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BMP-1
BMP series general characteristics
BMP-1 BMP-2 BMP-3
Entered service 1970 1980 1990
Crew 3 (Driver, Gunner, Commander)
Passengers 8 7
Length 6.74 m 6.72 m 6.72 m
Width 2.94 m 3.15 m 3.23 m
Height 2.15 m 2.45 m 2.65 m
Frontal armour 33 mm 33 mm 50 mm
Weight 13.5 t 14.3 t 18.7 t
Primary
armament		 73 mm
2A28
grom gun		 30 mm
2A42
autocannon		 100 mm 2A70
gun +
30 mm 2A72
Secondary
armament		 7.62 mm PKT
coax machinegun		 1 x PKT coax
2 x bow PKT
ATGM armament AT-3/4/5 AT-4/5 AT-10
Elevation +33 to -4 +74 to -5 +60 to -6
Power plant 300 hp (225 kW)
diesel		 500 hp
UTD-29M
diesel
Speed (road) 65 km/h 70 km/h
Speed (water) 7 km/h 10 km/h
Range 600 km
Ground pressure
(kg /cm²)		 0.6 0.65 0.61

BMP-1,BMP-2 and BMP-3 are a series of Soviet infantry fighting vehicles. BMP stands for Boyevaya Mashina Pekhoty (Боевая Машина Пехоты, literally "Combat Vehicle of Infantry") †. The BMP-1 was first seen publically in the November 1967 Moscow parade.

It was a revolutionary design, combining properties of an armoured personnel carrier and a light tank. The Soviet military leadership saw any future wars as being conducted with nuclear, chemical and biological weapons. Unprotected infantry in such a conflict would soon be either killed or incapacitated by radiation or chemical and biological agents. A vehicle like the BMP would allow infantry to operate from the relative safety of its radition shielded interior in contaminated areas, and to fight alongside it in uncontaminated areas.

The BMP-1 was first tested in combat in the 1973 Yom Kippur War where it was used by Egyptian and Syrian forces. Based on leasons learned from this conflict and early experiences in the Soviet war in Afghanistan, a improved version, the BMP-2 was developed. It was accepted into service in August 1980. It was first shown publically during the November 1982 Moscow parade.

In 1990 the BMP-3 a radically redesigned vehicle with a completely new weapon system entered service in limited numbers with the Russian army.

Contents

[edit] BMP-1

[edit] Development

Requirements for the BMP were first drawn up in the late 1950s. The requirements stressed speed, armament, amphibiousness and the ability of all members of the squad to fight from within the vehicle. One of the primary inspirations for the design was the German HS.30, which was armed with a 20 mm cannon. The original specification called for the vehicle to be armed with a 23 mm cannon, however this was not seen as powerful enough to defend against tanks. Instead a combination of the 73 mm 2A28 Grom low pressure gun and the newly developed AT-3 Sagger missile were chosen. The gun was intended to cover engagements out to 1000 meters and the missile covered longer range engagements.

There was whether the BMP should be tracked or wheeled, so a number of configurations were explored including hybrid wheeled/tracked vehicles. The requirements were issued to the various design bureaus between 1959 and 1960. The prototypes were:

  • Obiekt 1200 BAZ (Briansk automobile plant) - An 8 wheeled design, similar to the BTR-60. It was eliminated on the grounds that it was too similar to the cheaper BTR-60.
  • Obiekt 19 Rubtsovsk - A 4 x 4 wheeled design with additional tracks for crossing rough ground. The added complexity of the hybrid design was felt to offer no advantages.
  • Obiekt 911 Gavalov - A hybrid tracked design, with 4 wheels for high speed road travel. Once again the hybrid design was felt to offer no clear advantages over a tracked design.
  • Obiekt 914 Gavalov - A tracked design. The rear engine design counted against it, forcing infantry to mount and dismount through roof hatches, additionally it was felt that Obiekt 765 had a better layout.
  • Obiekt 765 Isakov - The eventual BMP.

