Description

The BTR-50 was the first tracked armoured personnel carrier to be introduced into Soviet Army service. Based on the same chassis and mechanicals as the PT-76 amphibious reconnaissance tank, the BTR-50 was designed as an armoured personnel carrier and initially also as a portee vehicle for mounting and firing medium calibre divisional and anti-tank guns during assault operations. Changes in nuclear doctrine led to the originally open-roofed BTR-50P being replaced by the fully enclosed BTR-50PK, with the earlier portee gun role being dropped.

The BTR-50 family was however developed well beyond the standard armoured personnel carrier version, with the BTR-50PU series widely employed in Soviet Army service as a command vehicle and in other specialised versions including the MTP maintenance vehicle and the UR-67 mine-clearing system.

The BTR-50 was also the tracked personnel carrier on the basis of which the Soviet Army practiced combined arms tactics, providing the exercise and later combat experience that ultimately led to a new class of armoured fighting vehicle with the crew able to operate from within the vehicle before deploying on the ground - the BMP-1 mechanised infantry combat vehicle.

The BTR-50 series remained the mainstay Soviet tracked personnel carrrier until replaced in the late 1960s by the BMP-1. The BTR-50 was widely exported, and saw combat in the Middle East, Africa and Asia, with surprisingly large numbers still in service today.

This book has been written and illustrated based on Russian and Ukrainian original sources.