View source for BTR-40

{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2017}}
{{Multiple issues|
{{self-published|date=July 2009}}
{{more citations needed|date=July 2009}}
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{{Infobox weapon
|name=BTR-40
| image= File:BTR-40.jpg
| image_size = 300
|caption=BTR-40 at a public exhibit in Poland, 2008
|origin= [[Soviet Union]]
|type=Wheeled [[Armoured Personnel Carrier]] <br /> [[Reconnaissance]] [[Reconnaissance vehicle|vehicle]] 
|is_vehicle=yes
|service=1950–1980s
|used_by=See [[BTR-40#Operators|Operators]]
|designer=V. A. Dedkov
|design_date=1947–1950
|number=8,500 <ref name="Janes">{{cite book|title=Jane's Armour and Artillery 2005–2006}}</ref>
|production_date=1950–1960 (BTR-40ZhD produced until 1969)
|variants=See [[BTR-40#Variants|Variants]]
|manufacturer=[[GAZ|Gorkovsky Avtomobilny Zavod]] <br /> unknown Chinese manufacturer
|unit_cost={{currency|30000|USD}} (export price to [[Libya]], 1970-1973)<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Efrat|first=Moshe|date=1983|title=The Economics of Soviet Arms Transfers to the Third World. A Case Study: Egypt|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/151253|journal=Soviet Studies|volume=35|issue=4|pages=437–456|doi=10.1080/09668138308411496 |jstor=151253 |issn=0038-5859|url-access=subscription}}</ref>
|length=5 m{{citation needed|date=August 2019}}
|width=1.9 m
|height=2.2 m (1.83 m without armament)
|weight=5.3 tonnes
|armour=6-8 mm
|primary_armament=7.62 [[SGMB]] medium [[machine gun]] (1,250 rounds (total)) (optional)
|secondary_armament=2×7.62 [[SGMB]] medium [[machine gun]] (1,250 rounds (total)) (optional)
|suspension=4x4 wheel, [[leaf spring]]
|speed=80 km/h
|clearance=400 mm
|fuel_capacity=122 l
|vehicle_range=430 km (road) <br /> 385&nbsp;km (cross country)
|engine=6-cylinder GAZ-40
|crew=2 + 8 passengers (BTR-40 and BTR-40V) <br /> 2 + 6 passengers (BTR-40B)
|engine_power=80 hp (60 kW) at 3,400 rpm
|pw_ratio=15.1 hp/tonne (11.3 kW/tonne)
}}

The '''BTR-40''' (БТР, from Бронетранспортёр, or ''[[BTR (vehicle)|Bronetransporter]]'', literally "armoured transporter".[https://web.archive.org/web/20061103033619/http://www.milparade.com/Soderzhaniye.pdf †]) is a [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] open-topped, wheeled [[armoured personnel carrier]] and [[reconnaissance vehicle]].<ref name="Recognition">{{cite book|last=Christopher F. Foss|title=Jane's Tanks and Combat Vehicles Recognition Guide|edition=2000|page=[https://archive.org/details/janestankcombatv00foss/page/290 290]|publisher=Harper Collins Publishers|isbn=978-0-00-472452-2|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/janestankcombatv00foss/page/290|date=16 May 2000}}</ref> It is often referred to as the ''Sorokovka'' in Soviet service.<ref>''ibid.''</ref> It was eventually replaced in the APC role by the [[BTR-152]] and in the scout car role by the [[BRDM-1]].

