BA-64B

The BA-64 was a light, four-wheeled armored car of Soviet construction. The first prototypes were built in 1941, and serial production lasted from 1942 to 1946 and led to the production of over 9,000 copies of this successful armored car. The car was powered by a 54 HP GAZ-MM carburettor engine. The main armament was a single 7.62 mm DT machinegun mounted in a rotating turret. The BA-64 was created as a result of the Red Army's need for a light, mass-produced armored car. This demand resulted, of course, from the enormous losses incurred in the first months of the war with Germany in 1941. The task of developing a new vehicle was undertaken by the GAZ plants, which in an absolutely record time of around 60 days created the first prototypes of the GAZ-64, later renamed the BA-64. In the course of serial production of this vehicle, several modernizations were made. The main armament of the BA-64D was changed to a 12.7 mm machine gun, while the BA-64E version was in fact an armored personnel carrier containing 6 landing troops. BA-64, from the moment it was admitted to the state of the Red Army, was massively used in the war with Germany - it took part in the Battle of Stalingrad, the Kursk battle, Operation Bagration, and the Berlin operation in 1945. During the war or shortly after its end, the BA-64 was used, among others, by army: Polish, Hungarian, Bulgarian or the army of the GDR.