BTR-60 Armored Personnel Carrier (original) (raw)

The BTR-60 armored personnel carrier, the first in the line of Russian 8-wheeled APC's, was developed in the late 1950s to replace the BTR-152 (6x6) APC and was first seen in public in 1961. It was continuously improved throughout the 1960s culminating in the production of the BTR-60PB, and was subsequently replaced in production by the similar BTR-70 (8x8). Numerically, the BTR-60 was the most important vehicle in the Soviet Army. It was issued in quantity to the East German, Bulgarian and Romanian Armies. It has also been exported to Yugoslavia. Significantly, it was the standard armored personnel carrier of the Soviet Naval Infantry [the Soviet Marine Corps].

In the late 1950s, a request was issued to the Soviet Army for a new wheeled APC to replace the non-amphibious BTR-152 (6�6). The development of an armored personnel carrier with an 8 � 8 wheel formula began in two competing design bureaus in 1957-58, this competition was called "Project 49". The team of OKB Dedkov won with its Type 62B machine. It was adopted by the Russian Army in 1960 under the designation BTR-60P. The BTR-60P (8�8) and its variants were typically used by mechanized infantry divisions, while tank divisions have tracked BMP-1/BMP-2 ICVs. The original BTR-60P and BTR-60PA were transferred to the reserve, second line, or for training. Production of the BTR-60 series was completed in 1976, and it is believed that the total production was about 25,000 vehicles, including many modifications. The production of the BTR-60 series 8x8 was started at the Gorky Automobile Plant, known today as the Arzamas Machine-Building Plant, where the production of the latest BTR-80 and BTR-80A (8x8) was launched. carried out for the export market as needed. Further development of the BTR-60PB was made in Romania under the designation TAB-71. More recently, Romania has released another version called TAB-77 which is now known to be based on the latest BTR-80 series APC. Full details of this are in a separate post.

The BTR-60PB performs well cross-country in conditions that favor wheels. On land or water, the vehicle is steered by the front two sets of wheels which also have power steering. The boat-shaped hull with sloped sides provides good swimming capability and helps deflect hostile fire. The BTR-60PB has a searchlight and IR equipment, giving it a night fighting capability.

The BTR-60PB is an eight-wheel-drive vehicle with a long, boat-like hull with well-sloped armor on the sides and overhead armor cover. The hull is of all-welded steel construction, with the driver and commander seated at the front, a personnel compartment in the mid-section, and the engine compartment at the rear of the hull. The BTR-60 has a fully enclosed troop compartment on top of which is a one-man turret. The small conical turret, placed over the second set of wheels, is identical to the one fitted on the BRDM-2. It mounts coaxial 14.5-mm KPV and 7.62-mm PKT machine guns to right, with a telescopic sight mounted coaxially on the left. The crew use two semicircular hatches forward of the turret, and a pair of rectangular hatches aft of the turret for access by up to eight passengers. Three firing ports are located on either side of the troop compartment.

This eight-wheel-drive vehicle has evenly spaced wheels, except for a slightly larger space between the second and third wheels. The tires have the centralized pressure regulation system common to Soviet wheeled APCs, and are partially filled with a foam-rubber-like substance. All eight wheels are powered, and the first four which are used for steering, are power-assisted. The rear-mounted power plant employs a pair of 6-cylinder 90-hp gasoline engines mounted at the rear of the hull. The first and third axles are powered through the transmission of the right engine and the second and fourth axles through the transmission of the left engine. The BTR-60P is fully amphibious, propelled by a single water-jet mounted at the rear of the hull.

