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Background — Origins and Arrangement of Hägglunds' Bv206
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Hägglunds designed its Bv206 as a direct replacement for
an earlier Swedish army all-terrain vehicle, Volvo's Bv202. Mechanically, the two vehicles were very similar.
Both are twin-bodied, articulated track vehicles ( hence their Band- vagn designations). Where the types
differ is in the body construction – while the Bv 202 body was of welded steel, Hägglunds employed a
sandwich of fibreglass and foam to provide a rigid 'bath tub' that is insulated and
buoyant.
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Both of the Bandvagn types steer through articulated driveshaft joints between front and rear
sections (steering action being controlled by hydraulic rams). Both
designs use tracks of the continuous, "rubber band" type reinforced with metal – ie: these tracks are not of
the tank- like, replaceable-link type. [1] These cast rubber tracks are very wide for the size of the vehicles,
giving them ground pressure 'foot prints' little different from a man on foot. As such, both Bandvagns have
high floatation on snow or soft terrain. The tracks also propel the vehicles in water.
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Bv 206 MOSV – Drivetrain Arrangement
The Bv206 and Bv202 also share mechanical arrangements. A liquid-cooled, inline engine, transmission, and
transfer case are mounted beside the driver. A driveshaft runs forward to power the front section's drive
sprockets. Another driveshaft runs rearwards through an articulated ball-and-socket/steering joint
to the rear section. Steering is accomplished through two hydraulic rams, mounted either side of the
articulated driveshaft/connector, with one section acting against the other.
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The Northern Terrain Vehicle (NTV) – the Aborted Plan for Canadian Production of the Bv206
by Calgary's Hägglunds Foremost
DND's original MOSV plan was to buy a batch of Bv206s from Hägglunds, then to build the
type in Canada. Calgary's Foremost had experience with articulated tracks.[2] In 1988, DND announced its intention to
order 820 NTVs from newly-formed Hägglunds Foremost which started 'Canadianizing' the Bv206. However, the
NTV order was cut in half by the Mulroney Tories in April 1989. Two years later, DND's NTV
project was cancelled entirely.[3]
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[1] The invention of rubber band tracks are usually attributed to the St. Petersburg-based French inventor
Adolphe Kégresse (circa 1906).
[2] Foremost was formed by Bruce Nodwell (whose Nodwell 110 tracked carrier was trialled by DND including use at
CFS Alert). The joint venture firm, Hägglunds Foremost Inc., was formed specifically to build those 'Canadianized'
NTVs for the CF (although it was hoped that North American-produced Bv206s would also be of interest
to the US Army which was buying its M973 SUSVs directly from Sweden ).
[3] Hägglunds Foremost received its contract for 820 NTVs in July 1988. The NTVs were to be
constructed primarily with Canadian-made parts (Bv206 'Canadianization' consisting mostly of details such as brush
guards and the like). NTV production was to commence in 1992.
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