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The BMP series were among the first production line
infantry fighting vehicle An infantry fighting vehicle (IFV), also known as a mechanized infantry combat vehicle (MICV), is a type of armoured fighting vehicle and armoured personnel carrier used to carry infantry into battle and provide direct fire, direct-fire suppo ...
s. Included in the series are the mainline BMPs, the airborne variant BMDs, and licensed modified (i.e. MLI-84) and reverse engineered versions (i.e.
Boragh Boragh or Boraq () is an Iranian-made armoured personnel carrier. Boragh is believed to be a reverse engineering, reverse engineered and upgraded model of the Chinese BMP-1, Type 86 (BMP-1). The upgrades include a reduction in weight, a higher roa ...
, Type 86). BMP stands for ''Boyevaya Mashina Pekhoty'' – . They were initially developed in the 1960s 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 ...
.


Background

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 ...
began with the concepts of armored warfare relatively undeveloped, particularly the use of combined arms teams. Tank and infantry units were often organized as separate units, which led to problems of command and coordination. As the war progressed the doctrine of
combined arms Combined arms is an approach to warfare that seeks to integrate different combat arms of a military to achieve mutually complementary effects—for example, using infantry and armoured warfare, armour in an Urban warfare, urban environment in ...
became better refined, and the need for specialist vehicles to keep the infantry in close contact with the armor became increasingly important. Most of these vehicles were
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 ...
s. There were expedient measures; the infantry of the Red Army often rode on the top of tanks. In 1944 the Canadians introduced the practice of converting self-propelled guns and tanks to carry infantry - known as "Kangaroos". The Kangaroo pointed the way forward, offering much better armor than half-tracks and able to keep up with the tanks on any terrain. In the post-war era most armies started introducing fully tracked vehicles in the dedicated
armored personnel carrier An armoured personnel carrier (APC) is a broad type of armoured military vehicle designed to transport personnel and equipment in combat zones. Since World War I, APCs have become a very common piece of military equipment around the world. Acc ...
role, including the Soviet
BTR-50 The BTR-50 (BTR stands for ''Bronetransporter'' (), literally "armored transporter") is a Soviet Union, Soviet tracked Amphibious vehicle, amphibious armored personnel carrier (APC) based on the PT-76 light tank chassis. The BTR-50 was developed ...
, British FV432, and the US M113. These vehicles generally suffered in terms of range and speed, and many forces also adopted wheeled vehicles in addition to, or instead of the tracked versions. In general, these vehicles offered limited protection and were not expected to join in the actual fighting; they would keep the infantry in close proximity with the armor during movement, but upon enemy contact they would unload their infantry before retreating to safer areas - a practice that led to them being called "battlefield taxis" or "battle-taxis". The German Schützenpanzer Lang HS.30 was an exception as it carried a 20mm cannon for support of its infantry and against light vehicles. During the 1950s this mode of combat was increasingly questioned. Unloading the infantry onto a battlefield that was assumed to be littered with chemical and nuclear poisons did not seem like a good idea. Further, while the APCs moved to and from combat the infantry section in the back had nothing to do, a claustrophobic environment where the men could not add to the fight. Military theorists turned to the concept of the
infantry fighting vehicle An infantry fighting vehicle (IFV), also known as a mechanized infantry combat vehicle (MICV), is a type of armoured fighting vehicle and armoured personnel carrier used to carry infantry into battle and provide direct fire, direct-fire suppo ...
(IFV), similar to the APC but with the expectation that the infantry section would be able to stay in the vehicle and fight effectively, while also improving the vehicle's own armament. The Soviets were the second to adapt to this new style of fully mechanized combat, issuing requirements and then introducing the BMP in mid-1960s, following after the more limited scale Western German Panzergrenadier deployment of the HS.30.