The interior of the BTR-60P is open from the driver's and commander's seat to the engine compartment in the rear. The driver sits on the left, the commander of the car on the right. Both have a windshield in front of them, which is covered by a flap at the top while driving. It has a built-in day vision device that can be replaced with an infrared periscope for night use. To the left of the driver and to the right of the commander is a vision block. An infrared searchlight is installed above the flap in front of the commander, which can be controlled from inside the vehicle. The infantrymen sit on benches that run across the entire width of the hull. Each side of the hull has two half-doors and three loopholes. If necessary, bows and a canvas cover can be installed over the troop compartment. The main armament consists of a 7.62 mm SGMB or PKB machine gun mounted on a trunnion in the bow of the hull. At this position, vehicles with a heavier 12.7 mm DShKM machine gun were seen. Mounts for 7.62 mm machine guns are also provided on both sides of the hull. Two water-cooled 8-cylinder petrol engines are mounted at the rear of the hull; the first and third axles are driven through the transmission of the right engine, and the second and fourth axles are driven through the transmission of the left engine. Torque from each engine is transmitted to the wheels through a hydraulically controlled single-plate clutch, a four-speed gearbox with synchronizers in third and fourth gears, a two-speed transfer case, final drives of two drive axles with direct differentials. and four-wheel gearboxes. The torque from the final drives to the wheel gears is transmitted through the axle shafts and cardan drives. All eight wheels are driven and the first four, which are used for steering, are power assisted. The vehicle can move with one wheel missing on the second axle. The suspension is torsion bar, with the first and second road wheels on each side, equipped with two hydraulic shock absorbers, and the third and fourth road wheels with one hydraulic shock absorber. The central tire pressure adjustment system, standard on all BTR-60s, allows the driver to adjust the tire pressure to suit the terrain he is driving on. The BTR-60P is fully amphibious and is propelled through water by a single water cannon mounted at the rear of the hull. When not in use, the outlet at the back of the case is covered by a two-piece circular plate. Before entering the water, a trim weather vane is installed in front of the hull and the bilge pump is turned on. When not in use, the trimmer retracts under the nose of the car. Power is transmitted to the water jet through the power take-off (PTO) and water jet gearbox. Changing direction afloat is carried out using a hydrodynamic rudder in a jet propulsion unit and turning the front four road wheels. To reverse, the water jet dampers are closed and water is ejected through the side channels at the rear of the vehicle, facing forward.

Although its armor is thicker than that of older model APCs, the BTR-60PB is vulnerable to HE fragmentation as well as small arms fire. The tires are extremely vulnerable to puncture. Soft ancillary equipment (antennas and integral fuel tanks) are vulnerable to destruction by field artillery weapons. Troops must mount and dismount through the top hatches, which exposes them to fire. A notable vulnerability is that passengers have to exit the vehicle through top hatches, which makes them vulnerable to fires. Also, gunners must be at least shoulder high out of the vehicle to operate the mounted weapons.

BTR-60 - Variants

The BTR-60PB first appeared in 1965 as the third modification in the BTR-60P series of APCs. It was preceded in 1961 by the open-topped BTR-60P and in 1964 by the BTR-60PK (also known as BTR-60PA) which added overhead armor cover but lacked the turret of the BTR-60PB. Later modifications are the BTR-60PU command vehicle, with a special canvas top and additional radios, and the Forward Air Control Vehicle, a modified BTR-60PB with a large Plexiglas window replacing the coaxial machine guns in the turret and a large portable generator mounted on the rear deck. All versions in the series are still in service, although the BTR-60P and 60PK models are seldom seen today in first-line units. The BTR-60PB has been exported to many countries, including North Korea and most of the Warsaw Pact. There are also Polish and Czech versions of this vehicle. Since 1978 the BTR-70 has begun to replace the BTR-60PB.

Another BTR-60 variant, the artillery command and reconnaissance vehicle (ACRV) M1 979(2), is used as a command observation post (COP) vehicle in towed artillery batteries and battalions.

