Russian BRDM-2 Reconnaissance Vehicle, Part 1, Revised March 24,

2001

Picture 1: The BRDM-2 is a fully armored, four wheel drive, amphibious reconnaissance vehicle. Designed by V. K. Rubstov of the Dedkov 0KB in the early 1960s, the BRDM-2 is the successor to the earlier BRDM-1 and was first seen in public in the Moscow parades of 1966. The main improvements over the earlier vehicle include its fully enclosed roof-mounted turret and more powerful rear-mounted engine, giving better road and cross-country performance. The turret is manually traversed and similar, perhaps identical, to the one mounted on the BTR-60PB armored personnel carrier. The BRDM-2 is armed with a 14.5mm KPVT heavy machine gun with a 7.62mm PKT machine gun mounted coaxially. Additional internal equipment normally includes a NBC over pressure filtration system, TNA-2 land navigation system, chemical agent detector, and a bow winch. Externally, the vehicle has been equipped with infrared searchlights and driving lights with a periscope IR viewer for the driver and possible IR viewer for the commander. The original BRDM-1 is also known as the BTR-40P, and it first appeared in 1959. The BRDM-2 is also known as BTR-40P-2 or BTR-40PB (as well as the BTR-40P-2rkh or BTR-40PB-rkh, depending on role). After its introduction in the mid-1960's, the BRDM-2 gradually replaced the BRDM-1 in Soviet and Warsaw Pact armies. The vehicle is still manufactured and used today in Russia and has been sold to a number of countries that have trading relations with the past Soviet Union or current Russia. Jim Hensley, who maintains the Washington Armor Club web site, recently sent us some photographs he took inside a BRDM-2 stored at the US Marine Air-Ground Museum in Quantico, Virginia. Most of our analysis of the interior and crew duties comes from these few, but excellent, images. We do not have much intelligence information about the specifics of the BRDM-2, so a good deal of the information provided on these pages comes from my analysis of these photographs and what little unclassified information has been published for public consumption to date. Jim also

took this picture; the vehicle is/was on display at the Aberdeen Proving Grounds in Maryland, USA.

Picture 2: This is a Soviet/Russian publicity sales brochure drawing of the BRDM-2 illustrating some of the interior layout. The hull is constructed of welded steel plates with a maximum thickness of only 14mm and it therefore can be penetrated by both artillery fragments and .50 caliber machine gun fire. The driver and commander are seated in the front of the vehicle, the commander to the right and the driver to the left. Both men have bulletproof windshields in front of them with external armored shutters that are hinged at the top to lower over the windows by way of a control handle. When the shutters are closed, forward view is still possible via a number of forward and side viewing periscopes mounted in the ceiling at both positions. On the roof just behind the driver and commander are two circular hatches that provide the only means of entry into to the vehicle. A firing port and three vision blocks are located on each side of the hull, about even with the turret, allowing some protected fighting potential from inside the hull (plus the firepower provided by the armament in the turret). The engine compartment is located at the rear of the vehicle and is separated from the crew by a firewall bulkhead. There are two air inlets at the front end of the engine deck and four more at the rear. Exhaust pipes are located on either side of the hull and lead to externally mounted mufflers. Located between the main wheels on either side of the hull are two smaller, chain driven, belly wheels that can be lowered by the driver to improve cross-country performance and to allow ditch crossing. These were also found on the BRDM-1 and are very helpful. In effect, the retractable wheels keeps the hull between the main wheels from becoming hung up on ground obstacles, a problem with most wheeled vehicles with any appreciable space between the front and rear wheels. The BRDM-2 is also fully amphibious by means of a rear mounted water jet. The turret mounted in the center of the hull roof is very similar to the one on the BTR-60PB eight-wheeled armored personnel carrier. The one-man turret is manually traversed and is armed with a

14.5mm KPVT machine gun as well as a coaxial 7.62mm PKT machine gun to its right.

