Soviet combat reconnaissance vehicle of the 1950s, according to Western classification, it is also sometimes referred to as an armored car. It was created in 1954-1956 at the GAZ Design Bureau to replace the BTR-40 light armored personnel carrier as a standard light reconnaissance, command and communications vehicle. Soviet army. Compared to its predecessor, the BRDM had cross-country ability due to the use of a chassis with two additional pairs of lowered wheels and amphibious capability, as well as a greater power reserve.
Serial production of the BRDM was carried out from 1957 to 1966, last years the machine was produced in parallel with the improved BRDM-2, created on its basis. In addition to the main version, the BRDM served as the basis for the creation of a number of specialized machines, primarily self-propelled anti-tank systems; in total, about 10,000 cars of all types were produced. BRDM was used by Soviet ground, airborne troops and marines up until the end of the 1970s. The BRDM was also actively exported, about 1,500 units were delivered to at least 21 countries of the world, and although, as of 2010, they were decommissioned in most of these states, some countries continue to use vehicles of this type.
Is in service
Afghanistan - some BRDM-1 and BRDM-2, as of 2010
-Vietnam - 100 BRDM-1 and BRDM-2, as of 2010
-Guinea - 25 BRDM-1 and BRDM-2, as of 2010
-Zambia - 70 BRDM-1 and BRDM-2, as of 2010
-Republic of the Congo - 25 BRDM-1 and BRDM-2, as of 2010
-Cuba - a certain amount of BRDM-1 and BRDM-2, as of 2010
-Mozambique - 30 BRDM-1 and BRDM-2, as of 2010
- Sudan - 60 BRDM-1 and BRDM-2, as of 2010
-Eritrea - 40 BRDM-1 and BRDM-2, as of 2010
Characteristics
Classification: combat reconnaissance vehicle / armored car
- Combat weight, t: 5.6
-Layout diagram: power compartment in the frontal part of the vehicle, combined combat and control - in the stern
- Crew, people: 2
- Landing, pers.: 3
-Dimensions:
- Case length, mm: 5700
- Hull width, mm: 2250
-Height, mm: 1900 on the roof, 2295 on the machine gun
- Base, mm: 2800
- Track, mm: 1650
-Clearance, mm: 315
-Booking:
- Armor type: rolled steel
- Forehead of the hull, mm / city: 7-11
- Hull board, mm/deg.: 7
- Hull feed, mm / city: 7
- Bottom, mm: 4
- Hull roof, mm: 5
-Forehead felling, mm/deg.: 11
- Cutting board, mm/deg.: 7
- Cutting feed, mm / city: 7
- Roof of the felling, mm/deg.: 5
-Armament:
-Machine guns: 1 x 7.62 mm SGMB arr. 1949
-Mobility:
-Manufacturer: Gorky Automobile Plant Brand: GAZ-40P Type: carburetor gasoline Volume: 3 48 cc. Max power: 90 hp at 3400 rpm Maximum torque: 220 6 Nm Configuration: in-line, 6-cyl. Cylinders: 6 Bore: 82 mm Stroke: 110 mm Compression ratio: 6.7 Cooling: liquid Cycle (number of cycles): 4 Cylinder firing order: 1-5-3-6-2-4 Recommended fuel: B-70
-Speed on the highway, km / h: 80
- Speed over rough terrain, km / h: 25-30 on dirt road 9 afloat
- Cruising on the highway, km: 500
- Cruising range over rough terrain, km: 85 afloat
- Specific power, l. s./t: 15.2-16.1
-Wheel formula: 4x4 (additional wheels raised) 8x8 (all wheels)
- Suspension type: independent on leaf springs with hydraulic shock absorbers
- Specific ground pressure, kg/sq.cm: adjustable, 0.5-3.0
- Climbability, deg.: 42
- overcome wall, m: 0.4
- Crossable moat, m: 1.22
- Crossable ford, m: floats
In our article, we told the story of the creation of the BRDM-1, now we will continue our story with a description specifications this war machine.