In 1966 small scale production began at Chelyabinsk to permit operational trials. The original production prototype was called BMP-765 (and BMP-76PB by NATO). A number of defects were corrected between 1966 and 1970 resulting in 4 different production design variants.

  • The suspension was strengthened to cope with the high speed of the vehicle.
  • A chemical filter system was fitted in addition to the existing radiological protection.
  • The fume extractors for the firing ports were moved to eject the fumes to the rear of the vehicle.
  • The trim vanes were modifed.
  • The air intake was fitted with a snorkel to prevent water flooding in while swimming.
  • Fender profile was modified.
  • Troop hatches were fitted with a twin torsion bar system.
  • Tool stowage boxes on the fender were removed.
  • A firing port was provided for the squad PKT machine gun.
  • The hull was extended by 200 mm to shift the center of gravity forward to prevent the vehicle from being nose heavy and "submarining" in the water.

These changes resulted in the weight of the vehicle increasing from 12.6 tons to 13.2 tons. The final production model the Obiekt 765-M3 (Nato: "BMP-1 Model 1970") began series production at the Kurgan machine building plant began in 1970.

[edit] Description

Detail of the BMP-1's turret.
Detail of the BMP-1's turret.

The BMP-1 is a tracked vehicle, with an engine at the front, a turret in the middle and a troop compartment at the rear. The driver sits on the front left of the hull and has a single piece hatch with three periscopes to provide vision when buttoned up. The commander sits behind the driver and has a cupola with an infrared searchlight. The one man turret in mounted in the center of the hull and is identical to the turret used in the BMD-1. The gunner has 4 day periscopes and and a 6x magnifaction day/night sight, with a night range of 600 to 900 m.

The troop compartment at the rear can carry 8 men, though it is fairly cramped when compared with western vehicles like the M2 Bradley. There are four firing ports on each side of the vehicle and a single firing port in the rear. The rear doors actually contain fuel tanks with 60 litres of fuel in the left door and 70 litres in the right.

The main armament of the BMP-1 is a 73 mm 2A28 Grom low pressure gun fitted in the turret. The gun is fed automatically from a 40 round magazine, and has a 360 degree traverse with elevation limits of +33 degrees and -4 degrees. The gun must return to an elevation of 3 degrees to reload. The rate of fire is between six and eight rounds a minute. The gun fires the same projectiles as the SPG-9 infantry gun. The projectile is propelled out of the gun by a small charge at a speed of 440 m/s, after the projectile has left the barrel a rocket motor cuts in taking the projectile to 770 m/s. The HEAT projectile fired by the gun can penetrate 300 mm of steel armour. However the projectile tends to "shuttlecock" in high winds. The maximum effective range of the gun is 1300 m, however in combat it has rarely been effective at ranges over 500 m. The gun is unstabilised, so it must be fired from a static position. A coaxial 7.62 mm PKT machine gun is also fitted with 2,000 rounds of ammunition. One problem with the turret is that there is an effective deadzone over the commanders cuppola, where the gun must be elevated to over the infra-red searchlight to avoid crushing it. In addition to the gun, a missile launch rail is fitted to fire AT-3 Sagger missiles. Two reload missiles are carried in the turret and two more in the hull, however reloading is an awkward manual process taking about 50 seconds.

The BMP is amphibious, propelling itself in the water using its tracks. Before entering the water a trim vane at the front of the hull must be errected, the bilge pumps switched on, and the drivers periscope must be swapped for a swimming periscope that enables the driver to see over the trim vane.

The vehicles armour is steel varying in line of sight thickness between 33 and 15 mm on the turret, and between 40 and 35 mm on the front hull, with the side hull having thickness of between 18 and 16 mm. The original requirements called for protection from NATO 20 mm cannon fire across the frontal arc. The crew is also protected by a comprehensive NBC system which detects nuclear explosions and seals the vehicle, an overpressure NBC filter system is used to stop chemical or biological agents.

