Austin Armoured Car - Walk Around

Austin pansarbil
Land	Storbritannien
Roll	Bepansrad bil
Används av	United Kingdom & Russian Empire
Byggd	Unknow

Den Austin pansarbil was a British armoured car produced during the First World War. The vehicle is best known for its employment by the Imperial Russian Army in the First World War and by different forces in the Russian Civil War.

Källkod: Austin pansarbil på Wikipedia

Austin-Putilov Gå runt
Fotograf	Dieter Krause
Lokalisering	Unknow
Bilder	24

Austin-Putilov 01

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Austin-Putilov 09

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Design History and Production

Den Austin-Putilov (Austin-Putilov) represents a hybrid of British automotive engineering and Russian tactical requirements. During WWI, Russia imported chassis from the Austin Motor Company in the UK. However, the Russian military found the original armor and layout insufficient. In 1916, the Putilov Works in Saint Petersburg designed a new armored body featuring diagonally offset turrets. While production was delayed by the 1917 Revolution, the vehicle became one of the most significant armored assets used by both the Red and White Armies during the Russian Civil War.

Attribute	Technical Specification (Austin-Putilov)
Roll	Armored Reconnaissance / Infantry Support
besättning	4 (Commander, Driver, 2 Gunners)
Chassis	Austin 1.5-ton (1916-17 model)
Beväpning	2 x 7.62 mm Maxim M1910 machine guns
Armor Thickness	4 mm to 7.5 mm (Chrome-Nickel steel)
Kraftverk	Austin 4-cylinder petrol (30–50 hp)
Transmission	4 forward gears, 1 reverse
Max Road Speed	50–55 km/h (approx. 31–34 mph)

The Offset Turret Concept

Optimized Fire Arcs: Unlike the standard British Austin armored cars where turrets were side-by-side, the Putilov design placed the turrets diagonally. This allowed both machine guns to fire simultaneously at the same target on either side of the vehicle, doubling its concentrated firepower.
Vertical Elevation: The turrets were designed with increased vertical elevation to allow the machine guns to engage targets in high windows or on hillsides, a lesson learned from early urban combat.
Internal Controls: The driver’s cabin featured armored shutters with narrow vision slits. Communication between the driver and the gunners in the cramped, non-powered turrets was done via shouting or hand signals.

Chassis and Armor Details

Double Rear Wheels: To handle the weight of the Putilov-designed armor, the chassis utilized dual rear wheels to reduce ground pressure and prevent the vehicle from sinking into soft Russian soil.
Armor Quality: The Putilov Works used high-quality chrome-nickel steel. While thin by modern standards, it was sufficient to deflect 7.62 mm rifle fire and shell splinters at most ranges.
The “Lenin” Connection: The vehicle gained legendary status when Vladimir Lenin allegedly gave his famous speech from the top of an Austin-Putilov (the “Enemy of Capital”) upon his return to Petrograd in April 1917.

Wartime Evolution: The Kegresse Half-track

The most radical evolution of the Austin-Putilov was the Austin-Kegresse. To solve the problem of mobility in heavy snow and mud, Russian engineer Adolphe Kégresse replaced the rear wheels with a rubber track assembly. This made it the world’s first operational armored half-track, significantly outperforming wheeled armored cars on the winter battlefields of the Civil War.