Equipped with a hermetic load-bearing body made of rolled armor plates having a thickness of 6, 8 and 12 mm, while the frontal top sheet had an angle of inclination of 85 degrees. The car has an armored cabin welded to the hull with two inspection hatches, in which bulletproof glass is installed. In the back wall of the cabin there is a hatch with two wings.
The design of the machine used the basic layout diagram, as well as components and assemblies of the BTR-40 armored personnel carrier. At the same time, her engine was installed in an elongated front part of the body, which provided for the exit of crew members from the kBRDM using two aft doors. Such technical solution was not very successful, since such an arrangement significantly worsened visibility from the driver's seat.
The commander of the vehicle and the driver were located in the middle part of the hull in the control department. It was separated by a sealed partition from the power plant compartment. The fighting compartment was located in the aft and middle parts of the hull. In front of the vehicle, a SGMV heavy machine gun with 1250 rounds of ammunition was mounted on a swivel. In the stowed position, he was in the wheelhouse. Holes were made in the sides and stern for the crew members of the armored vehicle to fire from personal weapons. In addition, paratroopers taken on board could conduct such fire. The standard equipment of the BRDM-1 includes tank radios.
As power plant on the BRDM-1, a gasoline forced engine GAZ-40P of a carburetor type was used, equipped with a liquid cooling system. When moving the car by swimming, the air intake covers were battened down, and cooling was carried out using sea water using a heat exchanger. In addition, she had a radiator big size with a reverse air flow system, as well as a powerful fan, which was driven by cardan shaft.
The mechanical transmission of the car has a single-plate clutch, a two-speed transfer case, as well as a four-speed gearbox. Its suspension has four longitudinal semi-elliptical springs, as well as eight hydraulic shock absorbers. For self-pulling of the BRDM-1, its design provides for a cable 50 meters long mounted in the front of the car.
The designers of the armored car equipped it with sealed brakes that had the ability to self-regulate. It was equipped with a dust and moisture protection system. In addition, the BRDM was armed with tires large diameter with a centralized paging system.
The machine can easily overcome virgin snow up to 0.65 meters deep, sand, as well as climbs up to 31 degrees.
In order for the BRDM-1 to move through the water, it was equipped with a propeller. Later, for the same purpose, a water cannon was used from a floating tank PT-76, installed in the stern of the vehicle. This mover took up less space and had longer term operation. Besides vehicle equipped with a water jet has significantly reduced its turning radius, bringing this figure to 1.5 meters.
The propeller had four blades, and it sucked in water using a special pipe, which was located on the bottom, while the water was ejected through a hole in the aft hull sheet. This hole, when moving on land, is closed by an armored flap, while the machine could reverse only by changing the direction of rotation of the propeller.
On the water, the BRDM was controlled by water rudders installed in the water cannon pipe, as well as using the front wheels. In the event that the water cannon failed, the armored car could move due to the operation of the wheels in second or third gear. There was also a wave-reflective shield on the armored vehicle, the purpose of which was to prevent the flooding of the power compartment through the ventilation holes. When on land, this shield was mounted in the lower position to increase the protection of the bottom of the hull, as well as to improve visibility.
As for the operation of the BRDM in the troops, it was adopted by the Soviet Army, and some of these vehicles were supplied to the allies of the USSR under the Warsaw Pact. He took an armored car and took part in the military conflict in South Vietnam. The machine was discontinued in 1966, while for some time it was produced together with the BRDM-2 created on its basis.