[edit] BMP-2

BMP-2D on display in Kiev. Note the additional armour on the hull sides and the side skirts.
BMP-2D on display in Kiev. Note the additional armour on the hull sides and the side skirts.

[edit] Development

By 1972 work was underway to develop an improved version of the BMP, an experimental prototype, the Obiekt 680 was produced, based on observations of the new German Marder vehicle. Obiekt 680 had a new two man turret armed with a Shipunov 2A42 30 mm autocannon and a secondary 7.62 mm mounted in a barbette similar to the Marder.

However the BMP-1 was to be tested in combat in the October 1973 Yom Kippur War. Egypt has recieved its first batch of 80 BMP-1s between July and August of 1973. A second batch of 150 vehicles between August and September. Syria had received between 150 and 170 by the start of the war, of which about 100 were commited to the front line. Israeli forces captured or destroyed 40 to 60 Egyptian BMPs and 50 to 60 Syrian BMPs, mechanical problems accounting for a large number of the Syrian losses.

The BMP proved vulnerable to .50 calibre machine gun fire in the sides and rear, and the infantry 106 mm recoilless rifles. The need to keep some of the roof hatches open to prevent the vehicle overheating - meant that the vehicle could be disabled by machinegun fire from infantry on higher ground shooting into open hatches. The 73 mm gun proved inaccurate beyond 500 meters, and the AT-3 Sagger missile could not be guided effectively from the confines of the turret. The BMP-1's low profile means that it is difficult for the BMP to fire over the heads of the advancing infantry it was supporting, since the barrel is less than six feet off the ground.

On the positive side, the vehicle was praised for being fast and agile. Its low ground pressure enabled it to navigate the northen Kantara salt marshes where other vehicles would have bogged down. Its ability to swim proved useful: it was used in the first wave of canal crossings by the Egyptians.

Several Soviet technical teams were sent to Syria in the wake of the war to gather information. These lessons combined with observations of western AFV developments resulting in a replacement program for the original BMP in 1974. The first product of this program was the BMP-1P upgrade intended as a stopgap to address the most serious problems with the existing design. Smoke grenade launchers were added to the rear of the turret and the manually guided AT-3 Sagger missile system was replaced with the semi-automatically guided AT-4 Spigot and AT-5 Spandrel system. The new missiles were somewhat difficult to use since the gunner had to actually stand out on the roof to use the weapons, exposing himself to hostile fire. The BMP-1P was in production by the late 1970s and existing BMP-1s were gradually upgraded to the standard during the 1980s.

A development program to completely address the short comings of the BMP was started at the same time resulting in four prototypes, all of which had two man turrets.

  • Obiekt 675 Kurgan - BMP-1 hull, armed with a 2A42 30 mm autocannon. This eventually became the BMP-2
  • Obiekt 681 Kurgan - BMP-1 hull, armed with a lengthened 73 mm gun.
  • Obiekt 768 Chelyabinsk - Lengthen hull with 7 road wheels and armed with a lengthened 73 mm gun.
  • Obiekt 769 Chelyabinsk - Lengthen hull with 7 road wheels and armed with a 2A42 30 mm autocannon.

The commander was moved inside the turret on all of the prototypes because of the dead zone created by the infra-red searchlight when he was seated in the hull, additionally the commanders view to the rear was blocked by the turret. The new two man turret took up much more space in the hull than the original one man turret resulting in a smaller crew area. A lengthen versioned of the original 73 mm gun was considered, but after some debate the 30 mm gun was selected for the following reasons:

  • It offered higher maximum elevation - a critical factor in Afganistan, where the limited elevation of the 73 mm gun caused problems.
  • A high velocity gun had better maximum range (2000 - 4000 meters) that would allow the BMPs to support the tanks spearheading any assault.
  • It also offered a useful anti-helicopter capability.

The new vehicles also allowed the gunner to fire of AT-4 and AT-5 missiles from within the protection of the turret.

