BTR-60 question

[pmulcahy11b]

I've been in a BTR-60PB -- cramped as a mother! (And I'm of below-average height.) And you really feel the lack of a roof hatch in the turret; turret visibility sucks. I couldn't even drive one; I never learned how to drive a stick, let alone having a vehicle with manual transmission and two engines. And going for a short joy-ride in one off-road will make you a bit queasy.

[Schone23666]

Originally Posted by pmulcahy11b

I've been in a BTR-60PB -- cramped as a mother! (And I'm of below-average height.) And you really feel the lack of a roof hatch in the turret; turret visibility sucks. I couldn't even drive one; I never learned how to drive a stick, let alone having a vehicle with manual transmission and two engines. And going for a short joy-ride in one off-road will make you a bit queasy.

Didn't the Soviets have height limitations for their Motorized Rifle units just like they did for their tankers? I forget what they were exactly but I think around 5 feet 6 inches or so??

Still, the Soviet design of armored vehicles as a whole suggests to me they really didn't plan on providing their crews and mechanized infantry with much gear other than a "basic" load, which I hear wasn't much.

[Legbreaker]

Although the vehicle as a whole has some issues, the main one for me is those tiny little side hatches the infantry are supposed to use under fire. I'm glad they addressed the issue somewhat in later models, but it's still not adequate in my opinion when compared to a ramp such as on an M113 or Bradley.

[ArmySGT.]

Originally Posted by Legbreaker

Although the vehicle as a whole has some issues, the main one for me is those tiny little side hatches the infantry are supposed to use under fire. I'm glad they addressed the issue somewhat in later models, but it's still not adequate in my opinion when compared to a ramp such as on an M113 or Bradley.

I always see them dismounting by the roof hatches. So I am guessing in their doctrine to use those unless under direct fire............. (shrug). The side hatches seem to be emergency egress.

[pmulcahy11b]

Originally Posted by ArmySGT.

I always see them dismounting by the roof hatches. So I am guessing in their doctrine to use those unless under direct fire............. (shrug). The side hatches seem to be emergency egress.

You'd have to be a hobbit to get through the side hatches with gear on. They seem to be best for loading gear into the vehicle, or as a joke of an escape hatch. I remember reading some intel reports in Korea about the Russian troops' attitude about the BTR-60 -- they called those side hatches things like "suicide hatches" or "portholes" or suchlike.

[Legbreaker]

The roof hatches don't seem much bigger....

[ArmySGT.]

Have you met the Russians?

I did in Kosovo. Drunken Midgets.

[Raellus]

Originally Posted by Schone23666

Didn't the Soviets have height limitations for their Motorized Rifle units just like they did for their tankers? I forget what they were exactly but I think around 5 feet 6 inches or so??

Maybe, but I doubt it. Why waste all that manpower (i.e. taller folks)? The Soviets really never had any straight "leg" infantry units- pretty much every major Soviet infantry unit was a MRD. Folks over 5'6" or whatever couldn't all join the airborne/airmobile or mountain units (of which there were far, far fewer) and Soviet naval infantry were just as APC-bound as their landlubber comrades.

[Legbreaker]

Would the Soviets even care about passenger comfort?

[Schone23666]

Originally Posted by Legbreaker

Would the Soviets even care about passenger comfort?

I think just taking a look at their rations provides a pretty obvious answer.



And I pulled that from here: http://www.mreinfo.com/international...ssian-irp.html

And by the way, these are actually Russian rations that were processed after the breakup of the Union. Supposedly these are "improved", so imagine how nasty the Soviet rations must've been!

[ArmySGT.]

Part1

Part 2

Inside BTR-60 (Russian Video)

Other Inside BTR-60

BTR - 60 upgrade

[StainlessSteelCynic]

Whoa - looks like I need to go back and check my so-called reference material!
I have royally screwed up my internal layouts for the BTR-60 and the BTR-70.
Oh well, that's what we're all here for, to share info and learn things!