Specifications BRDM-1:
| Classification | combat reconnaissance vehicle / armored car |
| Combat weight, t | 5,6 |
| layout diagram | power compartment in the frontal part of the vehicle, combined combat and control - in the stern |
| Crew, pers. | 2 |
| Landing, pers. | 3 |
| Story | |
| Manufacturer | GAS |
| Years of production | 1957-1966 |
| Years of operation | since 1958 |
| Number of issued, pcs. | about 10,000 |
| Dimensions | |
| Case length, mm | 5700 |
| Hull width, mm | 2250 |
| Height, mm | 1900 on the roof, 2295 on the machine gun |
| Base, mm | 2800 |
| Track, mm | 1650 |
| Clearance, mm | 315 |
| Booking | |
| armor type | steel rolled |
| Forehead of the hull, mm/deg. | 7-11 |
| Hull board, mm/deg. | 7 |
| Hull feed, mm/deg. | 7 |
| Bottom, mm | 4 |
| Hull roof, mm | 5 |
| Forehead felling, mm/deg. | 11 |
| Cutting board, mm/deg. | 7 |
| Cutting feed, mm/deg. | 7 |
| Cabin roof, mm/deg. | 5 |
| Armament | |
| machine guns | 1 - 7.62 mm SGMB arr. 1949 |
| Mobility | |
| engine's type | GAZ-40P |
| Engine power, l. With. | 85-90 |
| Highway speed, km/h | 80 |
| Cross-country speed, km/h | 25-30 on a dirt road, 9 afloat |
| Range on the highway, km | 500 |
| Power reserve over rough terrain, km | 85 afloat |
| Specific power, l. s./t | 15,2-16,1 |
| Wheel formula | 4-4 (extra wheels up), 8-8 (all wheels) |
| suspension type | independent on leaf springs with hydraulic shock absorbers |
| Specific ground pressure, kg/cm^2 | adjustable, 0.5-3.0 |
| Climbability, deg. | 42 |
| Passable wall, m | 0,4 |
| Crossable ditch, m | 1,22 |
| Crossable ford, m | floats |
Armored reconnaissance and patrol vehicle
The development of an armored reconnaissance and patrol vehicle (BRDM) began at the end of 1954 at the Design Bureau of the Gorky Automobile Plant and was put into service by order of the USSR Minister of Defense dated 01/10/1958. It was in serial production from 1957 to 1966 Leading designer V.K. Rubtsov.
According to the terms of reference, the new armored car had to swim confidently, even when the wave height reached 0.5 m, overcome complex profile obstacles on land, including ditches and trenches up to 1.2 m wide.
Initially, it was supposed to create the BRDM as a floating modification of the well-developed and mastered BTR-40 in the troops (the vehicle was even assigned the BTR-40P index). But in the course of the work, it became obvious that it would not be possible to confine ourselves to a simple modification of an existing product. Started to take shape new car, which has not only domestic, but also world analogues. The requirements of the military to overcome trenches and trenches led to the development of a unique chassis, consisting of a main four-wheel drive and four additional wheels installed in the central part of the machine, serving to overcome trenches. The wheels, if necessary, could be lowered and set in motion with the help of a special transmission. Thus, the BRDM-1 was transformed from a four-wheeled into an eight-wheeled vehicle capable of forcing trenches up to 1.22 m wide. The main wheels had centralized system swap, worked out on the BTR-40 and BTR-152.
The first sample of the BRDM was built in February 1956. Later, several more vehicles joined him, subjected to very strict tests (in particular, one of the BRDM crossed the Kerch Strait by swimming). At the end of 1957, an experimental series of BRDM was produced. A year later, the BRDM was equipped with an armored roof with two hatches, which significantly increased the survivability of the vehicles, and then armed with a more modern PKT machine gun. In 1958, the BRDM-1 was officially adopted and launched into a large series that lasted until 1966. In general, the car turned out to be successful - mobile, maneuverable, with high cross-country ability and good buoyancy. According to the main indicators, the BRDM, widely used by intelligence units, communications officers, was superior to foreign combat vehicles similar purpose.
The BRDM-1 has a pressurized load-bearing body welded from rolled armor plates 6, 8 and 12 mm thick. The upper frontal sheet had an angle of inclination of 85 degrees. An armored cabin with two inspection hatches equipped with bulletproof glass blocks is welded on the hull. In the rear wall of the cabin there is a double-leaf hatch.
In the design of the BRDM-1 were used circuit diagram layout and main units of the armored personnel carrier BTR-40. The installation of the engine in the elongated front of the hull provided for the dismounting of the crew members through two aft doors, but worsened visibility from the driver's seat.
