BA-20

The two-axle Broneavtomobil (BA) 20 scout vehicle was derived from the civilian GAZ-M1 car in 1934 for use by HQ staffs, reconnaissance, and communications units. It weighed 2.27 tonnes, carried a crew of two or three, and had a top speed of 50 mph. Atop the vehicle was a small, one-person turret with a single 7.62mm DT machine gun. In common with most armored cars of this era derived from civilian cars, the BA-20's lack of all-wheel drive, high ground pressure, and low power prevented it from moving cross-country except on very firm ground. The armor was too thin to stop anything other than fragments or small-arms fire, and its own firepower was not adequate to penetrate other scout vehicles. The type served actively from 1935 into the early stages of World War II. It saw service during the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939); against the Japanese in the Battle of Khalkhyn Gol (July 1939); in the Finnish Winter War (1939-1940); and against the Germans in the early stages of Operation Barbarossa (beginning June 1941). After 1942 the Red Army relegated the type to rear-echelon service. Soviet industry produced 2,066 examples from 1935 until 1941.