Armor angles of an armored car and drawings. FAI is a light armored car with a difficult fate. Long life in captivity

On a new chassis

GAZ-M1 car in the Museum of Russian Military History.
The new passenger car was developed on the basis of the American Ford Model B with an inline 4-cylinder engine. The new car was put into production in 1936 and was named GAZ-M1. Immediately after the start of mass production of the Emka, the designers of the Izhora plant began developing a new armored car on its chassis. The GAZ-M1 chassis was more advanced, had a greater load capacity and had a larger wheelbase (by 21.5 cm) compared to the GAZ-A. The new GAZ-M engine had the same volume of 3285 cm³ and was structurally almost identical to the GAZ-A engine, however, by increasing the compression ratio and other improvements, power was increased from 40 to 50 hp, and torque - from 152. 1 Nm to 166.8 Nm. This engine was also more reliable and had a number of innovations, including a fuel pump.

Prototypes of the new armored car on the GAZ-M1 chassis were ready by June 1936 and sent for testing. The armored hull of the new armored car generally repeated the successful hull of the FAI, adjusted for the increase in the length of the vehicle and minor modifications. The turret and armament were also inherited from the FAI, but now the turret was moved a little closer to the center. Due to the increased dimensions, the combat weight of the vehicle increased to 2270 kg, but driving performance even improved. During testing, the vehicles covered 5,000 km, received positive reviews and were recommended for adoption. Already at the end of 1936, a new armored car called the BA-20 began to enter the troops, at the same time the production of the FAI ceased.

BA-20 at the NIBT test site during testing, 1936

Noteworthy is the increased fighting compartment and the absence of “caps” above the driver’s seat

The BA-20 was produced in two versions: regular and radio with a 71-TK-1 radio station and a handrail antenna (later on some vehicles the handrail antenna was replaced by a more modern whip antenna). At the bottom of the hull there was a hatch for leaving the damaged vehicle. The crew of the BA-20 already consisted of three people. The shooter's position was now equipped with a seat. The BA-20 was equipped with two fuel tanks with a volume of 30 and 40 liters. The power reserve compared to the FAI increased from 225 to 350 km. On the highway, the BA-20 reached a speed of 90 km/h. At the development stage, the military proposed strengthening the weapons by installing three 7.62-mm DT machine guns instead of one (two in the turret and 1 course gun). However, this idea was abandoned for two reasons: installing more machine guns means additional financial costs and a burden on the industry, and secondly, it is an unnecessary increase in the curb weight of the vehicle.

A special feature of the BA-20 was the use of bullet-resistant GK (sponge inner tube) tires filled with sponge rubber. This significantly increased the survivability of the vehicle in combat conditions, because the BA-20 did not lose mobility when bullets and shell fragments hit the tires. However, these tires were associated with problems with the production of cars. The fact is that in 1937, the production of GC tires was transferred from the Yaroslavl Rubber-Asbestos Plant (YARAK), which had mastered their production well, to the Yaroslavl Rubber-Asbestos Plant (YARAK), which had never produced anything like this before. As a result, until 1938, YARAK could barely cope with half of the orders, and the GK tires themselves were initially of low quality and did not withstand testing. In 1937, instead of a cylindrical turret from the FAI, the BA-20 received a new conical turret, which had better bullet resistance.

Armored cars at a parade in Moscow, 1939. In the foreground is a BA-20 with handrail antennas and conical turrets; vehicles without a radio station are visible behind.

The first BA-20s rolled off the assembly line at the end of 1936: 33 conventional and 2 radium armored cars were produced. In 1937, 32 conventional and 118 radial BA-20s with a cylindrical turret and 103 radial ones with a conical turret were manufactured. In 1938, 329 radio-powered BA-20s were produced and another 132 the following year. A total of 749 BA-20 basic modifications were produced, and later they switched to the production of an improved version.

Options and modifications

• BA-20
  is a basic model with a power reserve of 350 km [4], produced from 1936 to 1938 in two versions: standard and radio-equipped (in the latter case, the vehicle is equipped with a 71-TK-1 transceiver radio station with a handrail antenna on brackets around the turret, and the crew was increased to three people at the expense of the radio operator). The hull, welded from rolled steel sheets, was developed based on the layout of an FAI armored car; the first armored cars had a turret from an FAI armored car, the next ones had a conical turret of a new type. A total of 749 pieces were produced. [3]
• BA-20zhd
  is a railway version of the BA-20 with the possibility of conversion into light armored tires [4]. Equipped with a set of four removable steel railway wheels with flanges for movement on rails, a jack for replacing wheels in the field by the crew, and a reverse gearbox. The weight of the armored vehicle increased to 2780 kg, the maximum speed on the highway decreased to 50 km/h. A total of 61 units were produced in 1938-1939. [3][5] .
• BA-20M
  - a modified version, the first prototype was built in 1938 [4], serial production began in January 1939 and continued until June 1942. The armored vehicle was built on a special GAZ-MS chassis, which had a reinforced front axle beam, reinforced springs and an additional 30-liter fuel tank. The combat weight of the BA-20M increased to 2.62 tons - the armor was strengthened, a new bullet-resistant conical turret was installed, and the radio station received a whip antenna. Since 1940, instead of the 71-TK-1 radio station, the BA-20M began to be equipped with an improved duplex radio 71-TK-3. The range has been increased to 450 km on the highway. A total of 1230 pieces were produced. [3]
• BA-20Mzhd
  is a railway version of the BA-20M with the ability to be converted by the crew into a light armored tire. The speed by rail was 80 km/h, and the range was 430-540 km. In 1939-1941, 74 were built [3][5].

Soviet armored cars

The Armed Forces of the USSR had the following BA:

• BA-I
• BA-3
• BA-6
• BA-10
• BA-20
• BA-27
• BA-64
• BRDM-1
• BRDM-2

Armored cars of the USSR 1927-1942.

Service and combat use

FAI and BT-5 at Khalkhin Gol. 1939

A total of 697 FAI and FAI-M armored vehicles were built during serial production, making them the second most popular (after the BA-20) machine-gun armored vehicle of the Red Army in the pre-war period. FAI and FAI-M armored vehicles were used in battles: first with the Basmachi in Central Asia, in the battles near Lake Khasan and on the Khalkhin Gol River[13], where 14 units were irretrievably lost[14], in the Civil War in Spain, where 20 vehicles were delivered[15], in the Winter War (2 FAIs were lost)[16] and in the Great Patriotic War. FAI and FAI-M were used until 1942, on the Soviet-German front until April 1942[17], and by August 20, 1942, the Transbaikal Front had 10 FAI and FAI-M[18]

In 1934-35, 30 FAI received NKVD troops.

