BSCh-7

The BSCh-7 (formal designation: 7호 분대 수송 장갑차 / 七號分隊輸送裝甲車, Chil-ho Bundae Susong Janggabcha, "No.7 Armored Squad Transport;" short designation: 분수차-7 Bunsucha-chil) is a wheeled 8×8 armored personnel carrier designed in Menghe as a replacement for the BSCh-4. It features better mobility, better protection, and an improved internal layout, with the passengers facing inward in a rear compartment. It is currently the most common wheeled APC in the Menghean Army by a large margin, though the newer BSCh-10 has begun replacing it in some units.

Development

Menghe's previous wheeled APC, the BSCh-4, entered service in the early 1970s. Though it represented a major improvement over the BSCh-1, the BSCh-4 still possessed a number of drawbacks. With only four wheels, it had poor offroad mobility, and it could get stuck on rough terrain easily. The rear-engine arrangement also meant that passengers could only enter and exit through a pair of side doors. While this method was still reasonably fast, it could leave the dismounts exposed to enemy fire, limiting their options in an ambush situation. Finally, because all crew members sat in a single compartment, opening the passenger doors would expose the entire interior of the vehicle to any CBRN contaminants in the air outside.

In response to these drawbacks, the Menghean People's Army issued a request for a new wheeled APC in the early 1980s. Development unfolded slowly, interrupted by Ryŏ Ho-jun's political campaigns and the economic crisis of the mid-1980s. After the Decembrist Revolution, Choe Sŭng-min's government allowed the program to continue, but steadily reduced defense budgets in the late 1980s and early 1990s. By 1992, the BSCh-7 program existed mainly to retain domestic experience in AFV design, and the Ministry of National Defense forecast a relatively small batch of orders. Faced with these constraints, the designers incorporated a number of cost-cutting measures, resulting in an APC design that entered service in the 1990s but appeared to be out of the 1980s.

Two prototypes underwent testing and evaluation in the early 1990s. Both separated the hull into a crew compartment at the front, an engine compartment in the middle, and a passenger compartment in the rear, which was judged the best response to these design requirements, but they differed slightly in layout. The first prototype, Si.316, had its turret in the driver's compartment, between the driver and front passenger but offset to the rear. The second, Si.317, had its turret over the crew compartment, resembling the later BSCh-7N variant. It was also slightly larger, and offered an extra set of side doors for the passengers. In the end, the Ministry of National Defense ordered Si-317 with the turret placed over the seat beside the driver. A prototype meeting this configuration, Si.319, was tested in 1995 and declared the winner of the competition, entering production the following year.

Description

Layout

The BSCh-7G, based on the Si-319 prototype, is divided into three separate compartments. In the front of the vehicle is a crew compartment, with the driver and gunner seated side-by-side. These crew members can enter and exit either through hatches on the roof of the vehicle. Initial prototypes had side doors as well, but these were deemed redundant and deleted.

As on the BSCh-4N and later models, the driver and gunner have large bulletproof windows sloped to match the angle of the upper front plate. When entering combat, they can lower thin metal hatches over these windows to provide additional scratch protection; out of battle, these plates provide shade from the sun and reduce glare. The driver has four overhead periscopes and two viewing ports in the side armor, both of which are angled periscopes rather than direct viewing ports to avoid creating a line-of-sight opening in the armor. The gunner also has two side periscopes, as well as two periscopes, a large sight, and a small aiming sight on the cupola, which can rotate through 360 degrees.

The driver has a conventional seat, while the gunner has a rotating cupola derived from the type used on the JCh-4 and JCh-5 main battle tanks. This cupla allows the gunner to either manually aim and fire his 12.7mm heavy machine gun from a standing position with the hatch open, or remotely aim and fire it from inside the vehicle with the help of a periscope. In addition to shielding the gunner from small-arms fire and shrapnel, this also protects him against CBRN contaminants. Furthermore, because the passengers and platoon HQ members are in a separate compartment, the airtight seal around the driver-and-gunner compartment is not breached when the passengers enter or exit the vehicle.

Behind the driver's compartment is the engine compartment, separated by a protective firewall with an access hatch for maintenance. The firewall provides some additional protection against fire from the front of the vehicle, though any projectile which penetrates the front armor with enough energy to damage the engine is also likely to kill or injure the crew.