Requirements

The requirement for the BMP was first drawn up in the late 1950s. The requirement stressed speed, good armament, and the ability for all squad members to fire from within the vehicle. The armament had to provide direct support for dismounted infantry in the attack and defense and to be able to destroy comparable light armored vehicles such as the American M59 APC or the West German HS.30 IFV.Hull/Markov/Zaloga, p. 239 The armor was required to protect the crew and passengers from light shell fragments as well as .50 cal armor-piercing bullets and 20–23 mm caliber autocannons across the frontal arc at distances between 500 m and 800 m (the distance of infantrymen dismounting onto the battlefield during an attack). Side armor should be capable of withstanding 7.62 mm armor-piercing bullets from a distance of 75 m. The requirements also included an NBC protection system, observation devices similar to those used in MBTs and a radio capable of communicating with unit commanders and tanks. The original specification called for the vehicle to be armed with a autocannon, however an innovative combination of the 73 mm 2A28 Grom low pressure smoothbore semi-automatic gun firing rocket-assisted projectiles and the newly developed 9S428 anti tank wire guided missile (ATGM) launcher for the selected 9M14 "Malyutka" (AT-3A Sagger A) ATGMs was used instead. The gun was intended to engage enemy armored vehicles and firing points at a range of up to , while the missile launcher was intended to be used against targets that were to away. The smoothbore gun and the ATGM launching system were to be mounted in a compact one-man turret from the Tula Instrument Engineering Design Bureau (KBP).


Prototypes

The requirements were issued to the various design bureaus between 1959 and 1960. There was a question as to whether the BMP should be tracked or wheeled, so a number of experimental configurations were explored including hybrid wheeled/tracked designs. The prototypes (designated as "objects" according to Soviet classification) were: * Ob'yekt 1200 from
Bryansk Bryansk (, ) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Bryansk Oblast, Russia, situated on the Desna (river), Desna River, southwest of Moscow. It has a population of 379,152 at the 2021 census. Bryans ...
Automobile Works (BAZ), 1964 - an 8-wheeled design, similar to the BTR-60PB APC. Like the said APC, the Ob'yekt 1200 prototype had a rear engine design which counted against it. It was eliminated because its cross-country ability (especially in snow and deep mud) was similarly mediocre to the said APC due to the overweight of the 8 x 8 chassis. * Ob'yekt 911 from the
Volgograd Volgograd,. formerly Tsaritsyn. (1589–1925) and Stalingrad. (1925–1961), is the largest city and the administrative centre of Volgograd Oblast, Russia. The city lies on the western bank of the Volga, covering an area of , with a population ...
Tractor Works (VTZ), chief designer I. V. Gavalov, 1964 - was a hybrid tracked design, with 4 additional retractable wheels for high speed road travel. The complex design was felt to offer no advantages. * Ob'yekt 914 from the Volgograd Tractor Factory (VTZ), chief designer I. V. Gavalov, 1964 - was a tracked design and a variant of Ob'yekt 911. Based on the
PT-76 The PT-76 is a Soviet Union, Soviet amphibious vehicle, amphibious light tank that was introduced in the early 1950s and soon became the standard reconnaissance tank of the Soviet Army and the other Warsaw Pact armed forces. It was widely exporte ...
amphibious light tank chassis with a similar armament to other BMP prototypes (except the Ob'yekt 914 was also armed with two 7.62 mm PKT machine guns mounted in the hull on both sides of the driver). It weighed 14.4 tonnes, had a crew of two and could transport up to eight fully equipped soldiers (two of whom operated the PKT machine guns). The rear engine design counted against it, forcing infantry to mount and dismount through the single door in the rear of the right hand side of the vehicle and roof hatches. It was also felt that the Ob'yekt 764 had a better layout. Work on the experimental Ob'yekt 914 helped a lot in the following layout development of the BMD-1 (Ob'yekt 915) airborne infantry fighting vehicle. * Ob'yekt 19 from the Altai Tractor Plant in
Rubtsovsk Rubtsovsk (, ) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city in Altai Krai, Russia, located on the Aley River (Ob River, Ob's tributary) southwest of Barnaul. Population: 167,000 (1975); 111,000 (1959); 75,334 (1939). Rubtsovsk is the ...
, 1965 - was a 4 x 4 wheeled design with retractable tracks between the wheel axles which were intended for crossing rough ground. Once again the very complicated hybrid design was felt to offer no clear advantage over a tracked design. * Ob'yekt 764 from the Chelyabinsk Tractor Works (ChTZ); chief designer P. P. Isakov, 1964-1965 - the main prototype of the BMP was equipped with a waterjet for swimming (the waterjet was later removed to save interior space). After it passed the trials, it was improved and became the BMP-1 (Ob'yekt 765). During this time, the United States had successfully introduced the M113 armored personnel carrier in the
Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...
in 1962. Though not designed as a combat vehicle, its light armor and mobility was effective against most small arms employed by the Viet Cong forces. It had been adapted into an infantry fighting vehicle with the fitting of an open turret and gun shields. Unlike the BMP, it lacked the firepower and armor to defeat and survive against other armored combat vehicles. After the appearance of the BMP, the US responded with a series of infantry fighting vehicle designs, starting with the
MICV-65 MICV-65, short for ''Mechanized Infantry Combat Vehicle, 1965'', was a US Army project that studied a number of armored fighting vehicles that would replace the M113 armored personnel carrier, M113 and M114 armored fighting vehicle, M114 as well as ...
, although nothing entered service until the M-2 Bradley appeared during the early 1980s.


