Heavy Israeli armored vehicle "Ahzarit"
In 1988, a mass production of the Akhzarit Mk1 heavy armored personnel carrier (from Hebrew Zhestokaya), created on the basis of Soviet-era captured from Arab countries, began in Israel at a plant in Tel Hashomer. tanks T-54 and T-55. Work on the creation of a heavy armored personnel carrier was carried out in the Jewish state for a long time. The nature of hostilities in this region implies a high saturation of the battlefield with weapons of destruction of 12,7 and 14,5 mm caliber, as well as various RPGs, which are often used by Arab militants in urban battles. According to the design of Israeli designers, “Ahzarit” is intended for joint use in combat conditions with Merkava tanks, as well as for special operations. Currently, 400 to 500 captured Arab tanks have been converted into armored personnel carriers.
Prerequisites for the creation of a heavy, well-armored armored personnel carrier appeared after the Lebanese War 1982, when losses among the personnel of the mechanized units, mostly equipped with the American MXXUMX armored personnel carriers, turned out to be very significant. Analysis of combat experience led to quite unexpected conclusions - the armored personnel carrier must have protection that exceeds the protection of the tank. The Israel Defense Forces are very sensitive to casualties, so the existing M113 BTR has completely ceased to organize the military.
The Israeli military wanted to get into service both an assault vehicle and an infantry carrier. Initially, they worked out the option of creating such a machine in the hull of the Merkava tank, but there was a much simpler solution. Since 1967, the Arabs "put" Israel hundreds of tanks T-54 / 55. After repairs and modernization, most of them were put into service with the army under the designations "Tyrant-4" and "Tyrant-5". It was their corps that was finally decided to put into production of heavy tracked armored personnel carriers, so the Akhzarit car was born.
Layout of the Akhzarit armored personnel carrier
The layout of the heavy armored personnel carrier provides for the location of the control compartment in front of the machine. The person’s 3 is located in the forward part of the hull: the driver is on the left, the gunner is in the center, the car’s commander is on the right. The seats of all three can be raised for a better view on the march. To monitor the road, the driver has an 4 periscopic observation device. In the middle part of the hull of the Akhzarit armored personnel carrier there is a troop compartment with a capacity for 7 people. Three paratroopers sit along the sides. From the left side on the bench, from the right on the folding seats, another place is located at the aft bulkhead of the compartment. There are 6 prism blocks (4 on the right and 2 on the left) in the landing compartment roof. In the stern of the BTR is the engine compartment.
The transmission and engine were replaced by a new power unit created by NIMDA and consisting of a 8-cylinder two-stroke diesel engine of water cooling “Detroit Diesel” 8V-71TTA developing power in 650 hp. by General Motors and hydraulic transmission XTG-411-4 from Allison. The engine in the body of the BTR installed across. The engine radiator blinds come back, the exhaust pipe to the left side.
The characteristic feature of the Akhzarit armored personnel carrier can be attributed to the entrance (exit) hatch for the landing party, which is located in the rear of the hull from the starboard side. This hatch is a narrow flip-up ramp and a cover with taper-type walls rising up above the machine body, the hatch has a hydraulic drive. Due to the compactness of the engine mounted on the vehicle, the output from the infantry unit was able to be placed in the rear of the hull, which is typical of many models of infantry fighting vehicles in various countries. In addition, the fodder arrangement of MTO allowed to balance the installation of enhanced armor in front of the machine.
Due to the use of powerful spaced-type armor (in-house development), the combat mass of the armored vehicle is almost 44 tons, while in the T-54 / 55 tank this mass with a turret reaches 36 tons. Compared with the Soviet tank, the overall width of the vehicle was increased by 370 mm and is 3640 mm. Thanks to this, it was possible to provide a greater level of body armor, and the machine's durability was increased due to the low silhouette (on the roof of the case around 2000 mm). Around the fighting compartment is a heavier reservation, and a number of armor plates, which are installed behind the hull and along the sides, have a perforated shape. The undercarriage of the Akhzarit armored personnel carrier is covered by additional anti-cumulative screens. All seats of the crew and members of the landing are equipped with hatches in the roof of the hull.
In the process of production and operation, a new version of the armored personnel carrier was mastered, called the Akhzarit Mk2. This version differs from the basic new power unit consisting of the Allison hydromechanical transmission XTG-411-5 and the more powerful Detroit Diesel engine 8V-92TA (850 hp). These changes made it possible to increase the pick-up and power density of the armored personnel carrier.