1955�1975 � Vietnam War (North Vietnam) 1966�1991 - South African Border War (Angola, Cuba) 1967 - Six Day War (Egypt, Syria) 1968 - Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia. 1969 - Soviet-Soviet border conflict (Soviet Union) 1973 - Yom Kippur War (Egypt, Syria) 1974�1991 � Ethiopian Civil War 1961�1991 � Eritrean War of Independence 1975�1990 � Lebanese Civil War 1975�1991 - Western Sahara War (POLISARIO) 1975�2002 � Angolan Civil War 1977�1978 - Ogaden War 1978�1987 � Chadian�Libyan conflict 1979�1988 - Soviet-Afghan war (Soviet Union, Afghanistan) 1980�1988 � Iran�Iraq War (Iran, Iraq) 1982 - 1982 Ethiopian-Somali Border War 1983 - Invasion of Grenada (Grenada) 1988�1993 � Georgian Civil War 1992�1993 - War in Abkhazia 1988�1994 - First Nagorno-Karabakh War (Nagorno-Karabakh, Armenia, Azerbaijan) 1989 - Romanian Revolution (Romania) 1990�1991 � First Gulf War (Iraq) 1991�present � ??Somali Civil War 1991�1999 - Yugoslav Wars 1992�1997 - Civil war in Tajikistan 1993-present - Kurdish-Turkish conflict (T�rkiye) 1994 - Yemeni Civil War 1994�1996 - First Chechen War (Russia) 1999�2009 - Second Chechen War (Russia) 2001�2016 � War in Afghanistan 2003�2011 � Iraq War 2003 - Invasion of Iraq (Iraq) 2011 - Libyan Civil War (Gaddafi and Anti-Gaddafi forces) 2011�present � ??Syrian Civil War (government forces and rebels) 2014�present � ??War in Donbass (Ukraine and pro-Russian rebel forces) 2020-2020 Nagorno-Karabakh conflict BTR-60PA This model, also known as the BTR-60PK, entered service in 1963. It has full armor on top of the troop compartment and is equipped with an RCB system. The commander and driver positions are identical to those of the original BTR-60P, except that the driver has a roof-mounted day periscope and both have a one-piece hatch cover that opens to the rear. Behind the commander's and driver's hatches there is a single rectangular hatch opening backwards, in front of which a single 7.62-mm SGMB or PKB machine gun is mounted on a trunnion. Many vehicles also have 7.62mm machine guns mounted on either side of the hatch cover. In the roof of the fighting compartment, closer to the rear, on the right side, there is another hatch cover that opens to the right. Three firing ports on each side of the hull, but no entry doors. Infantrymen sit on bench seats along the side and stern of the troop compartment. BTR-60PB The BTR-60PB is essentially a BTR-60PA with a machine gun turret and other modifications. Instead of viewing blocks in the hatches directly in front of the commander and driver, there are a number of roof-mounted day periscopes for observation in front and on the sides of the vehicle. The turret, identical to that mounted on the Russian amphibious vehicle BRDM-2 (4�4) and the Czech armored personnel carrier OT-64 (8�8), is armed with an unstabilized 14.5 mm KPV machine gun and a 7.62 mm PKT machine gun mounted coaxially on the right, with an optical day sight coaxially on the left. The gun has an elevation angle of +30, a tilt angle of -5, and the turret can be rotated a full 360 degrees. The height and inclination of the gun, as well as the rotation of the turret, are performed manually. At the rear of the turret on the right side is a one-piece hatch cover that opens to the left, and to the left rear of it is a one-piece hatch cover that opens to the right. There are single doors that open forward on both sides of the hull, two or three firing ports and viewing blocks. The BTR-60PB preceded the BTR-60PAI, which also had a turret. Late production BTR-60PBs have the same sight improvement as the BTR-70: a small additional periscope sight on the turret roof. BTR-60PBK Commander model BTR-60PB with two R-123 and one R-148 radios. This version can be identified by the additional antenna mast on the left side of the hull. Some vehicles are additionally equipped with a retractable PIN STICK antenna. BTR-60 1V18 This is an artillery observation post, a wheeled analogue of the tracked 1V14M with the same communication system and a computer-communication complex of the agro-industrial complex. The 1B18 Klen-1 is designated ACRV M1979/2a by the US Army, with the 1B18-1 being an improved version. BTR-60 1V19 This is a fire control center vehicle and a wheeled analogue of the 1V15M with the same communication equipment and the APC computer system. Wheeled versions of the rest of the machines - 1V110 on the GAZ-66 chassis (1V13M) and 1V111 on the ZIL-131 (6 � 6) chassis (1V16M). 