BSCh-7
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| BSCh-7 | |
|---|---|
| File:BSCh-7.png Main Army variants of the BSCh-7, with cross-section view | |
| Type | Armored Personnel Carrier |
| Place of origin |  Menghe |
| Service history | |
| In service | 1996-present |
| Used by | Menghe |
| Production history | |
| Designer | Taekchŏn armored vehicle design bureau |
| Designed | 1992-1995 |
| Manufacturer | Yŏng'an April 17th Factory Songrimsŏng Military Automotive Plant |
| Unit cost | $650,000 |
| Produced | 1996-present |
| No. built | 27,000 |
| Specifications (BSCh-7B) | |
| Weight | 16.8 tonnes |
| Length | 8.04 m |
| Width | 2.8 m |
| Height | 2.55 m |
| Crew | 2 (driver, gunner) |
| Passengers | 10 + 1 |
| Armor | welded steel plate |
Main armament | 12.7mm JG-77 heavy machine gun |
| Engine | Ka-1212 360 kW (480 horsepower) |
| Power/weight | 28.6 hp/tonne |
| Suspension | wheeled 8x8 |
| Ground clearance | 45 cm |
Operational range | 800 km (internal fuel) |
| Speed | Level road: 90 km/h Swimming: 8 km/h |
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, and in 1995 the MoND declared a winner, issuing the designation BSCh-7. Production began the following year.
Description
Layout
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Design
Layout
Unlike its predecessor, the BSCh-4, the BSCh-7 has its engine located between the driver's area and the passenger compartment, with the transported squad disembarking through a large ramp-door in the rear. The hatches in the middle of the hull are retained as a backup option, though they are located on the upper half of the vehicle. The passengers are seated facing outward, with the engine's driveshaft running downward between the rows of seats and the space above used for storage. There are ten firing ports on the vehicle: three on either hull side, two on the rear ramp, and one on each forward side door. Passengers can also fire by standing in the top hatches or opening the side hatches.
The front of the vehicle is taken up by the crew compartment, in which the driver is seated on the left and the eleventh passenger (either the unit commander, the platoon NCO, or the marksman in a standard motorized platoon) is seated on the right. The turret, which has a one-man crew in all variants, is centered directly behind them, with ammunition stored below. The engine is located in the center of the vehicle, allowing the passengers to disembark without breaching the forward area's airtight CBRN seal.
Armament
Main armament on the BSCh-7A and -7B consists of a single 12.7mm JG-77 heavy machine-gun mounted in a fully enclosed turret. The gunner is provided with a hatch in the turret roof for surveillance or rapid escape, and a forward periscope for aiming. Other variants, described below, add different armament options, but the 12.7mm turret is the most common in Army service.
Protection
The BSCh-7's armor has the claimed capability to withstand 12.7mm armor-piercing ammunition across the 60-degree frontal arc at combat ranges. The sides and rear are protected against small-arms fire and shrapnel. Applique armor plates or slat-armor arrays can be fitted to the front and sides, though the heavier kits degrade amphibious capability. The vehicle can be CBRN-sealed if necessary, with a filtration system supplying overpressure air to the crew and passenger compartments. The air filtration and ventilation system also reduces the buildup of gunsmoke in the passenger compartment when the firing ports are in use. The underside of the hull has an angled V-shape to deflect the blast from mines, and both crew and passenger seats are attached to the wall or roof in order to further insulate against blast shock.
Mobility
The first variant, accepted into service as the BSCh-7A, was equipped with an old-model 205-kW (275-horsepower) engine. After repeated complaints about poor speed and mobility, especially when climbing rough terrain, this was replaced by a more modern 360-kW engine in the BSCh-7B. This variant can reach 95 kilometers per hour on flat roads, though speed is significantly reduced in rough terrain, especially muddy areas. All eight wheels are powered, and propulsion in water is provided by a pair of enclosed propellers on either side of the hull rear, which can bring the vehicle to 8 kilometers per hour when "swimming." This variant became standard in new production after 2001.
All BSCh-7 variants have a centralized tire pressure control system, allowing the driver to adjust tension depending on the terrain type. The tires are semi-protected, and have a "run-flat" system to allow the vehicle to continue operating for a limited time after one of the tires has been punctured.
Variants
BSCh-7Ch
The BSCh-7Ch, also known as the BSCh-7HB (Haegun Bobyŏng, Marine Infantry}}, was originally produced in response to a 2003 request by the Marine Infantry for a heavily armed vehicle which could assault hostile beaches. It has a larger turret with a 22mm autocannon, also aimed by a single gunner. There is no dedicated commander in the vehicle, though the sergeant may ride alongside the driver while the platoon headquarters and marksman are seated in the passenger compartment. Despite some initial interest, the BSCh-7Ch soon lost popularity in the Menghean Army's procurement department due to its poor commander layout and a feeling that the 22mm autocannon stood on poor middle ground between 12.7mm and 32mm weapons.
BSCh-7D
Built on the same up-engined chassis as the BSCh-7B, the -D grew out of the same request that produced the -7Ch. It uses a turret similar to that on the BunSuCha-4Ch, with a 38mm automatic grenade launcher on the right and a 7.62mm machine-gun on the left. Like the BSCh-4Ch, it was not ordered in large numbers, and is mainly issued to Gunchal brigades and divisional troops, who would be tasked with patrolling rear areas against enemy special forces or insurgents.
BSCh-7E
Advertised as a wheeled IFV, the BSCh-7E features the turret from the BSCh-5 mounted over the passenger compartment. This reduces the rear passenger capacity to six, with two more seated beneath where the original turret was located. Ummayah placed a small order in 2013, but the Menghean Army has shown little interest in the vehicle, which is thinly armored and top-heavy.
Other Variants
- JJYB-120: An armored, self-propelled mortar carrier (Janggab-Jaju-Yudan-Balsagi) intended for Battalion fire support. The top of the rear hull is built with a large two-door hatch, allowing the crew to operate a 120mm mortar from the passenger compartment. Fire-control is performed by the commander, seated beside the driver, while two additional crew operate the mortar in its separate compartment. The 12.7mm HMG turret of the original BSCh-7B is retained, and can be operated by the commander if the vehicle comes under attack.
- BSCh-7DS: Battalion command vehicle (Daedae Salyŏngcha). It has a distinctive raised cabin with front and side windows over the troop compartment, providing space for the command staff to stand. It also carries an open machine-gun cupola instead of an enclosed turret.
- BSCh-7JG: Armored ambulance (Janggab Gugŭbcha) typically used at the Battalion level to evacuate wounded soldiers to a battalion medical point or higher. It has the same internal capacity as the BSCh-7JG, but loading stretchers via the rear ramp is easier, and it has better protection and offroad capability.
- BSCh-7NAA: Variant for the Rapid Response Brigades of the Internal Security Forces, the BSCh-7NAA is based on the BSCh-7B's chassis but uses a smaller turret with a 7.62mm GPMG.
- BSCh-7NAB: Modified BSCh-7NAA in which the GPMG is replaced with a manually operated, breech-loading grenade launcher. Unlike Menghean automatic grenade launchers, it uses the 42mm caliber common on under-barrel grenade launchers. In service it would primarily be used to launch tear gas grenades over crowds.