In the department of management, located in the middle part of the body, the driver and commander of the vehicle were placed. The power plant compartment and the control compartment were separated by a partition. The fighting compartment occupied the middle and aft parts of the hull. Ahead, on a swivel, an SGMV heavy machine gun (1250 rounds of ammunition), usually located in the wheelhouse, was openly mounted. On the stern and on the sides there were loopholes for firing from the personal weapons of the crew and paratroopers. All vehicles were equipped with tank radios.
A forced six-cylinder was installed on the car carbureted engine liquid cooling GAZ-40P. To provide him with “comfortable” working conditions afloat, when the air intake covers are battened down, cooling is carried out by outboard water through a heat exchanger. The oversized radiator is equipped with a reverse air flow system and has a powerful fan driven by the engine via a cardan shaft. Part mechanical transmission included a single-plate clutch, 4 step box gears, 2-speed transfer case, cardan gears, main gears with bevel differentials, from which the drive to the drive wheels was carried out.
The suspension consisted of four longitudinal semi-elliptical springs and 8 hydraulic shock absorbers. Self-extraction of the machine when stuck was carried out using a capstan with a cable length of 50 m, mounted in front of the machine body.
This machine was the first to use hermetic, self-adjusting brakes, completely protected from moisture and dust. Their outer drums cooled well even when working hard. Oversized tires with adjustable pressure had a centralized pumping system with an internal - through the wheel hub - air supply. A powerful compressor with a receiver in the event of a lumbago of tires made up for air leakage.
Elastic tires, a strong steering wheel, reinforced springs on rubber cushions with eight hydraulic shock absorbers made it possible to significantly increase average speeds when driving off-road. The car could overcome slopes up to 31 °, snow up to 0.65 m deep and any sands.
For movement on water, it was originally intended to use the traditional propeller screw. However, later it was decided to use a water cannon designed for the PT-76 amphibious tank. The water cannon was installed in the aft part of the hull. Such a mover was more compact and "survivable". In addition, a water cannon could also be used to pump water out of the machine body. The maneuverability on the water also increased - the turning radius was only 1.5 m. The four-bladed propeller sucked in water through the intake pipe located on the bottom and threw it out through the hole in the aft hull sheet. While moving on land, this hole was closed with an armored flap. Reverse on the water is provided by changing the direction of rotation of the propeller. To control the machine afloat, water rudders mounted in the water jet tube and the front turning wheels of the machine were used. The drive to the rudders was combined with the drive to control the wheels. In the event of a water jet failure, the car could move due to the rotation of the wheels when the second or third gear was engaged. To prevent the flooding of the power compartment through the ventilation holes while sailing, a wave-reflective shield was installed on the machine. When moving on land, it was installed in the lower position to improve visibility and increase protection of the lower part of the hull.
The BRDM was supplied in large quantities to the Soviet Army, and was also transferred to the allies under the Warsaw Pact and exported. She was equipped with parts of the Cuban army. The BRDM was also used in the jungles of South Vietnam, where it manifested itself at the right time. high permeability. Soviet reconnaissance units on the BRDM were the first to enter the streets of Czechoslovak cities in August 1968, and in October 1973, the Egyptian "commandos" planted on the BRDM, unexpectedly for the Israelis, crossed the Suez Canal, holding the bridgehead until the approach of the main forces.
Serial production of the BRDM was carried out from 1957 to 1966, in recent years the car was produced in parallel with the improved BRDM-2, created on its basis.
Currently, the BRDM-1 is in service with the army of Syria, Egypt, Israel, Cuba, Albania, Mozambique, Congo, Angola, Ethiopia, Russia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Hungary, Namibia, Zambia, Vietnam.
