The Soviet light armored personnel carrier BTR-40 is the first wheeled armored vehicle used to transport military units on the battlefield under direct fire contact with the enemy. The machine was created as a means of enhancing and increasing the mobility of actions of rifle subunits during the combat deployment of units on the battlefield.
Development and serial production
After the end of World War II, the Soviet armed forces clearly recognized the need to have an armored transporter in the rifle units. The experience of using American armored vehicles at the final stage of the war, which are lend-lease in the USSR, showed how immediately the mobility and firepower of rifle units increased.
The development of a similar machine Soviet designers began in 1947. As the wheelbase, it was decided to use the chassis of the Soviet truck GAZ-63. The main structural elements for the first domestic armored personnel carrier decided to take from the American car M3. Developed by the OKB Gorky Automobile Plant. The prototype was released on sea trials in 1949.
The created machine turned out to be universal and could be used as a transporter for personnel of motorized rifle units, reconnaissance vehicles and as an artillery tractor. The serial production of the first domestic armored personnel carrier BTR-40 was carried out from 1950 to 1960. The Soviet industry supplied the troops with about 8.5 thousand vehicles in two modifications.
The main tactical and technical characteristics of the armored personnel carrier BTR-40
- Crew - 2 people, landing - 8 people.
- Combat weight - 5.3 tons.
- Length - 5 m, width - 1.9 m, height - 1.83 m, ground clearance - 276 mm.
- Armament: 7.62-mm machine gun SGMB (ammunition - 1250 rounds).
- Armor thickness: 4-15 mm.
- Carburetor engine, power - 78 hp
The Soviet armored personnel carrier BTR-40 was in service with motorized rifle units of the Soviet Army until the mid-60s. The last cars were decommissioned only in 1993. Soviet BTR-40 was in service with the armies of the Warsaw Pact. The car was delivered to the countries of the Middle East, Asia and Africa, where it took part in numerous armed conflicts of the second half of the 20th century.
Photo of the BTR-40
