Armor corners of an armored car fai blueprints. Light machine-gun armored car fai-m. History of creation and serial production of the FAI armored car

The 1933 Soviet light armored vehicle FAI is a domestic armored vehicle specially designed as a combat vehicle. In the process of creation, it was planned to use the new armored car as a command and staff vehicle or as a means of communication and control. The subsequent operation of the FAI armored car in combat and front-line conditions was associated with the performance of precisely these functions.

History of creation and serial production of the FAI armored car

In 1930, in the USSR, on the basis of components for the American cars "Ford-A" and "Ford-AA" in Nizhny Novgorod, the first passenger cars in the USSR began to be produced. In the same years, on the basis of the new chassis, the production of the first Soviet armored vehicles D-8, which were produced in a small series, began. A further continuation of the armored car was supposed to be a new car developed by the designers of the Izhora plant. By mid-1932, the project for a new light armored car was completed. A distinctive feature of the new product was the presence of an armored rotating turret, in which the main armament was installed. The wheelbase, body and power plant were taken from an American Ford-A car.

At the beginning of 1933, a new Soviet light armored car was put into service, having received the factory index of the FAI (Ford-A, Izhora). Serial production of the FAI armored car was organized at the new Gorky Automobile Plant. In total, over the years of production from 1933 to 1935 and from 1939 to 1942, GAZ produced 697 vehicles, which, together with the BA-20, became the most massive Soviet armored vehicles in the pre-war years.

The performance parameters of the FAI armored car of the 1933 model

Combat weight: 2.42 tons.
Crew - 2 people.
Overall dimensions: length - 3660 mm, width - 1680 mm, height - 1850 mm, ground clearance - 235 mm.
Armament: 7.62 mm DT machine gun (ammunition - 1250 rounds).
Armor thickness: 6-15 mm.
Engine: GAZ-M1. Type: 4-cylinder carburetor, power 50 hp
The maximum travel speed is 80 km / h.
In store down the highway - 250-450 km.
Overcoming obstacles: wall - 0.4 m, ditch - 0.5 m.

The 1933 Soviet light armored vehicle FAI passed the baptism of fire during the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939). Subsequently, the car took part in battles with Japanese troops on about. Hasan and on the river. Khalkin-Gol. The most significant stage in the history of the FAI armored vehicles was their participation in the Soviet-Finnish war of 1939-40 and military service on the fronts of the Great Patriotic War.

Photo

In 1932, the designers of the Izhora plant developed a turret armored car, which received the designation FAI ("Ford-A" Izhora). As the name implies, the base used was the same Ford-A chassis, which was assembled at the Gudok Oktyabrya plant in Kanavino. The new promising layout of the vehicle led to a significant increase in its height (up to 2240 mm) and weight, which reached 2 tons. Nevertheless, the fighting qualities and comfort of the crew in the new armored car have improved significantly.

FAI production began in 1933 at the Izhora plant in Leningrad, then it was transferred to the Vyksinsky DRO plant, where it continued until 1936. In total, 676 armored cars left the factory workshops during this time, and since 1934, the domestic GAZ-A chassis was already used as a base.

The combat weight of the FAI was 2 tons. The crew consisted of two people. The armored car was armed with a 7.62-mm DT machine gun, mounted in a ball mount on the front wall of the tower. Machine gun ammunition - 1323 rounds. The welded armored body of the vehicle was made of rolled sheets with a thickness of 3.4 and 6 mm. The tower wall thickness was 6 mm. The crew was landing through the side doors. The battlefield was monitored through inspection hatches. In a combat situation, they were covered with armored covers with viewing slots. In the roof of the tower there was a hatch with a hinged domed cover. Through it, it was also possible to conduct observation outside the battle.

40 hp engine allowed the armored car to reach speeds on the highway up to 80 km / h. The cruising range on the highway reached 200 km.

In 1933, a modification of the FAI railway was produced at the Izhora plant. For movement on rails, metal bandages with flanges were put on over ordinary car tires. On a railroad track, the armored car easily reached speeds of up to 86 km / h. A significant drawback was the long time (about 30 minutes) for installing the tires and the impossibility of reversing faster than 24 km / h.

