NM-116

Author: DK

Hello tank fans and Armored Warfare players. Today, I am sharing the interesting and unique history of the NM-116, a Norwegian upgrade to the American M24 Chaffee light tank.

The M24 Chaffee was a highly successful light tank design, serving at the end of WW2 and through Korea. It was a versatile, nimble and reliable machine, but the US Army, with its new M41 Walker Bulldog, phased it out soon after. Exported to a few different nations, some ended up in the Norway, employed for reconnaissance and light anti-tank.

     However, in the late 1960s and early 1970s, it was increasingly clear to Norway’s military that their aging M24 light tanks were completely obsolete in the anti-tank role and increasingly inept when combating even light soviet vehicles like the brand-new BMP-1. M24s had shown themselves mostly incapable of engaging T-34-85s in Korea, and Soviet armor had become much stronger since. Therefore, it was decided that a new light tank had to be obtained. However, due to a very restricted budget, other options aside from purchasing a new vehicle like a M41 had to be explored. It was calculated that the M24 Chaffees that they already owned could be refurbished for one third of the cost and be just as effective as buying a newer light tank such as the AMX 13-90. Hopeful of a cheaper solution, Norway purchased a French-prototype upgrade of a 90mm D-925 cannon to one of their Chaffees. This became the basis of the future NM-116.

      Pleased with the results, they produced it along with a variety of other features. Those features, made by the company Thune-Eureka A/S for the Norwegian government, included a new American (Detroit Diesel 6V53T) engine, gearbox and electronic equipment. The Panzerjeager NM-116 production run was completed in 1977 for deployment to six tank-hunter squadrons, serving alongside NM-142 tank destroyers, upgrades of the M113 APC with a TOW. Interestingly, the Norwegians considered it a tank destroyer, but in-game it will most likely be a light tank like the base M24 would be. The D-925 low pressure gun provided good HEAT and HE rounds for targeting both hard and soft targets. The doctrine of the tank squadrons was to use it's good mobility and cross country performance to sneak up to the sides and rear of the anticipated aggressors and use the 90mm gun to full effect. In this regard, the NM-116 performed quite admirably and was liked by its four-man crews. Although in-capable of taking a hit from modern tanks, as a cheap tank-defeating system, it served its purpose admirably.

    In Armored Warfare, the NM-116 could be a tier 2 or tier 3 light tank. It's high mobility, good firepower and accurate HEAT firing gun could do well fighting current light tanks like the BMP-1 while having much greater RoF than the M551 Sheridan. Here is a list of some basic NM-116 statistics for you to judge where you would put it in-game.

Gun + Hull Length: 5943mm
Hull + Turret Height 2600mm
Width: 2820mm

Full Load Weight: 18300kg
Empty Weight: 17100kg
Length Gun Forward: 594cm
Length Gun Back: 532cm
Width 282cm
Top of Turret Height: 260cm
Hull Height: 150cm
Ground Clearance: 45cm
Ground Pressure: 0.74kg/cm2

Detroit Diesel 6V53T of 275hp
20.5 hp/ton
Governed Top Speed: 47 km/h
Combat Radius: 300km
Gap Crossing: 240cm
90cm vertical climb step
Dry Climbing Grade: 27 Degs
Side Sloped Capability: 15 Degs

Gun: 90mm D-925 low pressure rifled cannon
15 Degrees Elevation
10 Degrees Depression
Minimum Elevation of +1 over rear
Weight of cradle with gun: 720kg
8x76mm smoke grenades

Ammo: M62 HEAT Rounds: 775m/s
Ammo: High Explosive MF 1 640 m/s
Practice Round MF 1 750 m/s
Smoke Round MF 1 635 m/s
Ammo Capacity 41 Rounds
Practical Range 1500m

I hope to see your comments on whether you would like to see this vehicle in Armored Warfare

DK.