BTR-40 (Bronetransporter)

History

The Red Army learned a lot about mobility in its response to the German invasion of the Soviet Union during World War II. As a result, in the years that followed, wheeled and tracked armored systems were heavily developed, capable of traversing water and various terrains, while dragging dozens of Soviet infantry to the front. One such development was the BTR-40, the "bronetransporter", essentially a light four-wheeled armored vehicle that was produced in the thousands.

The design is attributed to V.A. Dedkov, and work lasted from 1947 to 1950. The car was produced from 1950 to 1960, with 8,500 examples in service by dozens of operators around the world, making the BTR-40 a post-war numerical success, despite the particular limitations of its basic design.

Soviet production was carried out by Gorkovsky Avtomobilny Zavod.

During World War II, the Red Army relied heavily on the mobile BA-64 series of small armoured vehicles introduced in 1942. More than 9,000 aircraft of this type were produced and infiltrated various countries during and after the war.

However, the BA-64 was built to the specifications encountered in wartime rush operations, was essentially an armoured vehicle not intended for troop transport, and was looking for a modern successor with amphibious personnel transport capabilities. Thus, the BTR-40 was born through this move, a further development of the "GAZ-63" 4x4 truck that entered service in 1946.

After several attempts to determine the direction of the design, two prototypes were finally launched in 1950 - the optional weapon "BTR-40" and the similar "BTR-40A" with 2 x 14.5mm heavy KPVT machine guns, movable turret Used for anti-aircraft effects.

From the looks of it, the BTR-40 series is undoubtedly a typical Soviet utility vehicle of the 1950s. Use angled armor panels wherever possible, primarily around the front engine mounts and cab to provide basic ballistic protection. The front wheels are wrapped in multi-angled fenders. The hood bulges significantly, resulting in a steeply sloping front viewport providing limited visibility forward of the engine.

Car-style doors allow conventional driver and passenger access on the side of the fuselage. The rear of the vehicle for passengers or cargo is surrounded by a box-shaped metal bracket that provides basic protection.

Headlights on either side of the engine block are suitable for low light/night driving. The wheels are large and heavily profiled, giving the vehicle the necessary off-road maneuverability.

In terms of dimensions, the BTR-40 has a barrel length of 5 meters, a width of 1.9 meters and a height of 1.83 meters. The total operating weight is about six tons. Armor protection in key areas ranging from 6mm to 8mm provides protection against small arms fire and artillery jets, but little else.

Power is provided by a GAZ-40 series 6-cylinder unit producing 80 horsepower at 3,400 rpm. The hull is suspended on a 4x4 chassis with leaf spring suspension. This configuration provides 400mm of ground clearance.

In ideal terrain, it has a range of 430 kilometers and a speed of up to 80 kilometers per hour. A basic crew consists of two employees (driver and commander), while six to eight passengers can be carried depending on the production model.

The armament of the BTR-40 is largely considered optional and depends on the operator's mission requirements. Typically, a 7.62mm machine gun with over 1,000 rounds of ammunition is mounted on the roof.

An additional pair of machine guns can be installed as needed, essentially tripling the defenses of the vehicle and crew.

In practice, the BTR-40 exposed a number of flaws in its design, mostly related to cross-country travel and the ability to traverse watertwo key design elements sought by Soviet authorities. This led the Red Army in two directions, culminating in the development of the successful 4x4 amphibious armored personnel carrier "BRDM" and the non-amphibious 6x6 "BTR-152" infantry fighting vehicle. During its time as a front-line vehicle for the Red Army, the BTR-40 proved itself capable of performing basic reconnaissance missions, light troop transport, and as a command vehicle with additional communications.

The BTR-40 was deployed concurrently with the newer BTR-152 and BRDM series vehicles (the BTR-152 was its direct replacement) during service with the Soviet Army. Since the basic BTR-40 design has no protection against chemical attack, "BTR-40Kh" was developed to have inherent nuclear, biological, chemical (NBC) protection.

The 1956 "BTR-40V" introduced an integrated tire control system. The 1957 "BTR-40B" was an improved BTR-40A with NBC protection and four six-passenger roof hatches.

Although the BTR-40 did not achieve complete success in the Red Army, it was widely used in the hands of foreign powers - mainly countries allied with the Soviet Union and satellite states. China even refers to this type of local production as the "Type 55". The BTR-40 is considered SPW-40 in service with the DDR Army and received 300 units. Thousands have been ordered abroad, including 670 in Yemen, 350 in Egypt, 200 in Mongolia, 200 in Albania and 100 in North Korea. Poland has 400 of this type, while Hungary manages around 200.

Many were later removed by more modern military powers.

The BTR-40 first fought during the Korean War (1950-1953) and later the Vietnam War (1955-1975). It has appeared in many other local area conflicts around the world and is surprisingly in use today (2013) with a dozen or so operators.

Specification

Basic

Roles

Dimensions

Performance

Performance

for everyone else in our database)

Armor

1,250 x 7.62mm ammo (per SGMB)

Changes