In December 1934, another version of the railway track was developed for the FAI armored car in the design bureau of plant No. 1 MOZHEREZ under the leadership of N.G. Orlov.

The FAI entered service with the tank units of the Red Army. As of March 25, 1936, there were 574 such armored cars in seven (out of 13) military districts. Most of them were in the Kiev (129), Belorussian (113) and Trans-Baikal military districts.

The FAI armored vehicles received the baptism of fire in Spain. Soviet tanks and armored cars began arriving in this country in droves from the beginning of December 1936 and almost immediately rushed into battle.

So, on December 20, 1936, a tank company under the command of P. Tsaplin, consisting of nine T-26 tanks and six FAI armored vehicles in the bodies of specially equipped heavy trucks, was transferred to the Aragon front with the task of supporting the operation to eliminate the Teruel salient. On December 27, a tank company launched an attack. Armored vehicles followed the tanks along the road, firing left and right at the firing points of the rebels. The enemy fiercely resisted, pelting tanks with gasoline bottles and firing anti-tank guns. Over the next six days, Tsaplin's company went on the attack several more times, but to no avail. During these battles, four T-26s and one FAI were lost.

In total, during the years of the Spanish Civil War, the FAI delivered 33 armored vehicles to the Republicans.

During the conflict near the Khalkhin-Gol River, armored vehicles of this type were used by both Soviet and Mongolian units. The first 15 FAI armored cars were sent to Mongolia back in 1936. By the spring of 1939, the Mongolian People's Revolutionary Army had eight cavalry divisions, each of which was supposed to have nine FAI armored vehicles per state. However, not all divisions were fully staffed, so it is not possible to accurately indicate the number of FAI armored vehicles in Mongolian troops at the beginning of the conflict. But in parts of the 1st Army Group of the Red Army, as of July 20, 1939, there were 80 FAI armored vehicles. They were actively used in hostilities to destroy the Japanese group.

The FAI combat vehicles took part in the "liberation campaign" in Western Ukraine and Western Belarus, as well as in the Soviet-Finnish war.

The desire to strengthen the armor protection and armament of light armored cars inevitably led to an increase in their combat mass. A standard light chassis could no longer withstand such a load - on the FAI it exceeded the nominal by about 40%. As a result, the vehicle's cross-country ability was rather low on dirt roads (especially in the spring and autumn periods) and was completely absent on rough terrain.

In 1934, a three-axle GAZ-TK car appeared, designed at the Gorky Automobile Plant as a self-propelled chassis for a 76-mm dynamo-reactive cannon designed by L.V. Kurchevsky (TK - "three-axle Kurchevsky"). In fact, this car was still the same GAZ-A, but the third drive axle was suspended from its elongated frame on a transverse spring, and bevel gears with a large gear ratio were installed in the main gear to ensure better traction with a weak 40-horsepower GAZ engine -A.

The emergence of a new chassis stimulated attempts to solve the problem of cross-country ability of light armored vehicles.

In 1935, the Kolomna plant manufactured a prototype of the GAZ-TK armored car, installing an elongated FAI body on the chassis of the same name. With the same armament and armor, the new armored car had a more spacious fighting compartment, which made it possible to equip it with a radio station and introduce a third crew member - a radio operator. The cross-country ability of the vehicle has noticeably increased. The climb climbed reached 22 °. However, due to the fact that the combat weight increased to 2.62 tons, the maximum speed dropped to 63 m / h. Despite the fact that the specific pressure of the GAZ-TK was only 1.8 kgf / cm 2, the low-power engine and unreliable chassis did not allow bringing the dynamic characteristics of the armored car to the required level.

1 - DT machine gun; 2 - tower body; 3 - a viewing slot with a shutter; 4 - folding cap; 5 - hinge of the folding cap; 6 - stopper of the latch of the hinged cap; 7 - pillow; 8 - ball mount machine gun; 9 - sleeve catcher; 10 - belt for the shooter; 11 - stopper for traveling mountings of the tower

The FAI-M armored car is easily distinguishable from the FAI in appearance due to the "tail" - an armored casing that covered the frame of the GAZ M-1 chassis. A spare wheel was installed on a special bracket on the casing

By 1939, most of the FAI in the army was badly worn out as a result of prolonged use. There were not enough spare parts - GAZ-A was discontinued in 1935. A way out of this situation was found by rearranging the armored corps of the FAI on the GAZ-M1 chassis. For the first time, such an operation was carried out at Rembase No. 6 in 1938. In November 1938 - January 1939, such an armored car, designated FAI-M, was tested at the NIIBT Polygon in Kubinka near Moscow.