Picture 3: If you stand on top of the flat turret roof alook down at the frontof the Quantico vehicle you can see both the forward roof hatches as well as the opened armored flaps over the front windshields. Notice how the hatches are slightly staggered, tcommander's hatchon the right set back further than the drivers. This is so a spotlight or periscope can be installed just forward of his hatch, as you see here. The

gun support attached to the front of the turret below us normally holds the barrel of the larger of the two machine guns, the 14.5mm KPVT heavy, but the guns are not mounted on this vehicle. The slot on the mantlet to the right of the support is for the 7.62mm coax MG and the opening to the left is the window for the telescopic sight. As I mentioned earlier, the BRDM-2 is fully amphibious and is propelled in the water via a single water jet opening at the rear of the hull. Before entering the water, a trim vane, which is stowed under the nose of the hull when travelling on land, is erected at the front of the hull by the driver. The vane keeps bow waves from washing up over the front of the vehicle and possibly swamping it. When not in use, the water jet outlet is covered by a triangular plate that pivots at the top. The hydraulic control that activates both the water jet drive and the trim vane is located to the front of the driver. When in the water, the driver uses the steering wheel as he does on land with the water rudders on the hull rear connected to the steering wheel. One of the problems with amphibious travel, though, is an awkward transition between land and water locomotion, for to activate the water jet drive the transmission must be in neutral. That means the vehicle has to be driven into the water until it floats before the gearshift can be moved to neutral and the water jet activated. The same is true for exiting the water, but in reverse. The vehicle has to be propelled onto the shore by the water jet before the transmission can be shifted to drive and the vehicle can haul itself out onto land. In the water, the BRDM-2 can travel at a speed of around 7kph and its turning radius is about 10m.

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Picture 4: When we drop down into the BRDM-2 at Quantico through the commander's hatch, we have this view of the equipment in front of his seat and to the right along the hull wall. The large equipment box to the right is, I believe, pof the TNA-2 land navigation systemthat provides coordinate readings, and the second, smaller box is the radiation detector. I have also found the large TNA-2 system

box (the one mounted at an angle) in Russian command tanks, like the T62K. The larger dial you see on the faceplate has a small picture of the vehicle and there are degree markings around it that rotate in order to show which compass direction the BRDM-2 is currently pointing. The radiation detection unit is the smaller box to the left of the TNA-2, and it seems to be a DP-3 unit, perhaps a DP-3A or B. This is a simple dose rate meter intended for measurement of the exposure to troops to radiation. Generally, the DP-3 is a gamma detection and measuring device designed for use in large area rapid surveys. It receives its power from a vehicle battery and it can be mounted in aircraft, motor vehicles, and ships. Measurement range is said to be from 0.1 to 500 rads per hour in four subranges (thanks David Keeley). The system is made up of the instrument box and panel you see here and a cable leading to a cylindrical sensor that can be mounted anywhere inside or outside the vehicle. Some Russian vehicles may have these metering systems connected to automatic closing systems on hatches and vehicle doors. These two systems (land navigation and radiation detector), combined with a chemical agent detector and the radio, are normally installed in these reconnaissance vehicles near the commander's station. The commander's windshield is to the upper left in the photo and a couple of the periscopes that are aimed forward and to the right are visible at the top of the picture. These are the typical Russian design scopes and are easily removable from inside the vehicle and replaced if they are damaged by moving the retaining clips at the bottom and dropping the periscopes down and out of their holders. The green canvas cover at the right hides the main radio set, which is siting on top of the front-right wheel well.

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Picture 5: This is the main radio set in this particular vehicle, now uncovered, which sits on the wheel well to the right of the vehicle commander. It appears to be a typical R-123M tank set with a frequency range of 20 to 51.5Mhz and a 25Watt output. These sets can be continuously tuned over the entire frequency range or you can set one of four pre-set frequencies. Range is

reported to be from 10 to 35 miles (16 to 55 kilometers) depending on the type of antenna used. Some platoon commander's vehicles also have an R-126 radio transceiver. The R-123 series are often seen inside Russian AFVs.

Picture 6: If we move back behind the driver's seat, we have this view of the front of the BRDM-2 interior. Notice that the access panel to the winch (located in the front of the hull) is open and the cable reel is visible through the access opening. Normally, 30 feet of cable is wrapped on the drum and the winch has a maximum load capacity of 4,000kg. To our left is the driver's position,

complete with traditional steering wheel and instrument panel, with a speedometer and tachometer and other basic engine gages. Steering is hydraulically assisted at the front two wheels with the sealed brakes on the other wheels having air-assisted hydraulic actuators.

