The Volvo Laplander L3314 is the base model of a range of military

Military

A military is an organization authorized by its greater society to use lethal force, usually including use of weapons, in defending its country by combating actual or perceived threats. The military may have additional functions of use to its greater society, such as advancing a political agenda e.g...

 vehicle

Vehicle

A vehicle is a device that is designed or used to transport people or cargo. Most often vehicles are manufactured, such as bicycles, cars, motorcycles, trains, ships, boats, and aircraft....

s produced by Volvo

Volvo Cars

Volvo Car Corporation, or Volvo Personvagnar AB, is a Swedish automobile manufacturer founded in 1927, in Gothenburg, Sweden. It is owned by Zhejiang Geely Holding Group. Volvo was originally formed as a subsidiary company to the ball bearing maker SKF. When Volvo AB was introduced on the Swedish...

.

In the early 1950s Volvo received an order to develop a new utility vehicle for the Swedish Army

Swedish Army

The Swedish Army is one of the oldest standing armies in the world and a branch of the Swedish Armed Forces; it is in charge of land operations. General Sverker Göranson is the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Army.- Organization :...

. A pre-run series of 90 vehicles, named the L2304, was delivered between 1959 and 1961. It was powered by a Volvo B16 engine. Full scale deliveries of the somewhat improved L3314 began in 1963. The L3314 was powered by the 1.8L B18

Volvo B18 engine

This B18 was a straight-4 automobile engine produced by Volvo Cars from 1961 through 1968. The five-bearing, cam-in-block engine, had OHV overhead valves operated by pushrods. The B18 is quite different in design from its predecessor, the three-bearing B16....

.

The L33-series was offered with different body-variants such as hard-top, half-cab, soft-top, or special versions mounting anti-tank weapons. All vehicles are forward control (where the cab is located over the front axle), except the open L3304. The base version was the L3314SU softtop. Other versions was the L3314HT hardtop with mechanical winch

Winch

A winch is a mechanical device that is used to pull in or let out or otherwise adjust the "tension" of a rope or wire rope . In its simplest form it consists of a spool and attached hand crank. In larger forms, winches stand at the heart of machines as diverse as tow trucks, steam shovels and...

, the L3304 anti-tank gun vehicle and the L3315 communications version, with a shielded 24V system. The L3314 was succeeded by the Volvo C303

Volvo C303

Volvo Cross Country C303 is the base model of a range of military vehicles produced by Volvo.The car was developed in the late 60s based on the successful L-3314 series and went into production in 1974. This version was produced both as a 4x4 and a 6x6. An 8x8 was planned but dropped. Engines were...

 in the late 1970s.

An upgraded version of the L3314 was offered on the civilian market in 1977 as the C202. It was a hard-top with the more powerful B20 engine instead of the B18, but with less robust axles and no differential brake

Limited slip differential

A limited slip differential is a type of differential gear arrangement that allows for some difference in angular velocity of the output shafts, but imposes a mechanical bound on the disparity...

. The C202 was manufactured in Hungary

Hungary

Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...

 as a cheaper alternative to the more expensive C303. Civilian versions of the L3314 series, as well as the C202, are often called the Volvo Laplander

Laplander

Laplander can refer to* Of, or related to Lapland* The Sami people or anyone else living in the area of Lapland; the word is used in English contexts also for the Finnish speaking population in the Finnish Lapland....

.

Sweden

The L3314SU was adopted by the Swedish Army in 1959 as the Personlastterrängbil 903 (Pltgb 903) and the L3314HT as the Pltgb 903B. The hard-top L3315 communications and command version was named the Radiopersonterrängbil 9033 (Raptgb 9033). (The L3315 was soon nicknamed Valp, meaning "puppy", from its clumsy looks.) The L3304 low profile open bodywork version was called the Pansarvärnspjästerrängbil 9031 (Pvpjtgb 9031) and armed with a Pvpj 1110

Pvpj 1110

The Pvpj 1110 is a Swedish 90 mm rifled recoilless gun. It is also widely known as Pv-1110. It entered service at the early 1960s and was phased out of service in the Swedish Army in the late 1990s after 1600 had been produced...

 90 mm recoil-less antitank gun. The Swedish Army also used a few half-cabs, designated the Pansarvärnsrobotterrängbil 9032 (Pvrbtgb 9032) and fitted with a Bofors

Bofors

The name Bofors has been associated with the iron industry for more than 350 years.Located in Karlskoga, Sweden, the company originates from the hammer mill "Boofors" founded 1646. The modern corporate structure was created in 1873 with the foundation of Aktiebolaget Bofors-Gullspång...

 Bantam

Bantam (missile)

The Bantam or Robot 53 was a Swedish wire-guided anti-tank missile developed in the late 1950s. It served with the Swedish and Swiss armies from 1963 and 1967 respectively. It can either be deployed by a single man carrying a missile and control equipment or from a vehicle. It has been fitted to...

 ATGM.
There were some deliveries of a version for fire fighting, called the Brandterrängbil 921. These could be connected to a trailer via a power take-off

Power take-off

A power take-off or power takeoff is a splined driveshaft, usually on a tractor or truck, that can be used to provide power to an attachment or separate machine. It is designed to be easily connected and disconnected...

 at the rear of the vehicle.

