Aloha everyone!

As the title implies this question is twofold. 1. Is there any word on the Luchs being sold to foreign armies seeing as now they are being replaced in Germany's armed forces with the Fennek? 2. Likewise is there any word on the Stryker MGS being "shopped" around?

Thank you in advance!!!

Aloha Kurt,

No, the German Bundeswehr never sold the Spähpanzer Luchs to any foreign country. And I think it`s the same with the Stryker MGS, it`s only in service with the US Army. While we sold several vehicles to South American countries, the Luchses faith is to be dismantled and scrapped. A really sad thought.

Best Regards from Winterwonderland Germany

Hans-Hermann

Wasn't there also a vehicle that may have or may have not been a Luch's chassis but with a Leopard 1A3 or A4 turret. I recall seeing a picture of a vehicle somewhere setup like that but I think it was a prototype in a museum some where.

Hi Bertie,

yes you are partially right, Thyssen Henschel company developed a light wheeled tank (similar to the Italian Cantauro) in the 1970/80`s but it didn`t use the Luchs hull, they developed a new hull for it. It`s called the TH 400 and now in private hands here in Germany.

HTH
Hans-Hermann

Does anybody have pictures of it by chance? I've always been curious about this vehicle and what the whole thing looked like.

we used the LUCH's at fort lewis until 3/2 SBCT got its full compliment of Strykers. we then turned the FUCHS and LUCHS in and got our strykers.

the FUCHS / LUCHS werent sold to us but we used them for a while.

Just search for "TH 400 Thyssen".....images, text, and video.

Well, Canada did in fact purchase the MGS and then cancelled the order when it was realized tanks were still important on the battlefield.

An MGS doesn't replace the MBT on the battlefield; it just gets there quicker and supports the initial ground forces with a direct fire anti tank capability previously only available with ATGMs. There won't be massive formations of MGSs being used like they were tank battalions.

Although it sounds like your forces intended to do this, it was never the US Army's intent to do so. One would have complemented the other, not replaced it.

Once the Sheridan retired, our medium and light forces had nothing stronger than armored HMMWVs in the Army and LAV-25s in the USMC in terms of rapidly deployable lightweight armor.

I am interested in the future life of the Luch; I got a builder's kit in a trade earlier this year. I'd like to give it a go as something other than the standard Bundeswehr vehicle.

Hi there,

for all who are interested in the developmental and operational history of the Luchs, I can recommend the following book:

Author: Hans-Peter Lohmann
Title: Spähpanzer Luchs - Technische Dokumentation des Waffensystems
Publisher: Motorbuch Verlag
ISBN 978-3-613-03162-3
Price: 39 Euros

Interested modellers from outside Germany might look on the websites of big German dealers or the publishing company itself.
A great hommage to our recon cat.

Merry Christmas
Hans-Hermann

Hi!
were there really Spaehpanzer Luchs (8x8) of the German Army used in the US for a while or was it only Fuchs (6x6) ? Were these repainted or marked with US markings? Are there any pictures available yet? I also have an unbuilt Revell kit, my feeling is that a new set of wheels is a must because the kit´s wheels are too small and too wide which is clearly noticeable on the finnished kit.

Thanks for any comment on the american use of Luchs!

Andreas

Well I did just that and found a couple of youtube videos, from the looks of it it's got a 1A5 turret and is pretty stable when it fires the main gun.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nAK3M6Oysok&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=esGVKQx8otw
And here's one of the 8x8 version with a 1A3 turret trying to turn itself around on a cobble street.
And a thread from another forum with pictures.
http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/showthread.php?118123-Wheeled-armored-vehicles-with-big-guns/page4