Armament of Akhzarit armored personnel carrier
Armament machine is designed to defeat enemy personnel, and not lightly armored targets, as in most modern infantry fighting vehicles. According to the developed tactical concept, the Akhzarit armored personnel carrier should be used together with tanks, which are fully entrusted with the task of fighting enemy armored vehicles. The role of the heavy Akhzarit armored personnel carrier comes down to transporting infantry through the enemy’s zone without casualties. The basis of the machine’s weapon system is the OWS module. Module weight is 160 kg. while almost all of its design is outside the booked volume of the case. The 7,62-mm machine gun FN М240 is installed on this module regularly. Shooting from it is possible both remotely with the arrow closed and in manual mode. In case of remote control of a machine gun, the shooter uses an optical sight without magnification for guidance (angle of field of view 25 degrees) In addition to the main 1-multiple sight, there is a sight with 8-magnification, having a range scale. Both sights have night vision channels.
On the first materials on this BTR, publicly published by NIMDA, Akhzarit vehicles were shown, each with an OWS 3 module. However, in real conditions, the Israel Defense Forces are armed with machines that are mounted only on the 1 OWS module. At the same time on conventional pin turrets, you can install three more 7.62-mm machine guns М240. Additionally, “Ahzarit” is armed with at least one small mortar caliber 60 mm. Its ammunition includes fragmentation, lighting and smoke ammunition.
In front of the BTR hull, in small niches on both sides of the hull, there are blocks of smoke grenade launchers CL-3030 (6 each) from IMI (Israel Military Industries). The same installation applies to the Israeli MBT. Grenade launchers can use several types of smoke grenades of national production. In addition, the possibility of creating a smoke screen by injecting fuel into the exhaust pipe is provided.
In contrast to its modern foreign counterparts, there is no turret with a cannon or a heavy machine gun on this machine. The reason for this is the priority, which, in the design of the Akhzarit BTR, was given to the safety of transporting an infantry assault force to the point it needs to carry out the tasks that it can successfully solve by dismounting. In turn, the acquisition of the machine with a cannon or other heavy weaponry would draw it into the solution of combat missions, which put the crew and landing forces at additional risk.
Security Akhzarit armored personnel carrier
According to the conclusion of foreign experts, the heavy tracked armored personnel carrier "Akhzarit" is a perfectly protected means of transporting an infantry assault force on the battlefield, while at the same time providing it with secretive dismounting. This armored personnel carrier has a high level of body armor protection and a low silhouette, which together provides the landing force and crew with a high survival rate on the battlefield, protecting people from modern means of destruction, as well as providing soldiers with the opportunity to act in contaminated areas.
At present, the Akhzarit is the most protected mass-produced combat vehicle designed to transport infantry. His armor provides protection against both cumulative and sub-caliber ammunition, including RPG shots. The mass in 44 tons for an infantry armored personnel carrier is unprecedented (for example, the BTR-80 weighs 13,6 tons). In fact, 14 tons of heavy armored personnel carrier accounted for his armor. This one figure already characterizes the level of security of the machine. In the best way, the BTR is protected from shelling in the frontal projection, where a reservation similar to the composite armor of the Merkava-3 tank is used.
In the design of the Akhzarit BTR, the principle of protecting more important units and components with less important ones is implemented. On the sides of the fighting compartment of the armored personnel carrier are fuel tanks, which serve as additional protection for the landing force. The stern parts of the sides are covered with special perforated armor plates. In the left rear of the machine is a massive power unit. The machine has an individual protection complex against weapons mass destruction and automatic fire extinguishing system.
Exploitation
The Israeli army’s motorized rifle battalion is armed with the Akhzarit 36 heavy armored personnel carriers, plus one additional command and command vehicle. There is no OWS module on the commander’s armored personnel carrier, but additional radio equipment is mounted. Also, the battalion additionally includes 4 tracked MPZ tracked armored personnel carriers in a repair platoon. The first data armored personnel carriers received an elite brigade "Golani".
Judging by the exercises held in Israel, the armored personnel carriers are used mainly by groups of 3 vehicles. The landing leaves them on the move. The advancement to the object is carried out using the folds of the terrain, with the two machines marching in front, the third is at some distance behind. After the landing, the Akhzarit armored personnel carrier continues to move forward, but at a very low speed. Despite the rather narrow manhole, the troops leave the car rather quickly. During the live landing of an assault force from an armored personnel carrier it resembles a landing of an assault force from an airplane. The disadvantage of the machine can be considered the fact that one of the wings of the landing hatch is thrown upwards, which allows the enemy to accurately determine the moment of leaving the vehicle for the infantry.
