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BA-64

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	Topics BA-64 Topic Home The BA-64 was a 4×4 light armoured car, employed by the Soviet Army from 1942 into the early 1960s for reconnaissanceReconnaissance Summary Reconnaissance is the military term for the active gathering of information about an enemy, or other conditions, by physical... and liaison tasks. The BA-64B was nicknamed 'Bobik' by its crews. The total recorded number of BA-64s produced differs even in Russian sources. The most frequently-stated figures are 9,110 (3,901 BA-64 and 5,209 BA-64B) vehicles which were built in the GAZGAZ GAZ or Gorkovsky Avtomobilny Zavod, translated as Gorky Automobile Plant, started in 1929 as NNAZ, a cooperation between... automobile plant, although a memorial plaque near the pictured Nizhny Novgorod car states 9,063 cars. The Red ArmyRed Army Overview The short forms Red Army and RKKA refer to the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, , the armed forces first organiz... representatives accepted only 8,174 BA-64s, including 3,390 with radio sets; the other vehicles were transferred to NKVDNKVD The NKVD or People's Commisariat for Internal Affairs was a government department which handled a number of the Soviet ... units and Soviet allies. Production history The BA-64 armoured car was a construction initiative of GAZ chief designer V. A. Grachev. Design work started in July 17, 1941. The designer's team also included F. A. Lependin (general layout), G. M. Wassermann (leading engineer), Yu. N. Sorochkin, B. T. Komarevskiy, V. F. Samoilov (armoured hull) and others. On April 10, 1942, Grachev was awarded the Third Grade Stalin Prize for creation of the BA-64 armoured car and GAZ-61GAZ-61 Overview GAZ-61 was a four wheel drive car from GAZ first introduced in 1938, but production didn't really start until 1940.... light jeep. The initial BA-64 model was based upon the GAZ-64GAZ-64 GAZ-64 was a 4x4 jeep made by GAZ, actually the first all-terrain vehicle made in the Soviet Union.... jeep and fitted with sloped armour that had some similarities to the German Sd kfz 222 design. One captured Sd Kfz 222 was transferred to GAZ for examination and analysis on September 7, 1941. The first prototype was tested on January 9, 1942. It had an open roof, with a pintlePintle A pintle is a pin or bolt, usually inserted into a gudgeon, which is used as part of a pivot or hinge.... -mounted 7.62mm DT machine gun. The vehicle was operated by a crew of two. The next day the BA-64 prototype was shown to Kliment VoroshilovKliment Voroshilov Kliment Yefremovich Voroshilov was a Soviet military commander and politician.... . The official presentation was in the KremlinKremlin Kremlin is the Russian word for "fortress", "citadel", or "castle" and refers to any major fortified central complex found ... on March 3, 1942. The State Defence Committee adopted the BA-64 for Red Army service on March 14, 1942. It was top-heavy and could easily overturn on rough terrain. The improved BA-64B model was introduced in 1943, based on the GAZ-67GAZ-67 Overview The GAZ-67 and the subsequent GAZ-67B were general purpose four wheel drive Soviet military vehicles built by GAZ starting i... B jeep, with a wider wheelbase. This model also had a small machine-gun turret added. The mass production of BA-64Bs continued through the rest of the Second World War and ceased in 1946. The last 62 vehicles were completed in that year. BA-64Bs were also used by Polish and Czech units, raised in Soviet Union. After the end of the war, some BA-64Bs were transferred to the police of the GDR. There were other post-war transfers of BA-64Bs to North KoreaNorth Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, is an East Asian country occupying the northern hal... , ChinaChina China is a cultural region and ancient civilization in East Asia.... and YugoslaviaYugoslavia Yugoslavia is a term used for the three separate political entities that existed during most of the 20th century on the Bal... . Variants BA-64, initial open-topped production, based on GAZ-64GAZ-64 GAZ-64 was a 4x4 jeep made by GAZ, actually the first all-terrain vehicle made in the Soviet Union.... BA-64B, main production with turret, based on GAZ-67Facts About GAZ-67 The GAZ-67 and the subsequent GAZ-67B were general purpose four wheel drive Soviet military vehicles built by GAZ starting i... B BASh-64, staff vehicle with a variety of armoured compartments BA-64DShK (1944), armed with 12.7mm DShKDShK The DShK 1938 is a Soviet heavy anti-aircraft machine gun firing 12.7×107 mm Soviet cartridges, also used at some times as a... heavy machine gun BA-64D (desantniy, prototype only), personnel carrier for six men BA-64ZhD (prototype only), two different railcarRailcar A railcar is a self-propelled railway vehicle designed to transport passengers.... versions with flanged wheels, developed at GAZ and the Vyksunskiy Factory BA-64SKh (prototype only), half-trackHalf-track A half-track is a civilian or military vehicle with regular wheels on the front for steering, and caterpillar tracks on the ... with front skis for travel in snow, based on experimental GAZ-60 Combat history The major drawback of the BA-64 was its light armament. However, BA-64s were successfully utilised in reconnaissance and liaison missions despite this disadvantage. Another benefit was the high elevation angle of the DT machine gun. In complement with high speed and good manoeuvrability, this allowed BA-64s to be used in urban combat with success against enemy infantry hiding on the upper floors of buildings. Also, BA-64s could return fire to enemy planes. The light firepower of BA-64s was not sufficient for effective destruction of aerial targets, but it limited the enemy's flight freedom and thus helped to reduce the losses of friendly troops. External links at armchairgeneral.com at wwiivehicles.com in Avtorevyu No. 8, 2005 (Russian language)—includes photos of a restored BA-64