BMP-1

The 'BMP-1' is a Soviet infantry fighting vehicle which was first introduced in the early 1960s. BMP stands for ''Boyevaya Mashina Pekhoty'' (Боевая Машина Пехоты, literally "Combat Vehicle of the Infantry") †. In the 1980s the improved 'BMP-2' was introduced. The BMP is amphibious.

Contents

Production history

Description

Protection issues

Deployment

Operators

Former Operators

Variants

National versions

Combat history

See also

References

Further reading

Notes

Production history

The BMP-1 was first seen by the West in the November 7, 1967 parade and is considered the world's first infantry fighting vehicle. Its steeply-sloped front armour was proofed against the .50 calibre machine guns carried by NATO armoured personnel carriers, while its smoothbore gun and AT-3 Sagger ATGM were a threat to NATO APCs and even main battle tanks. It replaced the BTR-50 in motorized infantry units.
Owing to experiences in Afghanistan, a new version, the BMP-2, was introduced in the early 1980s. It had a new two-man turret with a 30mm cannon and externally-mounted AT-4 Spigot or AT-5 Spandrel ATGMs.

Description

The BMP series of infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs) is designed to assist in rapid maneuvers during an assault. It is capable of rapidly transporting infantry in safety from small arms fire and is capable in providing support when the infantry dismount. With armament consisting of a gun and anti-tank guided missiles, the BMP series is a valuable component of mechanized infantry. Its 73mm smoothbore gun fires a low velocity HEAT round, and as such the main gun is unreliable in windy conditions. The original BMP series had an AT-3 Sagger ATGM launcher mounted above the gun. The AT-3 was known to fall off its mount, and thus BMP crews kept the missiles stowed when not in combat. The missile is reloaded by hand, through a small loading hatch.
While a formidable vehicle when first introduced, theoretically capable of defeating the steel-armoured medium tanks of its time with its 73mm HEAT round, today the BMP-1 is at a severe disadvantage when engaging modern infantry fighting vehicles such as the U.S. M2 Bradley IFV or British Warrior IFV, and is almost totally ineffective against modern tanks. The thin armour of the BMP-1 is improved by its steep slope, but it can be penetrated by modern armour-piercing cannon rounds, and the risk of getting hit increases as fire-control improves. While the smoothbore 73mm cannon will still penetrate an IFV's armour if not specially protected, it is at an accuracy disadvantage compared to a modern autocannon, especially while moving. Further, the AT-3 Sagger is extremely difficult to operate because it uses first-generation MCLOS guidance system, and its projectile is very slow by modern standards. While the warhead is effective against steel armour, its penetration is insufficient against modern laminates on main battle tanks. Nevertheless, the BMP-1 is still a threat to light AFVs and especially non-mechanized infantry.
The BMP is amphibious without preparation, using hydrodynamic fairings to convert track momentum into water jets. WARPAC peacetime regulations require that any BMPs entering water must have a working radio set, since its bearings are not airtight and it can be carried away by currents in case of loss of engine power (the vehicle lacks an anchor).
The BMP's front and side armour is effective against .50 calibre and light cannon fire. On most examples the front armour is immune to 20mm Oerlikon autocannon fire, but armour quality varies greatly with factory and year of manufacture. Examples where the dent marks of factory certification firings are recognizable on all major armour plates can be trusted. The rear doors of the BMP-1 and 2 series serve as additional fuel tanks, offering some risk from incendiary rounds. Though these are shut off from the fuel system when in combat.
The BMD-1, an air-mobile cousin of the BMP-1, was issued to Soviet airborne forces in the early 1970s. Although it shared the general layout and armament of the BMP-1, the smaller, lighter airborne vehicle is a different design, incorporating aluminium construction. The BMD-1 features hydraulic suspension and variable belly height.
During the 1980s many BMPs in Warsaw Pact countries were provided with one RPG-7 shoulder-launched anti-tank weapon, and one Strela/Igla shoulder-launched anti-aircraft missile launcher. These could be fired by climbing through the top hatches while on the move. A Dragunov sniper rifle was also frequently provided, especially to BMP crews in a reconnaissance role.