Sources used:
www.alternathistory.org.ua/tyazhelyi-bronetransporter-akhzarit-izrail
www.otvaga2004.narod.ru/otvaga2004/armour-asia/arm-isr_achz.htm
www.btvt.narod.ru/4/achzarit/achzarit.htm
Prerequisites for the creation of a heavy, well-armored armored personnel carrier appeared after the Lebanese War 1982, when losses among the personnel of the mechanized units, mostly equipped with the American MXXUMX armored personnel carriers, turned out to be very significant. Analysis of combat experience led to quite unexpected conclusions - the armored personnel carrier must have protection that exceeds the protection of the tank. The Israel Defense Forces are very sensitive to casualties, so the existing M113 BTR has completely ceased to organize the military.
The Israeli military wanted to get into service both an assault vehicle and an infantry carrier. Initially, they worked out the option of creating such a machine in the hull of the Merkava tank, but there was a much simpler solution. Since 1967, the Arabs "put" Israel hundreds of tanks T-54 / 55. After repairs and modernization, most of them were put into service with the army under the designations "Tyrant-4" and "Tyrant-5". It was their corps that was finally decided to put into production of heavy tracked armored personnel carriers, so the Akhzarit car was born.
Layout of the Akhzarit armored personnel carrier
The layout of the heavy armored personnel carrier provides for the location of the control compartment in front of the machine. The person’s 3 is located in the forward part of the hull: the driver is on the left, the gunner is in the center, the car’s commander is on the right. The seats of all three can be raised for a better view on the march. To monitor the road, the driver has an 4 periscopic observation device. In the middle part of the hull of the Akhzarit armored personnel carrier there is a troop compartment with a capacity for 7 people. Three paratroopers sit along the sides. From the left side on the bench, from the right on the folding seats, another place is located at the aft bulkhead of the compartment. There are 6 prism blocks (4 on the right and 2 on the left) in the landing compartment roof. In the stern of the BTR is the engine compartment.
The transmission and engine were replaced by a new power unit created by NIMDA and consisting of a 8-cylinder two-stroke diesel engine of water cooling “Detroit Diesel” 8V-71TTA developing power in 650 hp. by General Motors and hydraulic transmission XTG-411-4 from Allison. The engine in the body of the BTR installed across. The engine radiator blinds come back, the exhaust pipe to the left side.
The characteristic feature of the Akhzarit armored personnel carrier can be attributed to the entrance (exit) hatch for the landing party, which is located in the rear of the hull from the starboard side. This hatch is a narrow flip-up ramp and a cover with taper-type walls rising up above the machine body, the hatch has a hydraulic drive. Due to the compactness of the engine mounted on the vehicle, the output from the infantry unit was able to be placed in the rear of the hull, which is typical of many models of infantry fighting vehicles in various countries. In addition, the fodder arrangement of MTO allowed to balance the installation of enhanced armor in front of the machine.
Due to the use of powerful spaced-type armor (in-house development), the combat mass of the armored vehicle is almost 44 tons, while in the T-54 / 55 tank this mass with a turret reaches 36 tons. Compared with the Soviet tank, the overall width of the vehicle was increased by 370 mm and is 3640 mm. Thanks to this, it was possible to provide a greater level of body armor, and the machine's durability was increased due to the low silhouette (on the roof of the case around 2000 mm). Around the fighting compartment is a heavier reservation, and a number of armor plates, which are installed behind the hull and along the sides, have a perforated shape. The undercarriage of the Akhzarit armored personnel carrier is covered by additional anti-cumulative screens. All seats of the crew and members of the landing are equipped with hatches in the roof of the hull.
In the process of production and operation, a new version of the armored personnel carrier was mastered, called the Akhzarit Mk2. This version differs from the basic new power unit consisting of the Allison hydromechanical transmission XTG-411-5 and the more powerful Detroit Diesel engine 8V-92TA (850 hp). These changes made it possible to increase the pick-up and power density of the armored personnel carrier.