Eventually the Obiekt 675 was selected to become the BMP-2, probably because the a new hull design would have required extensive retooling at BMP production plants.

[edit] Description

The BMP-2 is broadly similar to the BMP-1. Significant changes are:

  • Main armament changed to 30 mm 2A42 autocannon and AT-5 Spandrel missile.
  • The commander now sits with the gunner in an enlarged turret.
  • Seven troops carried instead of eight.
  • Two rear infantry roof hatches instead of four.
  • Slightly improved armour.

The driver sits in the front left of the vehicle, with the engine in a separate compartment to his right. The driver has his own entry hatch above him, with three day periscopes. The center TNPO-170A periscope can be replaced with either a TNPO-350B extended periscope for amphibious operation or a TVNE-1PA night vision scope. An infantry man sits immediately behind the driver, and has a firing port and vision block. TNPO-170A periscopes are used throughout the vehicle and are electrically heated.

In the center of the vehicle is the welded steel turret which seats the commander and gunner, both of whom have hatches. The commander sits to the right and has three day vision periscopes, a 1PZ-3 day-sight designed for anti-aircraft use with 1x, 2x and 4x magnification, a OU-3GA2 infra-red searchlight, a TNP-165A designator and a TKN-3B binocular sight with x4.75 day magnification and x4 night-sight magnification.

The gunner sits to the commanders left and has a smaller rectangular hatch with a rearward facing day periscope, additionally there are three other day periscopes facing forward and left. The gunners has a BPK-1-42 binocular sight with a moon/starlight vision range of 650 meters or 350 meters using the infra-red searchlight, and a TNPT-1 designator. A FG-126 infra-red searchlight is mounted coaxially to the 30 mm cannon.

The main armament is a stabilized 30 mm 2A42 autocannon with dual ammunition feeds which provide a choice of 3UBR6 AP-T and 3UOR6 HE-T / 3UOF8 HE-I ammunition. The gun has a selectable rate of fire, either slow at 200 to 300 rounds per minute or fast at 550 rounds per minute. The stabilisation provides reasonable accuracy up to a speed of about 35 km/h. The AP-T ammunition can penetrate 15 mm of armour at sixty degrees at 1500 meters, while a new APDS-T tungsten round can penetrate 25 mm at the same distance. Typically ammunition load is 160 rounds of AP ammunition and 340 rounds of HE ammunition which sits in two ammunition trays located on the turret floor rear. The gun can be fired from either the commander or the gunners station. The commander's 1PZ-3 sight is specifically designed for anti-aircraft operation and combined with the high maximum elevation of 74 degrees, it allows the 30 mm cannon to be used effectively against helicopters and slow flying aircraft. The turret traverse and elevation are powered and it can traverse 360 degrees in 10.28 seconds and elevate through 74 degrees in 12.33 seconds.

Reloading the BMP-2's 30 mm somewhat problematic, and can take up to two hours, even if the ammunition is prepared. Additionally the cannon is normally only used on the slow rate of fire, otherwise fumes from the weapon would build up in the turret faster than the extractor fan can remove them.

Effective range of the 30 mm cannon is quoted at between 1,000 and 2,000 meters, although it is sighted out to 4,000 meters.

A coaxial 7.62 mm PKT machine gun is mounted to the left of the 30 mm cannon, and 2,000 rounds of ammunition are carried for it. On the roof of the turret is a ATGM launcher, on Russian vehicles this fires AT-5 Spandrel missiles, but on export models it normally fires AT-4 Spigot missiles. A ground mount for the missile is also carried, allowing it to be used away from the vehicle. The missiles are a substantial improvement on the AT-3 Sagger missiles used on the BMP-1, in both range and accuracy.

Behind the turret is the troop compartment which holds six troops, the seventh sits just behind the driver. The troops sit back to back, along the center of the vehicle. Down each side of the compartment are three firing ports with periscopes. Access to the compartment is by the two rear doors, which also hold fuel tanks, both doors have integral periscopes and the left door has a firing port.