Norway

The Norwegian Army

Norwegian Army

Norway achieved full independence in 1905, and in the first century of its short life has contributed to two major conflicts, the Cold War and the War on Terror. The Norwegian Army currently operates in the north of Norway and in Afghanistan as well as in Eastern Europe. The Army is the oldest of...

 adopted a version called the L3314N with a fold-down windscreen and 24 volt

Volt

The volt is the SI derived unit for electric potential, electric potential difference, and electromotive force. The volt is named in honor of the Italian physicist Alessandro Volta , who invented the voltaic pile, possibly the first chemical battery.- Definition :A single volt is defined as the...

 electrical system to comply with NATO regulations. About 2,000 vehicles were purchased and assembled at Raufoss

Raufoss

Raufoss is the municipal centre of Vestre Toten, a municipality in the county of Oppland, Norway, 10 kilomenters south of the larger town Gjøvik. It has approximately 6,000 inhabitants. The largest employer is what was earlier Raufoss Ammunitions factory, now split into several sub companies...

 in Norway. (In Norway the L3314 is commonly known as "Felt", meaning "field" from its Norwegian military designation; Vogn, felt, 1/2 tonn, 4x4, Volvo, modell L3314N)

Netherlands

The Royal Netherlands Army

Royal Netherlands Army

The Royal Netherlands Army is the land forces element of the military of the Netherlands.-Short history:The Royal Netherlands Army was raised on 9 January 1814, but its origins date back to 1572, when the so-called Staatse Leger was raised...

 bought a special version able to ford extra deep water (compared to the standard 0.5 metre limit).

Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia took delivery of some 200 L3314N Öken, which was an adapted version of the Norwegian version, the L3314N.

A curious fact is that they kept the Norwegian ski-racks on these desert-bound vehicles.

Civilian use

Both versions are employed by civilians for rescue services and private use. Many L3314s have been sold as military surplus

Military surplus

Military surplus are goods, usually matériel, that are sold or otherwise disposed of when no longer needed by the military. Entrepreneurs often buy these goods and resell them at surplus stores. Military surplus rarely includes weapons or munitions, though they are occasionally found in such stores...

 and are used by off-road enthusiasts.

Technology

The Laplander used constant velocity joint

Constant-velocity joint

Constant-velocity joints allow a drive shaft to transmit power through a variable angle, at constant rotational speed, without an appreciable increase in friction or play. They are mainly used in front wheel drive and all wheel drive cars...

s, of the type invented by Alfred H. Rzeppa

Alfred H. Rzeppa

Alfred Hans Rzeppa was an engineer working at Ford Motor Company who invented a version of constant-velocity joint in 1926. He proposed an improved design in 1936....

, in its front axle.

Engine

• Engine
  Engine
  An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert energy into useful mechanical motion. Heat engines, including internal combustion engines and external combustion engines burn a fuel to create heat which is then used to create motion...
  
  : B 18 A
  Volvo B18 engine
  This B18 was a straight-4 automobile engine produced by Volvo Cars from 1961 through 1968. The five-bearing, cam-in-block engine, had OHV overhead valves operated by pushrods. The B18 is quite different in design from its predecessor, the three-bearing B16....
  
  
• Fuel
  Fuel
  Fuel is any material that stores energy that can later be extracted to perform mechanical work in a controlled manner. Most fuels used by humans undergo combustion, a redox reaction in which a combustible substance releases energy after it ignites and reacts with the oxygen in the air...
  
  : lead
  Lead
  Lead is a main-group element in the carbon group with the symbol Pb and atomic number 82. Lead is a soft, malleable poor metal. It is also counted as one of the heavy metals. Metallic lead has a bluish-white color after being freshly cut, but it soon tarnishes to a dull grayish color when exposed...
  
  ed petrol
• Power
  Power (physics)
  In physics, power is the rate at which energy is transferred, used, or transformed. For example, the rate at which a light bulb transforms electrical energy into heat and light is measured in watts—the more wattage, the more power, or equivalently the more electrical energy is used per unit...
  
  : 65 hp (DIN) at 4500 rpm
• Volume
  Volume
  Volume is the quantity of three-dimensional space enclosed by some closed boundary, for example, the space that a substance or shape occupies or contains....
  
  : 1,78 l
• Compression: 8,5:1

Transmission

• Gearbox: Modified Volvo M 40
• Transfer case
  Transfer case
  A transfer case is a part of a four-wheel-drive system found in four-wheel-drive and all-wheel-drive vehicles. The transfer case is connected to the transmission and also to the front and rear axles by means of drive shafts...
  
  : ZF
  ZF Friedrichshafen
  ZF Friedrichshafen AG, also known as ZF Group, and commonly abbreviated to ZF, is a German public company headquartered in Friedrichshafen, in the south-west German region of Baden-Württemberg....
  
   VG 50
• Front axle: Salisbury 4HS-001-85
• Rear axle: Salisbury 4HA-00-92 with POWR-LOK
  Limited slip differential
  A limited slip differential is a type of differential gear arrangement that allows for some difference in angular velocity of the output shafts, but imposes a mechanical bound on the disparity...
  
   differential
  Differential (mechanics)
  A differential is a device, usually, but not necessarily, employing gears, capable of transmitting torque and rotation through three shafts, almost always used in one of two ways: in one way, it receives one input and provides two outputs—this is found in most automobiles—and in the other way, it...
  
   brake

Production

The L3314 and the L3315 were manufactured at Volvo's Lundby plant in Göteborg.

• L3314: 7737
• L3315: 1116
• L3304: 367
• C202: 3222

External links

• Sweden's Volvo L3314 at jane's.com