Fuel tank BTR 80. Purpose of main components and systems

The problem of transporting infantry and supporting it in battle became acute for the Soviet army already during the Great Patriotic War. To solve these problems, armored personnel carriers were developed. However, initially their designs had many “childhood diseases”, which were quite difficult to cope with.

New solutions, as often happens, were prompted by the war. After the uprising in Budapest, they abandoned the open top of the armored personnel carrier, a legacy of the Great Patriotic War. The operation of the BTR-60 and its modifications led to, and the battles in Afghanistan revealed problems already with the “seventieth”. After modernizing this vehicle, the army received a new BTR-80.

History of creation

The fighting in the democratic republic of Afghanistan revealed many shortcomings of the BTR-70. One of the main ones was the unreliable power system, two carburetor engines, paired and located in the rear of the armored personnel carrier.

In addition to the traditional disadvantages of gasoline engines in the army, gluttony was added even by army standards. Combat operations in the highlands also showed problems with power loss. The hatches on the body of the armored personnel carrier caused problems; it was difficult for the crew and motorized riflemen inside; it was difficult to quickly leave the vehicle.

Fire support on the battlefield was also scant. Combat experience has shown that the elevation angle of armored personnel carrier weapons is insufficient for firing in the mountains. The armor protection of the “seventy” was also insufficient. The water-jet system did not operate effectively; when crossing water bodies, it became clogged with silt, peat and algae.

The design group of the Gorky Automobile Plant, under the command of I. Mukhin and E. Murashkin, was tasked with modernizing the car in accordance with the requirements of the military.

The modernization turned out to be so deep that we can talk about a fundamentally new armored personnel carrier of domestic design.

The twin engine was replaced with one powerful one, KamAZ-740.3, a diesel engine with a turbocharger. The body was increased in comparison with the BTR-70 by 115 mm in height and length, by 100 mm in width. However, due to the reduction in ground clearance, the overall height of the car increased by only 30 mm.

The hull armor was strengthened; all changes led to an increase in the weight of the vehicle by 18%. If the BTR-70 weighed 11.5 tons, then the “eighty” recovered to 13.6 tons. After testing at testing grounds, in 1986 the new armored personnel carrier was officially put into service.

Design of the BTR-80

The layout of the machine consists of three parts. At the head there is a control compartment with a crew of a driver and commander. They are positioned like this: on the left is the Mech-Water, on the right is the commander. The middle part is occupied by the gunner-operator and seven landing personnel.

By the way, ten to twelve people can fit “on the armor.”

The troops inside the vehicle are seated along the central axis, facing the sides for the most effective observation and shooting from personal weapons.

The landing force fires through embrasures with ball mounts. They are designed for firing angles from ±15 to ±25° from the central axis of the vehicle. The turret is controlled by a gunner operator, whose combat position is located in the suspended seat of the turret with circular rotation.

The commander of a motorized rifle squad sits in a separate seat immediately behind the driver and commander, and fires from an embrasure in the direction of the vehicle’s movement. Dead zones for landing are the rear hemisphere and the front left part, behind the driver.

The engine in this armored personnel carrier is located in the tail section. The designers placed several small access hatches on the hull to allow quick access to the components and mechanisms of the power plant and transmission.

The vehicle's armor is bulletproof and poorly differentiated. The hull is assembled from rolled steel sheets, joined by welding, the armor thickness is 5-9 mm. The body is streamlined for better passage of water obstacles, the sheets are installed at different angles of inclination to increase protection during shelling.

The middle frontal sheet is covered with a special shield-wave reflector.

In the raised position, it protects the driver's sight glass from being overwhelmed by waves when moving afloat.

New, wide two-piece doors to the troop compartment were installed. The upper half folds to the side and is fixed with a spring delay; the lower half, in the open position, forms a step, a kind of ramp, and facilitates landing from a moving vehicle.

The vehicle's armament is paired: a large-caliber (14.5 mm) KPVT machine gun and a 7.62 mm PKT. The weapon is placed in a small armored turret for all-round firing, the installation is trunnion-mounted, the elevation angle ranges from −4 to +60°.

