Stridsvagn 81

The Strv 81 is a Swedish tier 8 medium tank. Its a Swedish-bought Centurion Mark III, featuring similar turret armour, mobility, and gun compared to the tech tree Centurion I.

Armour

(The Strv 81 in the images is using Enhanced Armour)

Drag slider right -> to view 218mm AP
Drag slider <- left to view 262mm APCR

When flat and facing head-on:
Upper plate front 127-133mm
Lower plate 115mm

Turret cheeks 212-225mm
Gun mantlet 320-435mm
Lower mantlet weakpoint 218-240mm
Cupola 80-150mm

vs 150mm AP (top image), 200mm APCR (bottom image)
Using -10 gun depression:

Upper plate front 180-185mm

Turret cheeks 220mm
Gun mantlet 320-445mm
Lower mantlet weakpoint 221mm
Cupola fully hidden

Side armour:
Strv 81 has the typical 51mm hull side armour, angled inwards, with 5mm spaced sideskirt, that nearly all Centurion tanks feature.

This means that the tank can’t sidescrape (due to double-overmatch on the tracks and sideskirt), but if catching a shot on the base side armour, it can bounce due to the angling.

The base side armour is penetrable to HE (when not angled at all) with at least 53mm penetration.

Turret roof:
This is a typical Centurion tank weakspot, since its a very thin armour plate, but angled to be an auto-ricochet.

This area is around 240mm thick, meaning its penetrable to many tier 8 and 9 HEAT rounds when on flat ground, but will bounce all AP/APCR due to the angle.

Armour vs tier 7 tanks:
Against tier 7 enemies, the turret of this tank is very strong, and will be impenetrable to essentially all enemies you face. Enemies can load premium ammo to penetrate the turret cheeks, though many MT and LT won’t have sufficient penetration to go through.

The hull is weak to all enemies, even if angled.

Armour vs tier 8 tanks:
Against tier 8 enemies, about half of the tanks you face will be able to penetrate the turret cheeks, and the other half won’t.

Tier 8 mediums with below 215mm penetration won’t be able to reliably penetrate the turret cheeks (though there is a narrow area at the very edge of each cheek which is penetrable, you can see this in the images).

Tier 8 tanks with over 215mm penetration will be able to penetrate the turret cheeks quite reliably, and of course any tank using premium ammo. The gun mantlet has a few weaker areas towards the bottom but is overall strong.

(If you use enhanced armour, then the turret cheeks can bounce up to 220mm reliably. You can see the difference here.)

Armour vs tier 9 tanks:
Against tier 9 tanks, the gun mantlet and turret roof remain strong, but the turret cheeks are penetrable to essentially all enemies you face.

The hull is still penetrable to every enemy you face.

Gun

The Strv 81 mounts an 8.4cm (84mm) gun

-Alpha damage is 200 on standard APCR, 170 on premium APCR, and 260 on HE
-It has a 4.6s reload, giving it 2591 DPM
-Penetration on standard APCR is 221mm, premium APCR is 252mm, and HE is 42mm.
–Estimated aim time is 2.6/2.8s
–Base aim time is 1.7s, but it can get down to 1.39s.
-Dispersion is 0.299/0.269
–Gun handling is 0.12/0.12/0.08, or 0.1/0.1/0.07 with Vertical Stabilizer.
-Gun depression is -10 degrees

Overall this is a great gun. Its very accurate, has incredible aim time, dispersion, gun handling, DPM, & gun depression.
Penetration is good overall, but below average compared to other Centurion tanks.
Alpha damage is low, but above average compared to other Centurion tanks.

This is a great gun that performs very well in DPM scenarios or when taking long range shots, but struggles when you can only put in 1 shot and not more, due to the low alpha.

Mobility

-Top speed is 50km/h forwards, and -20km/h in reverse.
-Traverse speed is 63.9 deg/s on hard terrain, and 58.1 deg/s on medium terrain.
-In game acceleration rate is shown as 20.5 hp/t, it has a strong 978 horsepower engine for its 48 ton weight.
-Actual acceleration rate is 20.5 hp/t on hard terrain, and 18.6 hp/t on medium terrain.
–Terrain resistances are 1/1.1/1.5

Overall this is decent mobility. Top speed is fairly average, with good acceleration and traverse on both terrain types.
For a Centurion tank, the Strv 81 has above average top speed and traverse speed, but with less acceleration than the Centurion Mk.5/1 or Defender Mk. I (but better than the Centurion Mk. I.

