BSCh-3

BSCh-3
Five-view illustration of the BSCh-3N
Type	Infantry fighting vehicle
Place of origin	Menghe
Service history
In service	1968-present
Production history
Manufacturer	Chikai Heavy Machine Plant
Produced	1970-1979
Specifications
Weight	13.2 tonnes
Length	6.735 m
Width	2.94 m
Height	2.068 m overall 1.881 m to turret roof
Crew	3
Passengers	8
Armor	6-33mm welded rolled steel
Main armament	73mm 2A28 Grom low-velocity smoothbore gun (40 rounds)
Secondary armament	7.62mm PKT coaxial machine gun YDCh-10 ATGM
Engine	UTD-20, 6-cylinder 4-stroke V-shaped airless-injection water-cooled multifuel 15.8 liter diesel 300 hp
Power/weight	22.73 hp/tonne
Suspension	torsion bar with shock absorbers on 1st and 6th roadwheel pairs
Ground clearance	370mm
Fuel capacity	462 L
Operational range	600 km (road)
Speed	65 km/h (road) 45 km/h (off road) 7-8 km/h (swimming)

The BSCh-3 is a Menghean license-produced copy of the Letnian BMP-1 infantry fighting vehicle. Several dozen were delivered in 1968, shortly after the end of the Menghean War of Liberation, and hundreds more were manufactured in the Democratic People's Republic of Menghe during the 1970s. The type was soon replaced by the BSCh-5.

Description

The baseline variant, designated BSCh-3G, is an exact copy of the BMP-1, down to the Cyrillic lettering on the controls and manufactured components. Its main armament is a 73mm low-recoil cannon mounted in a one-man turret, with the commander seated forward of the turret and to the left, just behind the driver. There is space in the back for eight passengers, who sit back-to-back and exit through two doors in the rear. The vehicle is protected against rifle-caliber ammunition all around (i.e., 7.62×51mm and 7.5×54mm), and it can withstand 20mm armor-piercing ammunition over the frontal arc. It is fully amphibious, and has good mobility, in part due to the light weight of the hull.

Because the BMP-1 was still a relatively new vehicle at the time, and because Menghe was a neutral power rather than an ally, Letnia took certain steps to downgrade its exported vehicles. The early-model BSCh-3Gs did not incorporate any night vision equipment, whether in the form of passive starlight optics or an active infrared illumination system. In place of the BMP-1's infrared searchlights, the BSCh-3G had civilian-grade visual searchlights. It also lacked a gun stabilizer, though this was also true of all Letnian BMP-1 models. The missile fired from the position above the barrel was a YDCh-10G, based on the baseline 9M14 rather than the 9M14M standard on Letnian BMP-1 early models.

Subsequent variants gradually departed from the Letnian line of development. The BSCh-3D added night vision equipment and replaced the 7.62×54mmR PKT co-axial machine gun with a 7.5×54mm GCh-77Ch machine gun, and the BSCh-3N1 refitted existing N-model IFVs with these systems. The GCh-77 had a higher rate of fire than the PKT and allowed the gunner to change the barrel from inside the turret, but the main advantage was standardization on the 7.5×54mm rifle cartridge.

Evaluation

Outwardly, Menghean commanders were positive about the characteristics of the BSCh-3, but mostly because it was the only proper infantry fighting vehicle at their disposal. Infantry fighting vehicles soon developed a central position in Menghean Fluid Battle Doctrine, as they could break through defensive lines, operate easily on rough terrain, and support their dismounts on the advance. Yet the BSCh-3 in particular had a number of shortcomings with respect to this mission, which motivated the development of the BSCh-5.

First, the commander was seated outside the turret in a position behind the driver. This restricted his field of view, and made it harder for him to direct the gunner's actions. The gunner also had poor rearward visibility, due to the lack of any rear-facing periscopes. Menghean armored vehicle manufacturers made several efforts to develop a two-man turret for the BSCh-3, even by cutting the main armament to a 23mm autocannon, but ultimately concluded that a comfortable two-man turret would require a total redesign of the vehicle.