In addition to the main weapons it can carry a man portable surface to air missile launcher and two missiles, and an RPG launcher. The vehicle is fitted with a PAZ overpressure NBC system and fire supression system, and carries a GPK-59 gyrocompass.

[edit] Combat upgrades

During the Soviet invasion of Afganistan the 16 mm side armour of the BMP-1 was found to be vulnerable to 12.7 mm DShK machine gun fire at close range. To address this, a spaced 10 mm armour plate was added to the sides - which reduced the vulnerability to 12.7 mm fire. The extra weight made the BMP unable to swim however - but this was not a significant factor in Afganistan. This upgrade resulted in the designation BMP-1D (Dorobotanaya or upgrade).

When the BMP-2 arrived in Afganistan a similar upgrade was applied resulting in the BMP-2D.

[edit] BMP-3

A BMP-3.
A BMP-3.

[edit] Development

The BMP-3 development program began in the late 1970s in response to the appearance of the M2 Bradley and Warrior IFV vehicles. However significant parts of the design date back to a mid 1970s development program to replace the ASU-85 assault gun and PT-76 scout tank.

As part of the mid 1970s two prototypes were produced:

  • Obiekt 685, from the BMP design bureau in Kurgan.
  • Obiekt 934, from the BMD design bureau in Volgograd.

Both tanks were armed with the same 2A48 100 mm gun and were air transportable. Ultimately a low cost solution was adopted using the BMD derived 2S9 Nona 120 mm gun. However the Obiekt 685 chasis design was used later in the 1970s, as part of the BMP-3 program. The new prototype was called Obiekt 688, and was completed in 1981. It was armed with an externally mounted 30 mm 2A42 cannon, a 30 mm grenade launcher and a box launcher containing two anti-tank missiles. The vehicle also used a new flat V-6 engine that allowed the crew to sit above it.

The design was not accepted, because it was felt that the armament did not offer a significant advantage over the existing BMP-2 design. Combat experience in Afganistan had shown that a 30 mm cannon did not have the firepower to deal with well dug in infantry.

A new weapon package was developed by Shipunov's KB Priborstroyeniya design bureau in Tula as a result of this. The 2K23 system consisted of a 2A70 rifled 100 mm autoloading gun slaved with a 30 mm 2A72 autocannon and a co-axial 7.62 mm machine gun. The 100 mm gun is also able to fire guided projectiles, this removes the need for a seperate ATGM launcher.

Combined with the new weapons package the vehicle was accepted into limited operational trails in 1986. The vehicle entered limited operation service in 1989, however only 35 were deployed by 1992. However by 2004 over 1,000 vehicles had been built - primarily for the export market with the United Arab Emirates taking delivery of 391 between 1992 and 1998.

[edit] Description

The BMP-3 has a relatively unusual internal configuration. The engine is an flat UTD-29M 10-cylinder 4-stroke liquid cooled diesel engine, which is position at the very rear of the hull. The crew exits to the rear of the hull are actually over the engine. Forward of the engine is the main troop compartment which carries 5 men. The rear compartment can carry 7 men, The troop compartment is fitted with 5 firing ports for AK-74 rifles.

The turret sits in the center of the hull, and both the gunner and commander sit here. The main armament is the 100 mm rifled 2A70 gun with a coaxial 2A72 30 mm cannon along with a coaxial 7.62 mm PKT machine gun. All the weapons are slaved together and are horizontally and vertically stablised. The elevate from -5 degrees to +60 degrees.

The 100 mm 2A70 has a rate of fire of 8 to 10 rounds per minute and is automatically loaded. It can also fire guided AT-10 Stabber missiles, which must be manually loaded. 22 rounds of high explosive ammunition are carried in the autoloader, while another 8 are stored in reserve. A total of 8 guided rounds are carried.

