Zaamurets

Zaamurets (Russian: Заамурец) was an armoured train built by the Russian Empire in 1916. While originally made to fight in the First World War, it was extensively used in the Russian Civil War by Bolsheviks, Ukrainian anarchists and most notably the Czechoslovak Legion. It was then given to the White Movement to assist Chinese warlords, before eventually being captured by the Empire of Japan. During its service it was frequently renamed and reconfigured as it changed hands and traveled across Eurasia.
During the start of WWI, the Russian Empire's armoured trains performed well, but had issues with mobility and fire control. To remedy this, Russia ordered the construction of three motorized armored traincars [ru], which were lighter and self-propelled. In early 1916, construction began in Odesa. While the cost of each train was initially expected to cost 29,000 rubles, soon into the project the budget had reached between 40,000 and 47,000 rubles per train, and the predicted time until completion was extended. By September 1916 the first train was almost complete, however the Kirov Plant manufacturing the gearbox failed to deliver the required part on time. On 7 October, 1916, Zaamurets was finished enough to be tested, and on 19 November, 1916, it was deployed to the Southwestern Front.
Due to a lull in combat when it was deployed, Zaamurets was initially used as an anti-aircraft weapon, though it later fought in the Southwest during the Kerensky offensive. In September 1917 it was transported to Odesa rail yards for modifications. While some of the upgrades were completed, the October Revolution disrupted plans. In December 1917 it was claimed by the Ukrainian Central Rada, despite the Rada being unable to work on it due to sabotage. On 15 January, 1918, Zaamurets was seized by Bolshevik forces as part of the Odessa Bolshevik uprising, and used to defend the Odesa-Mala railway station.
In February, Zaamurets was seized by anarchist forces, but was it was recaptured by Soviet forces in early March by a detachment of sailors from the Black Sea Fleet under Andrey Polupanov [ru]. Zaamurets was renamed to Lenin, and attached to a Khunkhuz armored train known as BP No.3 that had previously been captured by Polupanov's forces. The combined train, named Свобода или смерть (lit. Freedom or Death), was dispatched to fight in the southern front of the Ukrainian–Soviet War against German, Austrian and Ukrainian forces near Odesa and Melitopol. In mid-May, Zaamurets was sent to Moscow for repairs, but on arrival Leon Trotsky ordered the crew be disbanded for engaging in partisan activities. However, after a meeting with Polupanov, Vladimir Lenin decided the train should remain in the hands of the sailors.
In spring 1918 the Red Army ordered Polupanov to dispatch Zaamurets to the Trans-Siberian Railway to help counter the Czechoslovak Legion's use of armored trains. Soon after the train arrived in Simbirsk, the Red Army was forced to evacuate the city, leaving Zaamurets behind in working order. On 22 July 1918, Zaamurets was captured by the Czechoslovak Legion and added to the makeshift armored train Orlik (Czech: Orlík), which consisted of several armored trains previously captured by the Legion. Since the train was often split apart, Zaamurets was designated Orlik Vehicle Part 1 (Czech: Orlik Vuz cis. 1).
The Legion made extensive use of Zaamurets while occupying the Trans-Siberian Railway in spring and autumn 1918, before using it to patrol the railway for Bolshevik raids in 1919. In April 1920 the Orlik served as the rearguard to Legion, as it retreated eastward to Vladivostok, where it was to evacuate. While retreating along the Chinese Eastern Railway, the Orlik was captured by the Japanese Imperial Army at Hailar, Inner Mongolia, following a skirmish known as the Hailar incident in which over 20 Japanese soldiers died. The commander of the Siberian Expeditionary Army Ōi Shigemoto later gave it back to the Legion in Harbin following diplomatic negotiations. The train was finally returned to White Russian forces as the Legion departed Vladivostok, as to avoid it being taken by the Japanese.
The White Russians would keep Orlik, Zaamurets included, in Vladivostok until October 1922, when Red Army forces seized the city. White forces subsequently fled to Harbin with the Orlik, where the leader of Manchuria Zhang Zuolin provided sanctuary. In 1924 it was placed under the command of Lieutenant general Konstantin Nechaev, who used it to fight for the Fengtian Army under Zhang Zongchang during the Second Zhili–Fengtian War. It would continue to serve in China for the following years, known under the name Train No. 105.
In 1931, Zaamurets was captured by the Japanese Kwantung Army, after which its history is unknown.
Zaamurets was originally designed to use the four-axle Fox-Arbel railway chassis, however it was found to have pivot-beams and bogies too weak to support an armored train. The design was subsequently modified to rest on an Arbelevskoy platform.
When completed in 1916, Zaamurets was divided into five compartments, two cabins for commanders in the front and rear, two gun casemates, and one central casemate. The central casemate housed eight machine guns and two petrol engines: one Fiat engine and one Florence engine, both running at 60 hp. The engines were able to drive the train at a maximum speed of 45 km/h (28 mph). The two remaining casemates each housed a 57-mm Nordenfeld naval gun, which could fire at a rate of 60 rounds per minute. The commanders cabins were able to house three people each, one lookout who observed through small viewing slits, and two people to man the two machine guns mounted in each compartment.
Zaamurets was armored with steel ranging between 12 and 16 millimeters. It was also equipped with internal telephones and colored lights which allowed for rapid communication between the compartments, seven periscopes, two rangefinders for air targets, and two Westinghouse brakes, one manual and one pneumatic. The amount of equipment made Zaamurets relatively cramped compared to other armored trains of the time, but not enough to impede its operation.
Zaamurets was refitted several times to change and add equipment and weapons. It was initially modified in September 1917 to increase turret height, mount armored booths onto the turrets to house gun commanders, install radiators, and improve ventilation. While it was also planned to upgrade the engines to 80-100hp and install motors to turn the turrets, these further modifications were cut short with the outbreak of the October Revolution. Between July and August 1918, the Czechoslovak Legion replaced the Nordenfeld guns with two 76mm M1902 guns, as they had run out of 57mm shells.