Ob'yekt 765

The tracked Ob'yekt 764 was chosen, after a few improvements, because its front engine design provided a convenient and fast way of mounting and dismounting through two rear doors. As a result of its rather weak armor, the BMP was relatively light and required little preparation for amphibious operations. The original production prototype, which was built in 1965, was designated BMP. Small-scale production began in 1966 at
Chelyabinsk Chelyabinsk; , is the administrative center and largest types of inhabited localities in Russia, city of Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia. It is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, seventh-largest city in Russia, with a population ...
to permit field trials, although the Kurgan Machine Building Plant (KMZ) was converted to BMP production as Chelyabinsk was committed to tank production. A number of defects were corrected between 1966 and 1970 resulting in four slightly different production design variants of the first models. (Ob'yekt 765Sp1 and Ob'yekt 765Sp2). The key changes made to the design were: * The suspension was strengthened to cope with high speeds. * A new chemical filter system was fitted on the left hand side of the turret in addition to the already existing radiological protection system. * The openly mounted air filtration system was moved from the left hand side of the hull to a separate compartment inside the vehicle behind the commander's station. * The fume extractors for the firing ports were moved to eject the fumes to the rear of the vehicle. * The trim board was modified. * The new air intake was fitted with a low snorkel to prevent water flooding the vehicle while swimming. * The fender profile was modified. * The detachable hatch cover over the engine compartment was replaced with a hinged cover. * The Commander's hatch was fitted with a torsion bar, the troop hatches were fitted with key locks. * The tool stowage boxes on the fenders were removed. * Firing ports (one on each side) were provided for the squad's PKM general purpose machine gun. * The 9S428 ATGM launcher was improved to fire 9M14M 'Malyutka-M' (AT-3B Sagger B) ATGMs. * The nose section of the hull was modified and extended by 250 mm to shift the center of gravity to prevent the nose section from being too heavy, it could often cause "submarining" when swimming. The height of the hull was slightly increased for the same purpose. Further improvements included a new 1PN22M2 sight, turn signals, and many smaller details, (for example, mounting the trim vane on six hinges instead of two, improved hermetic sealing of the commander's hatch, new construction of the gunner's seat, etc.). All those changes resulted in the combat weight increasing from 13.0 tonnes to 13.2 tonnes. Series production of the final production model, the Ob'yekt 765Sp3 (NATO: BMP-1 Model 1970), began at the Kurgan Engineering Works in 1973.


Models

A large number of variants of the BMP-1 were produced. The most notable IFV variants based on the BMP-1 were:
BMP-2 The BMP-2 (''Boyevaya Mashina Pekhoty'', , literally "combat machine/vehicle f theinfantry") is an amphibious infantry fighting vehicle introduced in the 1980s in the Soviet Union, following on from the BMP-1 of the 1960s. Development his ...
, MLI-84 and
Boragh Boragh or Boraq () is an Iranian-made armoured personnel carrier. Boragh is believed to be a reverse engineering, reverse engineered and upgraded model of the Chinese BMP-1, Type 86 (BMP-1). The upgrades include a reduction in weight, a higher roa ...
.


