BTR-80 APC (late production)

Description

The BTR-80 is an 8x8 wheeled amphibious armoured personnel carrier (APC) designed in the USSR. Production started in 1986 and replaced the previous versions, BTR-60 and BTR-70 in the Soviet Army. In 1984, the Soviets began production of a diesel-engined variant of the BTR-70, which they called the BTR-80. The Soviets have retrofitted some BTR-70s with several of the improvements incorporated into the BTR-80, including the high-angle-of-fire turret. The twin doors are designed to allow the infantry to disembark while the vehicle is in motion, and allow the infantry inside to exit from one side if the other is receiving fire. The 30mm Cannon variants are capable of engaging most threats effectively besides modern tanks, where they can still cause significant damage to optics, weapons, and important systems. The main gun is not stabilized (neither in the BTR-80 nor the BTR-80A), so accurate fire on the move is limited (only at low speeds), and the rotation mechanism is manually operated. The gunner sits in a roof mounted chair located above the flat floor behind the driver/commander and two passengers, and before the passenger bench. The gunner’s station is basic, but uncharacteristically uncramped for a Soviet armored vehicle. The gunner is equipped with both a day time optical sight and an infra red night sight. (Scale : 1/35e)