Look:

775

In 1934, 22 vehicles were delivered to Mongolia, and in 1936 another 15 vehicles. One FAI was lost on March 31, 1936 in a battle with the Japanese-Manchurians on the border during a border incident. In July 1941, 1 vehicle was listed in the 5th, 11 each in the 7th and 8th cavalry divisions, and 13 in the armored brigade.

Since 1936, the 5th separate armored trolley battalion, in the amount of 9 units, had reconnaissance armored trolley cars, which were modified FAI armored cars on a railway track.
By August 9, 1945 (the beginning of the Soviet-Japanese War) they were replaced by BA-20zhd[11][12]. Availability of FAI armored vehicles in the Red Army on June 1, 1941

*All 9 FAI railways were part of the 5th separate battalion of armored tires.

A certain number of FAI armored vehicles were located in Osoaviakhim organizations.

First car

However, the Soviet leadership understood the situation, and therefore decided not to reinvent the wheel, but simply purchase ready-made foreign samples. So, in 1928, the USSR acquired a license from the United States to produce a Ford Model A passenger car, a Ford AA truck, components for their assembly (72,000 sets) and... a plant for the production of these cars at the same time! The American side developed the design of the plant and other facilities, and also supplied equipment for mass production of cars.

GAZ-A

The plant was built in Nizhny Novgorod and received the abbreviation NAZ; it was built in just three years and began operations in 1932. In the same year, the city will be renamed Gorky, and the plant will accordingly be called GAZ. Even before the completion of the plant, the assembly of Ford A and Ford AA from ready-made sets of parts began at the First Automobile Assembly Plant (Kanavin) and the Moscow Automobile Assembly Plant. Passenger cars produced at GAZ using domestic components were called GAZ-A, and the truck was called GAZ-AA (yes, that same legendary “lorry”).

ZIS-101 (1936–1941)

The first Soviet passenger car of the highest class, the ZIS-101, based on the American model Buick Eight, was developed and tested under the close attention of the OGPU and the NKVD, since it was to be used by the main persons of the state and, first of all, the Supreme Commander-in-Chief I.V.

Stalin, his guards and secret service employees. To perform these functions, the ZIS-101 was tested by the People's Commissariat of Defense and the operational department of the NKVD.

Stalin and his comrades inspect the 110-horsepower ZIS-101. 1936

In 1940, based on the production model ZIS-101A, two prototypes of the ZIS-101E

(Extra) with boost to 120 hp. engine, weighing about four tons each. The normal-looking body was assembled from high-quality alloy steel and equipped with bulletproof glass that could withstand a rifle shot from a distance of 75 meters. The vehicle was equipped with additional sound signals, blackout lights, communications equipment and special tires with double tubes. Despite all efforts, the armored ZIS, inferior to foreign prototypes, was practically not used.

A prototype of the ZIS-101E armored special vehicle. 1940

Of the other vehicles in this range, the ZIS-102 convertibles and ZIS-102A phaetons, which on the eve of the war took part in military parades on Red Square, leading columns of military equipment, were indirectly related to military service.

Executive staff phaeton ZIS-102A at the May parade in Moscow. 1941 (film still)

In general, by the beginning of the war there were about 600 vehicles of the ZIS-101 series in the Red Army.

Source - https://www.kolesa.ru/article/bronirovannye-gusenichnye-i-dazhe-desantnye-armejskie-legkovushki-sssr-30-h-godov

Tactical and technical parameters of the FAI armored car model 1933

• Combat weight: 2.42 tons.
• Crew - 2 people.
• Overall dimensions: length - 3660 mm, width - 1680 mm, height - 1850 mm, ground clearance - 235 mm.
• Armament: 7.62 mm DT machine gun (ammunition - 1250 rounds).
• Armor thickness: 6-15 mm.
• Engine: GAZ-M1. Type: 4-cylinder carburetor, power 50 hp.
• The maximum speed is 80 km/h.
• Cruising range on the highway is 250-450 km.
• Obstacles to overcome: wall - 0.4 m, ditch - 0.5 m.

The Soviet light armored car FAI 1933 was baptized by fire during the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939). Subsequently, the vehicle took part in battles with Japanese troops on the island. Hasan and on the river Khalkin-Gol. The most significant stage in the history of FAI armored vehicles was their participation in the Soviet-Finnish War of 1939-40 and combat service on the fronts of the Great Patriotic War.

History of creation

The appearance of the FAI armored car had a number of prerequisites.

The first and main one is the conclusion between the government of the USSR and a cooperation agreement, according to which Ford began supplying the USSR with components for the assembly of Ford-A, Ford-AA and Ford-AA cars on May 31, 1929. Timken." Since February 1930, cars began to be assembled in Nizhny Novgorod. In November of the same year, the Moscow Plant named after the Communist International of Youth (KIM Plant) joined the work, and by April 1932, a new automobile plant came into operation in Nizhny Novgorod, where car production began on December 6, 1932.

It must be said that the Ford chassis was quite progressive for its time, so almost immediately after the contract was concluded, the military naturally became interested in it. In particular, it was planned to create a cannon armored car on the Ford-Timken chassis, while the Ford-A chassis was considered as a promising basis for creating a light armored car. The corresponding task was issued to the design bureau of the Izhora plant and the design bureau under the leadership of N. I. Dyrenkov. The brainchild of the Izhora plant design bureau did not arouse much interest among the military, since it was quite archaic - in fact, the experimental armored cars were open-top armored boxes mounted on a Ford-A chassis and armed with two machine guns each (one machine gun was located in the front plate to the right of the driver, and the other - on a pin installation in the center of the armored body). The military was much more interested in Dyrenkov's armored vehicles, D-8 and D-12, which were eventually adopted by the Red Army in 1931. However, very soon these armored vehicles also ceased to satisfy the military, since the machine guns of the armored cars did not have all-round fire.

FAI at the parade

In 1930, the Izhora plant design bureau received the task of developing a new armored car on the same chassis, but with weapons installed in the turret. In their work, the design engineers of the Izhora plant used the experience gained during the production of the D-8/D-12 armored cars. By mid-1932, working drawings of the new machine were ready. This arrangement (with weapons placed in the turret), although promising, led to a significant increase in the height of the vehicle (up to 2240 mm) and its weight (2 tons) in comparison with its predecessor, but this did not influence the decision of the military - already at the beginning of 1933 year, the armored car was put into service under the FAI

(“
Ford
-
A
,
Izhorsky
”) and put into production.

