BMP-1

BMP-1 (Infantry Fighting Vehicle) is the first Soviet serial-produced combat tracked armored vehicle capable of swimming and intended for transporting personnel of motorized infantry units to the battlefield, increasing their mobility, firepower, and protection on the battlefield, as well as for joint operations with tanks in combat. It is the forerunner of the infantry fighting vehicle class of combat vehicles and the world’s first serial-produced infantry fighting vehicle.

The USSR began working on the BMP-1 in 1961 as part of its concept of operations for deep strikes, river crossings, and support of troops in the offensive using tactical nuclear charges. The vehicle had to be capable of swimming, withstanding tanks, and having a significant range of action, as well as operating in the zone of nuclear and chemical contamination. In the fall of 1962, the first experimental model was made, and by 1965, Chelyabinsk Tractor Plant (CTP) was supposed to produce 50 units to send to an experimental military unit.

The BMP-1 is designed to transport and support one motorized infantry platoon. The combat crew of the vehicle consists of 11 people: three crew members (driver-mechanic, gunner-operator, and platoon/command vehicle commander) and eight infantrymen.

The hull and turret of the BMP-1 are welded from rolled steel armor plates with a thickness of 5 to 19 mm, and the turret front has a thickness of 23 mm.

The control compartment is located in the left front part of the vehicle, where the driver-mechanic’s workplace is located with the means of controlling the vehicle's movement, observation instruments, and communication tools. The platoon commander’s workplace with a firing embrasure for personal weapons, observation instruments, and communication means is located behind the driver’s seat.

The engine and transmission compartment (ETC) is located in the front right part of the vehicle, combined in length with the control compartment and separated from it by a thermal and sound-insulating partition. There are hatches in the partition for access to the ETC units.

The combat compartment is located in the middle part of the vehicle, occupying the turret and the sub-turret space of the hull. The gunner-operator’s workplace is located in the combat compartment, as well as the main and auxiliary weapons of the vehicle.In the under-turret space, a floor is mounted that can rotate with the turret and contains boxes of ammunition for the machine gun and a stack of cannon shaped charge and high-explosive rounds. There are three stacks of rounds for the LM of ATGM gun on the right side of the hull, and another one in the under-turret space.

In the assault compartment located in the stern of the vehicle, there are 8 workstations for infantry soldiers. Each workstation is equipped with a loophole for personal weapon firing. There are two doors for disembarking the assault team in the stern, and the left one has a loophole for firing an automatic rifle. Additionally, for disembarking the assault team during waterborne movement or emergency evacuation, there are four hatches in the roof of the assault compartment. The assault compartment is divided along the fuel tank and electrical equipment container, which contains a heater, batteries, and other electrical equipment.

The BMP-1 uses the 73 mm smoothbore gun 2A28 “Grom” as its main armament, with a stockpile of 40 rounds (16 cumulative and 24 fragmentation). The gun is paired with a 7.62 mm Kalashnikov tank machine gun (KTMG), which has a stockpile of 2000 rounds of 7.62 × 54R ammunition.

Additionally, to combat tanks and other armored vehicles, as well as low-flying helicopters, the BMP-1 is equipped with a launcher for 9M14M “Malyutka” anti-tank guided missiles, which has four missiles.

The driver-mechanic’s seat is equipped with observation optical devices (“triplexes”) and the A-3 tank intercom device (TID). Behind it, the commander’s seat is equipped with TNPO-165A and TNPO-170A observation devices, as well as the A-1 TID and the R-123M onboard radio station. The gunner-operator has the A-2 TID for internal communication.

The infantry soldiers’ workstations in the assault compartment and stern doors for disembarking are equipped with periscopic observation unit (TNPO-170A). The soldiers use the A-3 and A-4 TID devices for internal communication.

There are two blocks in the vehicle. The first is the power block, which includes the engine, planetary gearboxes for turning, and a gearbox. The second is the cooling and cleaning block, which combines radiators for the engine cooling system, lubrication, an ejector, an air cleaner, and the transmission lubrication system. The second block is attached to the beams of the body roof.

Engine: V-shaped six-cylinder four-stroke liquid-cooled diesel engine UTD-20 with direct injection. Maximum power output is 210-221 kW. The overall dry weight of the engine is approximately 700 kg.

The suspension is individual torsion bar with hydraulic double-acting telescopic shock absorbers. Regarding one side of the suspension, it consists of six hollow support rollers, a front guiding and a rear directing wheel. The support rollers are intentionally made hollow to increase the vehicle's buoyancy when crossing water obstacles. Furthermore, the BMP-1 has received tracks of a fundamentally new design in which the moving parts do not overlap each other, as in tank tracks, which has increased the durability of metal and rubber seals up to 8000 km.