1V19 Klen-2 is also known as ACRV M1979/2b and is equipped with a telescopic antenna for the R-130 on the left side of the hull. IV19-1 is an improved model. Notable users are Bulgaria, Finland, Romania, Russia, Serbia and Montenegro. BTR-60 R-145BM Equipped with two R-111/171 radios, one R-123/173, one R-130M and one R-8xx ground-to-air radio. BTR-60 R-975 This is an advanced air traffic control vehicle with an unknown installation of R-8xx radio systems. This model has a standard turret. The BTR-60 R-975MI is very similar, but without the turret. BTR-60-Z-351BR Equipped with an armored generator system for high power requirements (such as 15kW and above). BTR-60-P-238BT Armored field shield with one R-123M radio station. BTR-60-P-239BT is very similar. BTR-60-P-240BT Integrated radio/wired switch with one R-405, one R-123M and switching equipment. BTR-60-P-241BT BTR-60 with P-241 field telephone system. Equipped with a secure telephone terminal. BTR-60-R-137B BTR-60 with an armored communication system with one set of VHF R-137, one R-405 radio and one R-123M radio. It is equipped with a turret, but does not have a 14.5 mm KPV series machine gun. BTR-60-R-140BM BTR-60 with an armored control and communication system with one R-140 HF radio, one R-405 radio and one R-123M radio. It is equipped with a turret but lacks a 14.5mm machine gun. BTR-60-R-156BTR Armored vehicle of the control and communication system with one R-156 HF radio station, one R-405 radio station and one R-123M radio station. It is not equipped with a tower. BTR-60-R-409BM The BTR-60 was used as an armored radio relay station with one R-409 radio and one R-123M radio. It is not equipped with a tower. BTR-60PAu Bulgarian BTR-60 with unidentified communications equipment for use by artillery units. Command vehicle BTR-60Pu It is essentially a BTR-60P equipped with a bow and tarpaulin, as well as interior seats for command personnel, chart boards, and additional communications equipment. The commander's version of the BTR-60PA is also in service with a roof-mounted generator, a 10 m high radio antenna used in a static role, and a rail antenna running along the front, left and rear of the hull. Variants of the BTR-60Pu include the BTR-60PuM and BTR-60PuM1. Command vehicle BTR-60PuM This is a Finnish version of the Pu (R-145BM) without the Hawk Eye or Hanger antenna, equipped with a 12.7 mm NSVT machine gun and modern communications equipment. It entered service with Finland in 1996. BTR-60PB-MD Bulgaria This is a modernized Bulgarian BTR-60PB with 81 mm smoke grenade launchers, a VAMO DT 3900 or Rover TD-200 diesel engine, Melopa night vision devices, a new NBC system and modern radio stations. BTR-60MBP BTR-60MBP (Combat Post Machine) is used as a security and escort vehicle for strategic missile units. Command vehicle BTR-60Pu-12 The BTR-60Pu-12 command vehicle has been in service with the former Soviet and now Russian army since the late 1970s, and has also been identified in service with Bulgaria, the former Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Serbia and Montenegro. The machine is a BTR-60PA with a large glove box on the right side of the hull, in the back of which there is a canister of water or fuel. On the roof there is a box that can house a generator to power the installed additional communication equipment. Directly behind the commander's hatch in the roof is a telescopic mast, which is raised to the working position by turning the handle located on the right side of the mast. The BTR-60Pu-12 is used as part of air defense units equipped with such systems as the ZSU-23-4 self-propelled anti-aircraft gun, as well as 9K33 Osa (SA-8 Gecko) and 9K35 Strela 10 (SA-8). 