FAI and BA-I at the parade. 1935

In 1935, the Izhora Plant Design Bureau was asked to develop a new armored vehicle based on the GAZ-M1 passenger car, the production of which began at the Gorky Automobile Plant. By the end of the year, an armored vehicle was developed that outwardly resembled the FAI, but differed from its predecessor in a more spacious fighting compartment, a modified turret and the ability to install a radio station. At the beginning of 1936, this vehicle was put into service under the name BA-20 and went into production. However, as a result of inconsistency in the actions of various enterprises, the production of armored hulls for the FAI at the Izhora plant continued for some time. When it was finally stopped, it turned out that more than three hundred armored hulls of these vehicles had accumulated in the plant’s workshops. Since production of the Ford-A had already been discontinued by that time, it was decided to install the existing armored hulls on the chassis of the M-1 car. In November - January 1939, such a “hybrid” armored car was tested at the Research Institute of BT-testing ground in Kubinka, received positive feedback from the military and was put into service. The hybrid, called FAI-M, differed from its progenitor in the rear part, on which an additional fuel tank and a bracket for mounting a spare wheel were mounted.

Characteristics of the FAI light armored vehicle

Characteristics for FAI-M are given

Modifications of the FAI light armored car

FAI. 1933, base model on the chassis first Ford-A, then GAZ-A. It was mass-produced until 1936. Vehicle weight: 2 tons. The vehicle's welded armored body was made of rolled sheets 3.4 and 6 mm thick; the crew boarded through the side doors. In the roof of the tower there was a hatch with a hinged dome-shaped lid, through which it was possible to conduct observation outside of battle (on the battlefield - through viewing slits).

FAI Railway An armored car for driving on rail tracks was developed in 1933. Metal bands with flanges were put on top of car tires and please - the improvised locomotive could already rush at speeds of up to 86 km/h.

GAZ-TK . (“Triaxial Kurchesvsky”) in 1934-35, a slightly elongated body from the FAI was installed on the chassis for the 76-mm dynamo-reactive gun designed by L.V. Kurchevsky, respectively, the vehicle had a more convenient compartment for accommodating the crew, which made it possible to add the driver and gunner, and also the radio operator (and install a walkie-talkie, of course). Since the car was three-axle, its cross-country characteristics improved, but the engine remained the same, and the GAZ-TK, whose weight increased compared to the FAI to 2620 kg, was still far from ideal off-road. The speed of the GAZ-TK was about 60 km/h. Not serially produced.

FAI armored car on rails

FAI-M . In 1939, the fleet of remaining FAI armored vehicles was completely worn out, because GAZ-A had been out of production for 4 years by that time. The modernized version of the FAI was the same armored hull mounted on the chassis of a GAZ-M1 car with a more powerful 50-horsepower engine. The weight of the armored car has increased slightly (2280 kg), but the characteristics, including speed, have also increased. Since the length of the M-1 frame was greater than the length of the FAI armored hull, additional armor plates were placed on the rear of the vehicle and the gas tank.

Comparison of an armored car and a tank

See also: Wheeled tank and Wheeled-tracked tanks

The advantages and disadvantages of an armored car are determined by two factors - the use of a wheeled propulsion device and its construction on the basis of a commercial vehicle.

• Advantages of an armored car
  :
  Relatively high speed
  . Already by the beginning of the 30s, the speed of most armored vehicles exceeded 60-70 km/h, while the speed of most tanks was one and a half to two times less. By now, the development of tracked propulsion systems for tanks has somewhat smoothed out this difference.
• Cheap
  . To obtain an ersatz armored car, it is enough to cover a civilian vehicle with steel sheets of sufficient thickness and install weapons on it. And even specially built armored vehicles are much cheaper than tanks of similar mass, usually using many components of civilian vehicles.
• Cost-effectiveness
  The lower weight of the vehicle requires a less powerful engine; also, the wheeled propulsion system has lower mechanical losses during movement, therefore the armored vehicle has lower fuel consumption. Repairing it (in most cases) is no different from repairing a regular car, which also simplifies its operation.
• Reliability
  . Due to the large mass of the tank, its engine is subjected to high loads; The service life of this engine is relatively low. Tank track tracks also experience high loads when moving, which leads to their rapid destruction. All this led to low reliability of tanks of the 1930s. As a result, armored vehicles in those years, as a rule, were much more reliable than tanks. Only after World War II did the development of tanks almost erase this advantage. However, they still prefer to transport them over long distances on special wheeled conveyors, while wheeled vehicles most often cover the path under their own power.
• The advantages in peacekeeping operations
  are ease of deployment into a combat zone and a less “military” appearance. In addition, the tank shows its advantages only in large-scale battles, which practically never happen in peacekeeping operations.

Description of design

Mikhail Sholokhov and Alexander Fadeev in an FAI armored car. Western Front. September 1941. Photo by M. Kalashnikov

The armored vehicle was made on a rear-wheel drive (4×2) chassis according to a design scheme with a front engine and a riveted-welded body, which was made of sheets of rolled steel 4-6 mm thick. This thickness of armor was insufficient and although it was installed at small angles of inclination, it could not provide reliable protection for the crew from bullets and fragments of shells and mines. The crew of the armored vehicle consisted of two, less often three people. In the control compartment, combined with the combat compartment, the driver was located on the left and to the right of him - in the presence of a third crew member - sat the commander of the vehicle. In order not to rest their heads on the roof above their seats, there are blind armored caps on the roof of the control compartment above the driver’s and commander’s seats. The machine gunner's position was behind them, in the turret. The view from the control compartment was provided to the driver and commander by front windows that were closed in combat situations with armored covers with viewing slots, and rectangular windows with armored covers also in the side doors of the vehicle that opened forward.

Look:

Dzasokhov, Alexander Sergeevich

On the roof of the fighting compartment there was a cylindrical turret of circular rotation with an armored cap on the roof. A 7.62-mm DT machine gun was installed in the slightly sloping frontal plate of the turret, the transportable ammunition for which consisted of 1512 rounds. The rotation of the turret was carried out due to the physical efforts of the shooter and with the help of a back rest. In addition, the installation of the machine gun made it possible to fire in a ±10° sector without rotating the turret. In the engine compartment located in the front part of the hull, a four-cylinder carburetor liquid-cooled GAZ-A engine was installed, developing a power of 30.9 kW (40 hp), which allowed the 2-ton armored vehicle to move along the highway at a maximum speed of 80 km /h. With a full tank of fuel, the car could travel 200 km. The engine was interacted with by a transmission, which included a single-disc dry friction clutch, a four-speed gearbox (4+1), a cardan drive, final drive and mechanical brakes.