The rear half of the vehicle is devoted to the passenger compartment. The ten squad members sit on folding benches on either side of the hull, facing inward in two rows of five. This arrangement offers somewhat better ergonomics when entering and exiting the vehicle, and because the benches are fixed to the hull sides rather than the floor, it also offers some protection against mines and IEDs. It also leaves the passenger compartment with a clear floor when the benches are removed, making it easy to modify the vehicle for special-purpose variants. With all hatches closed and all firing ports closed or occupied, the passenger compartment is also sealed against CBRN contaminants, with an overpressure air filter on the roof reducing leakage through small openings.

The passengers have three ways to exit the vehicle: through double doors in the rear of the hull, through clamshell side doors, and through hatches in the roof. The hull rear doors provide the safest exit route when under fire from the front, and also allow the passengers to load and unload heavy equipment or stretchers more easily. The Si.316 prototype had a powered ramp with a built-in backup door, but the Si.317 and the production BSCh-7 both have manually opened double doors instead. Though a ramp would make it easier to load heavy equipment and stretchers, testing with the Si.316 and Si.317 found that the double doors allowed for significantly faster embarking and disembarking types when accounting for the time required to lower the ramp. Furthermore, the crew can disembark from the double doors while the vehicle is slowly moving forward, which is not possible with a ramp.

The side doors are similar to the ones on the BSCh-4: the upper half swings outward and forward, forming a shield against fire from in front, and the lower half swings outward and downward, forming a "step" for the passengers. In another feature borrowed from the BSCh-4, the upper half of the door has a built-in firing port, meaning that it can be used as a gun shield when advancing. Because of the inward-facing seating arrangement, all passengers can easily disembark from either side door, meaning that if the vehicle is under fire from one side the passengers can use the other side as an exit. Notably, the passenger benches terminate before reaching the side doors, meaning that there is no obstruction ahead of them.

The four large roof hatches provide one final means of exit, though they would only be the most desirable option in rare circumstances, such as while the vehicle is in the water. The hatches fold outward and are spring-loaded to hold open in the vertical position, providing some cover to standing passengers when opened. Metal "stirrups" between the pairs of roadwheels, combined with steps and bars on the hull sides, help passengers and crew members climb up and down easily. Out of combat, passengers often ride with the hatches open or even sit on the roof itself, as this provides the best escape from the hot interior when operating in tropical climates.

On the BSCh-7G, the eleventh passenger sits forward of the two rows in a centerline seat. This seat is given to a member of the platoon headquarters - in a 2nd Generation unit, either the Platoon Lieutenant, the Platoon Staff Sergeant, or the Platoon Marksman. This seat has a cupola with 360 degree periscope coverage, including a large variable-zoom periscope which can rotate and elevate in position. This allows the Platoon LT or Platoon SSGT to survey the battlefield from within the vehicle and issue commands accordingly. In practice, the periscopes offer poor visibility because they do not clear the clutter on the roof, and the members of the platoon headquarters often dismount to command from the field.

The BSCh-7N, which was introduced in 2003 and accounts for most BSCh-7s currently in Menghean service, has a modified internal arrangement. The platoon commander position in the center front of the passenger compartment is replaced by an enclosed turret, which is operated by the vehicle's gunner. The platoon LT, platoon SSGT, or platoon marksman instead rides in the forward seat beside the driver, with four periscopes, two side viewing ports, and a rotating variable-magnification periscope covering the forward 180-degree arc. This configuration gives the platoon HQ member better forward visibility, and allows the gunner to reload or un-jam the machine gun under armor, an important consideration in Menghean Army vehicle doctrine. Interestingly, the BSCh-7N retains the passenger compartment periscope, but offsets it to the 7-o'clock position behind the turret. From here, it can cover a 270-degree arc which sweeps from directly ahead over the left side and rear before terminating just short of 90 degrees right. The squad sergeant can use this periscope to cover the platoon commander's blind spots, spot targets for the gunner, and check for threats before ordering the squad to dismount. The revised arrangement compromises one of the supposed benefits of the BSCh-7's layout - namely, the fact that the crew compartment is not breached when the passengers dismount - and also forces the platoon HQ member to dismount from a top front hatch, with maximum exposure to enemy fire. The platoon LT or platoon SSGT can avoid these problems by commanding from inside the vehicle, as long as the vehicles are not far from the dismounted troops, but the platoon marksman or platoon medic must dismount as part of regular operations.

