The BA-10 () was an armored car developed in the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

in 1938 and produced through 1941. It was the most produced Soviet pre-1941 heavy armored car – 3311 were built in three versions. These versions were the BA-10, the BA-10M (improved version with new radio), and the BA-10ZhD (equipped for dual railway/road use). The basic BA-10 design was developed from the BA-3 and BA-6 heavy armored cars. It had an improved GAZ-AAA chassis and improved armor (up to 15mm at front and turret). It was intended that the BA-10 would be replaced in 1941 by the BA-11 with diesel engine and more sophisticated armor design, but the outbreak of war prevented BA-11 production. The BA-10 was in Red Army service until 1945. Significant numbers of captured BA-10s were used by

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

(at least 24, 3 of which were sold to Sweden), Germany and other

Axis powers The Axis powers, originally called the Rome–Berlin Axis and also Rome–Berlin–Tokyo Axis, was the military coalition which initiated World War II and fought against the Allies of World War II, Allies. Its principal members were Nazi Ge ...

in Europe.

Development

During the late 1930s, Soviet armoured fighting vehicle designers incorporated sloped armor into all their new designs, and redesigned some existing vehicles to take advantage of it. The BA-10 used a slightly smaller, better-sloped armor layout than that of the BA-6, thus improving protection while saving weight. The greater engine power (, compared to on the BA-6) made the vehicle more reliable. Like its predecessors, the BA-10 could be converted to a

half-track A half-track is a civilian or military vehicle with wheels at the front for steering and continuous tracks at the back to propel the vehicle and carry most of the load. A half-track combines the soft-ground traction of a tank with the Car handl ...

by fitting auxiliary tracks to the rear pair of dual tandem wheels. On early BA-10s, these tracks were stowed strapped on top of the fenders. Later vehicles had an enclosed stowage box for the tracks in the same location. The tracks were often fitted when the vehicle needed to move across snow or soft ground.

In action

The BA-10 first saw action against the Japanese in Manchuria at the Battle of Khalkhin Gol in 1939. Some were captured and later used by the

Manchukuo Manchukuo, officially known as the State of Manchuria prior to 1934 and the Empire of Great Manchuria thereafter, was a puppet state of the Empire of Japan in Northeast China that existed from 1932 until its dissolution in 1945. It was ostens ...

. It was involved in all the Soviet Union's subsequent

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a d ...

operations and campaigns of 1939-1940. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

the BA-10 was used against the Germans on the Eastern Front, but was rarely seen after the winter of 1941–42. Later in the war, the heavy

scouting Scouting or the Scout Movement is a youth social movement, movement which became popularly established in the first decade of the twentieth century. It follows the Scout method of informal education with an emphasis on practical outdoor activi ...

role was taken over by light tanks such as the T-60 and T-70. A few BA-10s were seen as late as 1943 on the

Leningrad Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

front. Large numbers of captured BA-10s were used by

in Europe. In May 1945 a few BA-10s of ROA fought alongside the defenders of the Prague uprising.

Gallery

File:SovietArmouredVehicle.jpg, Destroyed BA-10 after Khalkhin Gol, 1939 File:Bundesarchiv Bild 101I-013-0068-18A, Polen, Treffen deutscher und sowjetischer Soldaten.jpg, Soviet officers and BA-10s in Lublin, Poland, 1939 File:Советский бронеавтомобиль БА-10 на площади Павших Борцов в Сталинграде.jpg, A BA-10 in Stalingrad, 1942

References

;Notes ;Bibliography *М. Коломиец. Броня на колёсах. История советского бронеавтомобиля 1925–1945. — Москва: Яуза, Стратегия КМ, Эксмо, 2007. — 384 с. — (Советские танки). — 6000 экз. — *А. Г. Солянкин, М. В. Павлов, И. В. Павлов, И. Г. Желтов. Отечественные бронированные машины. XX век. 1905–1941. — Москва: Экспринт, 2002. — Т. 1. — 344 с. — 2000 экз. — {{WWIISovietAFVs Armoured cars of the interwar period World War II armoured cars World War II armoured fighting vehicles of the Soviet Union GAZ Group military vehicles Military vehicles introduced in the 1930s