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Armored Warfare Wiki
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Wiesel 1 TOW
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Wiesel 1 TOW
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==History== Class: Reconnaissance Vehicle</br> Developed: 1969-1987</br> Service: 1987+</br> Vehicles Built: 210</br> Operators: Germany At first glance, the Wiesel represents an interesting throwback to the pre-war era of tankettes: tiny, cheap vehicles that served more as slow, mobile machinegun nests than actual armor. And it is not just a passing resemblance as the Wiesel's role on the battlefield does not fundamentally differ from that of the tankettes of old. Development of the Wiesel began around 1969 when the West-German military decided to find a replacement for the Kraftkarren quad, used by German paratroopers. These were basically unarmored and more protection was required. On the other hand, the vehicle had to fit into a CH-53G helicopter. This meant it had to be small in size and also imposed severe weight constraints on the project since it only had a carrying capacity of 6 tons. The development process was incredibly convoluted because the original contest, won by Porsche, was canceled in 1979 only to be restarted in 1981 following a rather vocal and negative (to put it mildly) feedback from German paratroopers who were counting on retiring their Kraftkarren quads. Porsche won this new contest as well following some modifications to the design. The result of the development was a very unique type of light vehicle. It only had a crew of two, weighed approximately 3 tons and had very thin steel armor, essentially protecting the crew from 7.62mm small arms only. Of course, it was not the Wiesel's role to just stand there and take punishment. The vehicle had excellent overall survivability thanks to its small size, firepower and speed. The vehicle was officially accepted into service on June 5, 1987. A production contract was signed in March 1988 for 243 vehicles (210 vehicles with a TOW ATGM launcher and 133 vehicles with a 20mm autocannon), which were delivered between 1990 and 1992. The Wiesel 1 TOW is currently still in German service. Since its introduction, it has been used mostly in various peacekeeping operations as part of the German contingent (Germany remains the sole user). The Wiesel 1 TOW has therefore appeared over the years in former Yugoslavia, Iraq and Afghanistan.
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