This vehicle was designed to replace the AT.41 Self-Propelled Anti-Tank Gun and M44 Infantry Support Vehicle in service with the Royal Yugoslav Army, and supplant the AT.47 Self-Propelled Antitank Gun whose performance was no longer viable in the face of the most recent developments in tank technology. It utilises the chassis of the M48 Medium Tank, replacing the turret with a fixed armoured fighting compartment for the main armament. Work on a prototype commenced early in 1949.
General:
Crew: 5 (Commander, gunner, loader, driver, radio operator)
Battle Weight: 38,000 kilograms
Length: 9.5 metres
Width: 3.9 metres
Height: 2.3 metres
Engine: Skoda V-12 diesel, 700 horsepower
Power/weight ratio: 18.42 horsepower/tonne
Armament:
Main: 100mm D10-T L/54
External: 7.92mm M47
Ammunition:
Main gun – 50 rounds
Machinegun – 1,000 rounds
Armor:
Hull Front: 75-120mm (lower frontal plate), 75mm (upper frontal plate)
Hull Side: 50mm
Hull Floor: 20mm
Casemate Side: 75mm
Casemate Rear: 50mm
Casemate Roof: 25mm
Suspension:
Running gear per side – one final drive wheel, one idler wheel. Three bogies with six roadwheels on quarter-elliptic springs; five return rollers.
Performance:
Maximum Road Speed: 45 kilometres per hour
Gradient: 55 degrees
Vertical Step: 800mm
Trench Crossing: 2 metres
Fording Depth: 4 metres
Road Range: 170 kilometres