Specifications BRDM-1
| Classification | combat reconnaissance vehicle / armored car |
| Combat weight | 5.6 t |
| The layout diagram of the power compartment in the frontal part of the machine, the combined combat and control - in the stern | |
| Crew | 2 people |
| landing | 3 people |
| Length | 5.7 m |
| Width | 2.25 m |
| roof height | 1.9 m |
| Machine gun height | 2.295 m |
| Track | 1.65 m |
| Base | 2.8 m |
| Clearance | 0.315 m |
| Booking | |
| armor type | steel rolled |
| Forehead of the hull | 7-11 mm |
| Hull board | 7 mm |
| Hull feed | 7 mm |
| Bottom | 4 mm |
| Hull roof | 5 mm |
| Forehead felling | 11 mm |
| cabin board | 7 mm |
| felling feed | 7 mm |
| Cabin roof | 5 mm |
| machine guns | 7.62 mm SGMB arr. 1949 |
| engine's type | in-line, 6-cylinder liquid-cooled carburetor |
| Power | 85-90 hp |
| highway speed | 80 km/h |
| Cross country speed | 9 km/h afloat |
| Highway range | 500 km |
| Cross-country range | 85 km |
| Specific power | 15.2-16.1 hp/t |
| Wheel formula | 4x4 + 4x4 |
| Ground pressure | 0.5-3.0 kg / cm 2 |
| Climbability | 30° |
| climbable wall | 0.4 m |
| Crossable ditch | 1.22 m |
| Crossable ford | floats |
Awesome offer! Sale BRDM Armored reconnaissance and patrol vehicle (BRDM-1) the famous brainchild of the Gorky Experimental Design Bureau Automobile Factory mid-50s. It was adopted by the Soviet Army in 1958 as a light reconnaissance vehicle to provide radio communications and control in the tactical infantry level. The machine was used mainly by ground, marines and airborne troops. The five-ton armored car served as excellent protection for the entire crew.
Based on the BRDM was founded whole line combat vehicles:
- BRDM-RH - equipped with devices for radiation and chemical reconnaissance;
- 2P27 - created to combat armored targets;
- 2P32 - equipped with anti-tank missile system;
- 9P110 - equipped with an anti-tank missile system;
- 2P32M - equipped with an anti-tank missile system.
BRDM 1 has excellent cross-country ability due to the large power reserve, amphibious capability and the use of two additional pairs of wheels, of which there are eight in total. Trenches and trenches will not become a serious obstacle. The armored vehicle has both drive axles, there is a centralized tire inflation system through the wheel hub, independent suspension, with hydraulic shock absorbers, on leaf springs. Excellent elastic wheels, reinforced springs, and a strong steering wheel allow the armored car to effectively cope with off-road driving. The BRDM can overcome snow up to a meter deep, climb up to 31 degrees, swim across rivers and pass through any sands. bulletproof glass, two stern doors for the exit of the crew, armored steel. The body of such an armored car is welded from sheets of rolled armor with a thickness of 6, 8 and 12 millimeters.
And all of this is now available for purchase! Buy BRDM is really real! Long "demobilized" armored cars are now in vogue! On a converted armored car, you can ride on city roads, and not only roads, and yards, drive out of town, into nature, and travel. You can safely cross plowed fields, wetlands, swim across rivers, and various bumpy sections of roads and off-roads.
An armored reconnaissance and patrol vehicle converted to civilian transport will not get stuck in our deep snow, will not be afraid of a steep climb of 31 degrees, will easily jump over meter-long trenches. Isn't this a fairy tale!? For trips to fishing or hunting in the Russian taiga - the most it! Extreme, travel, a sea of impressions and emotions! With this technique you feel like a real king of the roads!
In civilian life, many BRDMs from conservation serve regularly. Cars are also used in the ranks of the police, fire brigade, political parties, and simply from private individuals in the collection or for daily driving. Even tuning is appropriate. If the announcement “For sale BRDM” used to cause only laughter, now it is a modern reality! A Soviet combat armored vehicle converted for civilian transport is real power, the spirit of the times! Civil armored car amphibian is real freedom! Such an armored vehicle is quite easy to operate and meets all the requirements of the State traffic inspectorate.
