BRDM-1

The BRDM-1 was a Soviet amphibious armoured reconnaissance car developed at the design bureau of the Gorky Automobile Plant, GAZ, between 1954 and 1956 under the designation GAZ-40P, the letter P marking its ability to swim. It was meant to replace the light BTR-40 armoured carrier as the standard scouting, staff and liaison vehicle of the Soviet army, and it reused the layout and main assemblies of the BTR-40 while adding a sealed boat-shaped hull, a stern water jet, a tyre pressure regulation system and two pairs of lowerable auxiliary wheels for crossing trenches up to 1.2 metres wide. After trials in 1957 it was accepted for service by an order of 10 January 1958. It was built at GAZ from 1957 to 1966, in its last years alongside the improved BRDM-2, and about 10,000 vehicles of all types were produced, with roughly 1,500 exported to at least 21 countries. It carried a carburettor GAZ-40 engine and a 7.62 mm SGMB machine gun on a front mount, and it served as the base for anti-tank missile carriers and a chemical reconnaissance vehicle.