Second, during firing trials the Menghean People's Army judged the 73mm low-velocity gun to be insufficiently accurate. The gun's inadequate performance in Menghean service may have been due to poor-quality manufacturing, incorrect correction for wind, or downgraded optics, but it left a strong impact on Menghean engineers. Two related, and less disputed, problems hindered the main armament's usefulness. The lack of a stabilizer meant that the BSCh-3 could not fire on the move, an important task for a vehicle charged with supporting advancing infantry and leading breakthroughs. And the 73mm gun could not engage helicopters or low-flying aircraft, meaning that IFVs not carrying MANPADS units were defenseless against airborne threats.

Variants

Prototype and experimental vehicles

• Si.523 - Experimental successor vehicle with a slightly enlarged turret ring carrying the two-man turret from the JJCh-1 armored car. Remarkably, it still had room for all eight dismounts, as the cramped turret basket of the JJCh-1 nearly fit within the original space. The dimensional difference, however, was large enough to prevent this from becoming a standard upgrade on existing BSCh-3 hulls.

Infantry fighting vehicles

• BSCh-3G - Designation given to the original batch of BMP-1s imported from Letnia in 1968 and 1969.
• BSCh-3N - Original baseline variant built in Menghe. Very minor mechanical differences, but identical in combat characteristics. First produced in 1970.
  • BSCh-3N1 - BSCh-3N refitted with night vision equipment and a 7.5×54mm GCh-77Ch co-axial machine gun to preserve ammunition commonality with the BSCh-3D. Refits conducted in the 1980s.
  • BSCh-3N2 - Comprehensive upgrade introduced in 2002. This upgrade removes the active infrared spotlights and replaces them with passive infrared imaging optics for both the gunner and the commander. It also adds a a YDCh-18 (9M134 Valtorna) ATGM on the turret rear pedestal mount. Unlike the BSCh-3D1 and BSCh-5N, this variant places the missile guidance control unit in the gunner's optic, allowing the gunner to guide the missile from inside the vehicle. Reloading the ATGM launcher still requires the gunner or crew to open a hatch and break the vehicle's CBRN seal.
• BSCh-3D - Upgraded variant with passive night vision sights and active infrared searchlights. These are domestic Menghean night vision systems, apparently inferior to those on early-model BMP-1s. Also armed with a 7.5×54mm GCh-77Ch co-axial machine gun in place of the 7.62×54mmR PKT machine gun. First manufactured in 1977.
  • BSCh-3D1 - BSCh-3D refitted with a YDCh-14 ATGM tube launcher on the turret rear, similar to the BSCh-5N. As on the BSCh-5N, aiming the missile requires the gunner to open his hatch and manually operate the mount's controls.
  • BSCh-3D2 - Designation for BSCh-3D hulls upgraded to BSCh-3N2 standard.
• BSCh-3R - Designation given to BSCh-3s which were re-manufactured from old hulls from 2010 onward. All are derived from N or D type vehicles. The main change is the installation of an all-new turret with a 30mm 2A72 autocannon. The turret is still operated by a single gunner, with the commander seated behind the driver, but the commander has a display which links to an electro-optical TV sight on the turret, giving the commander 360-degree vision coverage.

Support vehicles

• BSCh-3JCh - Reconnaissance vehicle resembling the BRM-1. Features a wide two-man turret with reconnaissance equipment and improved optics. Crew of six: driver, navigator, commander, gunner, and two observers. Introduced in 1977.
  • BSCh-3JCh1 - Modified BSCh-3JCh with a co-axial GCh-77 machine gun and improved night vision equipment. Applied to both new and refitted vehicles.
• BSCh-3SB - Open-topped mortar carrier with an SB-120 Type 70 120mm mortar in the empty turret ring. Crew: 4 (driver, commander, gunner, loader). Produced in very small numbers.
• BSCh-3SD - Battalion command vehicle derived from the BSCh-3G. Fitted with a telescoping radio antenna in the passenger compartment, but retains the turret and its armament. Crew: 6 (driver, battalion commander, gunner, radio operator 1, radio operator 2, staff member).
• BSCh-3SY - Regimental command vehicle derived from the BSCh-3G. It has a raised body instead of a turret, and carries a telescoping mast which folds down over the front of the hull when not in use. Crew: 6 (driver, battalion commander, gunner, radio operator 1, radio operator 2, staff member).

Operators

• Template:Country data Azbekistan
• Menghe
• Polvokia