The weapon unit is aimed and the turret is rotated manually. Aiming is provided by the 1PZ-2 periscope sight. Monocular optics allows you to cover a KPVT target at a distance of up to 2000 m, PKT up to 1500 m. The ammunition stowage includes 500 cartridges in boxes for KPVT and 2000 for PKT.

Surveillance is carried out through periscopes. The driver has three TNPO-115 periscopes. For operations at night, the use of infrared headlights and an optical device is assumed.

Visibility through observation devices at night, depending on conditions, varies from 60 to 120 meters.

The commander's visibility is provided by a combined type TKN-3 viewing device; for use at night, an OU-3GA2M searchlight with an infrared filter is installed on the vehicle body, which ensures operation in active mode and a visibility range of up to 400 meters.

The operator-gunner is provided with all-round surveillance: front and rear viewing periscopes of the TNP type and a sight. Six additional technical equipment are additionally installed in the troop compartment to provide paratroopers with visibility.

Communication is provided by R-123 radio stations on early series of vehicles, later they were replaced by more advanced R-173. In addition, during the modernization, simplex radio stations R-163 were installed on some of the vehicles. Internal communication is provided by R-124, designed for three subscribers.

Modernization and comparison with foreign analogues

Over its many years of service, the BTR-80 has been modernized several times. The following types of vehicles are found in the Russian army:

• a command and staff vehicle, additionally equipped with radio communications and terrain positioning equipment; in addition, part of the BTR-80K was released as mobile missile launch control posts;
• BTR-80A, a modernized version with an uninhabited combat module with a 30 mm 2A72 cannon. Instead of a turret with a pair of machine guns;
• BTR-80M, with a reinforced YaMZ-238 engine, as well as tires with increased bullet resistance and a longer hull;
• BTR-80AM, YaMZ-238 engine and uninhabited combat module.

In addition to Russia, these transporters are in service in 26 countries around the world. Not only Russians like to improve, so there are options that are adjusted even to NATO standards. Hungarian developers have achieved the greatest success in this field:

• BTR-80 SKJ – specialized medical vehicle;
• BTR-80 VSF - for RCBZ troops;
• BTR-80 MVJ – a tow truck for equipment damaged on the battlefield with the possibility of simple repairs on site;
• BTR-80 MPAEJ – device for repair and maintenance;
• BTR-80 MPFJ – engineering and technical modification.

In addition to Hungary, a lot of work was done on the “eighty” in Poland and Ukraine. The attention with which engineers treat this vehicle speaks of its enormous potential for modernization and importance in military affairs.

The use of the BTR-80 in Afghanistan and other conflicts did not greatly interest the American military, accustomed to tracked transporters. The situation was changed by the famous Throw on Pristina, which showed the advantage of wheeled vehicles over tracked vehicles in such operations.

As a result, the US Army received the M1126 Stryker, which is based on the Swiss “Piranha” armored personnel carrier and our “eighty”. Comparative tests, meanwhile, showed that Americans have serious problems. Due to the heavy weight of the vehicle and the features of the transmission, the Stryker is more likely to get stuck in the mud.

If a mine tears off a couple of wheels on a domestic armored personnel carrier, it is quite capable of getting to its own.

The American, despite having the same 8 wheels, gets up after losing at least one of them.

Combat use of the BTR-80

From the moment the first vehicles entered service with the troops, they immediately occupied their rightful niche. Not a single military clash that has occurred since 1986 on the territory under the jurisdiction of the USSR, Russia and allied countries has occurred without at least the indirect participation of the BTR-80.

The armored personnel carrier, the workhorse of any conflict, ensured the fast and relatively safe delivery of manpower to the scene of a collision. She also supported the infantry with the fire of her machine guns, and, if necessary, evacuated wounded soldiers.

An indicative case of the competent use of the qualities of the BTR-80 can be seen in the events of August 1996.

In Grozny, units of internal troops were blocked on Minutka Square. There was no possibility of evacuating seriously wounded soldiers. One of the officers, Major Larin, decided to make his way with the wounded on an armored personnel carrier.