Armament

On both major variants of the BSCh-7 (G and N), the main armament is a single GCh-75 12.7mm heavy machine gun. The quasi-turret of the BSCh-7G, derived from a tank commander's cupola, allows the gunner to aim and fire the machine gun from inside the vehicle, but there is only a single 200-round ammunition box on the mount and the gunner must open his hatch and expose himself to enemy fire in order to load a new box or un-jam the weapon.

The BSCh-7N instead gives the gunner a compact turret in the front of the passenger compartment. This is a "true" turret: the gunner sits on a seat suspended below it, with his head and part of his torso inside the turret ring, and can access the machine gun's receiver easily under armor. It also has an overhead hatch through which the gunner can enter, exit, or simply observe the vehicle's surroundings. Consequently, it is more effective than the demi-turret cupola on the BSCh-7G, and more spacious than the small turret on the BSCh-4N. It also offers the gunner better visibility: there are two vision ports on each side and one in the rear, all of them easily accessible from the gunner's seat. Front protection is somewhat compromised by the curved ammunition feed to the gun, which runs through a curved plate in the mantlet. A canvas cover maintains the airtight seal around the machine gun at different angles of elevation.

The turret on the BSCh-7N is not powered, and the gunner must traverse and elevate the weapon using a set of hand cranks. This also means that the gun is not stabilized in either axis, making it impossible to fire accurately while moving, though the gunner can still lay down suppressive fire. Elevation ranges from -15 degrees to +60 degrees: low enough to fire at personnel near the sides of the vehicle, and high enough to engage helicopters, low-flying aircraft, and personnel in high windows or on cliffs. Gun depression is much more limited when firing ahead or to the rear.

Despite occasional independent ventures by various design teams, the Menghean Army strictly opposed proposals to fit a heavier remote controlled weapon station to the BSCh-7. Especially during the 2000s and early 2010s, Menghean armored doctrine staff were wary of the disadvantages of unmanned turrets, including the lack of a manual traverse backup, the impossibility of loading or un-jamming the weapon from behind armor, and the higher profile which often resulted. Furthermore, the BSCh-7 was designed as a light, inexpensive, and mobile APC, and the Menghean Army saw little need to arm it with an autocannon or ATGMs. Only in the late 2010s did the Menghean Army order a batch of BSCh-7s with remote turrets, a change which allowed a reversion to the BSCh-7G's crew seating plan.

Apart from the various turret options, all APC variants of the BSCh-7 are fitted with no fewer than eighteen firing ports, each one consisting of a three-layered bulletproof glass viewing slit, a pivoting firing port cover, and a simple ball mount with a rubber-lined keyhole slot. There are five on each side of the passenger compartment, including one on each side door. One pair of these firing ports is angled forward at 60 degrees from the centerline, and the firing ports on the doors can fire even further forward when the upper doors are opened. All but the door ports have an associated apparatus which, when hooked to the side of a JS-67 or JS-103 assault rifle, deflects spent casings to the floor and extracts fumes through a vent in the roof. There is one firing port on each of the rear doors, allowing passengers to check and clear the space behind the vehicle before disembarking. Even the roof hatches have firing ports; these can be used either to engage high-up targets on buildings or clifftops, or as side-facing firing ports when the hatches are open. The final pair of firing ports are on the outer corners of the driver's compartment, and allow the driver and forward passenger to engage nearby threats with their rifles. Because the BSCh-7's passenger seats face inward, the squad members must stand or partially kneel on their benches in order to use these firing ports, making their fire even more inaccurate than firing port fire on other vehicles. As such, the numerous firing ports are rarely used in combat, especially because Menghean APC doctrine encourages squads to dismount before initiating an engagement.

Protection

The armor on the BSCh-7 is only slightly thicker than the armor on the BSCh-4, but it is made from a harder alloy and sloped more steeply. The upper hull sides and lower hull front are sloped at 35 degrees from vertical, and the upper hull front is sloped at 65 degrees from vertical. Due to the combination of sloping and hardening, the vehicle can withstand 12.7mm fire across the 60-degree frontal arc at ranges of down to 500 meters, and it can withstand 7.62mm, 7.7mm, and 7.5mm armor-piercing rounds at point-blank range. The roof armor is thinnest, at only 5mm, but this is still sufficient to deflect glancing rounds at all but the steepest of angles.