The tall gearshift lever is set into the floor between the two front seats, and located just forward of the gearshift is the transfer case shift lever. The complete drive train starts at the rear and includes the engine, single plate clutch, manual gearbox, reduction gearbox and transfer case, which in turn provides power to the front and rear wheels, each with its own self-locking differential. The manual transmission is hydraulically assisted with the third and fourth gears being synchronized with lockouts in first, second, and reverse gears. The small black electric motor mounted just below the commander's window is the windshield wiper motor and you can see the connecting arms leading to each wiper. A heater/defogger vent is visible to the lower right of the window, with its supply duct leading down and forward to a heater located at the front of the compartment. A similar duct leads over to the driver's window, which we will see in a minute.

Picture 7: The driver has a fconventional drivingcontrol layout, wbrake, clutch and accelerator pedals down on the floor ana steering wheel just forward of his padded seat. To the left of hiseat are the control levers for lowering and raising the auxiliary sets of wheels on both hull sides. The presence othese wheels requthe wheel wells on both hull sides to extend the length ofthe hull from the fr

to rear of the BRDM-2, which produces a fairly narrow floor area from steering wheel to rear engine firewall. The tire pressure of the four main tires can be controlled from inside the vehicle like it was in the BRDM-1, and I believe the control panel you see to the left operates that system, either regulating the pressure of all tires simultaneously, or individually. Increasing the tire pressure allows increased speeds on roads, while decreasing the pressure provides for better traction whenoff road or driving in sandy/muddy conditions. Near the driver's windshield you can see the heater/defroster for his window as well as the connecting shaft from the windshield wiper motor that crosses to the wiper arm shaft on this side.

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Picture 8: This is a very nice photograph of some of the many periscopes in the ceiling just forward of the two over-head hatches. The two periscopes on the left are part of the five around the driver's station (actually six, if you count the periscope in the hull wall to the left of the driver). The pon the right begins the ring of periscopthat continue arothe commander's seatarea-- there are fou

up there also. A portion of the driver's hatch is visible at the top of the photo and it seems to be painted Russian green, which is the same original color on the exterior. The green is also the primary color of the floor and the lower half of the hull walls; the rest of the interior is painted glowhite, wearing to flat white in areas of heavy use. The round opening to the upper right is where spotlight or additional periscope for the commander may be mounted.

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Picture 9: A Soviet BRDM-2 would typically be crewed by four men, and this TAS photograph provides us with views of the front and top of this reconnaissance vehicle. In the image you can see the small periscopes around the

driver's and commander's position, and the spotlight above the commander's windscreen cover that could be covered with a IR filter when necessary. This is also one of the few images we have of the front of the turret, showing both the 14.5mm KPVT main armament and the 7.62mm PKT coaxial MG as well as the large opening for the sight window. On the horizontal armor plate directly in front of the commander's position you can also see part of the winch compartment cover. This concludes Part 1. Part 2 will continue our exploration of the BRDM-2 with the hull, turret and engine.

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(c) 2001, 2003 AFV INTERIORS Web Magazine

Russian BRDM-2 Reconnaissance Vehicle, Part 2, Revised March 15,

2001

Picture 1: This is Part 2 of a two-part exploration of the interior of the BRDM-2 reconnaissance vehicle. The picture illustrates the right hull wall, just behind the commander's seat. The oval port in front of us is the firing port-- the handle below opens the protective armor flap outside. I don't believe there is an adapter to accept a weapon into this port like there is in the BMP, so once the port is opened there is the potential of NBC contamination into the vehicle. Down to the left is the radio antenna base connection, the antenna base is attached outside to the small flat rim on the hull that separates the upper hull from the lower. To our right are the three periscopes on this side, the first and last are angled forward and backward to provide a good overall view out the right side of the BRDM-2. At first I didn't recognize the black pipe clamped over the periscopes, but a number of readers have written to say it is the barrel for the larger of the two machine guns (KPVT), and I think they are correct. A dome light is to the upper right and a roof stiffener crosses from side to side just in front of it. This provides the necessary strength for the weight of the turret just behind.