Access to the engine for maintenance and repair was provided by a hinged armored hood cover, attached to the stationary part of the engine compartment roof on hinges. At the front, the radiator was protected by a V-shaped armor plate 6 mm thick in cross section, in which there were two vertical hatches with movable flaps that regulated the flow of cooling air to the radiator and engine.

The rear-wheel drive (4x2) chassis with suspension on semi-elliptical leaf springs has single wheels with bullet-resistant tires. The front and rear wheels were covered on top with smoothly curved wings, which at the bottom connected with footrests, on which small boxes with spare parts and tools were sometimes attached[10].

In 1935, replaceable metal tires with flanges and jacks were introduced into the standard equipment of nine FAI armored vehicles, which allowed these armored cars to move along railway tracks at speeds of up to 86 km/h. The crew replaced the tires with bandages in approximately 30 minutes. The weight of the armored car in the trolley version was 1.9 tons, the ammunition load was increased to 2520 rounds. All these armored cars entered service with the 5th separate battalion of armored tires in 1936, in which they were used until 1944–1945. Their significant disadvantages were the low reverse speed (24 km/h) and the absence of a radio station[11][12].

Background

Armored trolley "Benz" is the first armored trolley car in Russia.

Armored tires were widely used by many countries on railways in the first half of the 20th century, subsequently being used less.

In Russia, even before the First World War, the idea arose of adapting an armored car to travel on rails as an armored tire - for protection against Honghuz. By order of the Amur Railway, the Russian department in −1912 developed and built an armored car-trolley - a machine-gun armored vehicle with rational placement of armor plates at large angles of inclination and with the possibility of using it as an armored trolley.

One of the armored tires of the Russian Army built in 1916. 1918

In the sources it is called “Armored Benz bus”, “Armored Benz bus” or armored tire “Benz-Gaggenau”.

With the outbreak of World War I, the idea of ​​​​using armored tires received new impetus. Armored railcars began to be created by the railway troops of the Russian Empire

During the First World War, an armored railway platoon of five armored cars was formed in the Russian Imperial Army. There were plans to shift in Russia all armored vehicles that were not suitable for operation, including off-road, to rail travel due to chassis overload, but due to problems in the military industry of the Russian Empire since the end of 1916, the collapse of the level of management in it and the fall in production discipline in industry due to the February and October revolutions, they did not do this.

Literature

• Kolomiets M.V.
  Armor on wheels. History of the Soviet armored car 1925-1945. - M.: Yauza, KM Strategy, Eksmo, 2007. - 384 p. - (Soviet tanks). — 6000 copies. — ISBN 978-5-699-21870-7.
• Solyankin A. G., Pavlov M. V., Pavlov I. V., Zheltov I. G.
  Domestic armored vehicles. XX century 1905–1941. - M.: "Exprint", 2002. - T. 1. - 344 p. — 2000 copies. — ISBN 5-94038-030-1.
• Kolomiets M.
  Domestic armored tires and motorized armored cars. - M.: KM Strategy, 2005. - 87 p. — (Front-line illustration No. 5 / 2005). — 2000 copies. — ISBN 5-901266-01-3.

• FAI armored car on the website battlefield.ru
• FAI armored car on the Bron website
• Kolomiets M.V. Domestic armored tires and motorized armored cars

Work on mistakes

New armored vehicles began to arrive en masse to the reconnaissance units of motorized armored brigades and mechanized corps at the beginning of 1937. During operation, a number of shortcomings were identified that required improvement. So, it was necessary to strengthen the front axle, part of the frame above it and the springs. Insufficient armor and an outdated handrail antenna were also criticized.

Gradually, work was done to improve the vehicle, and at the end of 1938 a “reference” model of a modernized armored car was presented, which was put into production in early 1939 under the name BA-20M. The front axle and rear axle springs were strengthened, and the modernized chassis received the designation GAZ-MS (special). The thickness of the frontal armor of the hull and the all-round armor of the turret was increased from 6 to 9 mm. All external hinges of the opening elements of the case were replaced with internal ones. An additional 30-liter fuel tank was installed, which increased the range to 450 km. The combat weight of the vehicle increased slightly and amounted to 2320 kg. BA-20M were produced only with a conical turret and a whip antenna for a radio station (or without it at all).

The image clearly shows a distinctive feature of the improved BA-20M - the internal hinges of doors and hinged lids. All BA-20Ms had only a conical turret and no rail antennas.

Initially, almost all BA-20Ms were produced with radios, but with the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, a significant part of the vehicles were manufactured without a radio station. In 1939, 30 conventional and 161 radium BA-20Ms rolled off the assembly line, in 1940 352 radium armored cars were produced, in 1941 - 241 conventional and 336 radium, and in 1942 - 105 conventional and 32 radium. The total production was 1258 vehicles. The BA-20M became the last and most popular Soviet armored vehicle built on a passenger car chassis.

In general, the BA-20M turned out to be a successful machine that satisfied the military. However, its modernization potential was completely exhausted. A further increase in mass would lead to a decrease in the life of the chassis and a deterioration in mobility and maneuverability. Driving performance could be improved by installing the BA-20M hull on the new GAZ-11-73 chassis (a modification of the GAZ-M1 with a 6-cylinder GAZ-11 engine, which in the future will be equipped with light tanks T-40, T-30 and T-60 ), and in the future - on the GAZ-61 all-wheel drive chassis. However, due to the outbreak of war, such work was not started. The BA-20M in its original form was produced until the spring of 1942, and then it was replaced in production by the fundamentally new all-wheel drive BA-64, but we will talk about it in the next article.

Production

In July 1936, the technical documentation was transferred to the Vyksa crushing and grinding equipment plant, which began their mass production. The production of bullet-resistant gusmatic tires filled with sponge rubber, size 7.00-16, for BA-20 armored vehicles was transferred to Leningrad [3]. In total, from July to the end of December 1936, the plant produced 35 armored vehicles [5].

In March - April 1937, engineers of the Vyksa plant DRO Mironin and Sukhov designed a new conical turret with increased bullet resistance for the BA-20, but nevertheless, the first

• 150 of
• The 253 BA-20s produced in 1937 still had the old-style cylindrical turret. In the third quarter of 1937, the Yaroslavl Rubber-Asbestos Plant was connected to the production of bullet-resistant tires for the BA-20. On November 20, 1937, the plant received an order from the USSR People's Commissariat of Heavy Engineering to continue producing BA-20 armored vehicles only in the version with a new conical turret, a reinforced front axle and reinforced wheels [5].
  During the construction of some BA-20s produced in 1938, parts of armored hulls previously produced by the plant for FAI-M armored vehicles were used [1].

