D-8 Armored Car
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D-8 (Dyrenkov-8) was an early Soviet armored vehicle built in 1932–34. Only 60 were built; it was quickly superseded by the
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 America ...
. Both were assembled in the Izhorsky Factory near
Leningrad Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
.


Design

As a result of their extensive experience with armored cars during the Civil War, the Soviets showed a great deal of interest in developing more modern versions during the 1930s.Zaloga, Steven "Soviet Tanks and Combat Vehicles of World War II", Weidenfeld & Nicolson Military, (1984) However, their initial efforts were slowed until the rejuvenation of the Russian automobile industry which began in the late 1920s. The Soviets saw the armored car as falling into two primary classes; light and heavy. This classification was based more on armament than on weight. Light armored cars were armed with machine guns while heavy armored cars were armed with tank guns. The earlier armored car designs, such as the
BA-27 The BA-27 was a Soviet first series-produced armoured car, manufactured from 1928 to 1931, and used for scouting and infantry support duties early in the Second World War. The BA-27 was a heavy armoured car, having the same turret and armament a ...
, were based on a truck
chassis A chassis (, ; plural ''chassis'' from French châssis ) is the load-bearing framework of an artificial object, which structurally supports the object in its construction and function. An example of a chassis is a vehicle frame, the underpart ...
. Following the
BA-27 The BA-27 was a Soviet first series-produced armoured car, manufactured from 1928 to 1931, and used for scouting and infantry support duties early in the Second World War. The BA-27 was a heavy armoured car, having the same turret and armament a ...
project, the next projects were undertaken at the Izhorskiye Factory in Kolpino on the basis of newly imported Ford Model A automobiles, and their Soviet copies, the GAZ-A. The chassis for most armored cars of the 1930s were built by the KIM plant in Moscow and the Gorkiy plant in Nizhny Novgorod. The latter plant was originally known as the Nizhny Novgorod Automobile plant (NAZ), but was renamed as the Gorkiy Automobile Plant (GAZ) in the mid-1930s. These chassis were shipped to the armored car manufacturers (primarily the Izhorskiy and the smaller but longer established Vyksinskiy plant), where the armored bodies were mounted on the chassis and final assembly was undertaken. Prior to 1931, the imported Ford Timken chassis was used for some Soviet armored cars. While this chassis was available thereafter, the provision of series production technology to the USSR by
Henry Ford Henry Ford (July 30, 1863 – April 7, 1947) was an American industrialist, business magnate, founder of the Ford Motor Company, and chief developer of the assembly line technique of mass production. By creating the first automobile that mi ...
in 1931-32 gave a major boost to Soviet armored car production. It provided readymade chassis for both light (Ford/GAZ-A and Ford/GAZ-AA-based) and heavy (GAZ-AAA-based) armored cars. ZiS was also later to provide 6×4 chassis for limited production heavy armored cars. The D-8 Armored vehicle, designed in 1931 by N. I. Dyrenkov, was relatively light and had no turret. The design utilized a licensed passenger car Ford A
chassis A chassis (, ; plural ''chassis'' from French châssis ) is the load-bearing framework of an artificial object, which structurally supports the object in its construction and function. An example of a chassis is a vehicle frame, the underpart ...
. Two machine guns were mounted in front and rear plates of vehicle, not providing a 360-degree coverage. Two more machine guns mounted on hull sides were supposed on prototype, but did not reach serial production due to making D-8 extremely cramped inside. The D-8 had a two-man crew sitting back to back so that the rear man could fire a rear-mounted machine gun. The D-8 was quickly phased out of production in lieu of the heavier and better equipped
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 America ...
.


D-12

D-12 (Dyrenkov-12) was a Soviet light armored car based on the GAZ-A automobile. It was a further development of N.I. Dyrenkov's D-8 design. It was intended for infantry support and anti-aircraft roles. The fighting compartment had an open roof, where a 7.62mm PM-1910 or DT anti-aircraft machine gun was ring mounted. A 7.62 mm DT machine gun was also mounted in the front right of the vehicle. The original prototype contained two more ball mounts for DT machine guns which were not included in the production versions since it was excessive armament for the crew and strongly reduced internal space. The D-12 was produced alongside the D-8 at the Izhorskiy Factory. It was heavier than the D-8 but exhibited similar performance. Final testing took place in late 1931 together with the D-8. The D-12 was accepted into service with 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 ...
and a small number were built at the Moscow Auto Zavod in 1932. The D-12 served during the early 1930s and was observed on Red Square during November 7 parades. Some vehicles remained in service during the war in 1941 and a few participated in the victory parade in Mongolia in 1945.


Combat History

The D-8 was first used by Republican forces 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 ...
. D-8 was delivered as part of the
USSR 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 nationa ...
’s military aid. The D-8 and D-12 light armored cars were primarily used in a reconnaissance role versus a pure combat role. One D-8 was captured and used by the Finnish Defense Force during 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 the Red Army.


See also

* Armored Car *
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 America ...


References

* * {{WWIISovietAFVs Armoured cars of the interwar period World War II armoured fighting vehicles of the Soviet Union Military vehicles introduced in the 1930s Izhorskiye Zavody products