Picture 2: This is the right hull outside the same area we were viewing previously, showing the location of the antenna base and the right hull periscopes. Notice also the periscopes above at the commander's position and the armored flap that protects his windshield and you can also see the windshield wiper at the bottom of the windshield. His D-shaped over-head hatch is still open on the roof. The vehicle was normally provided with infrared night driving equipment, so thare IR driving lights on the bow, one ofwhich is seen here. The commanwas normally provided with a spotlight just forward of his hatch, which could also be fitted with an IR lens for night viewing.

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Picture 3: Back inside the vehicle now, this is the front section of the ammo rack lining the left side of the hull interior, showing both types of MG ammo boxes installed. Typically, there are around 500 rounds stored inside the larger boxes for the 14.5mm KPVT main weapon, and 2,000 rounds of 7.62mm for the coaxial PKT MG. The clamps and straps that normally hold these ammo cans

in place are laying unfastened, and you can see the hinged opening at the top of the cans for the ammo belts to feed out from. The round opening at the top of the can opens to let you reach into the container to grab the front of the belt so it can be inserted through the hinged feed opening. Apparently there is room for six 14.5mm ammo cans on this rack; one is missing on this side but I think has been installed up in the turret. Notice the lower parts of the hull are painted a pale shade of green while the upper portions, as well as the turret interior, are painted gloss white.

Picture 4: This is the rear portion of that same rack on the left hull wall. I see five ammo cans for 7.62mm rounds stored here, the cans set on their sides. In this case the retaining straps are mostly installed with only one or two opened or unlatched. Again, the opening for feeding the metal linked cartridges out of the cans can be seen on the top (closest to us) and the wire carrying handle next to the feed

opening is also visible, in this case they are folded down flat. The 7.62mm general purpose machine gun Pulemyot Kalashnikov (PK) is a gas-operated, belt-fed weapon. The PK fires 7.62 x 54R rimmed cartridges using a metal non-disintegrating belt. The basic PK model is fed from a 100-round belt carried in a box fastened to the right side of the receiver, the weapon weighs nine kilograms and is constructed partly of stamped metal and partly of forged steel. The PKT is the tank-mounted version of the PK. Late-model FSU tanks, turreted APCs and IFVs, and amphibious scout cars mount it as a coaxial machine gun. It has a longer and heavier barrel than the stock PK and also lacks the PK's stock, sights, bipod, and trigger mechanism. The PKT has a solenoid at the rear for remote-controlled firing, although it also has an emergency manual trigger. Either 200 or 250 round belt boxes can also feed the PKT and these are what we see in our photos in this page. Effective range of the PK-series machine guns is around 1,000 meters and they have a cyclic rate of fire of 650 rounds per minute and a practical rate of fire of 250 rounds per minute. Ammunition types include ball, ball-tracer, armor-piercing incendiary, armor-piercing incendiary-tracer, and incendiary-ranging.

Picture 5: The back of the conical turret is devoid of any openings and you may recall that there is no hatch on the roof. We can see the ventilator dome on the hull to the lower left of the turret and also some of the many louver covers on the engine compartment deck that Jim is standing on to take this picture. Notice the small sighting periscope hood on tturret roof; these were

added later during production. The periscope is usually an IPZ-2, which is the same periscope as installed in the later BTR-60PZ turrets. The sight is linked directly to the KPVT heavy machine guninside and I believe that in these turrets the original telescopic sight is still retained at the left side othe gun mantlet. Elevation of the two machine guns mounted in this turret is +30 degrees to -5, which is not very high if you are shooting at helicopter targets.

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Picture 6: This is the only picture we have of tturret equipment inside this vehicle, so let's see how much we can identify. Behind the gentleman is the black air duct coming down from the dome ventilator, which connects to an NBC filter unit on the back firewall. This system is called an "over-pressure system" as the air pulled from outside the vehicle is forced through filters and then into the closed

cabin. Air escapes back out again though all the small openings that are impossible to completely