  Since the autumn of 1938, additional changes were made to the design of armored vehicles: the springs and rear axle were strengthened, and the thickness of the armor of the front plate and turret was increased to 9 mm. The modified version is called BA-20M. In total, 330 armored vehicles [5] and 35 in the railway version were produced in 1938.

  Released in 1939

• 335 armored vehicles, another 30 were collected as part of the delivery of 30 vehicles to Mongolia in 1938. Total 365, of which 42 are in the railway version. In 1940 -
• 377 armored vehicles (Red Army - 334 and 18 railway, NKVD - 18, NKVMF - 7 railway). [5]
  At the end of the 1930s, based on experience in the production and operation of light armored vehicles, a decision was made to create a new armored vehicle to replace the FAI and BA-20. As a result, the experimental BA-21 armored car (on a three-axle GAZ-21 chassis), the experimental LB-23 armored car (on a three-axle GAZ-22 chassis) [1] and the experimental LB-NATI armored car, which were not mass-produced, were developed and built. Subsequently, before the start of the Great Patriotic War, a decision was made to create a new light armored vehicle to replace the BA-20 on an all-wheel drive two-axle chassis [6].

  In January - May 1941, 239 BA-20 were produced (for the Red Army - 237, including 4 BA-20zhd, for the NKVD - 2)

  In June 1941, 40 BA-20 and 16 BA-20zhd were produced, in July - December 1941 - another 317, including 15 BA-20zhd. Of these, 3 vehicles, including 1 BA-20zhd, were shipped to the NKVMF [5].

  On February 9, 1942, the State Defense Committee of the USSR adopted Resolution No. 1415ss on the cessation of production of BA-20 armored vehicles, according to which on March 11, 1942, the People's Commissariat of the Tank Industry drew up Order No. 268 on the cessation of production of the BA-20, which was sent to the plant. Production of the BA-20 ended in July 1942. A total of 137 armored vehicles were produced from the beginning of January until production ceased in July 1942 [5].

D-8 and D-12

Unlike previous models, the new prototype was a full-fledged armored vehicle with a completely enclosed body. According to one version, the development of a “fully armored reconnaissance Ford-A” was suggested to Dyrenkov by the head of the UMM of the Red Army Khalepsky himself, who did not really believe in the success of “half measures”, which were “wheeled wedges”.

The project was developed in the shortest possible time, and already in February 1931, two prototypes were ready for testing, which would begin in the spring after minor modifications to the machines. Structurally, the armored car was a Ford-A chassis (moreover, it was “Ford”; production of domestic GAZ-A had not yet begun) on which an armored body was installed instead of a car body. The hull was riveted and assembled from armor plates 7 mm thick around the perimeter and 3 mm thick on the roof. The armor plates were located at an angle, like the prototypes of American armored cars of those years, this increased the likelihood of bullets ricocheting. The chassis and engine were taken from Ford A without changes. Inline 4-cylinder engine with 40 hp. allowed an armored car weighing 1600 kg to reach speeds of up to 85 km/h on the highway and up to 30 km/h on a country road. The cruising range was 225 km on the highway and 190 on countryside. The crew consisted of 2 people: a driver and a commander.

The first prototype of the D-8 light armored car. A prototype D-12 is visible in the background.

The armament consisted of one 7.62-mm DT machine gun with 2079 rounds of ammunition (43 disk magazines), which was fired by the commander through embrasures in the front, rear and side hull plates. The armored car had no turret; there was an observation hatch in the roof of the hull. The car was named D-8. There was also an option with the installation of an aircraft turret with a Maxim machine gun (ammunition capacity of 1000 rounds in 4 belts) on the roof of the hull; this option was called D-12. In addition to the presence of a turret, the D-12 was distinguished by a modified rear part of the hull: the slope of the rear plate was reduced to increase the internal volume, which is why the weight of the vehicle increased to 1650 kilograms.

Armored car D-12, the aircraft-type turret for the Maxim machine gun is clearly visible.

In general, the D-8 was not very successful. The biggest criticism was caused by the armament - due to the close layout, fire even through the front embrasure could be carried out in a very limited sector. Fire from embrasures along the sides and in the stern was practically impossible. The turret mount on the D-12 did not solve the problem; it was open and did not protect the shooter, in addition, it had an insufficient elevation angle for effective anti-aircraft fire. The overload of the front axle (by 300 kg) and insufficient visibility (and this is a reconnaissance vehicle) also caused criticism.

Despite all the shortcomings, the vehicle was put into service, since there were simply no other alternatives. By the end of 1931, 50 vehicles were produced and another 10 were received in the first half of 1932, how many of them were in the D-8 modification, and how many D-12 are not known for certain (according to other sources, 62 armored cars were manufactured, including 28 D-8 and 34 D-12).

Despite their unsuccessful design and small production volume, these armored vehicles had a chance to fight. They were used by the Red Army during the Winter War, during which 3 vehicles of this type were lost. One of them was repaired by the Finns and was used as a training machine until 1943. At least 2 D-12s were transferred to Mongolia in 1938. By the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, the Red Army still had 45 badly worn D-8 and D-12, most of which required medium or major repairs.

Captured by the Finns and repaired D-8, 1942.

Stories about weapons. Armored car FAI-M-ZhD

The history of wars knows many examples of the use as weapons of things that would seem completely unsuitable for these purposes. But quite effective. Starting from boiling tar on the heads of knights storming castles and monasteries and ending with gas cylinders filled with explosives in Syria.

We are accustomed to the fact that war has practically no borders. You can fight in space, in the sky, on the surface of the earth, underground, on water, under water. And you can even use insects. The main thing is to win! Robots of all kinds are trending today. Robots are consumables on the battlefield. Such a savage, mocking “care of society” for its defenders - people.

But there is another aspect of war that we don't talk about much. Use of civilian infrastructure by troops. However, if you look at the development trends of modern weapons, it turns out that modern armies, those that are, according to various estimates, at the very top of the rankings, simply cannot fight without good infrastructure!

And this is not just logical, it is vital.

Is it possible to imagine modern heavy tanks on a 500-600-kilometer march under their own power? Or modern mobile air defense systems making their way through swamps and taiga without prepared roads? Even “infantry,” we deliberately put this word in quotation marks, today cannot operate without the use of civilian infrastructure. Expensive.

