| BTR-D | |
| Origin: | Soviet Union/Russia |
| Type: | Airborne Amphibious Multi-Purpose Tracked Armoured Personnel Carrier |
| Is Vehicle: | yes |
| Service: | 1974–present |
| Used By: | See Operators |
| Wars: | Soviet–Afghan War 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine[1] |
| Designer: | Volgograd Tractor Factory |
| Design Date: | Early 1970–1974 |
| Manufacturer: | Volgograd Tractor Factory |
| Production Date: | 1974 – ? (out of production) |
| Variants: | See Variants |
| Spec Label: | BTR-D |
| Crew: | 3 (commander, driver and bow machine gunner) (+ 10 troops) |
| Length: | 6.74 m (22.1 ft) |
| Width: | 2.94 m[2] |
| Height: | 1.67 m[3] [4] |
| Weight: | 8 tonnes 8.5 tonnes (combat weight) |
| Armour: | 15 mm at 78° upper hull front[5] |
| Primary Armament: | Pintle-mounted automatic grenade launchers (AGS-17, AGS-30 or AGS-57) and/or machine guns (PKM, 6P41, "Utyos" or "Kord"). |
| Secondary Armament: | 2×7.62 mm PKB bow general purpose machine guns (2,000 rounds) |
| Engine: | 5D-20 6-cylinder 4-stroke V-shaped liquid cooled 15.9-litre diesel |
| Engine Power: | 245 hp (180 kW) at 2,600 rpm |
| Suspension: | torsion-bar |
| Clearance: | Adjustable 100 mm to 450 mm |
| Speed: | 61 km/h (road) 35 km/h (cross country) 10 km/h (swimming) |
| Pw Ratio: | 30.1 hp/tonne (22.5 kW/tonne) 28.4 hp/tonne (21.3 kW/tonne) (loaded with equipment) |
| Fuel Capacity: | 300 l |
| Vehicle Range: | 500 km (road) 116 km (water) |
The BTR-D is a Soviet airborne multi-purpose tracked armoured personnel carrier. It was introduced in 1974 and first seen by the West in 1979 during the Soviet–Afghan War. BTR-D stands for Bronetransportyor Desanta (БТР-Д, Бронетранспортер Десанта, literally "armoured transporter of the Airborne").[6] It is based on the BMD-1 airborne IFV. NATO gave it the designation BMD M1979.[2] [3] [4]
In 1969, the BMD-1 airborne IFV entered service with the Soviet Army. The vehicle had many flaws, but the biggest one was that the troop compartment was extremely cramped and could only transport up to four infantrymen. This number was often reduced to three because it was impractical for four infantrymen to operate inside the troop compartment and dismount from the vehicle.
At the beginning of the 1970s, the Volgograd Tractor Factory design bureau, who designed the BMD-1, began designing a new airborne APC based on the BMD-1. The prototype was completed in 1974. The same year it entered production and service with the Soviet Army as the BTR-D.
While the BTR-D is based on the BMD-1, it is 60 mm longer and lacks a turret. Instead, it has a small flat superstructure with a hatch on top.[3] [4]
The crew consists of the driver, the commander and the left bow mounted machine gun gunner, all of whom are in the same positions and have the same equipment as in the BMD-1.
The turret with all of the main armament was removed. The two bow mounted machine guns were retained. The original PKT tank machine guns were replaced by PKB general purpose machine guns. The vehicle can also be fitted with pintle-mounted automatic grenade launchers (AGS-17, AGS-30 or AGS-57) and/or machine guns (PKM, 6P41 "Pecheneg", NSV-127 "Utyos" or 6P49 "Kord").
The BTR-D is powered by the same engine as the BMD-1. Its suspension is longer because the entire vehicle has been lengthened by 60 mm. Because of this, the vehicle has six roadwheels on each side instead of five. It has five return rollers on each side unlike the BMD-1, which has four.