The armored hull with the GAZ-A chassis was moved to the M-1 chassis, which had a front axle reinforced with overlays. Since the length of the M-1 frame was significantly longer than the length of the FAI armored hull, its rear part and the gas tank were booked with additional sheets welded to the aft armor plate of the hull. In total, the FAI-M passed 3180 km along highways and country roads during tests. Despite the fact that the combat weight of the vehicle increased and reached 2.28 tons, thanks to the more powerful engine, the dynamic qualities even increased slightly. For example, the maximum speed on an asphalt highway was 83.1 km / h.

In the conclusion of the commission that tested the armored car, it was said: "The modernization of the FAI by placing the hull on the M-1 chassis makes it equal in its dynamic qualities to the BA-20. However, the use of the FAI-M will be limited due to the presence of defective armor. inferior to BA-20. During serial modernization, it is necessary to make the following changes:

1. Reinforce the front axle.

2. Carry out hermetic sealing of the case (from liquid substances, etc.).

3. Increase the range by installing an additional gas tank.

All of the above changes must be carried out during serial modernization and only after that the FAI-M armored car can be accepted for operation in the Red Army as an additional type to the main BA-20 ".

It is not known whether all of the above changes were made, but in the second half of 1939, work on the modernization of the FAI began at the military bases of the People's Commissariat of Defense. How many armored hulls have been rearranged from the GAZ-A to the M-1 chassis has not yet been found out. We can only say for sure that not all armored cars have undergone such alteration.

Armored vehicle FAI-M, knocked out in the first days of the Great Patriotic War. The type of armored car can be easily identified by the characteristic domed stampings over the heads of the driver and commander, wheels from the "emka" and vertical lower side hull plates

By the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, there were 376 FAI and FAI-M in the Red Army units (their clear division was not carried out in the documents of that period). It is known that by June 22, 1941, a small number of vehicles of this type were in the 34th Panzer Division (8 microns), the 24th Panzer Division (10 microns), the 17th Panzer Division (5 microns) and in some other units. Almost all of them were lost in the first months of the war, although individual armored vehicles of this type are found in the lists of tank units of the Red Army in the spring - summer of 1942.

In the summer - fall of 1941, several armored vehicles went to the Finns, who used our light armored cars mainly in police and training units. FAI-M served in the Finnish army until 1950.

The developed D-8 and D-12 turned out to be unsuccessful. The search continued. The decision came after the conclusion of a contract with Henry Ford for the supply of documentation for his cars in the USSR. In 1932, the design bureau of the Izhevsk plant creates the FAI armored car - "Ford A Izhevsk". The variant on the GAZ-M1 chassis was named FAI-M. A total of 697 armored vehicles FAI and FAI-M were produced, this is the second largest indicator in the Red Army in the pre-war period after the BA-20 armored car. A distinctive feature of the FAI and a very progressive solution was the placement of weapons in a rotating turret, although this increased the "growth" of the car to 2240 millimeters, and the mass - up to two tons. The armored car was put into service at the beginning of 1933. And although since 1934 it has been completely produced from domestic components, they decided not to change the name of the FAI.

The appearance of FAI-M is not quite usual. The fact is that the Izhevsk plant continued to produce armored hulls when the production of the Ford-A chassis had already ceased. Three hundred armored hulls have accumulated. And then they decided to put them on the GAZ-M1 chassis. From November 1938 to January 1939, a new version was tested at the research institute BT in Kubinka. The military gave positive reviews. The hybrid adopted for service under the name FAI-M differed from its progenitor by the rear part, on which an additional fuel tank and a bracket for mounting a spare wheel were mounted. The main place of production of the FAI was the Plant of Buildings in Vyksa, Gorky Region, modernized from the Vyksa Plant of Crushing and Grinding Equipment (DRO).

