Bofors

Bofors Defence AB is an iron works, cannon maker, and defence industry located in Karlskoga, Sweden. The company was founded in 1873 but it originates from the hammer mill "Boofors" founded 1646.

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Bofors most famous owner was Alfred Nobel who owned the company from 1894 until his death in December 1896. He had the key role in reshaping the iron manufacturer to a modern cannon manufacturer and chemical industry.

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The name Bofors is strongly associated with a 40 mm anti-aircraft gun based on a Bofors design which was produced and used by both sides during World War 2, and often called simply the Bofors Gun. The gun saw service on land and sea, and became so widely known that anti-aircraft guns in general were often referred to as Bofors guns.

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Bofors is today split in two parts Saab Bofors Dynamics owned by Saab and Bofors Defence owned ultimately by BAE Systems.

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In recent years Bofors has lost much of its reputation in Sweden due to various suspect affairs, the most scandalous being the briberies to India in 1986, a venturesome business that has been associated with the murder of Olof Palme.

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Iron works: REDIRECT Ironworks...

Cannon: A cannon is any large tubular firearm designed to fire a heavy projectile over a considerable distance. The term can apply to a modern day rifled machine gun with a calibre of 20 mm or more (see autocannon)....

Sweden: The Kingdom of Sweden (Swedish: ') is a Nordic country in Scandinavia, in Northern Europe. It is bordered by Norway on the west, Finland on the northeast, the Skagerrak Strait and the Kattegat Strait on the southwest, and the Baltic Sea and the Gulf of Bothnia on the east. Sweden has a low populatio...