- Yes Please
- Please No
Faster!!!
BA-10M armored car captured and upgraded from 50hp I4 to 95hp Ford V8.
Why armored cars?
Specially in Soviet Union there was a desire for fast armored vehicles. To simply put, this was because of the long distances between population centers in the Eastern Europe. The BT tanks approached this need with a noble convertible track to wheel system. However weight of the tank was relatively high for it’s time, leading to high wear on automobile parts and the Mikulin engine was a known fuel guzzler.
Operating wheeled vehicles was far more cheaper, even with the weight of armor. Besides armored cars had been around since WWI due to how simple it was to make basic, yet perfectly viable models. The Soviets based their six wheeled heavy armored armored cars on a modified chassis of GAZ AAA truck, which itself was an enlarged Ford AA. The vehicles were simple, yet not very numerous by Soviet standards, until the BA-10 of which over 3000 were build.
It could be said sticking to the same old design and only slightly improving was what eventually ended the Soviet armored cars. In 1930s they had totally reasonable armor, able to withstands rifle caliber rounds from few hundred metres and an actual tank gun. In 1940s such design were quickly getting obsolecent as AT-rifles and cannons grew more numerous even in smaller armies. Soviets created the BA-11 prototypes, but at the end the improvement wasn’t good enough. The simple front engine, central cabin and rear turret layout couldn’t take larger and heavier armament. At the very least they still had use in recon, patrolling, escorting convoys and police duties. Some were even used to pull artillery.
BA-10s in varying conditions
In Finnish service
From the Winter War loot stock the Finnish army salvaged total of 10 different 6-wheeled BA heavy armored cars. During early Continuation War, several more were captured and at the highest the count reached total of 24: 1x BA-3, 10x BA-6 and 13x BA-10. There were at least two of each BA-10 and BA-10M.
These vehicles were attached to the armored division and used fairly similarly as they had been in the Soviet service, such as escorting unarmored vehicles, liaison duties and with new radios as command vehicles. Overall it appears the vehicles were liked far more than BT tanks, although the cross-country mobility was found to be lacking. The GAZ straight 4 could do 50hp at 2800rpm, providing the vehicle with 9.3hp/ton.
From autumn 1943 onward all 13 BA-10 and BA-10M vehicles were upgraded with a 3.9 litre Ford V8, which provided 95hp at 3500rpm. With only a marginal weight increase, the power was almost doubled, getting the cars to over 17hp/ton. In comparison the Soviet BA-11 prototype in game has 11hp/ton due to their heavier armour. Unfortunately it is not known how much faster the BA-10s got with this upgrade. Nevertheless the upgrade was a success. Finnish army lost a single BA-10 during 1944, after which the surviving 12 vehicles were used well into the 1950s.
The last remaining Finnish BA-10M, Ps.27-12 at display in Parola Tank Museum
Pansarbil m/31 F
Apparently Finns still had good number of BA-10M hulls on their yards as three of them were sold or given free to Sweden. These were refitted at Ford factory apparently with the same V8 engines, Swedish 37mm tank guns and other Swedish equipment like optics and radios. To make things even more strange, the Swedish gave it a very confusing designation “Armored car m/31”, where 31 of course stood for year 1931. Unfortunately information about this vehicle is too vague for a proper suggestion.
Retired and stripped Pansarbil m/31 F
Spoiler
BA-10M V8
Crew - 4
Weight - 5.4 tons
Engine Power - 95hp at 3500rpm
Gears - 4 forward, 1 reverse with “demultiplier” (8+2)
Top Speed - over 53km/h forward, ?km/h reverse
Weaponry:
-1x 45 mm 20-K with 43 rounds
-2x 7.62 mm DT machine guns with 2079 rounds
Armor:
-Hull Front - 10-15mm
-Hull Sides - 10mm
-Hull Rear - 10mm
-Turret 10mm all around
BA-10s in Finnish service with usual Finnish WWII tank swastikas
A nice video with more photos and some footage of a driving BA-10M
Sources
Spoiler
The Finnish armoured vehicles 1918 - 1997, Esa Muikku & Jukka Purhonen, 1998
Puolustusvoimien moottoriajoneuvot 1919-1959, Markku Mäkipirtti, 2006, ISBN-10 952-5026-51-5
Отечественные Бронированные Машины ХХ век том 1, 2002
| Soviet: | Finnish: |
|---|---|
| FAI | BAB A |
| FAI-M | BAB B |
| BA-20 | BAB B |
| BA-20M | BAB B |
| BA-3 | BAF A |
| BA-6 | BAF B |
| BA-10/BA-10M | BAF C |