Having accelerated, Larin and his crew make their way through the first ring of encirclement, but it was necessary to drive through the entire city. The commander orders false smoke to be lit on the turret of the armored personnel carrier before the next barrier of militants. At the same time, the vehicle is attacked from several sides by grenade launchers.

One of the grenades, having torn off the boxes attached to reinforce the armor on board, explodes near the hull without damaging the engine. The commander orders the driver to slow down without turning off the engine and slowly stop the car. At the same time, the lights flare up, and the complete impression of the machine being defeated is created.

According to Larin’s recollections, the militants rose to their full height, expecting stunned and burned soldiers to climb through the hatches. Instead, the crew turns the KPVT towards the attackers. A burst from a machine gun is accompanied by an order to pick up speed again. This trick made it possible to escape from the encirclement and deliver the wounded to the hospital.

In other wars, skillful hands and a clear head made it possible to use the maneuverability and power of armored personnel carriers with all efficiency.

Trace in culture

The BTR-80, one of the most popular vehicles of recent decades, has made a huge contribution to cinema and video. Everything that is, in one way or another, related to combat operations will definitely be shown by the BTR-80 sooner or later. Thanks to its characteristic silhouette, it is impossible to confuse this car.

It’s interesting that you can see the device not only in movies, but also in numerous videos of music performers.

With a high degree of probability, if they want to depict “something military” in their creations, then the hard worker BTR-80 will appear there. Often these cars are used in small towns on Victory Day.

If you really want to, you can not only fly into space, but also build an BTR-80 yourself and put it on a shelf at home. The Russian company “Zvezda”, as well as the Chinese “Trumpeter” and the Italian “ITALERY” and many others are producing prefabricated models of the BTR-80.

The products are in great demand in China. Our eastern neighbors, passionate about the reconstruction of the Soviet and Russian armies in the Afghan and Chechen wars, are no less interested in this technology than the Russians.

Video

Today, one of the most common types of military equipment in all armies of the world are armored personnel carriers. But this was not always the case. Their rapid development began after the end of World War II. The military realized how important it was to increase infantry mobility and increase its security.

In the USSR in 1949, the BTR-40 was adopted, which was an almost exact copy of the American Scout Car M3A1 armored personnel carrier, supplied under Lend-Lease. Then in 1950 the BTR-152 was released, and in 1959 the Soviet amphibious armored personnel carrier BTR-60 was adopted. It had two gasoline engines with two transmissions, and this car was not particularly reliable. And its firepower did not suit the military. In 1976, the BTR-70 was created, the armament of which was strengthened. It was equipped with a KPVT machine gun (14.5 mm) and a PKT machine gun. This vehicle differed favorably from its predecessor; it also had two gasoline engines, but much more powerful than those on the BTR-60.

However, then the war in Afghanistan began and all the shortcomings of the BTR-70 immediately made themselves felt. Its main problem was the power plant, which was complex, not very reliable and consumed a large amount of fuel. It can be said that the BTR-70 was generally poorly suited to operations in mountainous areas. Even the machine gun mounted on it had a small elevation angle and could do little to help the fighters against the dushmans entrenched in the mountains.

It was very inconvenient to parachute from the vehicle, and its security left much to be desired. The Gorky Automobile Plant is beginning to develop a new armored personnel carrier, which will soon be called the BTR-80.

History of the creation of the BTR-80

The car received the factory designation GAZ-5903. The design of the vehicle is not fundamentally different from the BTR-70. The developers focused their main attention on improving the vehicle’s power plant. What was needed was one reliable diesel engine. The presence of two engines and transmissions in a combat vehicle at once gave certain advantages (if one engine was damaged, the armored personnel carrier could move with the help of the other). But the complexity of routine maintenance and repair of a power plant with such a device reduced the positive qualities to almost nothing.

The new vehicle was equipped with a diesel engine from the KamAZ production vehicle, which significantly reduced the cost of production and maintenance of the new equipment. Thanks to the installation of a turbocharger, the BTR-80 could reach a speed 20 km/h higher than its predecessor.

New landing hatches were made on the BTR-80, consisting of two doors. The armament remained the same, but the design of the turret was changed. The BTR-80 armored personnel carrier became two tons heavier than its predecessor, but thanks to the installation of a more powerful engine, this did not affect its maneuverability.

