AB Landsverk - Early Days

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 tanks 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.