==Development history==
The BTR-40's development began in early 1947 at the design bureau of the [[GAZ|Gorky Automobile Factory]] under the leadership of V. A. Dedkov. The concept was a successor to the [[BA-64]]B armoured car which went out of production in 1946. The design team also included L. W. Kostikin and P.I. Muziukin. Two prototypes designated BTR-141 were completed in 1947. The first was armed with two coaxial 14.5&nbsp;mm [[KPVT]] heavy machine guns on a rotatable mount which was protected by armour plate at the front and sides. The second had no fixed armament. Neither one was accepted for service. In 1950 two new prototypes were produced. Those had a different shape of armour including an upright rear armour. Again one prototype had no fixed armament and the second was armed with two coaxial 14.5&nbsp;mm KPVT heavy machine guns. These were accepted into service as BTR-40 and BTR-40A respectively.{{citation needed|date=August 2019}}

The vehicle's drawbacks, such as its poor cross-country performance and problems with crossing water obstacles, compelled the design team to produce, in late 1954, what was planned to be an amphibious variant of the BTR-40. It received the designation BTR-40P (with the 'P' standing for plavayushchiy – "floating"). During the design process, the vehicle moved away from the APC concept and became an amphibious armoured scout car. It received a new designation, [[BRDM]].

==Description==
===Overview===
The BTR-40's design was based on the [[GAZ-63]] four wheel drive truck which went into production in 1946, using its chassis and most other internal mechanical components, while the six-cylinder engine was based on the design of the [[GAZ-12 ZIM]] unit. The design featured a self-bearing body which was a new feature in Soviet vehicles. The hull has two side doors for the commander and driver and a back door. The vehicle can transport up to eight fully equipped soldiers or 1 tonne of cargo.

===Protection===
The BTR-40's armour is from 6&nbsp;mm to 8&nbsp;mm thick which gives it protection from [[small arms]] fire and the shell splinters of its time, but does not protect it against modern artillery fragments and .50-calibre machine gun fire. The BTR-40-series tyres are not protected by armour. They are particularly vulnerable to puncture from fire of all kinds. The vehicle has no roof and is normally covered with a tarpaulin to protect the crew, transported cargo or troops from rain and snow. However this makes it unable to mount any of the SGMB machine guns.

===Armament===
The APC variant has no permanent armament but it has pintle mounts for three 7.62&nbsp;mm [[SGMB]] medium machine guns, one at the front of the troop compartment and the other two at the sides. The vehicle also has two firing ports on both sides of the hull which allow up to four soldiers to use their weapons while being protected by the APC's armour.

===Maneuverability===
Like the GAZ-63 truck on which it is based on, the BTR-40 has a four-wheel drive. The chassis, however, is shorter compared to the GAZ-63. The only other thing that distinguishes the chassis of the BTR-40 from that of the GAZ-63 are additional shock absorbers. The BTR-40 also has a more powerful engine. The turning angle is 7.5 m.

===Equipment===
The vehicle has the 10RT-12 receiving and airing radio which has a range of 20–25&nbsp;km and a winch at the front, with a maximum capacity of 4.5 tonnes and 70&nbsp;m of cable. It has no protection against nuclear, biological and chemical (NBC) weapons. It also has no night vision equipment.

==Service history==
===Soviet Union===
[[File:BTR-40 Budapest 1956.jpg|thumb|left|A Soviet BTR-40 in Budapest during the [[Hungarian Uprising of 1956]]]]
The BTR-40 was produced at the [[GAZ|Gorkovsky Avtomobilny Zavod]] (Gorkovsky Automobile Factory) from 1950 to 1960. It was first shown publicly at the military parade in Moscow in 1950. It was issued to the Red Army in 1950 and was used in the APC, reconnaissance and command post roles. After several years of service,<ref>{{Cite book|title=Tanks and armored fighting vehicles : visual encyclopedia.|date=2012|publisher=Chartwell Books|isbn=9780785829263|location=New York, N.Y.|pages=244|oclc=785874088}}</ref> it became apparent that it did not fit the modern battlefield. It was replaced by the [[BTR-152]].