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seal, but the air pressure inside is greater than outside and therefore keeps potentially contaminated air from entering the BRDM-2, if the vehicle remains sealed properly. In this way the crew are not required to wear respirators or other NBC gear that might slow their operation inside the BRDM-2. To our right is the traverse hand wheel for the turret, appearing larger than it really is because of its proximity to the camera. There seem to be two trigger buttons on the traverse handle, probably to fire either of the machine guns that would normally be fitted, but are missing in this case. To our left, up in the turret, are the feed and discharge chutes for the MG ammo and on the other side of the traverse handle is the elevation hand wheel, only part of which can be seen here. I was under the impression that there was a simple seat hanging from a support bar from these turrets, but it is not visible in this picture. Perhaps that is the support bar hanging down behind the gentleman's right shoulder. Notice how the turret occupies most of the space in the roof behind the front hatches, both from front to back and side to side. There is not much room inside this vehicle and the normal compliment of crew fills it up. Crew positions include driver, assistant driver, commander, and gunner. The assistant driver takes turns driving and also feeds ammunition up to the gunner when he is not driving. He also watches for activity outside the vehicle through the many hull periscopes.

Picture 7: The Vladimirov KPVT 14.5mm machine gun ("T" stands for Tank) is a powerful automatic weapon mounted on armored vehicles and boats, in both movable and stationary mounts. The KPVT is a recoil-operated, fully automatic weapon which fires from the open-bolt position. It is belt fed using metallic non-disintegrating link belts that are coupled together in 10-round sections. The quick-change barrel is removable with the barrel jacket as a unit and the bore is chromium-plated to increase barrel life. The weapon normally fires the FSU

14.5 x 114-mm cartridge. The gun was designed for use against lightly armored targets, ground weapons, and ground forces located in light shelters at distances of up to 2000m. The KPVT can also be used against air targets at similar ranges and altitudes up to 1500m. Typical cartridge types include armor-piercing incendiary B-32, armor-piercing tracer BZT, and incendiary rounds called "instant action MDZ" which are used for firing at both surface and air targets. Cartridge feed (right or left hand, depending on how the weapon is mounted) is via a metallic link belt. Rate of fire can be as high as 550 to 600 rounds per minute, but in real combat situations it is reduced to 70 to 80rpm. This is a manufacturer's promotional photograph showing the weapon removed from its turret mount. We are looking at the breech end with the weapon rotated so the belt feed is from the right.

Picture 8: The last of Jim's interior photos shows the right hull side with empty MG ammo racks below and equipment bins above, including a fire extinguisher bracket on the back firewall. Again notice how the three periscopes are angled to provide a good field of view out this side of the BRDM-2. Reports indicate that each former Soviet motorized rifle division had a total of 28 BRDM-2s, twelve

in the reconnaissance battalion and four each in the tank regiment, BMP-1/BMP-2 equipped motorized rifle regiment and in each of the two BTR-60/BTR-70 equipped motorized rifle regiments. Each tank division had a total of 28 BRDM-2s, twelve in the reconnaissance battalion, four in the motorized rifle regiment and four in each of the three tank regiments. This same general structure was used in other Warsaw Pact countries and is probably close to what is still used in Russian units now.

Picture 9: This is the large engine deck that covers the engine compartment located at the rear of the vehicle and separated from the crew by a firewall bulkhead. There are two air inlets at the forward part of the engine compartment closest to us and four additional covered inlets at the rear. The exhaust pipes are located on either side of the hull and you can also see the mufflers in this photo.

The engine hiding under the deck is a GAZ-41, V-8, water-cooled, gasoline engine, developaround 140hp at 3,400rpm. The manual transmission mounted directly on to it provides four forward and one reverse gears; top speed on paved roads is reported to be around 100kph. Rang466mi (750k) on roads using the full 76.3gal (290 liters) from the internal gas tanks. As I mentionedearlier, I believe the BRDM-2 is still in production, probably at the Molotov GAZ Plant, in Gorkiy, E.B.S.I.S. Due to its utilitarian design and excellent cross country abilities, the BRDM-2 has been modified into a number of other support vehicles. The most numerous of these variations mounts anti-tank missiles in place of the turret, and a number of different types have been fielded over the years. Once again I thank Jim Hensley of the

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Washington Armor Club for providing us with the interior images of this BRDM-2. Jim continues to be a valued contributor to AFV INTERIORS and I greatly appreciate his support. I also would like to thank David Keeley who helped us identify some of the equipment around the commander's seat in the front of the vehicle and provided what little information we now have on the navigation and radiation detection equipment. Should you have additional information about this AFV and would like to share it with our readers, please do not hesitate to contact me. There is a lot more to learn about this vehicle and hopefully with time we will have additional information for you.

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