Armored rubber "do it yourself"

The armored car had a rear-wheel drive (4x2) chassis with a front engine. The riveted-welded body was made of rolled steel sheets with a thickness of four to six millimeters, installed at an angle. The crew of the armored vehicle consisted of two, less often - three people. The control compartment was combined with the combat one, the driver was located on the left, the vehicle commander sat on his right, in the presence of a third crew member. The machine gunner was located behind. So that the driver and commander did not rest their heads on the roof, deaf armored caps were made over their places. With a crew of two, the commander took over the functions of a machine gunner.

"In Spain and clashes with the Japanese, the FAI followed the tanks in battle formations, successfully supporting the offensive."

There were no optical instruments, the view was provided by windshields and rectangular windows in the side doors of the car. In battle, all this was covered by armored covers. Side doors opened forward, protecting the crew from fire in case of leaving the armored car. Outside of battle and on the march, observation could be carried out from a hatch on the tower, which was closed by a hinged dome-shaped cover.

The FAI was armed with a 7.62 mm DT machine gun. Ammunition - 1512 rounds. The machine gun was installed so that fire was provided without turret rotation in a sector of ± 10 degrees. The rotation of the tower was carried out by physical efforts of the shooter and with the help of a backrest.

The four-cylinder liquid-cooled carburetor engine GAZ-A with a capacity of 40 horsepower made it possible to move along the highway at a maximum speed of 80 kilometers per hour. The power reserve with a full tank is 200 kilometers. Mechanical brakes. The front and rear single wheels with bullet-resistant tires on top were covered with smoothly curved fenders, which at the bottom joined with the footrests, on which boxes with spare parts and tools were sometimes attached.

In 1935, several FAI armored cars were equipped with devices for traveling by rail, by the crew's forces the armored car was transferred to trolley mode in 30 minutes, and developed a speed of 86 kilometers per hour on rails. The ammunition load was increased to 2520 rounds. In 1936, these samples entered service with the 5th separate battalion of armored tires, where they were operated until July 1945, after which they were replaced by BA-20zhd, which fought with imperial Japan.

Long life in captivity

The FAI was used in the fight against the Basmachis in Central Asia, in the Spanish Civil War, on Khasan and Khalkhin Gol, in Finland. The irrecoverable losses were negligible. For example, in the battles on Khalkhin Gol and Khasan - 17 vehicles, in the Winter War - two. The captured FAIs were readily used by the Francoists during the Spanish War.

By the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, 376 FAI and FAI-M were listed in the Red Army units (the documents do not clearly differentiate one machine from another). On the Soviet-German front, the bulk of the vehicles were lost in 1941, but armored cars were used until 1943. Even longer on the Transbaikal front. The armored cars captured by the Finnish served until the 50s as police and training armored vehicles.

In addition, in 1934-1935, 30 FAIs were supplied to the NKVD troops, and in 1936, 15 vehicles were sold to Mongolia.

The FAI has established itself as a reconnaissance and patrol vehicle. But weak weapons and armor did not allow her to be used in head-on collisions directly on the battlefield. Attempts to strengthen both were undertaken, but led to a deterioration in tactical and technical characteristics. It was decided to entrust purely combat missions to other armored vehicles.

However, in Spain and in clashes with the Japanese, the FAI was used in battle formations immediately after the tanks, suppressing points of resistance with machine-gun fire and successfully supporting the offensive. The FAI coped with the assigned tasks, the losses were insignificant.

Of the modifications, the most interesting is GAZ-TK ("Three-axle Kurchevsky"). In 1934-1935, a slightly elongated body from the FAI was installed on the chassis for a 76-mm dynamo-rocket cannon designed by Kurchevsky, which made it possible to add a radio operator as well. The three-axle vehicle had the best cross-country ability, despite the weight increased to 2.62 tons. The maximum speed is 60 kilometers per hour. The GAZ-TK did not go into the series.

By the end of the 1920s, it became clear that the BA-27 cannon armored car alone was not enough for the Red Army. A light machine-gun armored car was required for reconnaissance and communications. As a base for such a machine, it was decided to use the chassis of a Ford-A passenger car, the production of which (assembly from American sets of parts) was supposed to begin at the Gudok Oktyabrya plant in Nizhny Novgorod. This chassis had good characteristics: it was distinguished by its low weight, simplicity and good maneuverability.

