Quote:
Originally Posted by Raellus
It's interesting to note that the 6th Pomeranian Parachute Division was equipped with OT-64 APCs and ASU-85 self-propelled assault guns (withdrawn from service in the late 1970s but presumably kept in reserve).
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The OT-64 SKOT APC was a joint venture of Czechoslovakia and Poland, the Polish called their variants just SKOT (Średni Kołowy Opancerzony Transporter, medium wheeled armoured transporter), while in the ČSSR it was usually just called OT-64 (Obrněný Transportér, armored transporter model 1964) while SKOT was sometimes used as well (here: Střední Kolový Obrněný Transportér, meaning the same thing). The SKOT was probably one of the best wheeled APCs of the Cold War, omitting grave mistakes early Soviet BTR models had - like not rear doors - while allowing for 10-18 troops to be transported.
As with the earlier models of BTR-60s, the initial number of 18 dismounts allowed an easy transit from the BTR-152 as first generation APC, while the later SKOT-2A carried only a reduced amount of 10 troops. This was mostly due to a heavy machine gun being added in form of the BRDM-2 turret. This variant was again modified with two AT-3 Sagger/Malyutka added on either side of the turret. This variant was called SKOT-2AM and offered far more to its units than any BTR ever did back in the days.
With 10 dismounts, Polish infantry squads remained larger than Soviet ones. The OT-64 was better armored, faster and offered better range than all Soviet BTR models, including the BTR-80. The amphibian counterpart to the SKOT was the OT-62 TOPAS (Transportér Obrněný Pásový, "tracked armoured personnel carrier"). It, too, was a joint venture between the two nations, but was based on the Soviet BTR-50 design. Both types of APC were successful as exports with over 1,000 of each going to Middle Eastern and North African countries as well as other destinations from the 1960s onwards.