The armour protection is slightly better on the BTR-D than on the BMD-1 due to the upper front armour having a dual slanted angle.[3] [4]
With the turret removed, the troop compartment was enlarged and can carry up to ten equipped soldiers. It's also linked with the crew compartment in the front. There are two firing ports in the sides and one in the rear, two of which are for RPK-74 light machine guns.[3] [4]
The BTR-D has all the same equipment as the BMD-1, with added towing equipment for a ZU-23-2 twin AA autocannon.
The BTR-D entered service with the Soviet Army in 1974. It was used by Soviet airborne troops during the Soviet–Afghan War, where it was seen for the first time by the West in 1979.
As of now, the BTR-D and vehicles based upon it are used by the following units of the Russian Army or are stationed in following bases:
104th airborne regiment from Pskov (34 BTR-D, 6 BTR-RD, 13 BTR-ZD and 6 BMD-1KSh)
234th airborne regiment from Pskov (32 BTR-D, 6 BTR-RD, 12 BTR-ZD and 5 BMD-1KSh)
1140th artillery regiment from Pskov (14 BTR-RD, 3 BTR-ZD, 1 BMD-1KSh and 18 2S9 Anona)
165th independent air defense division from Pskov (4 BTR-ZD and 1 BMD-1KSh)
656th independent engineer battalion from Pskov (8 BTR-D and 1 BMD-1KSh)
728th independent communications battalion from Pskov (2 BTR-D, 6 BMD-1KSh, 3 BMD-1R and 2 R-440-ODB)
7th independent repair battalion from Pskov (2 BTR-D).[7]
217th airborne regiment from Ivanovo (32 BTR-D, 6 BTR-RD, 11 BTR-ZD, 7 BMD-1KSh and 1 BMD-1R)
331st airborne regiment from Kostroma (33 BTR-D, 6 BTR-RD, 15 BTR-ZD, 5 BMD-1KSh and 1 BMD-1R)
1065th artillery regiment from Kostroma (15 BTR-RD, 3 BTR-ZD and 2 BMD-1KSh)
318th independent air defense division from Ivanovo (4 BTR-D, 8 BTR-ZD and 1 BMD-1KSh)
661st independent engineer battalion from Ivanovo (7 BTR-D and 1 BMD-1KSh)
674th independent communications battalion from Pskov (2 BTR-D, 6 BMD-1KSh, 4 BMD-1R and 3 R-440-ODB)
15th independent repair battalion from Pskov (7 BTR-D).[7]
51st airborne regiment from Tula (32 BTR-D, 6 BTR-RD, 13 BTR-ZD, 2 BMD-1KSh and 1 BMD-1R)
137th airborne regiment from Ryazan (38 BTR-D, 6 BTR-RD, 13 BTR-ZD, 7 BMD-1KSh and 1 BMD-1R)
1182nd artillery regiment from Yefremov (4 BTR-D, 3 BTR-ZD, 2 BMD-1KSh and 18 2S9 Anona)
107th independent air defense division from Donskoy (18 BTR-D, 6 BTR-ZD and 1 BMD-1KSh)
332nd independent engineer battalion from Tula (8 BTR-D and 1 BMD-1KSh)
731st independent communications battalion from Tula (2 BTR-D, 6 BMD-1KSh, 5 BMD-1R and 2 R-440-ODB)
15th independent repair battalion from Tula (4 BTR-D and 1 BREM-D).[7]
108th airborne regiment from Novorossyysk (35 BTR-D, 9 BTR-RD, 13 BTR-ZD, 7 BMD-1KSh and 19 2S9 Anona)
247th CDO regiment from Stavropol' (26 BTR-D, 9 BTR-RD and 13 BTR-ZD)
1141st artillery regiment from Anapa (5 BTR-D and 9 BTR-ZD)
30th independent air defense division from Novorossyysk (4 BTR-D and 8 BTR-ZD)
629th independent engineer battalion from Starotitarovskaya (8 BTR-D)
743rd independent communications battalion from Novorossyysk (2 BTR-D, 8 BMD-1KSh and 3 R-440-ODB)
6th independent repair battalion from Novorossyysk (4 BTR-D and 1 BREM-D).[7]