The development of the armored version of the Ford-A was carried out by the experimental design and test bureau under the leadership of N. Dyrenkov and the scientific and technical committee of the Department of Motorization and Mechanization (NTK UMM RKKA). The production of three prototypes began at the Izhora plant in September 1930. However, "due to the workload of the plant with the current orders of the UMM and the lack of personnel," the armored cars were ready only in January 1931.

Outwardly, all the cars (referred to in the documents as "Ford-A with armor" or "wheeled tankettes") were very similar. They were armored boxes without a roof, mounted on a Ford-A chassis and armed with two machine guns each (one machine gun was located in the frontal sheet to the right of the driver, and the other on a pin mount in the center of the armored body).

In parallel with the development of armored Fords, on the same chassis, two armored vehicles were manufactured according to the project of N. Dyrenkov. They received the D-8 and D-12 indexes and differed mainly in the installation of weapons. The D-8 had a DT machine gun, which could be installed in one of four machine-gun nests, and the D-12, in addition, also had an aircraft turret with an anti-aircraft machine gun on the roof of the hull. In February 1931, the vehicles were inspected by the commission of the NTK UMM RKKA. In the conclusion of the commission it was said: "To recognize that the D-8 and D-12 armored vehicles do not meet the requirements for light reconnaissance vehicles due to the inconvenience of using weapons, poor visibility for the driver and overloading the front axle" ...

Nevertheless, after minor modifications, these armored vehicles were recommended for mass production - after all, there was simply nothing else, and the army needed new equipment. During 1932-1934, the Izhora plant produced several dozen of these armored cars.

In the course of work on the release of the D-8 and D-12, the designers of the Izhora plant developed a turret armored car, which received the designation FAI (Ford-A Izhora). As the name implies, the same Ford chassis was used as a base, the production of which was established at the Nizhny Novgorod Automobile Plant. The new promising layout of the machine led to a significant increase in its height (up to 2240 mm) and weight, reaching 2 tons. Nevertheless, the fighting qualities and comfort of the crew in the new armored car have improved significantly.

FAI production began in 1933 at the Izhora plant in Leningrad, then it was transferred to Vyksinsky for crushing and grinding equipment (Vyksa, Gorky region), where it continued until 1936. In total, 676 armored cars were produced during this time, and since 1934, the domestic GAZ-A chassis has been used - a licensed version of Ford-A. In 1936, the FAI replaced the BA-20 armored car in production, which was developed on a more powerful and reliable GAZ-M1 passenger chassis.

The FAI entered service with the tank units of the Red Army and as of March 25, 1936, there were 574 such armored cars in seven (out of 13) military districts. Most of them were in Kiev (129 vehicles), Belorussky (113 vehicles) and Trans-Baikal military districts. These machines were also supplied for export - to Mongolia and Spain, and also participated in all military conflicts waged by the USSR and the 30s.

However, the desire to strengthen the armor protection and armament of light armored cars inevitably led to an increase in the combat mass. A standard light chassis could no longer withstand such a load - on the FAI it exceeded the nominal by about 40%. As a result, the vehicle's cross-country ability was rather low on dirt roads (especially in the spring-autumn period) and was completely absent on rough terrain.

In 1934, a three-axle GAZ-TK vehicle appeared, designed at the Gorky Automobile Plant as a self-propelled chassis for a 76-mm dynamo-reactive cannon designed by L.V. Kurchevsky. In fact, this car was still the same GAZ-A, but a third drive axle was suspended from its elongated frame on a transverse spring and bevel gears with a large gear ratio were used in the main gear to ensure better traction with a weak 40-horsepower GAZ engine. A.

There is a hope that the new chassis can solve the problem of the combat value of a light armored car, increasing its cross-country ability and dynamic qualities. In 1935, an elongated FAI body was installed at the GAZ-TK. With the same armament and armor, the new GAZ-TK armored car had a more spacious fighting compartment, which made it possible to equip it with a radio station and introduce a third crew member - a radio operator. However, due to the increased combat weight and the unsuccessful design of the chassis itself, the GAZ-TK remained only in a prototype.

