BA-27

Infobox Weapon
name=BA-27


caption=
origin=flagcountry|Soviet Union|1923
type=Armoured car
is_vehicle=yes
crew=4
length=4.62 m
width=1.81 m
height=2.52 m
weight=4.4 tonnes
armour=7 mm
primary_armament=37 mm gun
secondary_armament=7.62 mm DT machine gun
engine=4-cylinder gasoline AMO
engine_power=35 hp (26 kW)
suspension=4×4 wheeled
speed=48 km/h
pw_ratio=8 hp/tonne
vehicle_range=350 km

The BA-27 armoured car was a Soviet heavy armoured car, produced from 1928 to 1931, and used for scouting and infantry support duties early in the Second World War. The BA-27 had a similar turret to the T-18 tank, and both forward and reverse driver's controls.

In 1927, an Izhorsky Factory design team developed a heavy armoured car based on the chassis of the AMO-F-15 truck (a copy of the Fiat F-15). After lengthy trials, it was accepted into Soviet Red Army service in 1929. No more than several hundred were built between 1928–31. The last batch of BA-27s were mounted on Ford Model AA truck chassis.

The chassis was found to be inadequate to carry the heavy armour, and some were later rebuilt on heavier, three-axle Ford-Timken truck chassis at Repair Base No. 2 ("Rembaz No. 2"). 193 of these BA-27M armoured cars remained in service on June 1, 1941, just before the German invasion of the Soviet Union.

References

* Zaloga, Steven J., James Grandsen (1984). "Soviet Tanks and Combat Vehicles of World War Two", London: Arms and Armour Press. ISBN 0-85368-606-8.