D - 8 Armored Car D - 8 ( Dyrenkov - 8 ) was an early Soviet armored vehicle built in 1932 - 34 . Only around 25 were built ; it was quickly superseded by the FAI armoured car . Both were assembled in the Izhorsky Factory near Leningrad . Design . As a result of their extensive experience with armored cars during the Civil War , the Soviets showed a great deal of interest in developing more modern versions during the 1930s . However , their initial efforts were slowed until the rejuvenation of the Russian automobile industry which began in the late 1920s . The Soviets saw the armored car as falling into two primary classes ; light and heavy . This classification was based more on armament than on weight . Light armored cars were armed with machine guns while heavy armored cars were armed with tank guns . The earlier armored car designs , such as the BA - 27 , were based on a truck chassis . Following the BA - 27 project , the next projects were undertaken at the Izhorskiye Factory in Kolpino on the basis of newly imported Ford Model A automobiles , and their Soviet copies , the GAZ - A . The chassis for most armored cars of the 1930s were built by the KIM plant in Moscow and the Gorkiy plant in Nizhny Novgorod . The latter plant was originally known as the Nizhny Novgorod Automobile plant ( NAZ ) , but was renamed as the Gorkiy Automobile Plant ( GAZ ) in the mid - 1930s . These chassis were shipped to the armored car manufacturers ( primarily the Izhorskiy and the smaller but longer established Vyksinskiy plant ) , where the armored bodies were mounted on the chassis and final assembly was undertaken . Prior to 1931 , the imported Ford Timken chassis was used for some Soviet armored cars . While this chassis was available thereafter , the provision of series production technology to the USSR by Henry Ford in 1931 - 32 gave a major boost to Soviet armored car production . It provided readymade chassis for both light ( Ford / GAZ - A and Ford / GAZ - AA - based ) and heavy ( GAZ - AAA - based ) armored cars . ZiS was also later to provide 6×4 chassis for limited production heavy armored cars . The D - 8 Armored vehicle , designed in 1931 by N . I . Dyrenkov , was relatively light and had no turret . The design utilized a licensed passenger car Ford A chassis . Two machine guns were used on hull ' s sides , not providing a 360 - degree coverage . The D - 8 had a two man crew sitting back to back so that the rear man could fire a rear - mounted machine gun . In 1932 , the D - 8 was upgraded with small turrets and had the DT machine gun mounted in it in order to reduce the vehicle ' s vulnerability . The D - 8 was quickly phased out of production in lieu of the heavier and better equipped FAI armoured car . D - 12 . D - 12 ( Dyrenkov - 12 ) was a Soviet light armored car based on the GAZ - A automobile . It was a further development of N . I . Dyrenkov ' s D - 8 design . It was intended for infantry support and anti - aircraft roles . The fighting compartment had an open roof , where a PM - 1910 or DT anti - aircraft machine gun was ring mounted . A 7 . 62 mm DT machine gun was also mounted in the front right of the vehicle . The original prototype contained ball mounts for DT machine guns which were not included in the production versions since it was excessive armament for the crew . The D - 12 was produced alongside the D - 8 at the Izhorskiy Factory . It was heavier than the D - 8 but exhibited similar performance . Final testing took place in late 1931 together with the D - 8 . The D - 12 was accepted into service with the Red Army and a small number were built at the Moscow Auto Zavod in 1932 . The D - 12 served during the early 1930s and was observed on Red Square during November 7 parades . Some vehicles remained in service during the war in 1941 and a few participated in the victory parade in Mongolia in 1945 . Combat History . The D - 8 was first used by Republican forces in the Spanish Civil War . D - 8 was delivered as part of the USSR ’ s military aid . The D - 8 and D - 12 light armored cars were primarily used in a reconnaissance role versus a pure combat role . One D - 8 was captured and used by the Finish Defense Force during the Winter War against the Red Army .