Protection issues

The original BMP-1 had a significant shortcoming in its protection scheme, which only became obvious during the 1979 invasion of Afghanistan. The one-man-turret fighting vehicle seated its driver and commander in tandem layout, in the front-right part of the hull alongside the diesel engine. When a BMP-1 hit the obsolete kind of "tilt-rod" antitank landmine, its steeply sloped lower front glacis armour plate allowed the mine's arming rod to tilt with little resistance until the maximum deflection was reached with the mine already well under the chassis. When it eventually exploded, the mine blast usually killed both the driver and the tank commander, causing a painful loss of specialist personnel in the Soviet Red Army.
This shortcoming was addressed in the BMP-2 design, where the tank commander shares the well armoured two-man turret with the gunner. The driver's station has been enlarged and he is provided with an armoured driver's seat, in addition to extra belly armour in the lower front.
This shortcoming was not addressed by the later BMP designs, since Soviet military thinkers considered the auxiliary firepower of the troops' assault rifles a significant factor in the BMP's combat value. In practice, most conscript soldiers did not receive much training in firing from the vehicle while on the move. Even in case of professional soldiers, the cramped interior of the BMP-1 and 2, and the poor optical quality of its unstabilized firing port periscopes made it difficult to conduct aimed fire while on the move.
These issues, alongside the higher cost of maintenance (when compared with the wheeled Bronetransporter troop carriers) led many former Eastern Bloc satellite states to abandon the use of BMP fighting vehicles after the Warsaw Pact was dissolved.
The basic hull armor on the BMP can be easily penetrated by an RPG round. Due to this limitation, Russian troops in combat zones customarily ride outside the BMP, sitting on top. This limits the chance that a single RPG round could kill or wound everyone inside the vehicle.

Deployment

In the Soviet Army, BMPs were typically issued to the motor rifle battalions of tank regiments. In a typical motor-rifle division, one motor-rifle regiment had BMPs, the other two had wheeled BTRs.
Proliferation varied greatly among the rest of the Warsaw Pact nations. For example, at least some East German motor-rifle divisions were recorded to have all three motor-rifle regiments with BMPs, ranging down to the Romanian and Bulgarian Armies, some of whose divisions had no BMPs at all.
External link: Warsaw Pact OOB as of June 1989.

Operators

★ ^[1]

★ - 120

★ - 17+ (Acquired from East German stock in 1995)

★ - 700

★ - 55

★ - 114

★ - 109 ^[2]

★ - 180

★ - 10

★ - 400

★ - 370

★ - 220

★ - 50

★ - 163 (Ex-East German, being withdrawn from service)

★ - 667

★ - 500

★ - 502

★ - 700

★ - About 210 as of 2005 (350 in 2002, 300 in 1995 more than 150 in 1990) ^[3]

★ - 800

★ - 208

★ - 120

★ - 740

★ - 400

★ - 50

★ - 40

★ - some

★ - 200

★ - 1,321 BWP-1, 16 BWP-1S and 22 BWP-1K ^[4]

★ - 3,000

★ - 383

★ - 12

★ - 24

★ - 350 (Purchased former East German BMP-1s from Germany. Designated Pbv 501)

★ - 2,250

★ - 9 ^[5]

★ - 930 BMP-1 and BMP-2 ^[6]

★ - 1,008 ^[7]

★ - 10

★ - 180

★ - 300

Former Operators

★ - 530+, passed on to successor states.

★ / - 530+, taken from GDR's army, all scrapped or sold to other countries.

Variants

★ 'BMP-1' - Original version with 73mm 2A28 smoothbore cannon.

★ 'BRM-1' or 'BMP-R' - reconnaissance variant.

★ 'BRM-1K' - Reconnaissance command vehicle, has "Tall Mike" surveillance radar. One assigned per recce company.

★ 'BMP KShM' - Command variant; typically used at regimental level

★ 'BMP-1P' - AT-4 Spigot ATGM.

★ 'BMP-1PK' - Command variant of BMP-1P.