Armament of Akhzarit armored personnel carrier
Armament machine is designed to defeat enemy personnel, and not lightly armored targets, as in most modern infantry fighting vehicles. According to the developed tactical concept, the Akhzarit armored personnel carrier should be used together with tanks, which are fully entrusted with the task of fighting enemy armored vehicles. The role of the heavy Akhzarit armored personnel carrier comes down to transporting infantry through the enemy’s zone without casualties. The basis of the machine’s weapon system is the OWS module. Module weight is 160 kg. while almost all of its design is outside the booked volume of the case. The 7,62-mm machine gun FN М240 is installed on this module regularly. Shooting from it is possible both remotely with the arrow closed and in manual mode. In case of remote control of a machine gun, the shooter uses an optical sight without magnification for guidance (angle of field of view 25 degrees) In addition to the main 1-multiple sight, there is a sight with 8-magnification, having a range scale. Both sights have night vision channels.
On the first materials on this BTR, publicly published by NIMDA, Akhzarit vehicles were shown, each with an OWS 3 module. However, in real conditions, the Israel Defense Forces are armed with machines that are mounted only on the 1 OWS module. At the same time on conventional pin turrets, you can install three more 7.62-mm machine guns М240. Additionally, “Ahzarit” is armed with at least one small mortar caliber 60 mm. Its ammunition includes fragmentation, lighting and smoke ammunition.
In front of the BTR hull, in small niches on both sides of the hull, there are blocks of smoke grenade launchers CL-3030 (6 each) from IMI (Israel Military Industries). The same installation applies to the Israeli MBT. Grenade launchers can use several types of smoke grenades of national production. In addition, the possibility of creating a smoke screen by injecting fuel into the exhaust pipe is provided.
In contrast to its modern foreign counterparts, there is no turret with a cannon or a heavy machine gun on this machine. The reason for this is the priority, which, in the design of the Akhzarit BTR, was given to the safety of transporting an infantry assault force to the point it needs to carry out the tasks that it can successfully solve by dismounting. In turn, the acquisition of the machine with a cannon or other heavy weaponry would draw it into the solution of combat missions, which put the crew and landing forces at additional risk.
Security Akhzarit armored personnel carrier
According to the conclusion of foreign experts, the heavy tracked armored personnel carrier "Akhzarit" is a perfectly protected means of transporting an infantry assault force on the battlefield, while at the same time providing it with secretive dismounting. This armored personnel carrier has a high level of body armor protection and a low silhouette, which together provides the landing force and crew with a high survival rate on the battlefield, protecting people from modern means of destruction, as well as providing soldiers with the opportunity to act in contaminated areas.
At present, the Akhzarit is the most protected mass-produced combat vehicle designed to transport infantry. His armor provides protection against both cumulative and sub-caliber ammunition, including RPG shots. The mass in 44 tons for an infantry armored personnel carrier is unprecedented (for example, the BTR-80 weighs 13,6 tons). In fact, 14 tons of heavy armored personnel carrier accounted for his armor. This one figure already characterizes the level of security of the machine. In the best way, the BTR is protected from shelling in the frontal projection, where a reservation similar to the composite armor of the Merkava-3 tank is used.
In the design of the Akhzarit BTR, the principle of protecting more important units and components with less important ones is implemented. On the sides of the fighting compartment of the armored personnel carrier are fuel tanks, which serve as additional protection for the landing force. The stern parts of the sides are covered with special perforated armor plates. In the left rear of the machine is a massive power unit. The machine has an individual protection complex against weapons mass destruction and automatic fire extinguishing system.
Exploitation
The Israeli army’s motorized rifle battalion is armed with the Akhzarit 36 heavy armored personnel carriers, plus one additional command and command vehicle. There is no OWS module on the commander’s armored personnel carrier, but additional radio equipment is mounted. Also, the battalion additionally includes 4 tracked MPZ tracked armored personnel carriers in a repair platoon. The first data armored personnel carriers received an elite brigade "Golani".
Judging by the exercises held in Israel, the armored personnel carriers are used mainly by groups of 3 vehicles. The landing leaves them on the move. The advancement to the object is carried out using the folds of the terrain, with the two machines marching in front, the third is at some distance behind. After the landing, the Akhzarit armored personnel carrier continues to move forward, but at a very low speed. Despite the rather narrow manhole, the troops leave the car rather quickly. During the live landing of an assault force from an armored personnel carrier it resembles a landing of an assault force from an airplane. The disadvantage of the machine can be considered the fact that one of the wings of the landing hatch is thrown upwards, which allows the enemy to accurately determine the moment of leaving the vehicle for the infantry.
Sources used:
www.alternathistory.org.ua/tyazhelyi-bronetransporter-akhzarit-izrail
www.otvaga2004.narod.ru/otvaga2004/armour-asia/arm-isr_achz.htm
www.btvt.narod.ru/4/achzarit/achzarit.htm
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