The problem of transporting personnel after the Great Patriotic War deeply worried all the Soviet design bureaus, and especially the High Command. Based on past experience, it was obvious that using ordinary trucks for this purpose is simply criminal, since any land mine, an attack by an enemy aircraft, or even firing from small arms can send a whole squad into oblivion. It was against the backdrop of these thoughts that the first classic 152-BTR armored personnel carrier appeared.
Caterpillar or wheel?
And this question is far from idle even today. Initially, our designers did not have any experience, research was carried out in both directions. At first, the apologists for the caterpillars won: such cars bribed with their cross-country ability, a lot of armor could be hung on them. But there were a few problems.
Firstly, the complexity of training driver-mechanics for such equipment was high and in no way inferior to training for tankers. Motorized infantry was a mass force, and the training of so many highly skilled specialists was difficult. In addition, the negative experience of the Great Patriotic War affected.
It's about logistics. Caterpillar armored personnel carriers, even according to preliminary calculations, should have consumed at least 1/3 more fuel, and if you look at the armament in relation to the mass, even more. How to bring such a diesel fuel mvssu in the conditions of a new big war?
In addition, wheeled vehicles are incomparably simpler to operate, repair and manufacture, and their motor resources are much larger. Finally, such armored personnel carriers are relatively easy to make floating, while with tracked vehicles such a feint is much more difficult to crank. The choice was made, and the light appeared 152-BTR.
Development start
Already at the beginning of 1946, the ZIS plant began production of a cross-country vehicle ZIS-151. Again, from the experience of all previous years, the car was initially made versatile, equally well suited for use in both the national economy and the armed forces. Soon, the designers realized that absolutely universal only happens in fairy tales and dreams, and therefore they concentrated on research in the field of a purely army transporter, which received the Object-140 index.
Used units from the standard ZISa. Also, a frame shortened by 385 mm was borrowed from him. But at the same time, the designers used a layout scheme with three axes. In contrast to the original model, both an elongated suspension stroke and more powerful, elongated and reinforced springs were used.
Tire characteristics
Tires - with large and powerful hooks, which provide increased cross-country ability on almost any type of soil, in any weather and climatic conditions.
Tires were supposed to use only low pressure (4 kg / cm 3 ). A single track was used for all bridges. Designers initially planned to achieve resistance to damage (including during shelling) using a system with two cameras, as well as mounting a centralized pumping device on the go. So that the 152-BTR could take out the landing from dangerous places at maximum speed, the engine of the machine was boosted immediately to 118-122 liters. with. (but the guaranteed value did not exceed 110 hp.).
Key Features
The case is of the bearing type, welded from armor plates, the thickness of which was 6, 8, 10 and 13 mm. Due to a well-thought-out and rational tilt of the frontal armor, the latter could “keep” the hit of 12.7 mm caliber bullets. The engine compartment is in the front of the machine, behind it was the control compartment. Like the BTR-40, the landing compartment of this unit was located in the rear and was fully open from above.
To protect the landing from dust and precipitation, a removable tarpaulin tent was used. Landing and landing was carried out through doors in the rear wall of the hull. In front there are two doors through which the driver and the shooter climbed into the car.
Self-defense means BTR
The front armor sheet had built-in blinds, which facilitated a secretive view of the surroundings for the crew. Inspection hatches in combat conditions were supposed to be closed with armored covers with tempered, bulletproof glass inserts. The standard self-defense weapon 152-BTR included the following: 7.62 mm SG-47 (machine gun of the Goryunov system), which was subsequently replaced by the SGM. In both cases, the amount of ammunition carried exceeded one thousand rounds.
The weapon could be mounted on one of the brackets that were on each side (two pieces on each). Also on the sides there were immediately six round loopholes, using which the crew could fire from personal small arms. A relatively reliable and simple radio station 10-RT-12 was responsible for the communication.