[[File:Royalists on armored car.jpg|thumb|right|Ex-Egyptian BTR-40 captured by the royalist guerrillas during the [[North Yemen Civil War]]]]

===Foreign service===
The BTR-40 began to enter service with two other Warsaw Pact members in late 1949, namely East Germany and Poland, where it was used as a standard APC until more advanced vehicles like the [[BTR-152]] were available. The last BTR-40s were withdrawn from Warsaw Pact countries in the early 1970s. The vehicle was also sold to many Arab and African nations in the late 1950s and early 1960s.

The People's Republic of China (PRC), had developed a copy of the BTR-40 called the Type 55. It is unknown how many of these vehicles entered service with the [[People's Liberation Army|PLA]]. The vehicle was also exported to North Korea, probably as part of a military assistance programme during the [[Korean War]], where it saw combat for the first time. It was later used by the North Vietnamese Army during the [[Vietnam War]].<ref name="North Vietnamese Armor">[http://vietnamresearch.com/armor/NVA_armor.html "North Vietnamese Armor"]</ref>

BTR-40 also saw combat service during the [[North Yemen Civil War]] during which at least one was captured from the Egyptians by the royalist guerrillas.

===List of conflicts===
{{unreferenced section|date=April 2025}}
* 1956 – [[Hungarian Revolution of 1956]] (Soviet Union)
* 1955–1975 – [[Vietnam War]] (Vietnam)
* 1961-1962 – [[Operation Trikora]] (Indonesia)<ref>{{cite web | url=https://yoursay.suara.com/ulasan/2023/01/11/104019/sejarah-hari-ini-mengenal-btr-40-ranpur-apc-peninggalan-operasi-trikora-yang-lahir-kembali | title=Sejarah Hari Ini: Mengenal BTR-40, Ranpur APC Peninggalan Operasi Trikora yang Lahir Kembali | date=11 January 2023 }}</ref>
* 1962-1970 – [[North Yemen Civil War]] (Egypt)
* 1966–1991 – [[South African Border War]] (Angola, Cuba)
* 1967 – [[Six-Day War]] (Egypt, Syria)
* 1968 – [[Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia]] (Soviet Union)
* 1969 – [[Sino-Soviet border conflict]] (Soviet Union)
* 1970–1975 [[Cambodian Civil War]] (Cambodia)
* 1973 – [[Yom Kippur War]] (Egypt, Syria)
* 1974 - Turkish invasion of Cyprus (Republic of Cyprus National Guard)
* 1974–1991 – [[Ethiopian Civil War]]
* 1961–1991 – [[Eritrean War for Independence]]
* 1975–1990 – [[Lebanese Civil War]]
* 1975–1991 – [[Western Sahara War]] (Polisario)
* 1975–2002 – [[Angolan Civil War]] (Angola)
* 1977–1978 – [[Ogaden War]] (Somalia)
* 1978–1987 – [[Chadian–Libyan conflict]]
* 1979–1988 – [[Soviet–Afghan War]] (Soviet Union, Afghanistan)
* 1980–1988 – [[Iran-Iraq War]] (Iran)
* 1982 – [[1982 Ethiopian–Somali Border War]]
* 2003–2005 – [[Insurgency in Aceh]] (Indonesia)<ref name="btrindo">{{cite web|url=http://indomiliter.com/2010/04/21/btr-40-panser-yang-nyaris-jadi-besi-tua/ |title=BTR-40 : Panser Yang Nyaris Jadi Besi Tua |work=IndoMiliter |access-date=24 December 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141224152719/http://indomiliter.com/2010/04/21/btr-40-panser-yang-nyaris-jadi-besi-tua/ |archive-date=24 December 2014 }}</ref>

