BA-21

The BA-21 was an experimental Soviet armoured car designed in 1938 as a major modification of the BA-20. Where the BA-20 rode on a two-axle chassis derived from the GAZ-M1 car, the BA-21 used a three-axle truck chassis. It weighed 3.25 tonnes, measured 4.55 metres long, 1.78 metres wide and 2.16 metres high, and was powered by a water-cooled four-cylinder GAZ M1 engine that gave a speed of about 53 kilometres per hour. Its armour was 11 mm thick, its single weapon was a 7.62 mm DT machine gun, and it was manned by a crew of two, a commander and a driver. The design was developed further the following year into the LB-23, which had a better engine. Neither vehicle was accepted for production, so the BA-21 remains a prototype-stage step between the light BA-20 and the larger armoured cars that followed it in Soviet service.