And the very name “infantry” for modern ground units sounds mocking. In the presence of the amount of various equipment that is at the disposal of the combined arms commander.

When we talk about infrastructure, we often mean the presence of roads and bridges. In short, everything that can be used by wheeled and tracked military equipment.

We consider the railway, which in developed countries is quite comparable in length to highways, only as an opportunity to quickly transport equipment and personnel over long distances. Meanwhile, the military began to use the railway to conduct military operations quite a long time ago.

Today we are starting a series of articles about military equipment that was specially created for combat operations on the railway. A technique that is undeservedly forgotten today, although some samples have become the grandfathers or great-grandfathers of the most powerful modern weapons.

So, we present the first hero of the new series: the Type 2 Railway reconnaissance armored vehicle, better known as the FAI-M-ZhD light armored vehicle. It is this modification of the RB-2 that you see in the photographs. But we should start from afar. As usual with us, in principle...

After the end of the Civil War, designers were captivated by the idea of ​​​​creating light armored vehicles and wedges. Both wheeled and tracked. The prospects for these armored vehicles were painted only in rosy tones. Speed, armor protection of crews, automatic weapons with sufficient lightness of the vehicle itself. And all this against an infantryman practically unarmed against armor.

However, already in the late 20s and early 30s it became clear that “wheeled wedges” were a dead end. The fighters now have their own means of fighting these machines. Weak armor ceased to protect the crew. And in order to get out of the line of fire of such a wedge, it was enough to move away from the road. The cross-country ability of the “heavy” civilian vehicle was low. The “mechanical cart” no longer satisfied the then modern army.

But at the same time, the army required a light armored reconnaissance vehicle. Strange as it may sound today, heavier armored vehicles were the first to appear in the USSR. For example, the BA-27 has been in service with the Red Army since 1928. It had an effect that the designer of the BA-27, A. Rozhkov, had at his disposal the first Soviet truck - the one and a half ton AMO F-15.

The construction of a new light armored vehicle was entrusted to the design bureau of N. I. Dyrenkov and the design bureau of the Izhora plant, where A. A. Rozhkov worked. The chassis of the new light armored car was a chassis from a Ford A car.

And then the detective story begins.

Dyrenkov Design Bureau is designing two armored vehicles at once. D-8 (we will definitely tell you about it) and D-12. The design bureau of the Izhora plant is designing its own armored car. The Izhorians initially took the simplest path. They armored the car with a “box” without a lid. Dyrenkov created a completely digestible version of the vehicle with two machine guns. Naturally, both Dyrenkov vehicles were adopted by the Red Army in 1931.

But, on his own initiative, the engineer of the Izhora Design Bureau A. A. Rozhkov is developing his own car on the same basis. Moreover, in June 1930, Rozhkov sent his project to NTK. The project falls into the hands of the head of the UMM, I. Khalepsky, and he, with his own authority, orders to organize the consideration of the project as soon as possible.

Already in July of the same year, the project was reviewed and recognized as more promising than Dyrenkov’s machines. The main advantage of this vehicle was its fully armored hull and rotating turret with all-round visibility. Attempts to “put pressure” on the commission regarding the only machine gun (7.62-mm DT machine gun) were rejected by the military. At that time, it was believed that for a light reconnaissance vehicle one machine gun (but in the turret in all directions) was quite sufficient.

The next episode of our detective story.

For field testing, it is necessary to create several prototypes of the car. In different documents, the product was designated differently. “Ford-A with a turret” or “Ford-A Rozhkova” or FAR. Naturally, the Izhora plant was supposed to produce prototypes...

But... The Izhora plant could not produce these machines for a trivial reason. There was no free production space or personnel. The plant was overloaded with other orders. And the production of prototypes was transferred to... OKIB N.I. Dyrenkova. It would seem that the fate of the project was predetermined. But not in Stalin's times...

Both prototypes were assembled on time and with the required quality. Dyrenkov's experienced design and testing bureau, by the way, largely thanks to the ebullient energy of Dyrenkov himself, did not descend to meanness. The samples were collected “excellently” and submitted for testing on February 18, 1931.

During the autumn tests, the new armored car was in no way inferior to the D-8 and D-12!

The new armored car had a body assembled by welding from rolled armor plates with a thickness of 4 to 6 mm. The layout of the phased array was classic, with the engine compartment located in the front.

In the middle part there was a control compartment, where the driver’s seat was located. Due to the lack of space above the driver's seat, which actually rested his head on the ceiling, a hemispherical dome was made.

The commander of the vehicle was located in the combat compartment located in the rear. It served a single DT machine gun mounted in a cylindrical turret with a flat frontal armor plate and a dome similar to the hull one. The ammunition was stowed here, along the sides.

The chassis of the PAR was almost completely similar to the Ford-A truck, the production of which was launched at the Gorky Automobile Plant. The wheel arrangement and transmission remained unchanged.

The wheels themselves remained spoked, with conventional (unprotected) tires, and they did not have any additional protection.

The armored vehicle was equipped with an in-line gasoline engine with a power of 30 hp.

But the detective story is not over. The confrontation between armored cars and designers could not be resolved without a sacrifice. This victim was N.I. Dyrenkov’s OKIB. In 1932 it was liquidated. Naturally, the priority of the D-8 and D-12 work over the phased array was also eliminated. And the project itself was transferred “home” to the Izhora plant.

It was there that a new prototype appeared, which we know as the “armored Ford-A” of the Izhora plant.” Now the developments tested on N. Dyrenkov’s cars were introduced into Rozhkov’s model. The new, already Izhora vehicle had a new turret and a new hull. In August 1932, the project was approved by the UMM of the Red Army and recommended for mass production. At the same time, the FAI name was “legally assigned” to the car - “Ford A-Izhora”. In the Red Army, the armored car was named RB-2. Type 2 reconnaissance armored vehicle.

But detective stories don't just end that way. It seems clear that FAI should be produced where this “I” in the name comes from. However... Due to overload of the Izhora plant, the production of FAI was entrusted to... the Vyksa Crushing and Grinding Equipment Plant (DRO)! Moreover, it was planned to produce the cars in fairly serious quantities - 100 units per year!

Could the workers and engineers of the DRO fulfill the order? No matter how much I wish, no. Although... Around the same time, a young engineer, Alexander Yakovlev, was making his first aircraft at a bed factory...