By 1939, most of the FAIs in the army were badly worn out as a result of prolonged use. There were also not enough spare parts for repairs - GAZ-A was discontinued in 1935. A way out of this situation was found by rearranging the FAI armored corps on the GAZ-M1 chassis. For the first time, such an operation was carried out at Rembase No. 6 in 1938. In November 1938 - January 1939, such an armored car, designated FAI-M, was tested at the Research Institute BT proving ground in Kubinka near Moscow.

The armored hull with the GAZ-A chassis was moved to the M-1 chassis with reinforced front axle linings. Since the length of the M-1 frame was significantly longer than the length of the FAI armored hull, the rear of the frame and the gas tank were booked with additional sheets welded to the rear armor plate of the hull. In total, the FAI-M passed 3180 kilometers on highways and country roads during testing. Despite the fact that the combat weight of the vehicle increased and reached 2280 kg, thanks to the more powerful engine, the dynamic qualities even increased slightly. For example, the maximum speed on an asphalt highway was 83.1 km / h.

1. Reinforce the front axle.

2. Carry out hermetic sealing of the case (from liquid substances, etc.).

3. Increase the range by installing an additional gas tank.

It is not known whether all of the above changes were made, but in the second half of 1939, work on the modernization of the FAI began at the rembas of the People's Commissariat of Defense. How many FAIs were rearranged on the GAZ-M1 chassis, the author does not know. We can only say for certain that not all armored cars were subjected to this operation.

By the beginning of World War II, there were 376 FAI and FAI-M in the Red Army units (in the documents of that period, there was no clear division into FAI and FAI-M). It is known that by June 22, 1941, a small number of vehicles of this type were in the 34th Panzer Division (8th Mechanized Corps), 24th Panzer Division (10th Mechanized Corps), 17th Panzer Division (5th mechanized corps) and in some other parts. Almost all of them were lost in the first months of the war, although individual armored vehicles of this type are found in the lists of tank units of the Red Army in the spring and summer of 1942.

In the summer and autumn of 1941, several trophy FAI-Ms went to the Finns. Not being deceived by their combat value, they used our light armored cars mainly in police and training units. FAI-M served in the Finnish army until 1950.

TACTICAL AND TECHNICAL DATA OF EXPERIMENTAL FAI-M: Full length, mm .................. 4325 Height, mm ........................ 2140 Width, mm ....................... 1750 Base, mm ................... ....... 2845 Front clearance, mm .............. 185 Rear clearance, mm ................ 210 Combat weight , kg .................... 2280 Crew, pers. ....................... 3 * Maximum speed on an asphalt highway on main-engine tires, km / h ............. ........ 83.1 The overcome rise, deg. ...... 14 Reservation: forehead and side, mm ...... 6 feed, mm ......................... 4 floor, mm .......................... 3 tower, mm ................. ........ 4.75 Ammunition for the DT machine gun 24 discs with 1512 rounds. * For combat vehicles - 2 people.

The performance characteristics of the lung
armored car FAI / FAI-M

Combat weight, t: 2,0;
Crew, pers .: 2;
Overall dimensions, mm: length - 4310 / ..., width - 1675/1750, height - 2210/2240, wheelbase - ... / 2845, track - 1435 (front wheels), 1440 (rear wheels), ground clearance - 224;
Reservation, mm: hull forehead - 6/8, hull sides - 4, turret forehead - 6;
Armament: 7.62 mm DT machine gun;
Ammunition: 1323 rounds;
Engine:"GAZ-A", 4-cylinder, carburetor, liquid-cooled, power 30.9 kW / "GAZ-M1", 4-cylinder, carbureted, liquid-cooled, power 36.8 kW;
Maximum speed, km / h: on the highway - 80/90;
Cruising range, km: 200/315;
Fuel capacity, l: 40/60;
Overcoming obstacles: rise, deg. - 15.

The birth of one of the most massive Soviet cars was preceded by the conclusion of an agreement between the Government of the USSR and Henry Ford's company, according to which, from May 31, 1929, Ford was to begin deliveries to the USSR of component parts for the assembly of Ford-A trucks. , Ford-AA and Ford-Timken.
In February 1930, the assembly of these cars began in Kanavino at the Gudok Oktyabrya plant, and in November of the same year the Moscow plant named after KIM joined it. Since April 1932, the production of Ford-AA cars began at a new plant in Nizhny Novgorod, the construction of which was financed by G. Ford, in accordance with the signed agreement. In the same place, on December 6, 1932, the production of Ford-A trucks began.

