MT-LBu

MT-LBu

Iraqi MT-LBu captured by the Coalition Forces during Operation Desert Storm.
Type Armored transporter
Place of origin  Soviet Union
Specifications
Weight 15,550 kg
Length 7.21 m
Width 2.85 m
Height 1.905 m
Crew 2 (+ 6 passengers)

Armor welded aluminum
Engine YaMZ-238N, V-8 diesel
300 hp at 2,100 rpm
Suspension Torsion bar
Operational
range
500 km (road range)
Speed 61.5 km/h (road)
30 km/h (off-road)
5 to 6 km/h (in the water)

The MT-LBu is a Soviet multi-purpose fully amphibious armoured carrier which was developed under the factory index Ob'yekt 10 in the late 1960s, based on the MT-LB. It has a more powerful engine, a 40 cm higher hull and a longer chassis with 7 road wheels on each side.

Development

In the 1970s the Soviet Central Auto and Tractor Directorate embarked on a development program to replace the AT-P series of artillery tractors (that were based on the ASU-57) with a new generation of vehicles. The MT-L was developed to meet this requirement based on the PT-76 chassis. The MT-LB is the armoured variant of the vehicle. Entering production in the early 1970s, it was cheap to build, being based on many existing components including the engine which is actually a truck engine. The MT-LBu is a bigger, unarmed version that is used as the basis for many specialised vehicles. It was built at the Kharkov tractor plant in the USSR as well as Poland (Stalowa Wola) and Bulgaria (Beta JSCo.).

MT-LBu profile

Description

The crew - a driver and a commander - is located in a compartment at the front of the vehicle, with the engine behind them. The compartment at the rear has a volume of 13 m³. A load of 6,500 kg can be towed. The vehicle is fully amphibious, being propelled in the water by its tracks.

The vehicle is lightly armoured against small arms and shell splinters with a thickness of 3 to 10 mm of steel. The troop compartment has one roof hatch over the top, which opens rearwards. In the centre of the roof there is a big circular opening that is covered with a blanking plate with hatch when no turret is mounted. The MT-LBu has only 2 firing ports: one in the front right side, the other in the rear door, both with an associated vision device.

The driver is provided with a TVN-2 infra-red periscope, which in combination with the OU-3GK infra-red/white light search light provides a range of about 40 m. The MT-LBu is equipped with an NBC detection device GO-27, a filter system FVU and a navigation apparatus.

Variants

former USSR (Russian Federation and Ukraine)

Poland

Polish HSW S.A. (Huta Stalowa Wola S.A.) has a license to produce MT-LBu.

Bulgaria

Hungary

Sweden

Finland

Belarus

Based on older versions - mostly of the 1V12 series - Minotaur from Belarus has developed new versions of the MT-LBu:

Users

Current operators

Former Operators

See also

References

    External links

    Wikimedia Commons has media related to MT-LBu.