BTR-152

BTR-152
Former East German BTR-152 (SPW-152) at a public exhibit.
TypeArmored personnel carrier
Place of originSoviet Union
Service history
In service24 March 1950 – present
Used bySee Operators
WarsSee Service History
Production history
DesignerB. M. Fitterman
DesignedNovember 1946 – 1949[1]
ManufacturerAutomotive Factory No. 2 Zavod imeni Stalina (until 1956)[1]
Automotive Factory No. 2 Zavod imeni Likhacheva (from 1956 to 1962)[1]
Unit costUS$39,000 (export price to Iraq, 1964-1969)[2]
Produced1950–1959
No. builtaround 15,000
VariantsSee Variants
Specifications
Mass9.91 tonnes[3]
Length6.55 m
6.83 m for BTR-152V
Width2.32 m
Height2.04 m (without the mg)[3]
2.36 m (with the mg)[1]
2.41 m (BTR-152V with the mg)[1]
Crew2 (+18 passengers)[4]

Armorwelded steel[5]
15 mm front[3]
9 mm sides and rear[5]
10 mm roof[5]
4 mm bottom[5]
Main
armament
7.62mm SGMB light machine gun (1,250 rounds) (12.7 mm DShK 1938/46 heavy machine gun (500 rounds) can be used instead)[3]
Secondary
armament
2×7.62mm SGMB light machine guns (1,250–1,750 rounds) on side pintel mounts (optional)[3]
EngineZIS-123 6-cylinder in-line water-cooled petrol (for variants based on ZIS-151)
ZIL-137K 6-cylinder in-line petrol (for variants based on ZIL-157)[6]
110 hp (82 kW) at 3,000 rpm. (for variants based on ZIS-151)
107 hp (80 kW) (for variants based on ZIL-157)[6]
Power/weight11.1 hp/tonne (8.3 kW/tonne)
10.8 hp/tonne (8.1 kW/tonne) for BTR-152V[1]
Suspensionwheeled 6×6
front - 2 leaf springs and hydraulic shock absorbers.
rear - equalising type with 2 leaf springs and torsion bars.
Ground clearance300 mm
Fuel capacity300 L (79 gal)
Operational
range
650 km (404 miles)[3]
Maximum speed 75 km/h[7]
65 km/h for BTR-152V[1]

The BTR-152 is a six-wheeled Soviet armoured personnel carrier (APC) built on the chassis and drive train of a ZIS-151 utility truck. It entered service with a number of Warsaw Pact member states beginning in 1950, and formed the mainstay of Soviet motor rifle battalions until the advent of the amphibious BTR-60 series during the 1960s.[8] BTR stands for bronetransportyor (Russian: бронетранспортёр, БТР, lit.'armoured carrier').[9]

BTR-152s were available in several marks, and were manufactured in large numbers for the Soviet military and export. Late production models utilized automotive components from the more reliable ZIL-157 truck.[10] Three primary variants of the BTR-152 appeared between 1950 and 1959: the base armored personnel carrier with a single pintle-mounted 7.62mm or 12.7mm machine gun, an unarmed command vehicle with a higher roofline, and an anti-aircraft variant armed with a ZPU-2 mount.[10] BTR-152s could carry a single infantry squad each, or specialist weapons teams along with their mortars and anti-tank equipment. In Soviet service, a number were also deployed as artillery tractors.[11]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g "softland". Archived from the original on 30 December 2007.
  2. ^ Efrat, Moshe (1983). "The Economics of Soviet Arms Transfers to the Third World. A Case Study: Egypt". Soviet Studies. 35 (4): 437–456. doi:10.1080/09668138308411496. ISSN 0038-5859. JSTOR 151253.
  3. ^ a b c d e f "BTR-152 Armored Transporter". Retrieved 24 December 2014.
  4. ^ "BTR-152". Archived from the original on 10 February 2008.
  5. ^ a b c d Cite error: The named reference Pancerni 1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ a b AMW – Agencja Mienia Wojskowego Archived 1 March 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  7. ^ Administrator. "BTR 152 [ZSRR]: Strona 2 - Pancerni.net". Archived from the original on 18 August 2007. Retrieved 24 December 2014.
  8. ^ Green, Michael (1997). Armoured Warfare in the Vietnam War: Rare Photographs from Wartime Archives. South Yorkshire: Pen & Sword Books Ltd. pp. 68–69. ISBN 978-1-78159-381-3.
  9. ^ KAT-orygie-0/24-49-soderzanie. Web.archive.org (3 November 2006). Retrieved on 21 September 2011.
  10. ^ a b Pretty, Ronald (1980). Jane's Weapon Systems, 1979–80 (1979 ed.). Macdonald and Jane's Publishers Ltd. pp. 313–368. ISBN 978-0-531-03299-2.
  11. ^ Christopher F. Foss (1976). Jane's World Armoured Fighting Vehicles (1976 ed.). Macdonald and Jane's Publishers Ltd. pp. 262–269. ISBN 0-354-01022-0.