==Variants==
===Soviet Union===

[[File:Музей военной техники Оружие Победы, Краснодар (29).jpg|thumb|right|BTR-40B]]
[[File:БТР-40_железнодорожный_Хабаровск_7_мая_2015_ф1.JPG|thumb|right|BTR-40 as [[road–rail vehicle]].]]
* '''BTR-141''' (1947) – The original prototype with a faceted rear hull had two variants. The first was armed with twin ZPTU-2 14.5&nbsp;mm [[KPV heavy machine gun]]s placed in a rotary platform with armour protection at the front and sides. The second version had no permanent armament but later became the BTR-40.
** '''BTR-40''' (1950) – Original production model.
*** '''BTR-40A''' (1950) – BTR-40 converted into a SPAAG armed with twin ZPTU-2 14.5&nbsp;mm twin anti-aircraft gun (2400 rounds) in a turret, later also used in the [[BTR-152]]A, manually operated by a single soldier. The turret is placed inside the troop compartment. It can make a full turn and its guns can elevate between -5 and +80 degrees. This variant does not have the firing ports in the hull sides.
*** '''BTR-40V''' (1956) – BTR-40 fitted with an external tyre pressure regulation system.
*** '''BTR-40B''' (1957) – BTR-40V with an armoured roof with four hatches. The vehicle has a filtering/ventilation system, NBC protection system and central tyre pressure regulation system. It also has a pintle mount for a 12.7&nbsp;mm or 14.5&nbsp;mm heavy machine gun, although the standard version of the BTR-40B had no fixed armament. It was designed for use as a reconnaissance vehicle. Crew was reduced from 2 + 8 passengers to 2 + 6.
*** '''BTR-40Kh''' – NBC reconnaissance vehicle.
*** '''BTR-40ZhD''' (1959) – BTR-40 equipped with small rail wheels mounted to the front and rear of the vehicle on special supports.
*** '''[[BRDM-1]]''' – Armoured car which uses a number of BTR-40 components. Originally planned to be an amphibious variant of the BTR-40 and therefore it received the designation '''BTR-40P'''.

===People's Republic of China===
* '''Type 55''' – [[China|Chinese]] [[Replica|copy]] of the BTR-40.<ref name="SIPRI">{{cite web|url=http://armstrade.sipri.org/arms_trade/trade_register.php|title=Trade Registers|access-date=24 December 2014}}</ref><ref name="Global Security PRC">{{cite web|url=http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/china/pla-inventory.htm|title=People's Liberation Army|author=John Pike|access-date=24 December 2014}}</ref> Possibly also a designation for the Soviet-supplied BTR-40''s''.

===Cuba===
* '''BTR-40A-AA''' – A Cuban air defence vehicle. It uses the chassis and the armoured front of the BTR-40 but the troop compartment has been removed in favour of a square sided platform mount with drop down sides and rear on which twin ZPTU-2 14.5&nbsp;mm KPV heavy machine guns are placed.
* '''BTR-40A-PB''' – A Cuban BTR-40 armed with an anti-tank guided missile (ATGM) launcher. While travelling, the launcher is hidden in the superstructure so that from a distance, the vehicle cannot be easily distinguished from a normal BTR-40. The superstructure also provides the launcher with armour protection. When in position, the roof of the superstructure is opened sideways and the launcher is elevated.
* '''Jababli''' – Is a Cuban BTR-40 fitted with a 3M11 Falanga (AT-2 Swatter) ATGM launcher on a launch platform in a cut-down superstructure. Only a limited number were built. NATO gave it the designation '''M1975/4'''.

===East Germany===
* '''SPW-40''' – The East German designation for a BTR-40.
** '''SPW-40A''' – The East German designation for a BTR-40A.
** '''SPW-40Ch''' – The East German designation for a BTR-40Kh.
** '''SPW-40''' converted into a tank destroyer armed with an elevatable [[ATGM]] launcher capable of firing six [[9M14 Malyutka]] ATGMs with an armoured roof over it in a cut down troop compartment. This variant does not have the firing ports in the hull sides.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://btr40.tripod.com/id8.html|title=SPW-40 East German Experimental mounting ATGM Maljutka|author=Bronetransporter BTR-40|access-date=15 May 2021}}</ref>

===Indonesia===

* '''BTR-40''' converted into an armoured car armed with a medium machine gun in a cube-shaped turret on top of the superstructure inside the troop compartment. It also has four smoke grenade launchers on both sides of the hull.
* '''BTR-40''' converted into an armoured car armed with a 40&nbsp;mm gun in an angular turret on top of the superstructure inside the troop compartment, it also has four smoke grenade dischargers on both sides of the hull. It has a searchlight on the left hand side of the hull. It is intended to be used for fire support.

