BRDM-1

BRDM-1
Type	Armored car
Place of origin	Soviet Union
Specifications
Weight	5.6 tonnes
Length	5.7 meters
Width	2.25 m
Height	2.9 m
Crew	4 (driver, co-driver, commander, gunner)
Armor	10 mm maximum
Primary armament	1×7.62 machine gun
Engine	GAZ-40P 6 cylinder in-line gasoline 90 hp (70 kW)
Power/weight	16 hp/tonne
Suspension	Leaf springs with hydraulic shock absorbers
Operational range	500 km (road)
Speed	80 km/h (road) 9 km/h (water)

The BRDM-1 (Boyevaya Razvedyvatelnaya Dozornaya Mashina, Боевая Разведывательная Дозорная Машина, literally "Combat Reconnaissance/Patrol Vehicle" †) was an amphibious armored scout car used by Russia and the former Soviet Union. The BRDM (also known as the BTR-40P) first appeared in 1959, and was in production until 1966. Total production was around 10,000 vehicles, less than 600 remain in the reserves of a number of countries.

Development

Design work on the BRDM-1 was conducted by the Dedkov OKB under designer V K Rubtsov, the first prototype vehicle being completed in February 1956. Detailed trials were conducted in the Black Sea area, and it was accepted in service in 1957, production beginning that year. The initial version of the vehicle, the BRDM Model 1957, had an open roof, but the standard production model, the BRDM Model 1958, had a roof with twin hatches.

Description

A Polish 2P27 tank destroyer with AT-1 Snapper ATGMs.

The vehicle is a conventional 4x4 design, with a welded steel chassis, an engine at the front and crew compartment at the rear. The driver sits on the left, with the commander to his right. The vehicle is not fitted with a NBC system, and has no night-vision equipment by default. A single white light searchlight is mounted on the drivers side of the vehicle. The GAZ-40PB engine is based on a US Dodge truck engine, it is coupled to a manual gearbox with 4 forward gears and one reverse with a single dry plate clutch. One unique feature of the vehicle are the four additional belly wheels which can be lowered to improve the vehicles cross-country performance by reducing its ground pressure, and to allow it to cross trenches 1.2 meters wide. Tire pressure in the main tires can also be raised and lowered by the driver for better performance. The vehicle is fully amphibious, a trim board is raised at the front of the vehicle before entering the water. In the water the vehicle is propelled by a single water-jet, equipped with a four bladed propeller at the rear of the vehicle, which is covered with an armoured shutter while on land. The vehicle is normally armed with a single 7.62 mm SGMB machine gun mounted in the front of the hull for which 1,250 rounds of ammunition are carried. Some versions have a 12.7 mm DShKM heavy machine gun mounted on the roof with a 7.62 mm machine gun mounted at the rear.

Variants

• BRDM-RKh - NBC reconnaissance vehicle with two KZO-2 flag dispensers and with several detection devices.
• BRDM-u - Command vehicle with additional R-112 radioset and 4 whip antennas.
• 2P27 - Launch vehicle for 3 ATGM 2M2 "Shmel" (AT-1 SNAPPER). Developed in 1958.
• 2P32 - Launch vehicle for 4 ATGM 9M11 "Falanga" (AT-2 SWATTER). Successor for the 2P27, entered service in 1962.
• 9P110 - Launch vehicle for 6 ATGM 9M14 "Malyutka" (AT-3 SAGGER). Production started in 1963.
• FUG 66 or OT-65 - a variant produced by Hungary and used by Hungary, Poland, and Czechoslovakia.

Operators

The following countries^[1] use the BRDM-1.

•  Albania - 150
•  Algeria
•  Angola
•  Benin
•  Bulgaria
•  Central African Republic
•  Chad
•  Democratic Republic of the Congo
•  Egypt
•  Eritrea
•  Ethiopia
•  Iraq
•  Israel
•  Libya
•  Romania - 9P110
•  Sudan
•  Syria
•  Vietnam

See also

• BRDM
• BRDM-2

References

• Janes Armour and Artillery 2005-2006
• http://armoured.vif2.ru/brdm.htm
• http://armor.yurteh.net/Tanks/Modern/brdm1/brdm1.php
• http://www.thetankmaster.com/ENGLISH/AFV/BRDM-1_1.asp