In 1986, the vehicle was put into service and mass production began. Today, the BTR-80 is the main armored personnel carrier of the Russian army, as well as many other armies of the world. This vehicle is actively exported; the BTR-80 has taken part in many conflicts.

Dozens of various modifications of the BTR-80 have been created, and vehicles to perform special functions are manufactured on its basis. The latest modifications of this vehicle are often equipped with an automatic cannon and anti-tank missile systems.

Description of BTR-80

The BTR-80 armored personnel carrier is designed to transport personnel and support them with fire on the battlefield. Although, the fire support function is more relevant to an infantry fighting vehicle.

The vehicle body is made of rolled armor plates. The body of the machine has a streamlined shape, this is necessary to give it buoyancy and to increase its protection. The thickness of the armor does not exceed 10 millimeters.

The BTR-80 is divided into several sections. In front is the control compartment, which houses the driver-mechanic and the commander of the vehicle. Also installed here are surveillance devices (including night ones), control and measuring instruments, a radio station and an intercom.

Behind the control compartment is the combat compartment. It houses the operator-gunner's seat and space for paratroopers (seven people). One infantryman sits next to the gunner, facing the direction of travel, and the rest are located facing the sides of the vehicle, three people on each side. The department has embrasures for the use of personal weapons. To fire a machine gun, the gunner occupies a special hanging chair.

There is also a large landing hatch in the fighting compartment. It consisted of two doors: the upper part opened to the side, and the lower part was lowered and served as a convenient step when exiting the car.

The power compartment is located at the rear of the vehicle. A diesel engine with transmission, radiators, fuel and oil tanks, generators and other equipment are installed there.

The armament of the BTR-80 consists of a KPVT machine gun and a PKT machine gun, which are located in the turret of the vehicle. The KPVT machine gun has a caliber of 14.5 mm and can fight enemy personnel, light armored vehicles and low-flying air targets. The turret also houses a 1P3-2 sight and observation devices.

The BTR-80 has an 8×8 wheel arrangement; the two front pairs of wheels are steerable. The car's suspension is independent, torsion bar. The wheels are tubeless and bulletproof. There is a system that monitors tire pressure. The BTR-80 will continue to move even if two wheels fail.

Characteristics of the BTR-80 performance characteristics

Below are the technical characteristics of the BTR-80.

In our articles we talked about the history of the creation of the BTR-80 and its technical characteristics, now let’s move on to the story about its weapons and operational experience in the army.

The armament of the BTR-80 consists of a twin installation, including a KPVT machine gun with a 14.5 mm caliber, as well as a 7.62 mm PKT. This installation is located on axles located in its frontal part. In this case, the installation was aimed manually using a screw mechanism. In the horizontal plane, guidance was carried out by rotating the turret.

In addition, the 1PZ-2 periscope monocular optical sight was also used to ensure the aiming of machine guns. It ensured firing at a range not exceeding 2,000 meters when firing from the KPVT at ground targets; for air targets, this range was 1,500 meters. When firing from the PKT, it was possible to hit only ground targets at a range of no more than 1,500 meters.

With the help of the KPVT, the crew of the armored vehicle could successfully fight against lightly armored and other enemy equipment, as well as helicopters and low-flying aircraft. Its ammunition load was 500 rounds, loaded in 10 belts. PKT was used to destroy enemy personnel, as well as stationary fire weapons. Its ammunition capacity is 2,000 rounds, located in 8 belts.

In order to ensure fire safety, the vehicle was equipped with fire-fighting equipment. In addition, the BIR-80 was specially designed for transportation by Il-76 and An-22 cargo aircraft.

In 1994, the Russian Army adopted a modification of the GAZ-5903 (BTR-80) under the name GAZ-59029 (BTR-80A). It differed from the prototype with a completely new weapon system. So, for the first time in the history of domestic armored personnel carriers of this class, the armored personnel carrier received, instead of a large-caliber machine gun, a 30-millimeter automatic cannon with 300 rounds of ammunition.

