BA-27

{{Short description|Soviet armoured car}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2020}}

{{Infobox weapon

| name = BA-27

| image = BA-27M in the Kubinka Museum.jpg

| image_size = 300

| caption = BA-27M in the Kubinka Museum

| origin = {{flag|Soviet Union|1924}}

| type = Armoured car

| is_vehicle = yes

| used_by = {{flag|Soviet Union|1936}}
{{flag|Nazi Germany}} (captured)

| number = 215

| crew = 4

| length = {{convert|4.62|m|ft|abbr=on}}

| width = {{convert|1.81|m|ft|abbr=on}}

| height = {{convert|2.52|m|ft|abbr=on}}

| weight = {{convert|4.4|tonnes|ST}}

| armour = 7 mm

| primary_armament = 37 mm Hotchkiss gun

| secondary_armament = 7.62 mm DT machine gun

| engine = 4-cylinder gasoline AMO

| engine_power = 35 hp (26 kW)

| suspension = 4×4 wheeled

| speed = {{convert|48|km/h|mph|abbr=on}}

| pw_ratio = 8 hp/tonne

| vehicle_range = {{cvt|350|km|mile}}

}}

The BA-27 was a Soviet first[http://warandgame.wordpress.com/2009/06/18/russian-armored-cars-a-historical-perspective/ Russian Armored Cars: A Historical Perspective] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090720140533/http://warandgame.wordpress.com/2009/06/18/russian-armored-cars-a-historical-perspective/ |date=20 July 2009 }} series-produced armoured car, manufactured from 1928 to 1931, and used for scouting and infantry support duties early in the Second World War. The BA-27 was a heavy armoured car, having the same turret and armament as the first Soviet tank, T-18, manufactured at the same time: the main gun was a modified copy of the French 37 mm Puteaux SA 18 cannon, and it was supported by an additional machine gun.

File:Uszkodzony radziecki wóz pancerny pod Białymstokiem (2-1645).jpg, July 1941]]

The production of the first Soviet truck, AMO-F-15 truck (a copy of the Fiat 15), started in 1924. Using the chassis of this truck, the Izhorsky Factory design team developed BA-27 heavy armoured car in 1927. There was no significant production of AFVs in Russia since 1918, and the indigenous automobile industry was practically non-existent at the time.{{cite book |author=Erickson, John R. |title=The Soviet high command: a military-political history, 1918-1941 |publisher=Frank Cass |location=London |year=2001 |isbn=0-7146-5178-8 }} After lengthy trials, the new vehicle was accepted into Soviet Red Army service in 1929. Two hundred fifteen were built between 1928 and 1931. The last batch of BA-27 was mounted on Ford Model AA truck chassis. Both chassis were found to be inadequate to carry the heavy armour, and around 20 were later rebuilt on heavier, three-axle Ford-Timken truck chassis at Repair Base No. 2 (Rembaz No. 2), bearing designation BA-27M.[http://www.battlefield.ru/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=22&Itemid=46 The Russian Battlefield - BA-3, BA-6, and BA-9 armoured car]

193 of BA-27 and BA-27M still remained in service on 1 June 1941,{{citation needed|date=March 2010}} just before the German invasion of the Soviet Union. During the early stages of the war, several units were captured by Germans and pressed into their own service.