The Swiss government committed to an initial batch order of 170 units and these were delivered from 1971 into 1974. In 1977, a second batch order of 50 vehicles followed and these featured thermal sleeves on their main guns. To differentiate the two, the initial block models were designated Mk I and the follow-up forms as Mk II. Both of these versions were then followed by the Mk III which installed a dimensionally larger turret assembly while including all of the standardization of Mk II production models. The final production variant, the Mk IV, was delivered between 1983 and 1984.
In practice, the Panzer 68 was not a completely successful design for it was eventually considered "unfit" for modern combat - particularly against the expected Soviet foe. No fewer than 50 detailed faults were noted of the type including a limited transmission system requiring the vehicle to come to a complete stop before shifting to reverse was possible. The main gun was prone to involuntary firing when the cabin heating element was activated and fuel stores were found susceptible to fracturing over time. The NBC (Nuclear, Biological, Chemical) suite did not offer the listed protection levels for the crew and radio kit also interfered with the signals used in turret traversal, leading to involuntary movement of the turrets when the radios were in use. Track life proved a concern for many wore out ahead of their scheduled maintenance. It is said that the defects inherent in the Panzer 68 design ultimately led to the resignation of the then-acting Minister of Defence (Rudolf Gnagi).
The many faults concerning the original Pz 68 models were supposedly rectified in a later 1988 initiative which sought to provide a more completed tank product. This endeavor then produced the "Pz 68/88" designation of which 195 vehicles were upgraded of the 390 eventually produced.
Despite the noted deficiencies in the Pz 68, the chassis was put to use in other battlefield forms. The Entpannungspanzer 65 was an Armored Recovery Vehicle (ARV) variant lacking the turret with main gun while the Bruckenpaner 68 was a bridge-layer mounting a 60-foot single-piece span atop the Pz 68 hull. The Fliegerabwehrpanzer 68 was a proposed self-propelled, anti-aircraft platform mounting the German Flakpanzer Gepard gun system (2 x 35mm Oerlikon autocannons) though never accepted into serial production. The Zielpanzer 68 were ten Pz 68 hulls stripped of their usefulness and held to become mobile missile targets in testing. The Panzerkanone 68 - a proposed self-propelled artillery gun carrier - was produced across four prototype examples atop the Pz 68 chassis. These, like the AA designed, were not accepted for serial production (the American M109 was adopted instead).
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