The technical task received from the military ordered the design bureau Gorky Automobile Plant to develop an armored vehicle capable of reaching speeds of up to 90 km / h on the highway, while overcoming trenches and ditches up to 1.2 meters wide and forcing water barriers by swimming, and walking was to be ensured with waves up to half a meter high. Initially, it was planned to create a floating version of the BTR-40, widely used in the troops, previously assembled in the same design bureau. However, during the development process, it quickly became clear that it would not be possible to modify the armored personnel carrier to the requirements with small forces: new car I had to develop almost from scratch. As a result, a team of a special design bureau of the Gorky Automobile Plant created a truly unique car, which in those years did not even have close analogues in the world.
The GAZ-40 armored personnel carrier shared the main units with the novelty, so its primary designation, GAZ-40P ("floating"), remained in the factory documentation. In a military environment, the car was encrypted under the abbreviation BRDM-1. The first prototype armored car was made in February 1956. Subsequently, together with several more instances, military receivers subjected the vehicles to severe tests, which included, for example, forcing by swimming Kerch Strait. The military were satisfied with the tests, and by order of the Minister of Defense of the USSR on January 10, 1958, the BRDM was put into service and put into mass production.
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The reconnaissance vehicle had a sealed load-bearing armored hull, welded from rolled sheets with a thickness of 6 to 12 mm, which provided the crew with protection from small arms, artillery shell fragments and anti-personnel mines. The pontoon hull shape was carefully adjusted in terms of hydrodynamics and provided the armored car with minimal resistance when moving afloat.
On the upper "deck" there was a "cabin", an armored cap which accommodated a crew of four. The front of the reconnaissance vehicle is distinguished by a powerful "jaw" of the wave-reflecting shield, and the hood bristled with the shutters of the air intake system.
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Inside
To get inside the BRDM-1, you first need to climb onto the "deck". Usually a crew of four people used the "ladder" in the stern of the car.
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Once at a height of more than half a meter from the ground, you will need to pull the armored hatches that block access to the passenger compartment.
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Now it remains only to go to the front of the car, maneuvering between the seats, wheel arches and levers.
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However, there is another option - special recesses are placed in the sidewall of the armored car, using which the driver could get behind the wheel through the armored hatches of the tower that were opened in advance.
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But only on condition that they were opened in advance: for security reasons, they can only be opened from the passenger compartment.
Behind the wheel
As with many military vehicles, launching the BRDM is a whole procedure. With a click, we discard the toggle switch for turning on the "mass", then we look for the next one among the many similar ones on the instrument panel. Finally, we find it under the inscription "ignition". After that, we pull the carburetor suction handle towards ourselves and, after coughing a little from hibernation, an in-line "six" with the GAZ-40 index comes to life in front.
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The main differences from the "civilian" version used on the GAZ-51/63 are a different carburetor, camshaft and an improved liquid cooling system. As a result, the engine power was increased to 90 hp. With. Paired with the engine is a mechanical four-speed gearbox, combined with a two-stage transfer case.
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Under normal conditions, the torque is transferred to the rear drive wheels, which also saves some fuel. Off-road, the driver can connect front axle, and even on the go, in the absence of slip rear wheels. If necessary, you can additionally include a downshift, as well as block the front and rear cross-axle differentials. True, all these options seemed to the military not enough.
The experience of the previous war showed that a special reconnaissance vehicle must overcome ditches and trenches. To meet the requirements, it was necessary to develop a unique undercarriage, consisting of four main wheels and four additional, two on each side, located within the wheelbase.
Additional wheels measuring only 700x250 mm (borrowed from aviation, by the way) in the stowed position were semi-recessed into the body, and when they hit the ledges, they rotated, rolling the car over obstacles. To overcome difficult off-road sections, the driver turned on the lever in the front chain drive and lowered them hydraulically.
Each of the wheels had its own drive. Thus, the BRDM from a four-wheeled armored car turned into an eight-wheeled one. As a result, in terms of cross-country ability, he could compete with tracked vehicles- at top speed along the highway at 90 km / h, the armored car overcame ditches up to 1.22 m wide, climbs up to 31 degrees and vertical walls 0.4 meters high.
front and rear axles were suspended on four longitudinal semi-elliptical springs and equipped with double lever shock absorbers. Bridges from the GAZ-63 were taken as the basis, which the BRDM had sealed gearboxes and a centralized tire inflation system. Tightness was necessary to ensure the second requirement of the military - after all, the reconnaissance vehicle had to be able to swim.
