Information AboutBmp-1 |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT BMP-1 | |
| infantry fighting vehicles | |
| cold war soviet armoured fighting vehicles | |
| reconnaissance vehicles | |
| amphibious vehicles | |
| infantry fighting vehicles of the soviet union | |
The BMP-1 is a ''' was introduced. The BMP is Amphibious . PRODUCTION HISTORY The BMP-1 was first seen by the West in the November 7, 1967 parade and is considered the world's first infantry fighting vehicle. Its steeply-sloped front armour was proofed against the .50 calibre machine guns carried by NATO armoured personnel carriers, while its smoothbore gun and AT-3 Sagger ATGM were a threat to NATO APCs and even main battle tanks. It replaced the BTR-50 in motorized infantry units. Owing to experiences in Afghanistan , a new version, the BMP-2, was introduced in the early 1980s. It had a new two-man turret with a 30mm cannon and externally-mounted AT-4 Spigot or AT-5 Spandrel ATGM s. DESCRIPTION The BMP series of infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs) is designed to assist in rapid maneuvers during an assault. It is capable of rapidly transporting infantry in safety from small arms fire and is capable in providing support when the infantry dismount. With armament consisting of a gun and anti-tank guided missiles, the BMP series is a valuable component of mechanized infantry. Its 73mm smoothbore gun fires a low velocity HEAT round, and as such the main gun is unreliable in windy conditions. The original BMP series had an AT-3 Sagger ATGM launcher mounted above the gun. The AT-3 was known to fall off its mount, and thus BMP crews kept the missiles stowed when not in combat. The missile is reloaded by hand, through a small loading hatch. While a formidable vehicle when first introduced, theoretically capable of defeating the steel-armoured medium tanks of its time with its 73mm HEAT round, today the BMP-1 is at a severe disadvantage when engaging modern infantry fighting vehicles such as the U.S. M2 Bradley IFV or British Warrior IFV , and is almost totally ineffective against modern tanks. The thin armour of the BMP-1 is improved by its steep slope, but it can be penetrated by modern armour-piercing cannon rounds, and the risk of getting hit increases as fire-control improves. While the smoothbore 73mm cannon will still penetrate an IFV's armour if not specially protected, it is at an accuracy disadvantage compared to a modern autocannon, especially while moving. Further, the AT-3 Sagger is extremely difficult to operate because it uses first-generation MCLOS guidance system, and its projectile is very slow by modern standards. While the warhead is effective against steel armour, its penetration is insufficient against modern laminates on main battle tanks. Nevertheless, the BMP-1 is still a threat to light AFVs and especially non-mechanized infantry. The BMP is amphibious without preparation, using hydrodynamic fairings to convert track momentum into water jets. WARPAC peacetime regulations require that any BMPs entering water must have a working radio set, since its bearings are not airtight and it can be carried away by currents in case of loss of engine power (the vehicle lacks an anchor). The BMP's front and side armour is effective against .50 calibre and light cannon fire. On most examples the front armour is immune to 20mm Oerlikon autocannon fire, but armour quality varies greatly with factory and year of manufacture. Examples where the dent marks of factory certification firings are recognizable on all major armour plates can be trusted. The rear doors of the BMP-1 and 2 series serve as additional fuel tanks, offering some risk from incendiary rounds. Though these are shut off from the fuel system when in combat. The BMD-1 , an air-mobile cousin of the BMP-1, was issued to Soviet Airborne Forces in the early 1970s. Although it shared the general layout and armament of the BMP-1, the smaller, lighter airborne vehicle is a different design, incorporating aluminium construction. The BMD-1 features hydraulic suspension and variable belly height. During the 1980s many BMPs in Warsaw Pact countries were provided with one RPG-7 shoulder-launched anti-tank weapon, and one Strela/Igla shoulder-launched anti-aircraft missile launcher. These could be fired by climbing through the top hatches while on the move. A Dragunov sniper rifle was also frequently provided, especially to BMP crews in a Reconnaissance role. PROTECTION ISSUES can be seen in the background.]] The original BMP-1 had a significant shortcoming in its protection scheme, which only became obvious during the 1979 invasion of Afghanistan. The one-man-turret fighting vehicle seated its driver and commander in tandem layout, in the front-right part of the hull alongside the diesel engine. When a BMP-1 hit the obsolete kind of "tilt-rod" antitank Landmine , its steeply sloped lower front glacis armour plate allowed the mine's arming rod to tilt with little resistance until the maximum deflection was reached with the mine already well under the chassis. When it eventually exploded, the mine blast usually killed both the driver and the tank commander, causing a painful loss of specialist personnel in the Soviet Red Army . This shortcoming was addressed in the BMP-2 design, where the tank commander shares the well armoured two-man turret with the gunner. The driver's station has been enlarged and he is provided with an armoured driver's seat, in addition to extra belly armour in the lower front. This shortcoming was not addressed by the later BMP designs, since Soviet military thinkers considered the auxiliary firepower of the troops' assault rifles a significant factor in the BMP's combat value. In practice, most Conscript soldiers did not receive much training in firing from the vehicle while on the move. Even in case of professional soldiers, the cramped interior of the BMP-1 and 2, and the poor optical quality of its unstabilized firing port Periscope s made it difficult to conduct aimed fire while on the move. These issues, alongside the higher cost of maintenance (when compared with the wheeled Bronetransporter troop carriers) led many former Eastern Bloc satellite states to abandon the use of BMP fighting vehicles after the Warsaw Pact was dissolved. The basic hull armor on the BMP can be easily penetrated by an RPG round. Due to this limitation, Russian troops in combat zones customarily ride outside the BMP, sitting on top. This limits the chance that a single RPG round could kill or wound everyone inside the vehicle. 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 wheeled 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 Romanian and Bulgarian Armies, some of whose divisions had no BMPs at all. External link: Warsaw Pact OOB as of June 1989 . OPERATORS
Former Operators
VARIANTS , parked alongside an American-made )]]
National versions
COMBAT HISTORY
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