13 self-propelled anti-aircraft missile systems "Suslik". BTR-60Pu-12 is also known as 9S482 and BTR-60Pu-12M as 9S482M. The main improvement -12M is the installation of a new ASPD-U computer to replace the old ASPD-12. As a result, the command post can now handle 99 targets at once instead of 20. The command and staff vehicles Pu-12 and Pu-12M were created on the basis of the BTR-60PB chassis, and not the BTR-60PA. In fact, almost all variants of the BTR-60 are based on the BTR-60PB, with the exception of the MTR-2 and the Bulgarian BTR-60PAU. BTR-60 twin 30 mm ZSU The Cuban Army used a modified BTR-60P with an ex-Czech twin 30mm towed anti-aircraft gun mounted in an open mount on top of the vehicle. BTR-60 VVS In fact, this is the BTR-60PB with the weapons removed from the tower and the resulting hatch, a closed viewing window made of plexiglass. To provide power to additional communication equipment, a generator is installed on the top of the case at the rear from the outside. BTR-60 Djibouti Djibouti has equipped at least one of its Russian BTR-60 (8�8) vehicles with the full turret of a French Panhard General Defense AML-90 (4�4) armored vehicle. It is armed with a 90 mm rifled cannon with a muzzle brake and a 7.62 mm coaxial machine gun. The vehicle is called the BTR-60 H 90 and was also equipped with the hydraulic guidance system of the AMX-13 light tank. Djibouti has also fitted a US-supplied HMMWV (4�4) with a full turret of a Russian BRDM-2 (4�4) armored car armed with 14.5mm and 7.62mm machine guns. Other versions of the BTR-60 team These include P-219, P-238BT, P-239BT and P-241BT, P-240, P-240BR, P-240BT and P-240TBR, P241TBR, P251, P-286, P-537, R118AM3, R-137, R-137B, R-137BR, R-140, R- 145BM, R-145K and MB R-145, R-156, R-156B, R-156BTR, R-396, R-409, R-409BM and R-409BR, R-419B, R-419BR, R-419BTR, R-440B, R-975, R975M and R-975M1, Z-351 BR, BMU, EPS, KOAM, BTR-60KShM, BTR-60MS and BTR-60 Salon. The Arzamas Machine-Building Plant has developed and completed testing of an upgrade package for the widely deployed BTR-60/BTR-70 series with an 8�8 wheel arrangement. The existing BTR-60 powerplant was replaced by a complete powerplant of the later BTR-80 series with an 8�8 wheel arrangement, as well as the corresponding transfer case and cardan shafts. The power plant includes one KamAZ-7403 V-8 turbocharged diesel engine with a capacity of 260 hp, which provides the car with a maximum highway speed of up to 100 km/h and a cruising range of 600 km/h. The installation of a new diesel power unit not only increases the speed and range of the BTR-60, but also reduces the risk of fire and contributes to the overall fuel policy, since today all new armored fighting vehicles have a diesel engine as standard. . The existing turret has been replaced with a newer BPU-1 turret, which is mounted on a serial BTR-80 with similar armament, but the elevation angle has been increased to +60. This allows the weapon to engage slow and low-flying aerial targets, as well as targets in taller buildings in urban warfare. Armor protection has also been improved, and standard equipment includes fire detection and suppression equipment, an NBC system, and a life support system. The existing communications equipment has been replaced with the newer R-168-25U or R-173 system and a Gamma-2 ground navigation system has been installed. It is alleged that combat survivability is increased by installing additional passive armor protection. Other improvements include new commander and driver vision devices, new bulletproof tires, a new water cannon and improved seating. The upgraded BTR-60 can also be equipped with the latest single-man BPPU turret armed with an external 30mm 2A72 cannon and a 7.62mm PKTM coaxial machine gun. In the base model, the 30 mm 2A72 gun is not stabilized, but a stabilizer can be optionally installed, which increases the likelihood of hitting moving targets. The BPPU turret has already been mass-produced for the BTR-80A, which is in service with Russia and has already been exported to a number of countries. Muromteplovoz Modernization of BTR-60 Muromteplovoz has developed an extensive