There was not only the necessary equipment, but also personnel capable of performing such work. And the Izhorians “helped” the Vyksa engineers by handing over completely “raw” drawings. But crushing machine specialists also coped with the task! And again with the help of D-12.

The chassis from Ford A was transferred without changes - only the rear seat and body were dismantled. The body had a welded structure and was assembled from armor plates with a thickness of 6.75 mm (frontal part) to 3 mm (roof).

For boarding the crew there were two rectangular doors on each side, where small hatches were cut out. The driver monitored the surrounding situation through viewing slits made in two hatches in the frontal plate of the hull. There was another similar hatch on the right side of the stern sheet.

A trenching tool (shovel and ax) and a spare wheel were attached just below. To improve the work of the crew, two hemispherical domes were installed on the roof of the driver’s compartment, instead of one.

The tower of the new design acquired a more elongated shape, thereby increasing the internal volume while maintaining the dome. The composition of the weapons remained the same, but the crew was increased to 3 people: in the front part there was a commander and a driver, behind them there was a place for a machine gunner, who sat (or hung) in a canvas loop.

The FAI armored car was equipped with a Ford gasoline engine with a power of 30 hp. and was protected by an armored hood. Cars produced in 1934-1935. were equipped with a double-leaf engine access hatch, and cars of the latest series of 1936-1937. – single-leaf.

The DRO plant managed to produce the first FAI only in February 1932. The car was immediately handed over for sea trials, which were successful for the FAI.

It's time to talk directly about the car you see in the photo. Attentive readers have noticed that FAI is somewhat different from FAI-M, even visually. The photo clearly shows the protrusion at the rear of the car on which the spare wheel is mounted. On a non-upgraded machine, this protrusion does not exist.

This is not a railway gadget. This is a regular fuel tank. True, it is armored and the spare wheel here is also additional protection.

The most radical modernization was carried out in 1939, when most of the FAI had a lot of wear on the chassis and needed major repairs. Instead of the Ford chassis, there was a proposal to use the chassis from the GAZ-M1 car.

The front axle of the GAZ-M1 was reinforced with additional pads, and in the rear, on the protruding part of the longer frame, a gas tank covered with armor plates was installed, on top of which a spare wheel could be mounted. For the first time, such modernization was carried out by workshops No. 6 in Bryansk in September 1938. Despite the increased weight to 2280 kg, the vehicle’s maneuverability on country roads and soft ground has improved, and the maximum speed was 83.1 km/h.

The conclusion of the military commission present during the tests stated the following:

“Modernization of the FAI by installing the hull on the M-1 chassis makes it equivalent in its dynamic qualities to the BA-20. However, the use of FAI-M will be limited due to the presence of defective reservations. The hull is inferior in design and quality to the BA-20.

During serial modernization, the following changes must be made: 1. Strengthen the front axle. 2. Seal the housing (from liquid agents, etc.). 3. Increase the power reserve by installing an additional gas tank.

All of the above changes must be carried out during serial modernization, and only after this the FAI-M armored vehicle can be accepted for use in the Red Army as an additional type to the main BA-20.”

This is where the idea arose of putting the FAI on the railway and using it as an armored tire.

The first rail-mounted versions of the FAI were released in 1936. The first car was presented... by employees of warehouse No. 60! The vehicle had a changeable drive and differed from a conventional armored car in the presence of a jack and metal bandages worn over the wheels. When driving on ordinary roads, the bandages were simply removed and attached to the sides of the armored hull.

The experiment turned out to be successful and by 1938, 8 more cars were converted in the same way. All FAI-ZhD entered service with the 5th separate battalion of armored tires and were decommissioned only at the very end of the war.

Such a long period of operation of these vehicles is explained by the fact that the 5th Separate Division was stationed in the Far East and had purely security functions. The appearance of new armored tires BA-20 ZhD in August 1945 was the time when these armored vehicles went into storage.

Tactical and technical characteristics of the FAI-M light armored vehicle

Combat weight, kg: 2280 Crew, persons: 3 Years of production: 1933-1939 Number of copies, pcs: 697

Dimensions: Case length, mm: 4325 Width, mm: 1860 Height, mm: 2140

Armor: Rolled steel armor Forehead, sides, mm: 6 Stern, hull roof, turret roof, mm: 4 Turret (without roof), mm: 4.75

Armament 7.62 mm DT machine gun Ammunition 1512 rounds

Engine: carburetor in-line four-cylinder GAZ-M1 Engine power hp: 50 Highway speed, km/h: 83 Cruising range, km: 315

Despite the fact that light armored vehicles were produced for a fairly short time, they had to fight a lot. In different conditions. In different wars. In different countries. During the Great Patriotic War, these light armored vehicles were used by the Red Army until 1942.

It is very difficult to say anything about their combat use, since in reports the FAI was often not separated from the BA-20. We can speak with some confidence only about the armored vehicles of the border military districts, which were left in full force in the territory occupied by the enemy.

By the end of the year, there were practically no FAI left in the first line units. Of the surviving information, there is data only for the 5th Army of the Western Front, where on December 9 there were 26 FAI and BA-20 armored vehicles without indicating their modifications.

The FAI lasted the longest in Transbaikalia: here, on September 23, 1942, the front had 14 vehicles, but by the beginning of the Soviet offensive in Manchuria, all of them were written off.

We are interested in the FAI as the first Soviet experience in putting a combat vehicle on the rails. But it’s far from the last.

Source: Kolomiets M.V. Armor on wheels. History of the Soviet armored car 1925-1945.

History of creation

The appearance of the FAI armored car had a number of prerequisites.

The first and main one is the conclusion between the government of the USSR and a cooperation agreement, according to which Ford began supplying the USSR with components for the assembly of Ford-A, Ford-AA and Ford-AA cars on May 31, 1929. Timken." Since February 1930, cars began to be assembled in Nizhny Novgorod. In November of the same year, the Moscow Plant named after the Communist International of Youth (KIM Plant) joined the work, and by April 1932, a new automobile plant came into operation in Nizhny Novgorod, where car production began on December 6, 1932.

It must be said that the Ford chassis was quite progressive for its time, so almost immediately after the contract was concluded, the military naturally became interested in it. In particular, it was planned to create a cannon armored car on the Ford-Timken chassis, while the Ford-A chassis was considered as a promising basis for creating a light armored car. The corresponding task was issued to the design bureau of the Izhora plant and the design bureau under the leadership of N. I. Dyrenkov. The brainchild of the Izhora plant design bureau did not arouse much interest among the military, since it was quite archaic - in fact, the experimental armored cars were open-top armored boxes mounted on a Ford-A chassis and armed with two machine guns each (one machine gun was located in the front plate to the right of the driver, and the other - on a pin installation in the center of the armored body). The military was much more interested in Dyrenkov's armored vehicles, D-8 and D-12, which were eventually adopted by the Red Army in 1931. However, very soon these armored vehicles also ceased to satisfy the military, since the machine guns of the armored cars did not have all-round fire.