===Israel===
* '''BTR-40''' fitted with pintle mounts for the US [[M1919A4]] 7.62mm light machine guns, one in the forward part of the troop compartment and two on either side as well a large number of equipment holders on the hull.
* '''BTR-40''' fitted with [[M45 Quadmount#TCM-20|TCM-20]] anti-aircraft turret.

==Operators==
<!--READ FIRST: This section is for cited entries only. Please do not add entries into this list without a citation from a reliable source. All entries without a citation will be removed. Thank you.-->
[[File:BTR-40 operators.png|thumb|upright=1.35|Operators {{legend|#0360d5|Current}}{{legend|#dd001e|Former}}]]
[[File:BTR-40 di Mall The Park Solo Baru Desember 2014 2.jpg|thumb|Modernized BTR-40 of the Indonesian security forces.]]

===Current operators===
* {{flag|Burundi}}: 20{{sfn|The Military Balance 2021|p=453}}
*{{flag|Guinea}}: 16<ref name="SIPRI"/>
*{{flag|Guinea-Bissau}}: 15<ref name="SIPRI"/>
*{{flag|Indonesia}}: 100;<ref name="SIPRI"/> 85 operational.<ref name="btrindo"/>
*{{flag|Laos}}: 10<ref name="SIPRI"/>
*{{flag|North Korea}}: 450<ref name="SIPRI" />
*{{flag|Tanzania}}: ''Type 55'' variant.<ref name="Recognition"/><ref name=Gill>{{cite report|title=The Challenge of Chinese Arms Proliferation: U.S. Policy for the 1990s |author=United States Army War College |work=Strategic Studies Institute |date=August 1993 |url=https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/pdfs/ADA270469.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221201141506/https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/pdfs/ADA270469.pdf |archive-date=December 1, 2022 }}</ref>
*{{flag|Vietnam}}: 100<ref name="SIPRI"/>
*{{flag|Yemen}}<ref name="Recognition"/><ref name="Security3">{{cite web|title=Yemen|author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->|url=http://www.inss.org.il/he/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/systemfiles/Yemen.pdf|location=Tel-Aviv
|publisher=Institute For National Security Studies|date=6 October 2013|accessdate=26 July 2017|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20170726101809/http://www.inss.org.il/he/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/systemfiles/Yemen.pdf|archivedate=26 July 2017}}</ref>

