BTR - 40 The BTR - 40 ( БТР , from Бронетранспортер , or " Bronetransporter " , literally " armoured transporter " . † ) is a Soviet non - amphibious , wheeled armoured personnel carrier and reconnaissance vehicle . It is often referred to as the " Sorokovka " in Soviet service . It is also the first mass - produced Soviet APC . It was eventually replaced in the APC role by the BTR - 152 and in the scout car role by the BRDM - 1 . Development History . The BTR - 40 ' s development began in early 1947 at the design bureau of the Gorkovsky Avtomobilny Zavod ( Gorkovsky Automobile Factory ) under the leadership of V . A . Dedkov . The concept was a successor to the BA - 64B armoured car which went out of production in 1946 . The design team also included L . W . Kostikin and P . I . Muziukin . Two prototypes designated BTR - 141 were completed in 1947 . The first was armed with two coaxial 14 . 5 mm KPVT heavy machine guns on a rotatable mount which was protected by armour plate at the front and sides . The second had no fixed armament . Neither one was accepted for service . In 1950 two new prototypes were produced . Those had a different shape of armour including an upright rear armour . Again one prototype had no fixed armament and the second was armed with two coaxial 14 . 5 mm KPVT heavy machine guns . These were accepted into service as BTR - 40 and BTR - 40A respectively . The vehicle ' s drawbacks , such as its poor cross - country performance and problems with crossing water obstacles , compelled the design team to produce , in late 1954 , what was planned to be an amphibious variant of the BTR - 40 . It received the designation BTR - 40P ( with the ' P ' standing for pławajuszczij - " swimming " ) . During the design process , the vehicle moved away from the APC concept and became an amphibious armoured scout car . It received a new designation - BRDM . Description . Overview . The BTR - 40 ' s design was based on the GAZ - 63 four wheel drive truck which went into production in 1946 . The design featured a self - bearing body which was a new feature in Soviet vehicles . The hull has two side doors for the commander and driver and a back door . The vehicle can transport up to eight fully equipped soldiers or 1 tonne of cargo . Protection . The BTR - 40 ' s armour is from 6 mm to 8 mm thick which gives it protection from small arms fire and the shell splinters of its time , but does not protect it against modern artillery fragments and . 50 - calibre machine gun fire . The BTR - 40 - series tyres are not protected by armour . They are particularly vulnerable to puncture from fire of all kinds . The vehicle has no roof and is normally covered with a tarpaulin to protect the crew , transported cargo or troops from rain and snow . However this makes it unable to mount any of the SGMB machine guns . Armament . The APC variant has no permanent armament but it has pintle mounts for three 7 . 62 mm SGMB medium machine guns , one at the front of the troop compartment and the other two at the sides . The vehicle also has two firing ports on both sides of the hull which allow up to four soldiers to use their weapons while being protected by the APC ' s armour . Maneuverability . Like the GAZ - 63 truck on which it is based BTR - 40 has a four wheel drive . The chassis however is shorter compared to the GAZ - 63 . The only other thing that distinguished the chassis of the BTR - 40 from that of the GAZ - 63 were additional shock absorbers . BTR - 40 also has a more powerful engine . The turning angle was 7 . 5 m . Equipment . The vehicle has the 10RT - 12 receiving and airing radio which has a range of 20 – 25 km and a winch at the front , with a maximum capacity of 4 . 5 tonnes and 70 m of cable . It has no protection against nuclear , biological and chemical ( NBC ) weapons . It also has no night vision equipment . Service history . Soviet Union . The BTR - 40 was produced at the Gorkovsky Avtomobilny Zavod ( Gorkovsky Automobile Factory ) from 1950 to 1960 . It was first shown publicly at the military parade in Moscow in 1950 . It was issued to the Red Army in 1950 and was used in the APC , reconnaissance and command post roles . After several years of service , it became apparent that it did not fit the modern battlefield . It was replaced by the BTR - 152 . Foreign service . The BTR - 40 began to enter service with two other Warsaw Pact members in late 1949 , namely East Germany and Poland , where it was used as a standard APC until more advanced vehicles like the BTR - 152 were available . The last BTR - 40s were withdrawn from Warsaw Pact countries in the early 1970s . The vehicle was also sold to many Arab and African nations in the late 1950s and early 1960s . The People ' s Republic of China ( PRC ) , had developed a copy of the BTR - 40 called the Type 55 . It is unknown how many of these vehicles entered service with the PLA . The vehicle was also exported to North Korea , probably as part of a military assistance programme during the Korean War , where it saw combat for the first time . It was later used by the North Vietnamese Army during the Vietnam War . BTR - 40 also saw combat service during the North Yemen Civil War during which at least one was captured from the Egyptians by the royalist guerrillas .