Equipment, provisions, & consumables

The Strv 81 does not have any special provisions or consumables.

Gun Rammer:
Strv 81 is a tank focused on its high DPM and quick reload, it also only has APCR/APCR/HE for its ammo, so it doesn’t benefit as noticeably from calibrated shells. This tank is also very accurate, so even if unable to penetrate an enemy, its still easy to snipe weakpoints if needed.

Gun rammer would lower the reload time 5.0s down to 4.6s, and increase the DPM from 2410 to 2591.

Enhanced armour:
While the Strv 81 has great HP, and improving it would make it very impressive (from 1450 to 1537 HP), enhanced armour makes a very noticeable difference to the turret armour of the Strv 81.

As a Centurion tank, hulldown gameplay and strong turret armour are basically the main features of the tank, so improving the turret armour really benefits the tank in its natural gameplay environment. Also note that just bouncing a single extra shot is worth more than the HP that improved assembly adds.

Enhanced armour most notably benefits the turret, since the hull is so weak. It would increase:
-Turret cheeks from 212mm up to 220.5mm
-Lower gun mantlet weakpoint from 218mm to 227mm
-Turret roof from 240mm to 250mm

vs 218mm AP penetration

Using enhanced armour will stop standard penetration from many tanks being able to penetrate the turret cheeks. Tanks such as Kpz 07 RH, Chimera, E 75 TS, T32, Chrysler K, etc.
Enhanced armour stops the penetration levels of anything from 215mm up to 220mm, which there are many tanks in tier 8.

Vertical Stabilizer:
Both equipment choices can actually work very well on this tank, as the Strv 81 already has both great gun handling and great dispersion.

Vertical stabilizer is generally a more useful choice though, as medium tanks often play quite actively, constantly moving, changing positions, flanking, etc. With such gameplay where you’re constantly moving, the vertical stabilizer is better since it helps the gun to remain more accurate as you move the tank, and when you stop to aim in after moving.

Gameplay advice

The gameplay of the Strv 81 is almost identical to the tech tree Centurion Mk. I. These 2 tanks share the same traits, having a strong turret which still has turret cheek weakpoints, having good mobility (but not as good as the other 2 tier 8 Centurions), and having high DPM, low alpha, accurate guns.

If you’ve played the Centurion Mk. I before, then the Strv 81 should feel immediately familiar.

General gameplay:
Tank this tank to the MT side of the map, since it shouldn’t be fighting heavy tanks head-on. Strv 81 is a solely hulldown tank. In all aspects of gameplay you should be looking to use positions where you can hide the hull. Try to use ridges and hills whenever possible, and only expose the turret.

Use the great reload and accuracy to quickly snap multiple shots into enemies, and trade using your DPM, and not alpha damage.
If an enemy shoots you once, try to put 2-3 shots back into them to out-trade their damage while they reload.

Go hulldown & use gun depression:
The Strv 81 has a very large and weak hull. Any enemy between tiers 7 and 9 can penetrate it easily, and even tanks which use HESH or premium HE shells (excluding T49) will be able to penetrate the hull front.

This tank’s only armour is on its turret. If you’ve played a Centurion before then you’ll know that you only ever get bounces when the hull is hidden, and that is how to use the armour in Strv 81.

The turret armour increases slightly while using gun depression, but enemies can still penetrate the cheeks with premium ammo. The main benefit of a gun depression position is that you can keep moving the tank slightly, or just quickly reverse into cover. This can throw off the enemy’s aim or cause them to miss your fairly small turret cheek weakpoints.

Trade in DPM:
Due to low alpha and a quick reload time, you should try to put in multiple shots for every time the enemy shoots. If done right, this will let you easily out-trade the enemy due to your quick reload and high DPM.

If you know your enemy’s reload, then you can easily time it perfectly to put multiple shots into them.
For the Strv 81:
2 shots, 4.63s, dealing 400 damage on average.
3 shots, 9.26s, dealing 600 damage on average.
4 shots, 13.9s, dealing 800 damage on average.

For example, if you face a Chimera (which has a 13.1s reload), they will shoot you for 440 damage, but you can shoot them 3 times before they reload again, dealing 600 damage.

Of course every scenario is different, and its best not to chase after damage just so you can use the good DPM.