Table of models


BMP-2

Although the BMP-1 was a revolutionary design, its main armament, the 2A28 Grom and the 9S428 ATGM launcher capable of firing the
9M14 Malyutka The 9M14 Malyutka (; "Little one", NATO reporting name: AT-3 Sagger) is a manual command to line of sight (MCLOS) wire-guided anti-tank guided missile (ATGM) system developed in the Soviet Union. It was the first man-portable anti-tank guided mi ...
(NATO: AT-3A Sagger A) and the 9M14M Malyutka-M (NATO: AT-3B Sagger B) ATGMs, quickly became obsolete. Therefore, the Soviet Union decided to produce an updated and improved version of the BMP-1. The main emphasis was put on improving the main armament. In 1972 work got underway to develop an improved version of the BMP-1. An experimental prototype, the Ob'yekt 680 was produced. Ob'yekt 680 had a new two-man turret armed with a Shipunov 2A42 30 mm autocannon and a secondary 7.62 mm machine gun mounted in a barbette similar to the Marder. The BMP-1 was to be tested in combat in the October 1973
Yom Kippur War The Yom Kippur War, also known as the Ramadan War, the October War, the 1973 Arab–Israeli War, or the Fourth Arab–Israeli War, was fought from 6 to 25 October 1973 between Israel and a coalition of Arab world, Arab states led by Egypt and S ...
.
Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...
received 230 BMP-1s in 1973.
Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...
had received between 150 and 170 by the start of the war, of which about 100 were committed to the front line. Israeli forces captured or destroyed 40 to 60 Egyptian BMPs and 50 to 60 Syrian BMPs, mechanical problems accounting for a large number of the Syrian losses. The BMP proved vulnerable to .50 caliber machinegun fire in the sides and rear, and to infantry-based 106 mm recoilless rifles. The need to keep some of the roof hatches open to prevent the vehicle from overheating meant that the vehicle could be disabled by machinegun fire from infantry on higher ground shooting into open hatches. The 73 mm gun proved inaccurate beyond 500 meters, and the AT-3 Sagger missile could not be guided effectively from the confines of the turret. The BMP-1's low profile means that it was difficult for the BMP to fire over the heads of the advancing infantry it was supporting. On the positive side, the vehicle was praised for being fast and agile. Its low ground pressure enabled it to navigate the northern Kantara salt marshes where other vehicles would have bogged down. Its ability to swim proved useful: it was used in the first wave of canal crossings by the Egyptians. Several Soviet technical teams were sent to Syria in the wake of the war to gather information. These lessons combined with observations of western AFV developments resulting in a replacement program for the original BMP in 1974. The first product of this program was the BMP-1P upgrade intended as a stopgap to address the most serious problems with the existing design. Smoke grenade launchers were added to the rear of the turret and the manually guided AT-3 Sagger missile system was replaced with the semi-automatically guided
AT-4 Spigot The 9K111 ''Fagot'' (; "bassoon") is a second-generation tube-launched semi-automatic command to line of sight (SACLOS) wire-guided anti-tank missile system of the Soviet Union for use from ground or vehicle mounts. The 9K111 Fagot missile system ...
and
AT-5 Spandrel The 9M113 ''Konkurs'' (; ; NATO reporting name AT-5 ''Spandrel'') is a Soviet SACLOS wire-guided anti-tank missile. A development of the 9K111 Fagot with greater firepower, the 9M113 Konkurs can use the same launchers and is very similar vis ...
system. The new missiles were somewhat difficult to use since the gunner had to actually stand out on the roof to use the weapons, exposing himself to hostile fire. The BMP-1P was in production by the late 1970s and existing BMP-1s were gradually upgraded to the standard during the 1980s. A development program to completely address the shortcomings of the BMP was started at the same time resulting in four prototypes, all of which had two-man turrets. * Ob'yekt 675 from
Kurgan A kurgan is a type of tumulus (burial mound) constructed over a grave, often characterized by containing a single human body along with grave vessels, weapons, and horses. Originally in use on the Pontic–Caspian steppe, kurgans spread into mu ...
- BMP-1 hull, armed with a 2A42 30 mm autocannon. This eventually became the BMP-2. * Ob'yekt 681 from
Kurgan A kurgan is a type of tumulus (burial mound) constructed over a grave, often characterized by containing a single human body along with grave vessels, weapons, and horses. Originally in use on the Pontic–Caspian steppe, kurgans spread into mu ...
- BMP-1 hull, armed with a lengthened 73 mm gun. * Ob'yekt 768 from
