman Petterson & Ohlsen " . It was a heavy industry , manufacturing railroad car s , harbour cranes and agricultural machinery . It was located in Landskrona , Sweden . Early days . In late 1920 the company found itself on the verge of bankruptcy . Through a Dutch company , the German " Gutehoffnungshütte Aktienverein für Bergbau und Hüttenbereich Oberhausen " ( GHH ) , invested heavily and gained control of 50 % of the shares . In 1923 the company manufactured a small number of tracked agricultural tractors based on an American design . The Germans increased their ownership to 61 % in 1925 , three years later the name was changed to " AB Landsverk " . In 1929 the German engineer Otto Merker was assigned to Landsverk to develop armoured vehicles , a few prototypes of a German design with both wheels and tracks were manufactured in Landskrona . In 1930 the Swedish Army ordered an armoured car for trials , and a few years later three light tank s on wheels and tracks . In 1933 Lithuania ordered six , The Netherlands twelve L - 180 armoured cars . Landsverk presented the L - 60 in 1934 , the first tank with torsion - bar suspension . There was some very limited export of armoured cars to other countries like Denmark and Finland . Hungary manufactured the L - 60 as the Toldi . The Landsverk anti - II was an AA variant of this tank . Landsverk built a few L - 120 light tanks in the 1930s , one of which was exported to Norway , it was the first tank operated by the Norwegian Army . The modern era . During the Second World War Landsverk designed and partly manufactured , most of the Swedish Army ' s tanks . At the conclusion of that conflict Landsverk was confiscated by the Swedish state and sold to Kockums . The Irish Army operated several Landsverk vehicles over the last 80 years . Two L - 60 tanks were purchased in 1935 as training vehicles to supplement the single Vickers Mk D . Although three tanks were of dubious military value , budget constraints prevented additional purchases . Both were out of service by 1953 due to a lack of tracks . Both are still in existence , one has been restored to working condition . The Irish Army also used the L - 180 armoured car . The type was adopted to replace the aging Rolls Royce fleet in 1937 . Eight were delivered by 1939 , but the last five on order were never delivered due to the outbreak of the Second World War . The same was the case with many other vehicles in the Irish Army , budget constraints meant that the L180s were still in front - line service ( albeit up - gunned with 20mm cannon ) until 1972 . Incredibly , they were then transferred to the Irish Army Reserve , the FCA , where they were kept in service until the mid - 1980s . 4 are preserved , including one donated to the Swedish Army . The Landsverk Company produced an armoured scout car based on the Unimog S404 in the late 1950s . The Irish Army purchased 15 of the vehicles ( originally intended for the police force in the Belgian Congo ) , in 1971 at a bargain price . They were intended as a stop - gap vehicle for use until the first Panhard M3 VTT APCs entered service in 1972 . The type had excellent off - road capability but poor on - road handling due to a high centre of gravity and several accidents occurred as a result . A four - man dismountable squad arrangement was carried , but space was cramped and in any case a four - man detachment was far too small for any sort of realistic military purpose . Other criticisms were that the gunner ' s position was too exposed . Eventually the Unimog Scout Cars arrived in Ireland in February 1972 , their departure having been delayed by a local peace group who thought they were destined for the Provisional Irish Republican Army . By mid - 1978 all had been transferred to the Irish Army Reserve , the FCA . All were withdrawn by 1984 , two are preserved ; one in the transport museum in Howth Co Dublin and one in England . Material produced by AB Landsverk . 1914 - 1945