BA-64

Early BA-64

During the 1930s, the Soviet Union devoted much effort and funding to the development of six-wheeled medium or heavy armoured cars. A primary shortcoming of these vehicles was their lack of all-wheel drive, however, which restricted them to roads.[2] In 1940, the Main Directorate of Soviet Armoured Forces (GABTU), issued a requirement for new armoured car designs which could operate effectively on open terrain and possessed an all-wheel drive chassis.[2] This ushered in the development of several new 4X4 designs, such as the LB-62 and the BA-NATTI.[2] Although these were the first all-wheel drive Soviet armoured cars, neither was accepted for service with the Red Army, as they suffered from excessive weight, fuel consumption, and poor operating range.[2]

During Operation Barbarossa, Nazi Germany's rapid offensives in Ukraine and western Russia temporarily disrupted new military projects as most Soviet factories involved with the production of armoured fighting vehicles were forced to evacuate their facilities and relocate operations east of the Ural Mountains.[2] Gorkovsky Avtomobilny Zavod (GAZ) was one of a few exceptions to the rule, as it was already located east of Moscow.[2] Its contribution to the early Soviet war effort was strategically vital, since it could continue manufacturing vehicles to replace the massive losses then being sustained by the Red Army while the rest of the local defence industry was struggling to relocate and reorganise.[2] GAZ increased its manufacture and assembly of light tanks accordingly, as well as continuing to produce military trucks.[2] Since the programme to mass produce a new all-wheel drive armoured car had been interrupted by the German invasion, it also fell to GAZ to investigate possibilities in that regard.[2]

GAZ technicians initiated concept work on a new armoured car designated Izdeliye 64-125 on July 17, 1941,[2] basing its construction and design on a preexisting light vehicle chassis.[1] This was to ensure the manufacturing process could in be undertaken in an economical and rapid manner.[1] After some deliberation, the GAZ-64 jeep was chosen as the base for the Izdeliye 64-125.[1] This chassis was considered ideal due to its short wheel base and excellent ground clearance, and the fact that its mechanical parts were already in serial production.[2] The original Izdeliye 64-125 bore almost no similarities with what would later become the BA-64; it resembled little more than a shorter BA-20.[2]

On August 23, a captured German Sd.Kfz. 221 scout car was exhibited near Moscow by the Red Army.[2] Vitaliy Grachev and other GAZ engineers were permitted to inspect the vehicle; a month later Grachev arranged to have it brought to the GAZ factory for a detailed analysis.[2] Grachev was impressed by the highly faceted armour plate on the Sd.Kfz. 221, which was angled for maximum ricochet, and he ordered that a similar hull be incorporated into the Izdeliye 64-125.[2] In late November, GAZ assembled the first three prototypes carrying the new hull. Field trials with the Red Army commenced on January 9, 1942.[2] The Izdeliye 64-125 was accepted for service as the BA-64 on March 14, 1942.[2]

The BA-64 was initially armed with a single 7.62mm Degtyaryov machine gun in an open-topped turret.[5] The machine gun was mounted on a fixed mount that allowed it to be elevated sufficiently to engage low-flying aircraft.[5] BA-64s started being issued in large numbers to Soviet units in early 1943.[3] Around the same time a specialist driving school was set up to train BA-64 drivers.[2] For reasons still unclear, only fifty armoured cars of this type were manufactured in 1942 and mass production was not undertaken until the first six months of 1943, when over a thousand were manufactured.[2] Even after 1943, production figures remained inconsistent and could fluctuate greatly from year to year. In June 1943, the GAZ workshops that produced the BA-64 were heavily damaged or destroyed by German air raids, and production ceased altogether until the plant could be restored. A few technical shortcomings of the GAZ-64 chassis had to resolved in that time.[5]

BA-64s remained unique in that they were the only new Soviet armoured car design to be produced during World War II.[2] They had better armour, speed, range, and off-road capability than any other wheeled fighting vehicles in Soviet service, although due to the limitations of the chassis they could only carry a single light machine gun.[2] Unlike the BA-3/6 and BA-20 heavy armoured cars, which were armed with anti-tank cannon, the BA-64 was not considered suitable for front-line combat against German armour.[2] It was, however, widely used for transporting officers, liaison purposes, reconnaissance, and other secondary battlefield tasks.[5]

