BA-64

BA-64
BA-64B armoured car in Nizhniy Novgorod Kremlin, Russia.
Type	Armoured Scout Car
Place of origin	Soviet Union
Service history
Used by	See Operators
Wars	World War II Korean War
Production history
Designer	Vitaliy Grachev
Designed	July—November 1941
Manufacturer	GAZ
Produced	1942—1946
No. built	9,110
Variants	See Variants
Specifications
Weight	2.4 tonnes (2.6 short tons; 2.4 long tons)
Length	3.66 m (12 ft 0 in)
Width	1.74 m (5 ft 9 in)
Height	1.9 m (6 ft 3 in) (hull)
Crew	2 (commander, driver) + 9 passengers
Main armament	7.62mm DT machine gun (1,070 rounds)
Engine	GAZ-MM four-cylinder liquid-cooled petrol 50 hp (37 kW) at 2,800 rpm
Power/weight	21.2 hp/tonne (15.8 kW/tonne)
Transmission	4F IR
Ground clearance	0.21m
Fuel capacity	90 litres
Operational range	500 km
Speed	80 km/h (40 mph)

The BA-64 (БА-64, from Broni Avtomobil, literally "armoured car") was a Soviet four-wheeled armoured scout car. Built on the chassis of a GAZ-64 or GAZ-67 jeep, it incorporated a hull loosely modeled after that of the SdKfz 221. The BA-64 was developed between July and November 1941 to replace the BA-20 then in service with armoured car units of the Red Army. Cheap and exceptionally reliable, it would later become the most prolific Soviet wheeled armoured fighting vehicle to enter service during World War II, with over 9,000 being manufactured before production ended.

The BA-64 represented an important watershed in Soviet armoured car technology, as its multi-faceted hull gave its crew superior protection from small arms fire and shell fragments than the BA-20. BA-64s also possessed a much higher power-to-weight ratio and the placement of their wheels at the extreme corners of the chassis resulted in exceptional manoeuvrability. Following the adoption of the BTR-40, the Soviet government retired its remaining fleet of BA-64s and exported them as military aid to various nations. In East German service, they served as the basis for the later Garant 30k SK-1.North Korean BA-64s saw action against American and British forces during the Korean War.

During the 1930s, the Soviet Union devoted much effort and funding into 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. 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. This ushered in the development of several new 4X4 designs, such as the LB-62 and the BA-NATTI. 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.