The vehicle's designers placed all its weapons on a special carriage outside the boundaries of the inhabited compartment. This move made it possible to significantly reduce gas pollution inside the fighting compartment during firing. The BTR-80A was equipped with a 1PZ-9 day sight, as well as a tank night sight called TPN-3-42 “Crystal”, which made it possible to hit targets at night at a distance of up to 900 meters.

The new modification of the BTR-80 had a mass of 14 tons and it had the ability to shoot down helicopters and airplanes flying at altitudes of up to 4,000 meters.

Almost at the same time as the BTR-80A, GAZ released its modification under the designation BTR-80S, intended for arming internal troops. In addition, on the basis of the chassis of this armored personnel carrier, the 2S23 Nona-SVK self-propelled gun was created in 1990.

Other modifications of this machine were also developed. Its analogues were also produced abroad, in particular in Hungary, such armored personnel carriers based on the CURRUS enterprise were modified to meet NATO requirements.

The BTR-80 is still in service with the Russian army; in addition, it has been supplied to a number of countries around the world, from the United States to the Republic of Chad.

Technical characteristics of the BTR-80:

The armored vehicles of Russia and the world, photos, videos, watch online, were significantly different from all their predecessors. To provide a large reserve of buoyancy, the height of the hull was noticeably increased, and to improve stability, its cross section was given a trapezoidal shape. The required bullet resistance to the hull was provided by rolled cemented armor with an additionally hardened outer layer of the KO brand (Kulebaki-OGPU). In the manufacture of the hull, armor plates were welded on the inner soft side, and special stocks were used to facilitate assembly. To simplify the installation of units, the upper armor plates of the hull were made removable with a seal on fabric gaskets lubricated with red lead.

Armored vehicles of the Second World War in which the crew of two people was located near the longitudinal axis at the back of each other's heads, but the turret with weapons was shifted 250 mm to the left side. The power unit is shifted to the starboard side in such a way that access for engine repairs was possible from inside the tank's fighting compartment after removing the safety partition. At the rear of the tank, along the sides, there were two gas tanks with a capacity of 100 liters each, and directly behind the engine there was a radiator and a heat exchanger, washed by sea water when moving afloat. At the stern, in a special niche, there was a propeller with navigable rudders. The balance of the tank was chosen in such a way that when afloat it had a slight trim to the stern. The propeller was driven by a cardan shaft from a power take-off mounted on the gearbox housing.

Armored vehicles of the USSR in January 1938, at the request of the head of the ABTU D. Pavlov, the tank’s armament was to be strengthened by installing a 45-mm semi-automatic gun or a 37-mm automatic gun, and in the case of installing a semi-automatic gun, the crew was to be increased to three people. The tank's ammunition was supposed to consist of 61 rounds for the 45 mm cannon and 1,300 rounds for the machine gun. The design bureau of plant No. 185 completed two projects on the “Castle” theme, for which the Swedish Landsverk-30 tank was used as a prototype.

The Wehrmacht armored vehicles did not escape troubles with engine boost. To what has been said, we can only add that this crisis was actually overcome only in 1938, for which the tank received not only a forced engine. To strengthen the suspension, thicker leaf springs were used. Rubber tires made of neoprene, a domestic synthetic rubber, were introduced, the production of tracks from Hartfield steel by hot stamping began, and high-frequency-hardened fingers were introduced. But all these changes to the tank were not introduced simultaneously. The tank hull with inclined armor plates could not be manufactured on time. However, the conical turret with improved protection was submitted on time, and the tank with the same hull, reinforced suspension (due to the installation of thicker leaf springs), a forced engine and a new turret entered testing at the NIBT test site.

Modern armored vehicles went under the code T-51. It retained the process of transition from tracks to wheels, like the prototype, by lowering special levers with wheels without a person leaving. However, after adjusting the requirements for the tank, making it a three-seater (it was decided to retain backup control for the loader), and strengthening its armament to the BT level, it was no longer possible to implement the Landsverk-type wheel drive. In addition, the tank's wheel drive transmission was overly complex. Therefore, soon work on the “Castle” theme was carried out on the T-116 tank, in which the “change of shoes” was carried out according to the BT type - by removing the track chains.