Subsequently, Nizhny Novgorod was renamed to Gorky, and the plant began to be called “GAZ im. Molotov ". After recalculating the drawings into the metric system of measurements and modernization, Ford cars were renamed: Ford-A - GAZ-A, Ford-AA - GAZ-AA, Ford-AAA - GAZ-AAA.
The first experiments with the construction of a light armored car on the Ford-A chassis on the instructions of the UMMA of the Red Army began almost immediately after the signing of an agreement with G. Ford. As a result, the specialists of the Design Bureau, which was headed by NI Dyrenkov, designed the D-8 and D 12 armored vehicles. These vehicles, which were adopted by the Red Army in 1931, soon ceased to meet the requirements of the army, since their machine-gun installations did not have circular fire. As a result, the designers were asked to develop a new armored hull with weapons installed in the turret.

In 1931-1932, on the basis of the assignment of the UMMA of the Red Army, the designers of the Izhora plant design bureau developed a new car, which received the designation FAI ("Ford-A Izhora") and from 1933 was put into mass production.
The armored car was made on a rear-wheel drive (4x2) chassis according to a design scheme with a front engine and a riveted-welded, fully enclosed body, which was made of rolled steel sheets with a thickness of 4-6 mm. Such armor was clearly insufficient and, although it was installed with small angles of inclination, it could not provide any serious protection to the crew from bullets and fragments of shells and mines. The crew of the armored vehicle consisted of two, less often three people. In the control compartment, combined with the fighting compartment, the driver was located to the left, and to the right of him - in the presence of a third crew member - was the vehicle commander. For ease of placement in the car, or to put it more simply, so as not to rest your head on the roof, there were deaf armored caps above their seats on the roof of the control compartment. The machine gunner's workplace was behind them, in the tower. The frontal windows, which were closed in a combat situation by armored covers with viewing slots, provided the driver and commander with a view from the control compartment: there were also rectangular windows with armored covers in the side doors of the vehicle that opened forward.

On the roof of the fighting compartment was a cylindrical tower of circular rotation with an armored hood on the roof. A 7.62-mm DT machine gun was installed in the slightly sloping frontal sheet of the tower, the ammunition carried to which consisted of 1323 rounds. The rotation of the tower was carried out due to the physical efforts of the shooter and with the help of a backrest. In addition, the installation of the machine gun made it possible to fire in the ± 10 ° sector without turning the turret. In the engine compartment, located in front of the hull, a four-cylinder liquid-cooled carburetor engine "GAZ-A" was installed, which developed a power of 30.9 kW (40 hp), which allowed a 2-ton armored vehicle to move along the highway at a maximum speed of 80 km / h.

With a full tank of fuel, the car could cover 200 km. A transmission interacted with the engine, which included a dry-friction single-plate clutch, a four-speed gearbox (4 + 1), a cardan gear, a main gear and mechanical brakes.
Access to the engine with a chain of maintenance and repair was provided by a hinged cover of the armored hood. attached to the fixed part of the roof of the engine compartment using hinge hinges. In front, the radiator was protected by a V-shaped armor plate 8 mm thick in cross section. in which there were two vertical hatches equipped with movable flaps that regulated the flow of cooling air to the radiator and engine.

The rear wheel drive (4x2) suspension with semi-elliptical leaf springs used single wheels with a pool of thin tires. The front and rear wheels were covered from above by smoothly curved fenders, which at the bottom joined with the footrests, on which small boxes with spare parts and tools were sometimes attached. In 1935, replaceable metal rims with flanges were introduced into the standard equipment of a number of FAI armored vehicles, which allowed these armored cars to move along railway tracks at speeds up to 86 km / h. By the efforts of the crew, the replacement of tires with bandages was carried out in approximately 30 minutes. The weight of the armored car in the trolley version was 1.9 tons. The ammunition load was increased to 2520 rounds. These vehicles were used as part of armored trains as light reconnaissance armored tires. Their significant drawbacks were low reverse speed (24 km / h) and the absence of a radio station.

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