Passing state tests, conclusions on them
The first BTR-152, photos of which are in the article, went to the test in early 1947. At the same time, cars of three production series “competed”. The test results confirmed the excellent prospects of the new armored personnel carrier. In particular, its cross-country ability significantly exceeded that of the GAZ-63. On the highway, the car could accelerate immediately to 80-85 km / h. Three years later, the BTR-152 model completely passed all the stages of testing, the machine was officially adopted by the Soviet Army.
Release and subsequent upgrades
They produced an armored personnel carrier at the ZIS plant. In general, everyone agreed that the designers managed to create a fairly simple, but at the same time very reliable machine, which fully met its purpose. Of course, she had some flaws. For example, its specific power was relatively weak, and the cross-country ability (when compared with tracked vehicles) did not reach the ideal. But all these are trifles.
Further, the BTR-152 was modernized, after which the machines received the B index. This option was adopted by 1955, and at the same time it was put into mass production. The main difference from the base model was the components and assemblies from the ZIL-157 off-road truck, which by that time had replaced ZIL-151 on the factory conveyor. But the main innovation of this machine was the installation of an improved, “advanced” system of centralized inflation of air in tires (12.00 x 18).
Patency and combat survivability of an armored personnel carrier were significantly increased. Finally, the 152 armored personnel carrier (Soviet armored personnel carrier) received a powerful self-extracting winch, which greatly simplified the life of its driver mechanics. Modification B1, which appeared in 1957, also received a new version of the central tire inflation system, which was better protected from possible damage. Finally, the car received a new walkie-talkie P-113, which was more reliable.
Last modification
Around the same period, TVN-2 night vision devices began to be put on armored personnel carriers, and a heating system finally appeared in the landing compartment, which was immediately appreciated by the soldiers of the Trans-Baikal Military District. In 1959, the Soviet serial BTR-152K entered service, the huge differences of which were the presence of a normal armored roof and an exhaust fan.
The presence of the roof has a very positive effect on the safety of the landing. In many respects, the application of such a constructive solution was due to the appearance in the armament of the NATO bloc of nuclear weapons in various variations.
The most important changes of the latest modification
Firstly, the height of the case increased immediately by 300 mm. Along the entire length of the roof there was a hatch closed by armored plates. To make massive covers easier to open, they are articulated with a torsion bar. A spare door was located in the rear of the car, and a spare wheel was fixed on it. A separate hatch was made above the driver's seat, which is necessary for mounting the TVN-2 night vision device.
As in previous versions, the armored personnel carrier had four brackets for mounting machine guns, but these mounts were installed not on the sides of the hull, but directly on the roof. In the role of weapons models could be SGMB or PKT. The position of the machine gunner was directly above the control department. It should be noted that some of the armored personnel carriers were completely deprived of machine guns.
Unlike past variations, this military BTR-152 did not have crew seats mounted directly on top of the fuel tanks. Because of this, the number of paratroopers decreased, but the combat survivability of the machine significantly increased. In addition, innovations are reflected in the design of the engine, which received aluminum cylinder heads.
Creating self-propelled machine gun installations
It was this model that was the first and last equipment in the practice of the Soviet Army, on the basis of which specialized self-propelled machine-gun installations were created. The first model, the BTR-152A (ZTPU-2), began to be produced back in 1950, that is, almost simultaneously with the start of production of the armored personnel carrier itself. Officially, this equipment was adopted in 1951.
But in 1952 a real “monster” ZTPU-4 (two paired KPVT, a total of four barrels with a caliber of 14.5 mm) went to state tests. Ammunition of this machine was 2000 rounds. The firepower of the equipment was amazing, but because of the manual aiming mechanisms, which were very difficult to master, the installation did not cause much enthusiasm.
This option was made in only a few copies, and the Spark was never adopted. The ZU-23 with a caliber of 23 mm turned out to be much more successful, as well as a special BTR-152U control machine, the distinguishing feature of which was a body with a significantly increased height. This was done in order to fit in the internal volume of more equipment.
Today, the BTR-152 from conservation is deservedly popular among wealthy collectors and lovers of military equipment, and some make them special cars designed for hunting and fishing trips.