===Former operators===
*{{flag|Angola}}: 32<ref name="SIPRI"/>
*{{flag|Afghanistan|1980}}: 100<ref name="SIPRI"/>
*{{flag|Albania}}<ref name="janes89p420">{{harvnb|Foss|1989|p=420}}</ref>
*{{flag|Algeria}}: 100<ref name="SIPRI"/>
*{{flag|Botswana}}: 3<ref name="CIA1">{{cite web|title=Handbook of Major Foreign Weapons Systems Exported to the Third World: 1981-86|author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->|url=https://www.cia.gov/library/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP88T00706R000500410003-2.pdf|location=Langley|publisher=[[Central Intelligence Agency]]|date=November 1987|accessdate=20 June 2017|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20170123043011/https://www.cia.gov/library/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP88T00706R000500410003-2.pdf|archivedate=23 January 2017}}</ref>
*{{flag|People's Republic of Bulgaria}}: 150<ref name="SIPRI"/>
*{{flag|Cambodia|1979}}<ref name="janes89p420"/>
*{{flag|People's Republic of China}}: Unlicensed variant designed ''Type 55'';<ref name="SIPRI"/> retired in the 1990s.<ref name="Global Security PRC"/>
*{{flag|People's Republic of the Congo}}: 20; ''Type 55'' variant.<ref name=Gill/>
* {{flag|Cuba}}<ref name="janes89p420"/>
*{{flag|East Germany}}: 300<ref name="SIPRI"/>
* {{flag|Egypt}}<ref name="janes89p420"/>
*{{flag|Estonia}}: Used by [[Estonian Defence League]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Harju malev |url=https://harju.kaitseliit.ee/et/ajalugu |website=harju.kaitseliit.ee |access-date=21 October 2024}}</ref>
*{{flag|Hungarian People's Republic}}: 200<ref name="SIPRI"/>
* {{flag|Iran}}<ref name="janes89p420"/>
*{{flag|Israel}}: Used by the [[Israel Border Police]].<ref name=Cordesman2016>{{cite book|last=Cordesman|first=Anthony|title=After The Storm: The Changing Military Balance in the Middle East|date=October 2016|page=241|publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing|location=London|isbn=978-1-4742-9256-6}}</ref>
*{{flag|Laos}}<ref name="janes89p420"/>
*{{flag|Mongolian People's Republic}}: 200<ref name="SIPRI"/>
*{{flag|Mozambique}}<ref name="Keegan">{{Cite book| title = World Armies | edition = Second | last = Keegan | first = John | publisher = Palgrave-Macmillan | location = Basingstoke | date = 1983 | isbn = 978-0333340790 | page = 408}}</ref>
*{{flag|Polish People's Republic}}: 400<ref name="SIPRI"/>
*{{flag|Somalia}}: 60<ref name="SIPRI"/>
*{{flag|Soviet Union}}<ref name="Recognition"/>
*{{flag|Uganda}}: 60<ref name="SIPRI"/>
*{{flag|North Yemen}}: 70<ref name="SIPRI"/>
*{{flag|South Yemen}}: 60<ref name="SIPRI"/>
*{{flag|Yugoslavia}}: 40<ref name="SIPRI"/>

==See also==
* [[BRDM-1]]
* [[BTR-152]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

* {{cite book |editor-last=Foss |editor-first=Christopher F. |title=Jane's Armour and Artillery 1989–90 |year=1989 |edition=Tenth |location=Coulsdon, UK |publisher=Jane's Defence Date |isbn=0-7106-0885-3}}
* {{cite book|title=The Military Balance 2021|date=February 2021|volume=121|isbn=9781032012278|publisher=Routledge|ref={{harvid|The Military Balance 2021}}|author=International Institute for Strategic Studies|author-link=International Institute for Strategic Studies}}

==External links==
{{Commons}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110812222328/http://btr40.com/ BTR-40 foto and forum]
* [http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/russia/btr-40.htm globalsecurity.org]
* {{in lang|ru}} [https://web.archive.org/web/20051027060422/http://armoured.vif2.ru/btr40.htm Description and photo gallery at armoured.vif2.ru]
* {{in lang|ru}} [https://web.archive.org/web/20110716073107/http://legion.wplus.net/guide/army/ta/btr40.shtml Description and photo gallery at legion.wplus.net]
* [http://btr40.tripod.com/ Website and Pictures]

{{Modern IFV and APC}}
{{PostWWIISovietAFVS|APCs}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Armoured personnel carriers of the Soviet Union]]
[[Category:Armoured personnel carriers of the Cold War]]
[[Category:Cold War armoured fighting vehicles of the Soviet Union]]
[[Category:GAZ Group military vehicles]]
[[Category:Wheeled reconnaissance vehicles]]
[[Category:Military vehicles introduced in the 1950s]]
[[Category:Reconnaissance vehicles of the Cold War]]
[[Category:Wheeled armoured personnel carriers]]
[[Category:Road–rail vehicles]]