BA-I armoured car

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BA-I
BA-I and D-8 at the rear on the Military Parade in Moscow. November 7, 1934.
Type	Armoured car
Place of origin	Soviet Union
Specifications
Weight	5 tonnes
Length	4.8 m
Width	2.0 m
Height	2.4 m
Crew	3

Armor	8 mm
Primary armament	37mm 7K gun
Secondary armament	2x7.62mm DT
Engine	GAZ-AA 40 hp (30 kW)
Power/weight	8 hp/tonne
Suspension	wheeled
Operational range	150 km
Speed	63 km/h

The development of the armoured cars with 3 axes began in Soviet Union in the Thirties. In this case the designers in essence relied on chassis of American truck Ford-Timken, which began to enter the Soviet Union in 1931. In the end of the year assembling of these motor vehicles approached the plant "Gudok Oktyabrya" in Kanavin, near Nizhniy Novgorod. In autumn of the same year at the Repair Base of Nº2 in Moscow to this chassis they established the armored housing of armored car BA-27. Following the first built about 20 more armored cars, received designation BA-27M. Simultaneously with this at The Izhorskij plant, with the use of the same chassis, several dozen armored cars D-13, was released, developed on the project N.I.Dyrenkov.

In 1932 engineer P.N.Syachentov, known by its developments in the region of artillery, BAD-2 (armored car-rail trolley) designed the universal average floating armored car, capable of entire other to be moved on the railroad track. Sole copy was built. However, not one of the machines according to their tactical-technical characteristics indicated they satisfied servicemen. The soldiers wanted that these vehicles are equipped with an average gun.

In 1932 at The Izhorskij plant under the management of engineer A.D.Kuz'min developed armored car "BA-I" (I-Izhorskij. In some publications the name of this machine is written together "BAI"). With its creation was used entire the same triaxial chassis Ford-Timken. The complete hull of armored car was welded together - for that time this was advanced technology. On the boards of the hull and in its rear portion were doors for the embarkation of crew.

In the cylindrical welded tower of original construction were established standard 37-mm tank gun (34 rounds) and separately from it machine gun in the ball installation. The second machine gun (DT) was placed in the frontal sheet of the group to the right of driver. Due to the stepped form of the roof of the hull (undertower sheet it was located noticeably lower than roof of driver cab) it was possible to substantially reduce overall height of combat vehicle.

One additional interesting innovation (an idea that was borrowed from D-13) in the construction were the wheels of replacement (between the nose gear wheels and the rear wheel-axle unit) were rotary what helped the vehicle to cross the trenches and the reliefs. Subsequently this engineering solution roamed from one BA to another, up to BA-10. Armored car BA-I was produced by a small series in 1932-34 years and was in service of the Red Army.

BA-Is (on the front) and FAIs armored cars.

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Soviet armoured fighting vehicles of World War II

Tanks

Tankettes	Amphibious tanks	Light tanks
T-27	T-37 \| T-38 \| T-40	T-26 \| T-50 \| T-60 \| T-70 \| T-80
Fast tanks	Medium tanks	Heavy tanks
BT-5 \| BT-7 \| BT-8	T-24 \| T-28 \| T-34 \| T-44	T-35 \| KV-1 \| KV-2 \| KV-85 \| IS tank

Armored cars

Light		Medium
FAI \| D-8 \| D-12 \| BA-20 \| LB-62 \| LB-23 \| BA-64		D-13 \| BA-10 \| BA-21 \| BA-3 \| BA-6 \| BA-27 \| BA-I
Heavy	Amphibious		Half-tracked
BA-11 \| TB-42	PB-4 \| PB-7 \| BAD-2		BA-30