The Mowag Puma is one of the armored personnel carriers produced by Mowag based in Switzerland.

Mowag Puma
Mowag Puma at Schweizerisches Militärmuseum Full
Place of originSwitzerland
Service history
In servicenever entered production
Production history
DesignerMOWAG motor car factory Kreuzlingen
Designed1981
ManufacturerMowag
No. built1
Specifications
Crew7: driver, commander, gunner +4 passengers in the rear area

Main
armament
Coaxial armament turret with 20mm machine gun, 7.62 mm MG3 HS
Secondary
armament
6 smoke grenade cup 2x 76mm 9mm Uzi in spherical aperture
Engine8 cylinder Mowag M8DV, 10.8 L displacement
235 kW
TransmissionMOWAG M13-16S 6 forward and 2 reverse
Suspension6x6 wheeled
Operational
range
400 km (250 mi)
Maximum speed 80 km/h (50 mph) on road
42 km/h (26 mph) off-road
12 km/h (7.5 mph) water

Design

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Emphasized in the Puma vehicles were buoyancy, high payload, high maneuverability and ease of operation in nuclear/biological/chemical (NBC) contaminated areas.

The 6x6 Puma has steerable wheels on the first and the third axles, while the wheels of the middle axle are fixed, which enables a tight turning circle.

Behind the two rear wheels is a ship propeller. The motor is housed in the front.

Grenadiers leave the vehicle through a door behind the turret hatch in the roof or through a large double door at the rear of the vehicle.

History

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The Puma was the first of a family of vehicles including the 4x4, 6x6 and 8x8, which were designed and built in the 4x4 and 6x6 versions with different weight divisions.

The Puma yielded important results for the 8x8 armored personnel carriers weapon carrier Mowag Shark.

A prototype of the Puma, which took part in various trials in Switzerland and at presentations at the Gurnigel, Bruggrugg and Oerlikon-Bührle premises Ochsenboden,[1] is now in the Schweizerisches Militärmuseum Full. The Puma never went into series production.[2][3]

References

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  1. ^ "Rheinmetall Defence - Testing Centre Ochsenboden (Studen, Switzerland)".
  2. ^ Militärmuseum Full Switzerland
  3. ^ Marcus Bauer, Nutzfahrzeuge der MOWAG Motorwagenfabrik AG, Fachpresse Goldach, Hudson & Company, 1996 ISBN 9783857380563