The BA-20 (russian: Broneavtomobil 20, italic=yes) was an
armored car developed in the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
in 1934.
It was intended to replace the
FAI and its field trials were completed in 1935.
The BA-20 was then used in the early stages of World War II.
Design and production
The BA-20 armored car was developed in 1934 for use by HQ staffs, reconnaissance and communications units. It was derived from the civilian
GAZ-M1
The GAZ M1 (“Эмка“/”Emka”) was a passenger car produced by the Soviet automaker GAZ between 1936 and 1943, at their plant in Gorky (now Nizhny Novgorod, Russia).
Systematic production ended in 1941, but the factory was able to cont ...
car using its chassis,
which was itself a modified version of a
Ford
Ford commonly refers to:
* Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford
* Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river
Ford may also refer to:
Ford Motor Company
* Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company
* Ford F ...
design, produced by the
Nizhny Novgorod
Nizhny Novgorod ( ; rus, links=no, Нижний Новгород, a=Ru-Nizhny Novgorod.ogg, p=ˈnʲiʐnʲɪj ˈnovɡərət ), colloquially shortened to Nizhny, from the 13th to the 17th century Novgorod of the Lower Land, formerly known as Gork ...
-based vehicle manufacturer
GAZ
GAZ or Gorkovsky Avtomobilny Zavod (russian: ГАЗ or Го́рьковский автомоби́льный заво́д, , Gorky Automobile Plant) is a Russian automotive manufacturer located in Nizhny Novgorod, formerly known as Gorky (Го ...
. Full production of the BA-20 started in 1935. The chassis was built at the Nizhny Novgorod factory; the body was built at the Vyksinskiy plant, where final assembly of the BA-20 occurred as well.
Service
The principal use of the BA-20 was as a scout vehicle. The BA-20's tires were designed to be resistant to bullets and shrapnel by the simple expedient of filling them with spongey rubber. A variant, the BA-20ZhD, could travel on railway lines by replacing the normal wheels with flanged metal rail-type wheels.
The vehicle was exported to the
Spanish Republican
The Spanish Republic (), commonly known as the Second Spanish Republic (), was the form of government in Spain from 1931 to 1939. The Republic was proclaimed on 14 April 1931, after the deposition of King Alfonso XIII, and was dissolved on 1 A ...
side in the
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, lin ...
,
although the vast majority of BA-20s built served with the Soviet
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, after ...
. They first saw combat in the conflict with
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
in 1939 on the Khalkin Gol
river in
Mongolia
Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 million, ...
(see
Battle of Khalkin Gol
The Battles of Khalkhin Gol (russian: Бои на Халхин-Голе; mn, Халхын голын байлдаан) were the decisive engagements of the undeclared Soviet–Japanese border conflicts involving the Soviet Union, Mongolia, Jap ...
). The BA-20 was used by the
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, after ...
in the
Soviet invasion of Poland
The Soviet invasion of Poland was a military operation by the Soviet Union without a formal declaration of war. On 17 September 1939, the Soviet Union invaded Poland from the east, 16 days after Nazi Germany invaded Poland from the west. Subse ...
later in 1939 and the
Winter War
The Winter War,, sv, Vinterkriget, rus, Зи́мняя война́, r=Zimnyaya voyna. The names Soviet–Finnish War 1939–1940 (russian: link=no, Сове́тско-финская война́ 1939–1940) and Soviet–Finland War 1 ...
against Finland between 1939 and 1940 in which Finland captured 18 designating them as BAB B,
[Finland registered both FAI-M and BA-20 as BAB B, so some of the 18 vehicles may be FAI-M] as well as the early stages of
Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa (german: link=no, Unternehmen Barbarossa; ) was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and many of its Axis allies, starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during the Second World War. The operation, code-named after ...
in 1941. Production was ended that same year, with some 2066 BA-20s having been constructed by that time.
In common with most armored cars derived from cars, the BA-20 was largely roadbound. The lack of all-wheel drive, high
ground pressure
Ground pressure is the pressure exerted on the ground by the tires or tracks of a motorized vehicle, and is one measure of its potential mobility, especially over soft ground. It also applies to the feet of a walking person or machine. Ground pre ...
, and low power prevented it from moving cross-country except on very firm ground. The
armor
Armour (British English) or armor (American English; see spelling differences) is a covering used to protect an object, individual, or vehicle from physical injury or damage, especially direct contact weapons or projectiles during combat, or fr ...
was too thin to stop anything other than fragments or small-arms fire, and the 7.62 mm machine gun was not adequate to penetrate other scout vehicles. The Red Army produced very few wheeled
armored fighting vehicle
An armoured fighting vehicle (AFV) is an armed combat vehicle protected by armour, generally combining operational mobility with offensive and defensive capabilities. AFVs can be wheeled or tracked. Examples of AFVs are tanks, armoured cars, ...
s in the war, but replaced the BA-20 with the
BA-64
The BA-64 (''БА-64'', from ''Bronirovaniy 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 Sd.Kfz. ...
.
Mistaken identification
The BA-20 is often mistaken for the very similar
FAI armoured car
The FAI ''(Ford-A Izhorskiy)'' armoured car was a replacement for the D-8 armoured car, used by the Soviet Union from the early 1930s to early 1940s.
Description
The FAI was built on the chassis of the GAZ-A car, a licensed copy of the Americ ...
. The main recognition feature is the flat roof of the BA-20; the FAI has two dome-shaped covers over the driver's and co-driver's stations. Early BA-20s (built in 1936–37) had the same vertical-sided turret as the FAI, although most vehicles had a conical-shaped turret.
Variants and further development
* BA-20, initial production; command version has clothes-rail antenna. 749 built.
* BA-20M, improved version (9 mm thick armor, upgraded suspension); command version has whip antenna.
1180 built.
* BA-20ZhD, railroad scout car with replaceable flanged wheels. 137 built, 76 of them with BA-20M improvements.
*
BA-21
The BA-21 was an experimental Soviet armored car from 1938. It was a major modification of the BA-20, using a triaxial truck chassis instead of biaxial. The next year, the design was further developed into the LB-23, which had a better engine. B ...
, prototype only, 1938
*
LB-23, prototype only, 1939
Notes and references
External links
USSR WW II AFV Catalogue
{{WWIISovietAFVs
Armoured cars of the interwar period
World War II armoured fighting vehicles of the Soviet Union
Reconnaissance vehicles
Military vehicles introduced in the 1930s