The FAI ''(Ford-A Izhorskiy)'' armoured car was a replacement for the D-8 armoured car, used by 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 ...

from the early 1930s to early 1940s.

Description

The FAI was built on the chassis of the

GAZ-A The GAZ-A is a passenger car that was mass-produced by GAZ from 1932 until 1936. It was the first passenger car to be produced in the Soviet Union and is a near-exact copy of the Ford Model A (1927-1931), Ford Model A from 1930. To the local popula ...

car, a licensed copy of the American Ford A. This chassis was the major weakness of the FAI. Most commercial car chassis were not powerful enough to move a useful amount of

armour Armour (Commonwealth English) or armor (American English; see American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, spelling differences) is a covering used to protect an object, individual, or vehicle from physical injury or damage, e ...

firepower Firepower is the military capability to direct force at an enemy. It involves the whole range of potential weapons. The concept is generally taught as one of the three key principles of modern warfare wherein the enemy forces are destroyed or ...

on the battlefield. The Germans were known to get around this particular problem by designing a car chassis that was intended from the outset for both civilian and military vehicles and which was used successfully in at least one German armoured car family of this period. However, armoured cars based on commercial car

chassis A chassis (, ; plural ''chassis'' from French châssis ) is the load-bearing framework of a manufactured object, which structurally supports the object in its construction and function. An example of a chassis is a vehicle frame, the underpart ...

were, for the most part, road-bound, thinly armoured and lightly armed. The FAI was a typical example of this class of vehicle with a single 7.62 mm DT machine-gun in a revolving turret. The armour was sufficient to stop most shell fragments and small arms fire, but could not withstand any kind of cannon or heavy machine-gun fire. It was also very vulnerable to mines. The FAI was built in relatively small numbers before being replaced by the very similar

BA-20 The BA-20 () was an armored car developed in the Soviet Union in 1934. It was intended to replace the FAI and its field trials were completed in 1935. The BA-20 was then used in the early stages of World War II. Design and production The BA-20 ...

. The early BA-20 had the same vertically sided turret as the FAI. FAIs were employed in the early days of fighting on the Eastern Front in

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 FAI and BA-20 series had a few advanced features. They were of all-welded construction in an era when very few AFVs were welded. Also, they had cork-filled tires to enable them to retain mobility even if the tires were penetrated. The FAI and BA-20 are often mistaken for each other. The main recognition feature of the FAI is the two dome-shaped armoured covers over the driver and co-driver's stations. The BA-20 had a flat armoured roof in this area instead. Seen from the rear or side, the cabin of the FAI also only extends to just ahead of the rear axle centerline, leaving a significant flat shelf in the trunk area, where the spare wheel is mounted horizontally, while on the BA-20 the cabin extends further to the rear, with a much smaller shelf and the wheel mounted vertically on the rear of the cabin.

Variants

* FAI (''ФАИ, «Форд-А, Ижорский»''). The FAI was built on the chassis of the

car, a licensed copy of the US Ford A with 40 L

fuel tank A fuel tank (also called a petrol tank or gas tank) is a safe container for Flammability, flammable fluids, often gasoline or diesel fuel. Though any storage tank for fuel may be so called, the term is typically applied to part of an engine sys ...

.Максим В. Коломиец. Броня на колёсах. История советского бронеавтомобиля 1925–1945 гг. М.: "Яуза", ООО "Стратегия КМ", "Эксмо", 2007. * FAI-M (''ФАИ-М, «ФАИ-Модернизированный»'') - upgraded variant, since 1938. The FAI-M was converted from the chassis of the newer

GAZ-M1 The GAZ M1 (“Эмка“/”Emka”) was a passenger car produced by the Automotive industry in the Soviet Union, Soviet automaker GAZ between 1936 and 1943, at their plant in Nizhny Novgorod, Gorky (now Nizhny Novgorod, Russia). Systematic p ...

car with 60 L fuel tank, using spare upper hulls. * FAI-ZhD (''ФАИ-жд, «ФАИ-железнодорожный»'') - From 1933 on, small numbers (only 9 were made) of FAI-ZhD were produced. FAI-ZhD was a modification for additional railway usage. The speed on rails was 85 km/h forward and 24 km/h reverse. The road speed was 40 km/h. The changing of modes took the crew 30 minutes. * GAZ-TK (''ГАЗ-ТК, «ГАЗ-Трёхосный, Курчевского»'') - The armoured car was built on the chassis of the GAZ-AAA and equipped with 71-ТК radio. Only one prototype was made in 1934 - 1935.

Users

* :* Red Army (1933–45) :*

Soviet Border Troops The Soviet Border Troops () were the border guard of the Soviet Union, subordinated to the Soviet state security agency: first to the ''Cheka''/State Political Directorate, OGPU, then to NKVD/Ministry for State Security (USSR), MGB and, final ...

- 30 (1935–41) *

Mongolian People's Republic The Mongolian People's Republic (MPR) was a socialist state that existed from 1924 to 1992, located in the historical region of Outer Mongolia. Its independence was officially recognized by the Nationalist government of Republic of China (1912� ...

- 15 (since 1936) *

Second Spanish Republic The Spanish Republic (), commonly known as the Second Spanish Republic (), was the form of democratic government in Spain from 1931 to 1939. The Republic was proclaimed on 14 April 1931 after the deposition of Alfonso XIII, King Alfonso XIII. ...

- 20 * - The Germans used at least one captured FAI-M.

References

Sources

* М. В. Коломиец. Лёгкие бронеавтомобили Красной Армии довоенной постройки ("Фронтовая иллюстрация" № 2 2007). – М.: ООО "Стратегия КМ", 2007.

External links

FAI
at Battlefield.ru
U.S. WWII Newsmap, "Russian Armored Vehicles"
hosted by th
UNT Libraries Digital Collections
{{WWIISovietAFVs Armoured cars of the interwar period World War II armoured fighting vehicles of the Soviet Union Military vehicles introduced in the 1930s Izhorskiye Zavody products