FAI at the parade

In 1930, the Izhora plant design bureau received the task of developing a new armored car on the same chassis, but with weapons installed in the turret. In their work, the design engineers of the Izhora plant used the experience gained during the production of the D-8/D-12 armored cars. By mid-1932, working drawings of the new machine were ready. This arrangement (with weapons placed in the turret), although promising, led to a significant increase in the height of the vehicle (up to 2240 mm) and its weight (2 tons) in comparison with its predecessor, but this did not influence the decision of the military - already at the beginning of 1933 year, the armored car was put into service under the FAI

(“
Ford
-
A
,
Izhorsky
”) and put into production.

In 1936, for a separate battalion of armored tires, 9 armored vehicles were converted into a railway version in the workshops of military warehouse No. 60 in Bryansk.

FAI and BA-I at the parade. 1935

In 1935, the Izhora Plant Design Bureau was asked to develop a new armored vehicle based on the GAZ-M1 passenger car, the production of which began at the Gorky Automobile Plant. By the end of the year, an armored vehicle was developed that outwardly resembled the FAI, but differed from its predecessor in a more spacious fighting compartment, a modified turret and the ability to install a radio station. At the beginning of 1936, this vehicle was put into service under the name BA-20 and went into production. However, as a result of inconsistency in the actions of various enterprises, the production of armored hulls for the FAI at the Izhora plant continued for some time. When it was finally stopped, it turned out that more than three hundred armored hulls of these vehicles had accumulated in the plant’s workshops. Since production of the Ford-A had already been discontinued by that time, it was decided to install the existing armored hulls on the chassis of the M-1 car. In November - January 1939, such a “hybrid” armored car was tested at the Research Institute of BT-testing ground in Kubinka, received positive feedback from the military and was put into service. The hybrid, called FAI-M, differed from its progenitor in the rear part, on which an additional fuel tank and a bracket for mounting a spare wheel were mounted.

Story

In the armored forces of the Red Army, in addition to the small number of armored trolleys only on the railway, there were light armored trolley cars

— modified light armored vehicles (standard, but on a railway):

• dietary supplement-1 (one);
• BAA-2 (one);
• FAIZhd (nine);
• BA-20zhd (61) and BA-20Mzhd (74), which had a demultiplier - a reverse gearbox for movement in both directions at almost the same speeds, speed on the railway up to 90 km/h, cruising range - 430-540 km. The weight of the BA-20 in the railway version increased to 2.78 tons;
• BA-64zhd (up to 13) [10].

In the Red Army, armored railcars, like armored railcars only on railway tracks, were included in separate armored trains - military units and divisions of armored trains and, starting from the 1930s, in addition, in addition to those included in armored trains and divisions, and in a regiment of armored trains, as well as in the only battalion of armored tires (since 1935) of armored forces → motorized armored forces → armored and mechanized forces of the Red Army of the RSFSR and the USSR [7] [11].

By the fall of 1940, the armored forces of the Red Army, according to the order of the NKO USSR No. 0283 dated October 24, 1940, as a result of organizational and staffing changes in the armed forces of the USSR (USSR Armed Forces), had a separate battalion of armored tires (had 4 BDT, 1 DSh, 9 armored vehicles - FAIzhd trolleys and 22 BA-6zhd), 9 separate divisions of armored trains (in addition to the armored trains they had 4-14 armored trolley cars BA-20zhd, BA-6zhd and BA-10zhd) and 17 separate armored trains (in addition to the armored train they had up to 3 armored trolley cars BA-20zhd and BA-6zhd) [12] [13] .

Surviving copies

Replica FAI-M Railway

, Upper Pyshma

• FAI-M.
  On display at the Vadim Zadorozhny Museum of Technology, Krasnogorsk district (Moscow region). This copy arrived from Spain, where it was delivered to the Republicans in the 1930s. among 20 cars of the same type. In running condition.
• FAI-M.
  On display at the Pereyaslavl Railway Museum, Talitsa, Yaroslavl region. The armored hull with a turret was found in 1992 in a forest in the Novgorod region, and rearranged onto the original GAZ-M1 chassis. In running condition.
• FAI-M.
  On display at the Museum of Motorization and Technology in Bialystok. Found in a swamp near the village of Kozliki near Zabludów. Chassis from UAZ-469. Radium.
• FAI-M.
  Monument at the gate of the military unit north of Khalkhgol ​​soum. The chassis and weapons are a remake.

Also, replicas of a high degree of reliability are located in the Museum of “Military Glory of the Urals” in Verkhnyaya Pyshma ( FAI-M Railway

) and in the exhibition of the Victory Museum on Poklonnaya Hill, Moscow.

Notes

1. ↑ 1234567891011121314151617181920
   Kolomiets, 2007, p. 376.
2. ↑ Kolomiets, 2007, p. 295-305, 316.
3. ↑ 123
   Kolomiets, 2007, p. 378.
4. ↑ Kolomiets, 2007, p. 170-181, 378.
5. ↑ Kolomiets, 2007, p. 319, 378.
6. ↑ 12
   Kolomiets, 2007, p. 26.
7. ↑ Kolomiets, 2007, p. 161-170.
8. ↑ Kolomiets, 2007, p. 170-177.
9. ↑ Kolomiets, 2007, p. 188-189.
10. ↑ Kolomiets, 2007, p. 172-173, 378.
11. ↑ 12
    Kolomiets, 2007, p. 236-237.
12. ↑ 12
    Kolomiets, 2005, p. 53-55.
13. ↑ Kolomiets, 2007, p. 257.
14. ↑ Kolomiets, 2007, p. 261-281.
15. ↑ Kolomiets, 2007, p. 258 and 321.
16. ↑ Kolomiets, 2007, p. 290-295.
17. ↑ Kolomiets, 2007, p. 295-305.
18. ↑ Kolomiets, 2007, p. 316.
19. ↑ Veteran of the Spanish campaign returned home (inaccessible link)
20. ↑ Restoration of Military Equipment. Light Armored Car FAI-M 1938.
21. ↑ Surviving Russian and Soviet Armored Cars (unspecified)
    .
    the.shadock.free.fr
    (15 May 2018). Date accessed: June 2, 2022.