The "Kampvogn" Project

## The Beginning

The Kampvogn Project, also known as the "tank project," began in 1928 as the Norwegian government recognized the growing use of armored fighting vehicles (AFVs) by other countries, including the British, Soviets, and Swedes. Led by Quisling during his brief tenure in office, the government purchased a Vickers Medium MK I tank to kickstart the project. Further purchases of 2 L-120 and 1 M39 Pantser helped build on the program. After a thorough discussion in Parliament, it was ultimately decided that, given the increasing use of AFVs by major powers and neighboring Sweden, Norway should also develop its own armored capabilities to deter potential hostilities.

## The Panservogn

To select the first tank to be adopted by the Norwegian Army, the Kampvogn Committee was established to conduct trials. The prime candidates were Forsvarsverkene with its Panservogn m/35 (F), Troll Bilindustri with its Panservogn m/35 (T), and Otto og Mattis Design with their Panservogn m/35 (OM). The trials took place on March 14th 1935.

Forsvarsverkene's design was lightly armored but had a powerful 37mm gun that allowed it to provide infantry support as well as take out armored vehicles. In the trials, it performed quite well. Troll Bilindustri's design took a different approach with a small 2-man tank with a turreted MG. However, it had many issues with its suspension and the extremely cramped space inside the tankette itself. A 20mm version was proposed, but it was not ready in time for the trials. Otto og Mattis Design, a private design company, had many interesting designs, but the one used in the trials was the Panservogn m/35 (OM). It performed very well, even beating the leading design from Forsvarsverkene in speed and handling. However, its armor was lacking and the Hotchkiss L/35 was only viable for infantry support, making it less desirable.

After weeks of trials, the winner for the contract ended up being Forsvarsverkene. And after a series of field trials, it was well-liked and was finally adopted into the Norwegian Army in February of 1935.

## Norwegian Tank Doctrine

The Norwegian Tank Doctrine, theorized by Col. Christopher Fougner and the rest of the Kampvogn Committee, emphasized the reliability and ease of repair and maintenance of the tanks. The crew of the tank should be able to repair more than a regular tank crew at the time. The engine and other critical components of the tank needed to be switchable to reduce time in repair at logistics points. Extra tools where also issued to the tanks. The goal was to make the tanks as self-sufficient as possible due to the logistics network in Norway's mountain terrain being scarce.

Another point on the doctrine was its combat capabilities. Light tanks of Norway needed to be able to take the role of infantry support when needed and take out other light tanks if need be. The other classes of tanks would take care of the rest.

No formal tank divisions were formed when the Norwegian Army adopted tanks in 1935. Instead, they opted to integrate the tanks into the Infantry divisions as in Squads. With a Squad leader to coordinate attacks and communicate with the Infantry leaders. This system was rather "unorthodox" for the 1930s and proved to be quite useful in the war that was to come.

### 1942 Hatch spring kits

In late 1941 Captain Gustav Jacobsen with his Squad of Panserkampvogn m/39 noticed that the hatches would be quite heavy. This being a common issue on most Norwegian tanks. Gustav designed a spring assisted system that would dramaticly reduce the time and effort needed to open the hatches of **Any** Norwegian tank. After taking this design to the Kampvogn Committee, it was adopted and production soon began. Now nicknamed the **"Jacobsen's Hjelpende Hånd"** (Jacobsen's helping hand) it was a hit with tank crews in the Army. Although the production was slow to begin with all new tanks where equipped with this system.

### 1942 External Fuel Tanks

Also being adopted in 1942 was the External Fuel tank. This allowed tanks to increase their range and was a good way to keep tanks in the fight longer.

**Master List : -List Of Armored Vehicles-**