BOV-3

_YugoSlav_ · July 20, 2023, 6:33am

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BOV-3

History and Description

Development of the wheeled armored combat vehicle - BOV began in Yugoslavia, in the late seventies at the TAM factory in Maribor. There, the company thought to develop an armored vehicle based on the chassis of the standard military truck TAM 110, which had already been produced in large series and had been providing the needs of the JNA (Yugoslav People’s Army). The development proceeded in two directions, BOV-1 (a self-propelled AT vehicle) and BOV-3 (a self-propelled AA gun).

Along with the development of the BOV-1 vehicle, in 1979 work began on the SPAA vehicle BOV-3 with the cooperation of TAM (Maribor) and Crvena Zastava (Kragujevac) factories. First prototype was completed in the summer of 1980 and the first batch in 1982. After successful tests, the vehicle was given the green light for production, and the second batch was completed in 1985. BOV-3 was assigned to Mixed Air Defense Divisions of motorized brigades, but also to Air Defense Artillery Brigades of the ground forces. During the war, BOV-3 successfully operated against ground targets, where high fire density came to the fore. Today it is no longer present in the Air Defense Brigades. Due to its good mobility and great firepower BOV-3 vehicles are nowadays extremely useful as fire support vehicles in the Serbian Gendarmerie.

Unlike BOV-1, this vehicle, instead of a turret with ATGMs, has an open turret with a built-in three-barrel M-55A4B1 20mm gun. This gun has a high fire rate of 1950 - 2250 rounds per minute and vertical guidance from -5° to +83°. The Galileo J-171 computer-controlled targeting system enables tracking of targets flying at speeds of up to 300 m/s. Its maximum horizontal range is 9700m, while its vertical range is 6300m. The effective range for targets in the air is up to 1,500m, and for ground targets up to 2,000m. The gun can fire up to 180 rounds in burst fire, followed by a 10-minute cooldown. While the BOV-3 is designed to fire at air targets in its field of view, it can also be successfully used to shoot at unarmored and lightly armored targets on the ground. The crew consists of 4 - the driver, assistant driver, gunner, and commander. The former two are housed in an armored body that protects against bullets of caliber up to 7.62 mm, while the latter two sit in an open-top turret. While the BOV-3 had a relatively simple structure, it also had a few disadvantages, including a high center of gravity, a large silhouette, a weak gun caliber, and an inadequately effective fire control system. A particular disadvantage was the gunner’s exposure when replacing drum magazines. Additionally, the vehicle had insufficient off-road mobility, as it could only cross trenches 65 cm wide. Just like BOV-1, BOV-3 has a small hatch on the lower left side of the vehicle that accesses additional ammunition drums.

Specifications

Essentials
- Length; 5.76 m
- Width; 2.53 m
- Height without turret; 1.99 m
- Height with turret; 3.21 m
- Ground Clearance; 0.33 m
- Track; 1.90 m
- Wheelbase; 2.75 m
- Mass; 8960 kg
- Driver NVD
- Crew; 4
- Four-wheel drive (4x4)
Protection
- Armor; 6-8 mm (protects from 7.62 mm), open top
- APS; N/A
- ERA; N/A
- Smoke; N/A
Mobility
- Engine; Deutz F6L413 6-cylinder diesel, 110 kW, 150 hp at 2650 rpm
- Power/weight; 16.7 hp/t, 12.27 kW/t
- Transmission; 1 reverse gear, 5 forward gears
- Top speed; 93.4 km/h
- Reverse speed; 15 km/h
- Amphibious; No
- Gradient; 55%
- Side slope; 30%
- Vertical obstacle; 0.54 m
- Trench; 0.64 m
- Fording depth; 1.10 m
- Turning radius; 10.0 m
Firepower
- Main; M-55A4B1 3x 20mm gun
  - Rate of fire: 1950 - 2250 rpm
  - Stabilizer; No
  - Vertical; -5° / +83°
  - Horizontal; 360°
  - Rotation speed; 80°/s
  - Gun elevation speed: 50°/s
  - Zoom; unknown
  - Galileo J171 ballistic computer
  - Penetration at 10m: 38 mm
  - Muzzle velocity: 1000 m/s
  - 60-round magazines
  - 1500 rounds in total
  - Effective firing range (vertical): 1500 m
  - Effective firing range (horizontal): 2000 m
  - Ammunition types: HE-T, HEI-T, HEI, TP-T, TP, API, API-T, AP-T