★ 'BMP-2' - (early 1980s) Improved model with 30mm 2A42 autocannon.

★ 'PRP-3' - "mobile reconnaissance post", used for artillery fire direction; includes a counterbattery/surveillance radar. One is assigned to an artillery battalion.

National versions

★ 'BWP-1' - Polish produced version of BMP-1 (''Bojowy Wóz Piechoty'' literally "Combat Vehicle of the Infantry")

★ 'BWR-1S' - Polish produced version of BRM-1 (''Bojowy Wóz Rozpoznawczy'' literally "Combat Vehicle Reconnaissance")

★ 'BWR-1K' - Polish produced version of BRM-1K

★ 'M-80' - Yugoslav version of BMP-1, more modern and powerful variant with some AMX-10P and BMP-2 elements, in service with all ex-Yugoslav countries, in process of modernization by Croatia and Serbia

★ 'MLI-84' - Romanian modified version of BMP-1

★ 'BVP-1' - Czechoslovak produced version of BMP-1

★ 'BVP-1K' - Czechoslovak command variant of BVP-1

★ 'BVP-1M' - Slovak modernized BVP-1

★ 'BVP-1MA' - Czech modernized BVP-1 with german Kuka E8 turret (armed with 30mm Bushmaster II autocannon)

★ 'BPzV Svatava' - Czechoslovak reconnaissance vehicle

★ 'ShM-120 Pram' - Czechoslovak 120mm self-propelled mortar

★ 'AMB-S' - Czechoslovak ambulance vehicle

★ 'SVO' - Czechoslovak mine clearing vehicle

★ 'VPV' - Czechoslovak crane equipped recovery vehicle

★ 'OT-90' - Czechoslovak APC variant with turret from OT-64 (armed with 14,5mm KPVT and 7,62mm PKT), non-amphibious

★ 'OT-90M1/M2/M3' - Czech modernised OT-90, amphibious

★ 'OT-90M' - Slovak modernised OT-90, amphibious

★ 'DTP-90' - Maintenance version of OT-90

★ 'DP-90' - Artillery direction version of OT-90

★ 'MU-90' - Mine-laying version of OT-90

★ 'VP-90' - Command version of OT-90

★ Reconnaissance Set SNĚŽKA - Czech variant for artillery fire direction ^[8]

★ 'Type 86' - Chinese variant of BMP-1, also known as WZ-501

★ 'Boragh' - Iranian variant of WZ-501

★ 'Sarath' - Indian variant of BMP-1

Combat history

★ 1973 Middle East War (also known as Yom Kippur War)

★ 1975-2000 Angolan Civil War

★ 1979-1988 Soviet war in Afghanistan

★ 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq war

★ 1990-1991 Gulf War

★ 1991-2001 Yugoslav Wars

★ 1994-1996 First Chechen War

★ 1999- Second Chechen War

★ 2001- United States war in Afghanistan

★ 2003- Invasion of Iraq

See also

★ BMD-1 - related family of Soviet airborne fighting vehicles.

★ BMP-2

★ BMP-3

★ M2 Bradley

★ Combat Vehicle 90

★ Warrior Tracked Armoured Vehicle

References

★ Tsouras, P.G. ''Changing Orders: The evolution of the World's Armies, 1945 to the Present'' Facts On File, Inc, 1994. ISBN 0-8160-3122-3

★ FM 100-60

Further reading

★ Grau,Lester W. Russian-Manufactured Armored Vehicle Vulnerability in Urban Combat: The Chechnya Experience — the article originally appeared in Red Thrust Star January 1997 (source not verified)

Notes

1. see Military of Abkhazia article for details
2. http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/belarus/army-equipment.htm
3. http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/iran/ground-equipment.htm
4. http://www.militarium.net/wojsko_polskie/uzbrojenie.php
5. http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/centralasia/tajik-army-equipment.htm
6. http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/centralasia/turkmen-army-equipment.htm
7. http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/ukraine/groundforces-equipment.htm
8. Www.army.cz about SNĚŽKA