FAI armoured car

Last updated
FAI armoured car
Fai 6.jpg
Type Armoured car
Place of originFlag of the Soviet Union (1924-1936).svg  Soviet Union
Service history
In service1933–41
Used byFlag of the USSR (1936-1955).svg  Soviet Union
Wars Spanish Civil War
Battles of Khalkhin Gol
World War II
Production history
Designer Izhorskiy Zavod [1]
Designed1931–32 [1]
Produced1933–35 [1]
Specifications (FAI)
Mass1.75 tonnes (1.93 short tons) [1]
Length3.69 m (12.1 ft) [1]
Width1.73 m (5.7 ft) [1]
Height2.07 m (6.8 ft) [1]
Crew2

Armor 4–6 mm
Main
armament
7.62 mm DT machine gun (1512 rds.) [1]
EngineGAZ-A L-head I4 [1]
42 hp
Suspensionwheeled
Fuel capacity40 L [1]
Operational
range
190–230 km (120–140 mi) [1]
Maximum speed 83.1 km/h (51.6 mph) [1]

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.

Contents

Description

The FAI was built on the chassis of the GAZ-A car, a licensed copy of the American Ford A. This chassis was the major weakness of the FAI. Most commercial car chassis were not powerful enough to move a useful amount of armour or firepower on the battlefield. The Germans were known to get around this particular problem by designing a car chassis that was intended from the outset for both civilian and military vehicles and which was used successfully in at least one German armoured car family of this period. However, armoured cars based on commercial car chassis were, for the most part, road-bound, thinly armoured and lightly armed. The FAI was a typical example of this class of vehicle with a single 7.62 mm DT machine-gun in a revolving turret. The armour was sufficient to stop most shell fragments and small arms fire, but could not withstand any kind of cannon or heavy machine-gun fire. It was also very vulnerable to mines.

The FAI was built in relatively small numbers before being replaced by the very similar BA-20. The early BA-20 had the same vertically sided turret as the FAI. FAIs were employed in the early days of fighting on the Eastern Front in World War II.

The FAI and BA-20 series had a few advanced features. They were of all-welded construction in an era when very few AFVs were welded. Also, they had cork-filled tires to enable them to retain mobility even if the tires were penetrated.

The FAI and BA-20 are often mistaken for each other. The main recognition feature of the FAI is the two dome-shaped armoured covers over the driver and co-driver's stations. The BA-20 had a flat armoured roof in this area instead. Seen from the rear or side, the cabin of the FAI also only extends to just ahead of the rear axle centerline, leaving a significant flat shelf in the trunk area, where the spare wheel is mounted horizontally, while on the BA-20 the cabin extends further to the rear, with a much smaller shelf and the wheel mounted vertically on the rear of the cabin.

Variants

FAI-M armoured car with UAZ-469 chassis, fake machine gun and fake frame aerial (real FAI never had radio), stored at Border Guard Barracks in Bialystok, Poland FAI armoured car.jpg
FAI-M armoured car with UAZ-469 chassis, fake machine gun and fake frame aerial (real FAI never had radio), stored at Border Guard Barracks in Białystok, Poland

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References

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  4. Рыбалкин, Ю. (2000), Операция "Х": Советская помощь республиканской Испании (1936–1939)[Operation "X": Soviet aid to Republican Spain (1936-1939)] (in Russian), pp. 43–45
  5. "VEHÍCULOS BLINDADOS" [Armored vehicles]. Fuerzas Armadas de la República (in Spanish).
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Sources