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Austin-Putilov Armored Car

1918 WORLD WAR 1

The story of the Austin-Putilov armored vehicle

From 1918 to 1920, the Austin Armoured Vehicle of British origin (described in detail elsewhere on this page) was built for the Russian Empire and was locally known as the "Austin-Putilov". The vehicles stem from a 1916 commitment to deploy a local armored vehicle in service with the Russian Army during the First World War (1914-1918). Since the Russian industry lacked the skills to design such products from scratch, about 60 Austin car chassis (with engines) were purchased from the Austin Motor Company to provide the basic basis for the machine.

The Putilov plant in St. Petersburg was contracted to manufacture and install the armored hull components, and production will begin as soon as possible. However, the February Revolution of 1917 greatly hindered Russia's war effort, and this type of work was delayed for some time. Unlike the planned service date of 1917, the first car did not arrive on the market until 1918.

Since then, a total of 33 vehicles have been delivered.

The Putilov van was built with a travel length of 4.9 meters, a width of 2 meters and a height of 2.8 meters. The weight is 5.2 tons. The five crew members included the driver, commander, a loading mechanic and two full-time machine gunners. Power comes from a 50-horsepower Austin 4-cylinder gasoline engine that delivers up to 34 mph and up to 125 miles of range.

Weapons are usually 2 x 7.62mm Maxim machine guns, carrying around 5,000 rounds - this vehicle is more of an anti-infantry measure. The guns were mounted on two separate rotating cylindrical turrets, located aft of the top of the fuselage.

The use of a 2x4 blade suspension system helps off-road driving to some extent, but the Putilov is no off-road warrior. The armor protection reaches a thickness of 7.5 mm and is riveted in the bow, cockpit and stern areas.

A four-wheel stance was used, with rubber-tired wheels placed at the extreme corners of the design.

"Austin-Kegresse" became another Russian-inspired branch of the Austin armored vehicle family - its main difference was that it relied on a Kegresse track system mounted under the rear of the vehicle. These were basically the first examples of half-tracked military vehicles of the type that would become popular in the upcoming World War II.

The added track assembly greatly improves off-road driving - especially in snow and muddy terrain.

When Russia withdrew from World War I in March 1918, the existing stockpiles of Austin-Putilov armored vehicles continued to fight (an example of being captured by enemy forces), but their use and numbers were much lower in the 1920s decline rapidly. By the early 1930s, all of them had been retired.