The gameplay of a Centurion tank is fairly simple and generic. Its an all-round medium with an accurate gun, you should trade with DPM and not alpha, and only ever rely on turret armour, not hull armour. Strv 81 features fairly standard MT gameplay with a focus on hulldown and gun depression use.

Tank gameplay:

Overall

Armour – 5/10
Gun – 8/10
Mobility – 5.5/10
Speed – 5/10

Strv 81 is overall a good tank.

Armour is average for a medium. Hull is weak, but turret is strong. There are weakpoints but they aren’t large. HE protection is good.
Gun has amazing aim time, DPM, reload time, accuracy, gun handling, and -10 gun depression. Penetration is good, but alpha damage is low.
Mobility is average, with a fairly strong engine, good acceleration, & good traverse speed. Nothing too special for a medium in tier 8. Reverse speed is average.
Speed is average with 50km/h.

Is it worth getting?

The Strv 81 is only worth getting if you really like the Centurion 1’s gameplay, and just want a premium version of that. It has essentially the same gameplay as the Centurion 1, but with a few differences in its stats.

Strv 81 won’t be worth it for other players though, since compared to other premium medium tanks, it doesn’t really offer anything unique. Its an all-rounder tank with a great gun but low alpha, average mobility, and a weak hull.
Most players are more likely to enjoy the more reliable armour of the Centurion Mk. 5/1.

The Strv 81 is worth 5,500 gold. Its not a bad tank, but its nothing new or super special. Its so similar to the tech tree Centurion that there’s not much point to use the Strv 81 instead of it, in fact the tech tree Centurion is more worth playing due to its better turret armour and gun(s).

Most recently sold for:

New release crates – January 2024

Camo cost:

“Kämpe” camo: 3D, costs [unknown] gold.

Comparison to Centurion Mk. I

For some historical background, the Centurion I in game is a Centurion Mk. III turret and gun, on a Centurion Mk. I hull. The Strv 81 is just a Swedish bought Centurion Mk. III.

Not only are these two tanks statistically similar, but they are essentially just the same tank, a Centurion Mk. III.

Armour:

Both tanks in the images are using enhanced armour, and facing against 218mm AP penetration.

-The Strv has a stronger turret roof, since the Mk.I’s is not an auto-ricochet angle.
-Its gun mantlet center is stronger, but has a weakpoint on the lower part, whick Mk.I doesn’t have.
-The turret cheeks are roughly the same. The Centurion Mk.I actually has very troll cheeks which are better angled (Strv’s are flat), and are only penetrable at a narrow area directly next to the mantlet. On the Strv, the cheeks are flatter, and the weakest part is right at the edge, furthest from the mantlet.
-Strv’s hull armour is 5-10mm stronger across the hull front, but this is irrelevant since everything can still penetrate it.
-The overall armour performance of the Strv’s turret is better, but just barely. It won’t be noticeable in battle.

Gun:
The Centurion Mk.I has 2 gun choices, one gun with HESH and one with regular shells.
Only the regular gun will be compared, but keep in mind that the Centurion can use a gun with HESH to increase its alpha.

-Centurion Mk.I has better penetration, with AP as standard ammo, and higher penetration by 4mm on AP and 6mm on premium APCR.
-Centurion Mk.I has better DPM by 117, and quicker reload by 0.42s; however has 10 less alpha damage on all shells.
-Strv 81 has slightly better shell velocity, slightly better gun handling, slightly better dispersion, and a decent amount quicker aim time.
-Both tanks have -10 gun depression.

Mobility:
-Strv 81 has 5km/h better top speed, being the only tier 8 Centurion that can go at 50km/h.
-Strv 81 has better effective acceleration by 0.65 hp/t on hard terrain, and 0.59 hp/t on medium.
-Strv 81 has better effective traverse speed by 2.63 deg/s on hard terrain, and 2.39 deg/s on medium.

Overall performance:
Overall, these two tanks are nearly the same. There are statistical differences, but they are small and subtle.

These two tanks perform very similarly in battle, but the Centurion Mk.I is more effective in most scenarios. While it loses out slightly in mobility, and very slightly in armour; it still has a reliable turret, and gains a notable amount of DPM, with that amazing 225mm AP penetration. Again it sacrifices some accuracy stats and 10 alpha damage, but these are hardly noticeable.

Of course there will be some situations where the extra alpha damage and better gun handling & accuracy will make the Strv the better tank; same goes for the mobility and top speed. But these aren’t enough to make the tank worth buying, since its just so similar to a tech tree tank.

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