In September 1943, production of the GAZ-64 was superseded by the improved GAZ-67B jeep, which had a wider wheel base.[5] Consequently, the BA-64 was modified to accommodate the new chassis.[5] This alteration proved to be a major improvement for the BA-64, which was notoriously unstable on slopes due to its narrow track and somewhat top-heavy nature; the wider GAZ-67B track increased the vehicle's side slope angle to 25°.[2] The modified BA-64 was designated BA-64B by the Soviet government.[6] Other detailed improvements included firing ports, a wider range of armament and a new carburetor which gave better performance on low grade fuel.[2] Most BA-64Bs continued to be fitted with the same turret and 7.62mm machine gun as the original series; however, Soviet troops removed some of the original BA-64B turrets and replaced them with PTRS-41 anti-tank rifles[6] or captured German 2 cm KwK 30 cannon.[5] Another, more extensive, field modification involved removing the turret and even part of the upper hull, as well as adding a windshield salvaged from captured Volkswagen Schwimmwagens. This converted the BA-64B into an open-topped staff car.[2]

In 1944, GAZ produced a variant of the BA-64B mounting a single 12.7mm DShK heavy machine gun in a larger turret.[5] Although this greatly improved the vehicle's firepower, the turret remained insufficient to adequately rotate the bulky machine gun, and there was not enough space in the hull to accommodate adequate 12.7mm ammunition stowage.[2] Only a small number were manufactured.[5] Another unusual variant, the BA-64ZhD, was produced using surplus, old BA-64 hulls, albeit mounted on the GAZ-67 chassis.[2] It possessed flanged, steel rail wheels which allowed it to patrol railroad tracks.[5]

Production of the BA-64B was severely curtailed by the end of World War II, as the Red Army no longer had any interest in maintaining such large numbers of new armoured cars.[2] The last 62 BA-64Bs were manufactured in mid 1946.[2] Approximately 9,110 BA-64s of all variants were produced in the Soviet Union between 1942 and 1946.[2] Of that figure, about half were fitted with communications equipment, chiefly RP radios, which were inferior to the 71-TK models used in Soviet heavy armoured cars.[6]

After the war, Soviet interest in wheeled armoured vehicles shifted primarily to purpose-built armoured personnel carriers (APCs). Soviet military officials wanted armoured vehicles capable of keeping pace with tanks that could transport infantry to an engagement.[7] As early as mid-March 1943, GAZ had developed an APC variant of the BA-64B, the BA-64E, which could accommodate six passengers.[2] This vehicle was open-topped and the passengers debarked through a door in the rear hull. The BA-64E was rejected as being too small for a practical APC; however, a number of its features would later be incorporated into a new design better able to combine the traditional roles of an armoured car with that of a general transporter: the BTR-40.[2]

GAZ manufactured new parts for the existing BA-64 fleet until 1953, the last year it remained in operational service with the Soviet Armed Forces.[2] Thereafter the BA-64 was superseded by the BTR-40 and subsequently, by the BRDM-1.[3] All the remaining vehicles were placed in storage, and some were gradually disposed of as military aid to Soviet client states, particularly North Korea.[3] Prior to export, the stored BA-64s were refurbished at the same Soviet facilities responsible for the maintenance of the BTR series.[2]

The first BA-64s produced were deployed to the Don Front in 1942.[2] However, larger quantities were operated by Soviet units on the Voronezh Front and the Bryansk Front from mid to late 1943.[2] BA-64s also took part in the final phases of the Battle of Stalingrad.[2] During prolonged road marches, Soviet crews retrofitted them with standard tread road tyres to save fuel.[2] BA-64Bs were deployed during Soviet offensives in Austria, Germany, Hungary, and Romania, seeing extensive combat during the Second Battle of Kiev and the Battle of Berlin.[2] Eighty-one BA-64Bs were also donated by the Soviets to the Polish People's Army and ten to the 1st Czechoslovak Army Corps.[2] The Czechoslovak BA-64Bs were used in the Prague Offensive of 1945.[2]

During the early to mid 1950s, ex-Soviet BA-64s were shipped to a number of Soviet client states in Eastern Europe and Asia, including Bulgaria, East Germany, Romania, Albania, North Korea, and the People's Republic of China.[2] Small quantities were later also supplied to Yugoslavia.[1] In North Korean service, the BA-64 engaged ground forces of the United Nations Command during the Korean War, where it received the nickname "Bobby" from American soldiers.[4] This was a likely play on the armoured car's Russian nickname, "Bobik".[1]

The last country known to have received BA-64s for its armed forces was North Vietnam, although it is not known whether these saw actual combat during the Vietnam War.[1]

By the 1970s, BA-64s had been retired by all Warsaw Pact armies, being typically donated to paramilitary groups such as the East German Combat Groups of the Working Class, and similar workers' militia units.[3] However, some remained in service with the national armies of North Korea and Albania.[3] In 2013, the Korean People's Army continued to hold an number of BA-64s in reserve.[1]

•  North Korea: 200;[8] some in reserve storage as of 2013.[1]

•  Albania[3]
•  Bulgaria[2]
•  People's Republic of China[1]
•  Czechoslovakia[2]
•  East Germany: 115[1][8]
•  North Vietnam[1]
•  Poland[6]
•  Romania[2]
•  Soviet Union[6]
•  Yugoslavia[1]