The 30 mm 2A72 has a rate of fire of 330 rounds per minute and a muzzle velocity of between 960 and 980 m/s. 500 rounds of ammunition are normally carried for the 30 mm cannon, with 305 being HE-I and the balance being AP-I.

The gunner and commander have day and night sight in addition to independant searchlights. Additionally the vehicle has a laser rangefinder and ballistic fire control computer.

[edit] History

[edit] Deployment

In the Soviet Army, BMPs were typically issued to the motor rifle battalions of tank regiments. In a typical motor-rifle division, one motor-rifle regiment had BMPs, the other two had BTRs. Proliferation varied greatly among the rest of the Warsaw Pact nations. For example, at least some East German motor-rifle divisions were recorded to have all three motor-rifle regiments with BMPs, ranging down to the Rumanian and Bulgarian Armies, some of whose divisions had no BMPs at all. Warsaw Pact OOB as of June 1989.

[edit] Combat history

[edit] Comparisons to other vehicles

[edit] Variants

  • BMP-1 Model 1966 - Original version with 73 mm smoothbore.
  • BMP-1 Model 1970 - Standard production version.
    • BMP-1P - Smoke grenade launchers and the AT-3 launcher replaced with the AT-4 Spigot/AT-5 Spandrel missiles.
      • BMP-1PK - Command variant of BMP-1P.
      • BMP-1PG - Addition of the AGS-17 automatic grenade launcher.
    • BMP-1D (does not float) Afgan war up-armoured version 10 mm of spaced armour on the hull side.
    • BRM-1 or BMP-R - reconnaissance variant.
    • BRM-1K - Reconnaissance command vehicle, has "Tall Mike" surveillance radar. One assigned per recce company.
    • BMP KShM - Command variant; typically used at regimental level
    • IV31 / BMP-1 MP-31 - air defence command and staff vehicle.
    • BREM-2 Recovery vehicle
    • BREM-4 Recovery vehicle
    • PRP-3 - Artillery radar vehicle
    • PRP-4 - Artillery radar vehicle
    • IRM - Amphibious engineer reconnaissance vehicle.
    • RTV - repair vehicle
  • BMP-2 - (early 1980s) Improved model with 30 mm cannon.
    • BMP-2 (undesignated upgrades)
    • BMP-2K - command variant.
    • BMP-2ZS - Fitted with loudspeakers.
    • BMP-2D - Afgan war upgrade - provision for mine roller and 10 mm of spaced armour on the hull side.
  • BMP-3 - longer version with coaxial 100 mm gun and 30 mm cannon.
    • BMP-3 M1995 - AT-14 Kornet ATGM
    • BRM-3 - reconnaissance variant with 1PN71 thermal sight (3.7x/11x, 3km range), 1PN65 second-generation Image Intensifier (7x, 1.2-1.5km range), and Tall Mike I-band surveillance radar (3km man, 12km vehicle).
    • BMP-3K - Command variant, includes additional radios and Ainet round fuzing capability.
    • BMP-3M - upgraded version with uprated engine and thermal sights.
    • PRP-3 - "mobile reconnaissance post", used for artillery fire direction; includes a counterbattery/surveillance radar. One is assigned to an artillery battalion.

[edit] National versions

  • BWP-1 - Polish designation for BMP-1
  • M-80 - Yugoslav version of BMP-1
  • MLI-84 - Romanian modified version of BMP-1
  • BVP-1 - Czech produced version of BMP-1
  • BPzV - Czech reconnaissance variant
  • BVP-2 - Czech produced version of BMP-2

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  • Tsouras P.G. Changing Orders: The evolution of the World's Armies, 1945 to the Present Facts On File, Inc, 1994. ISBN 0816031223
  • FM 100-60

[edit] External links

BMP-1

BMP-2

BMP-3

[[Category:Infantry fighting vehicles]] [[Category:Cold War Soviet armored fighting vehicles]] [[de:BMP-1]] [[ja:BMP-1]] [[no:BMP-1]] [[fi:BMP-1]] [[sv:Pbv 501]]