BA-20

Infobox Weapon
name=BA-20


caption=
origin=flagcountry|Soviet Union|1923
type=Armored car
is_vehicle=yes
service= 1936 to 1945
used_by=
wars= World War II (Soviet invasion of Poland (1939), Winter War, Axis-Soviet War (Operation Barbarossa, Continuation War))
crew=3
length=4.31 m
width=1.75 m
height=2.13 m
weight=2.5 tonnes
armour=10 mm
primary_armament=7.62 mm DT machine gun
secondary_armament=–
engine=GAZ-M1
engine_power=50 hp (37 kW)
suspension=wheeled
speed=85 km/h
pw_ratio=20 hp/tonne
vehicle_range=450 kmThe BA-20 ( _ru. "Broneavtomobil 20") was an armored car developed in the Soviet Union in 1936 and used in the early stages of World War II. It was derived from the civilian GAZ-M1 car, which was itself a modified version of a Ford design, produced by the Nizhny Novgorod-based vehicle manufacturer GAZ. The BA-20 was produced at the Vykunskiy Factory.

The principal use of the BA-20 was as a scout vehicle. The BA-20's tires were designed to be resistant to bullets and shrapnel by the simple expedient of filling them with spongey rubber. A variant, the BA-20ZhD, could travel on railway lines by replacing the normal wheels with flanged metal rail-type wheels.

The vehicle was exported to the Spanish Republican side in the Spanish Civil War, although the vast majority of BA-20s built served with the Soviet Red Army. They first saw combat in the conflict with Japan in 1939 on the Khalkin Gol river in Mongolia (see "Battle of Khalkin Gol"). The BA-20 was used by the Red Army in the Soviet invasion of Poland later in 1939 and the Winter War against Finland in 1940, as well as the early stages of World War II in 1941. Production was ended that same year, with some 4,800 BA-20s having been constructed by that time.

During the Winter War Finland captured a number of BA-20 armoured cars and put them into service.

In common with most armored cars derived from cars, the BA-20 was largely roadbound. The lack of all-wheel drive, high ground pressure, and low horsepower 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 the 7.62 mm machinegun was not adequate to penetrate other scout vehicles. The Red Army produced very few wheeled armored fighting vehicles in the war, but replaced the BA-20 with the BA-64B.

The BA-20 is often mistaken for the very similar FAI armoured car. The main recognition feature is the flat roof of the BA-20; the FAI has two dome-shaped covers over the driver's and co-driver's stations. Early BA-20s had the same vertical-sided turret as the FAI. Later models, had a conical-shaped turret.

Models

* BA-20, initial production; command version has clothes-rail antenna
* BA-20M, improved version; command version has whip antenna
* BA-20ZhD, rail scout car

Notes and references

External links

* [http://www.wargaming.net/tanks/MODELS/ba20.htm USSR WW II AFV Catalogue]
* [http://www.wwiivehicles.com/ussr/armored_cars/ba20.html BA-20 - WWII Vehicles]