In the aft part of the armored hull, a water cannon was mounted, borrowed from the PT-76 amphibious tank. A four-bladed propeller with a diameter of 425 mm sucked water through the intake pipe in the bottom and threw it out through a hole in the stern. When moving on land, it was covered by an armored shutter, also controlled from the driver's seat.
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In order to "pass back" on the water, there were return pipes directing a jet of water to the sides at an acute angle. Water cannon provided high speed afloat - up to 9 km / h - and good maneuverability (the turning radius of the "armored boat" afloat is only 1.5 meters). To control the machine in the domain of Neptune, water rudders are called, mounted in the outlet pipe of the water cannon - for this, an additional lever was placed next to the driver on the left. If the water cannon was damaged, the BRDM could also reach the shore on its own due to the rotation of the wheels with the second or third gear engaged.
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To prevent flooding of the power compartment afloat, a wave-reflective shield was installed in front of the machine. On land, it was fixed in the lower position - to increase the security of the front and improve visibility.
Another challenge was to ensure that the engine runs properly when driving on water, when the ventilating shutters on the hood are closed. Cooling was provided by an oversized radiator with a powerful fan, and additional cooling engine was carried out with the help of sea water passing through the heat exchanger. But that's not all - to keep the engine from overheating, it was necessary to separate the air flows and install all the seals.
In the event that water somehow got inside the BRDM, the same water cannon was used to pump it out, the wheel of which created the necessary vacuum. If the water cannon did not work, the driver used the bilge pump. Initially, it was manual, but later the driver's work was replaced by an electric drive. Self-extraction of the machine when stuck was carried out using a capstan with a cable length of 50 meters, mounted in the front. The gearbox was driven from the toe of the crankshaft through a cardan and a chain drive.
Alexey has already visited the pages of our publication with his cars before. Regular readers already know the history of the restoration of the GAZ-40 armored personnel carrier. In the case of the BRDM, he got the car in much best condition and was bought from one of the same enthusiasts. Of course, despite the good condition, the armored car demanded affection and restoration from the new owner.
The body was sandblasted and repainted, new axles, springs and shock absorbers were installed. Additionally installed other rubber seals in hatches and straps for closing/opening. Many details to complete the look had to be created anew according to historical documents.
Like the armored personnel carrier, the BRDM also has "peaceful" license plates Soviet tractor"(for registration, the rights of a tractor driver of category C are required) and received the full right to travel on roads common use. However, usually the BRDM only takes part in military-historical rallies and festive events.
Model history
We have already told the main milestones in the creation of the BRDM-1 at the beginning of this material, so it remains only to sum up. serial production armored vehicles lasted until 1966, a large number of BRDMs were supplied to the Soviet Armed Forces, as well as to allies in the Warsaw Pact countries and third world countries friendly to the USSR. In 1973, Egyptian troops crossed the Suez Canal on the BRDM and captured the Israeli troops' bridgehead. At the National people's army GDR BRDM was in service with the intelligence troops under own designation SPW-40. And only in different years it was in service with more than 20 countries of the world, including Syria, Egypt, Israel, Cuba, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Namibia and Vietnam.
Initially, the vehicles were equipped with a 7.62 mm Goryunov heavy machine gun mounted on a bracket in front of the fighting compartment, and since 1961, a single Kalashnikov PKT machine gun of the same 7.62 mm caliber was installed on production vehicles. Crew members could also fire from personal weapons through loopholes in the sides and stern of the cabin.
In the photo: GAZ 40P (BRDM 1) 1957–66 Based on the BRDM, several special machines, including the 9P110 self-propelled anti-tank system with six Malyutka missiles, a command control vehicle and a radiation-chemical reconnaissance vehicle.
The editors thank the MROO "Military-Technical Society" and personally Alexei Migalin for the car provided for the test.