Chelyabinsk Chelyabinsk; , is the administrative center and largest types of inhabited localities in Russia, city of Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia. It is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, seventh-largest city in Russia, with a population ...
- Lengthened hull with 7 road wheels and armed with a lengthened 73 mm gun. * Ob'yekt 769 from
Chelyabinsk Chelyabinsk; , is the administrative center and largest types of inhabited localities in Russia, city of Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia. It is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, seventh-largest city in Russia, with a population ...
- Lengthened hull with 7 road wheels and armed with a 2A42 30 mm autocannon. The commander was moved inside the turret on all of the prototypes because of the dead zone created by the infra-red searchlight when he was seated in the hull; as well, the commander's view to the rear was blocked by the turret. The new two-man turret took up much more space in the hull than the original one-man turret, resulting in a smaller crew area. A lengthened version of the original 73 mm gun was considered, but after some debate the 30 mm gun was selected for the following reasons: * It offered higher maximum elevation - a critical factor in
Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...
, where the limited elevation of the
gun A gun is a device that Propulsion, propels a projectile using pressure or explosive force. The projectiles are typically solid, but can also be pressurized liquid (e.g. in water guns or water cannon, cannons), or gas (e.g. light-gas gun). So ...
caused problems. * The high-velocity gun had better maximum range (2000–4000 meters) that would allow the BMPs to support the tanks spearheading any assault. * It also offered a useful anti-helicopter capability. * The 73 mm gun had been mounted on the older BMP-1 to retain anti-tank capability as a basic
doctrine Doctrine (from , meaning 'teaching, instruction') is a codification (law), codification of beliefs or a body of teacher, teachings or instructions, taught principles or positions, as the essence of teachings in a given branch of knowledge or in a ...
design specification. With the introduction of Chobham armour on NATO tanks, the 73 mm gun became ineffectual and obsolete, and given a lack of a suitable gun design as a replacement in this role at the time, a 30 mm gun was introduced as a replacement, notably with an anti-helicopter role as a new threat emergent since the Vietnam War. ( Perrett 1987:77) The anti-tank capability was however retained in the BMP-2 with the continued use of
anti-tank guided missile An anti-tank guided missile (ATGM), anti-tank missile, anti-tank guided weapon (ATGW) or anti-armor guided weapon is a guided missile primarily designed to hit and destroy heavily armored military vehicles. ATGMs range in size from shoulde ...
s. The new vehicles now allowed the gunner to fire 9K111 Fagot (AT-4) and
9M113 Konkurs The 9M113 ''Konkurs'' (; ; NATO reporting name AT-5 ''Spandrel'') is a Soviet SACLOS wire-guided anti-tank missile. A development of the 9K111 Fagot with greater firepower, the 9M113 Konkurs can use the same launchers and is very similar vis ...
(AT-5) missiles from within the protection of the
turret Turret may refer to: * Turret (architecture), a small tower that projects above the wall of a building * Gun turret, a mechanism of a projectile-firing weapon * Optical microscope#Objective turret (revolver or revolving nose piece), Objective turre ...
. Eventually the Ob'yekt 675 was selected to become the BMP-2, probably because a new hull design would have required extensive retooling at BMP production plants.


BMP-3

The design of the BMP-3 or Obyekt 688M can be traced back to the Obyekt 685 light tank prototype with 100 mm gun 2A48-1 from 1975. This vehicle did not enter series production, but the chassis, with a new engine, was used for the next-generation infantry combat vehicle Obyekt 688 from A. Blagonravov's design bureau. The Ob. 688 weapons configuration—an externally mounted 30 mm gun and twin Konkurs
ATGM An anti-tank guided missile (ATGM), anti-tank missile, anti-tank guided weapon (ATGW) or anti-armor guided weapon is a guided missile primarily designed to hit and destroy heavily armored military vehicles. ATGMs range in size from shoulder ...
launcher—was rejected; instead the new 2K23 armament system was selected. The resulting BMP-3 was developed in the early 1980s and entered service with the Soviet Army officially in 1987. At the moment the BMP-3 is the most modern, in service, tank of the BMP series while it is supposed to be replaced by the BMP T-15 Armata which is currently in the prototype stage.


See also

* * * * *


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bmp Development Cold War armoured fighting vehicles of the Soviet Union BMP-1