Though reasonably well-protected against small-arms fire and shrapnel, the BSCh-7 is still very vulnerable to heavier weapons. Man-portable anti-tank weapons can easily penetrate the outer hull, as can armor-piercing tank shells, armor-piercing autocannon projectiles, anti-tank guided missiles, and direct artillery or mortar hits. Armor-piercing HMG rounds from the sides or rear can also easily penetrate the armor at combat ranges. Apart from the run-flat tires and passenger benches, mine protection is also quite poor, especially for the driver's compartment.

Optics

Interestingly, the BSCh-7 had relatively good close-range visibility, in many respects surpassing the BSCh-3, BSCh-5, and BSCh-8 IFVs. The driver and the adjacent crew member both have numerous periscopes and vision ports covering angles of up to 135 degrees away from the front. The passengers also have good periscope and vision port coverage, as does the gunner on the BSCh-7N. Both the BSCh-3G and the BSCh-3N have a rotating variable-zoom periscope in the passenger compartment, though they assign it to different squad members. Altogether, this suite gives the passengers and crew a good probability of spotting nearby threats at close range in the daytime, avoiding ambushes and unsafe disembark orders.

Where the BSCh-7 lacks is in night vision. Both the G and N variants were originally built with 70s-vintage night vision equipment: starlight-based image intensification sights for the gunner and HQ member, forward-facing active infrared headlights, and an infrared spotlight on early N-model turrets. None of the large periscopes on these early models had a passive infrared imaging mode. As such, early-model BSCh-7s had poor nighttime visibility in clear conditions and no passive night vision under an overcast sky. This was a known drawback, as the Menghean MoND mainly envisioned the BSCh-7 as a transport rather than a combat vehicle. Some vehicles received passive night vision upgrades in the late 2000s, with another round of upgrades in the late 2010s, but even these refit efforts were given low priority compared to optics improvement for IFVs and MBTs.

Role and evaluation

Compared with the BSCh-4, the BSCh-7 represented a major improvement in nearly all respects. Its layout is more comfortable and convenient, and leaves more space for supplies and large equipment. Its armament is identical, but benefits from better sighting and visibility. Its protection is moderately better: both vehicles are only armored to withstand 12.7mm fire over the frontal arc, but the BSCh-7 can withstand frontal 12.7mm fire from closer ranges. The BSCh-7 also has much better mobility, owing to its more powerful engine and its 8×8 suspension, though its swimming performance is somewhat poorer. These improvements came at only a modest increase in cost, in part due to the omission of night optics and powered turret controls.

Nevertheless, the BSCh-7 is still limited to the role of a "battle taxi" APC, quickly transporting its squad into the combat zone but staying out of combat where possible. It lacks the firepower to engage fortifications and armored vehicles, and its own armor is easily defeated by enemy tanks, IFVs, and squad-level anti-tank weapons. What armor it does have is mainly intended to protect the occupants from artillery fire, airstrikes, and ambushes, and even in the latter case its armor scheme gives little consideration to mines and IEDs, as experience in the Innominadan occupation quickly demonstrated. Some up-armed and up-armored variants were produced, but the vast majority of BSCh-7s in Menghean service are G or N variants, and a majority of these only have rudimentary night vision gear.

Thus, evaluated as a combat vehicle, the BSCh-7 is relatively poor. In some respects it is inferior to the BTR-80, especially in armament, though it does have the edge in visibility and passenger space. Its main advantage is its ability to achieve its basic protection, mobility, and ergonomic goals for a relatively low cost. When relations with Maverica and Innominada broke down in 2005, this allowed Menghe to produce the BSCh-7 in enormous numbers over the following decade, expanding and motorizing what in the 1990s was still an infantry-centric force. Thus, in terms of its broader strategic role as an inexpensive, mass-produced, but generally adequate troop transport, the BSCh-7 fulfilled its goals well.

Variants

Users

• Argentstan
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• Dzhungestan
• Menghe
• Polvokia
• Republic of Innominada
• Qusayn
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