upgrade of the BTR-60PB to the prototype stage, including firepower and mobility. The serial BTR-60PB is equipped with a turret similar to that installed on the BRDM-2 armored car armed with 14.5 mm and 7.62 mm machine guns. For this upgrade, this turret was removed and replaced with a new MB2 turret (or fighting compartment as the Russians call it) which is armed with a 30mm 2A42 cannon and a 7.62mm PKTM machine gun with a 30mm AG-17. The grenade launcher was attached to the extreme left side of the tower. This weapon can be raised up to +60 degrees, which allows the weapon to be used in urban environments, as well as against slow-flying aircraft and helicopters. The MB2 turret has also been mounted on other tracked and wheeled chassis and is available with a stabilization system and various day/night sights. Other weapons systems are also being sold, including the latest 30mm 2A72 cannon, as well as the 23mm GSh-23 cannon and the 30mm GSh-30 cannon. Air defense and anti-tank guided weapons, including the laser-guided Kornet, could also be added. The latter has a maximum range of 5,000 m and can be equipped with various types of warheads. The serial BTR-60PB was equipped with two 6-cylinder in-line gasoline engines GAZ-49B with a power of 90 hp. each, which allowed the car to reach a maximum speed of 80 km / h and a cruising range of 500 km. In the modernized BTR-60PB, the rear part of the hull was changed and a new four-stroke diesel YaMZ-236A with a power of 195 hp was installed. This gives the car a maximum range of 800 km and a top speed of 80 km/h. The transmission has also been upgraded and the braking system has been improved. The mass of the upgraded BTR-60PB increased to 13 tons, and the specific power decreased to 15 hp / t. The maximum torque has been increased by 62 percent, and while the original BTR-60PB could accelerate from 0 to 60 km/h in 83 seconds, the upgraded version can do it in just 63 seconds. Muromteplovoz Modernization of air defense system BTR-60 In mid-2007, Muromteplovoz showed a heavily modified BTR-60P (8x8) chassis equipped with 9K35M3-K Strela-10M3-K (SA-13 Suslik), which is usually mounted on the MT-LB full-track chassis. It has a mechanically operated turret with four anti-aircraft missiles in the ready-to-launch position, mounted on a heavily modified BTR-60P chassis. To accommodate the rocket launcher, the sides of the hull were pushed outward over the second and third road wheels to increase the internal volume. The original two petrol engines have been replaced with a more fuel-efficient YaMZ-236A diesel engine developing 195 hp, giving a top highway speed of 80 km/h and a claimed range of 800 km. The transmission has also been upgraded and the braking system has been improved. This diesel power unit is also installed on the previously mentioned Muromteplovoz BTR-60. For air defense, the rear of the engine bay appears to be taller, which could indicate further improvements, possibly including an auxiliary power unit. Modernization of the Iranian BTR-60PB In late 2001, Iran announced that it had upgraded and repaired 30 Russian-built BTR-60PB (8�8) armored personnel carriers that had been damaged during the 1980-88 and 1990-91 conflicts in the Persian Gulf with Iraq. According to Iranian sources, the modernization allowed the car to improve cross-country ability, as well as increase the maximum speed on the highway to 80 km / h and speed on water to 10 km / h. It is considered likely that the upgrade included replacing the two original petrol engines with one or two more economical diesel engines. Modernization of the BTR-60 NIMDA In response to an unnamed foreign customer, the Israeli NIMDA developed an upgrade package for the BTR-60 BTR. The old powertrain has been replaced by a new diesel powertrain developed by NIMDA, coupled with a new fully automatic electronic transmission. The complete powertrain consists of two Rover 300 TDI diesel engines, two Allison 1000 series automatic transmissions and two separate cooling systems including hydraulic fans.

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