Russia transfers old Soviet BTR-50P tracked armored personnel carriers to the combat zone in Ukraine. The first photos of the transfer of equipment appeared on the network.

The carriers from the 1950s are transferred by rail, according to The Militarny.

The relevance of the photos is indicated by the Russian identification insignia – the Latin letter V squared. This designation began to be used by Russian invasion units in December 2022.

It is known that the technique of grouping with this symbol was previously spotted in the Zaporizhzhya direction.

In the photos, a convoy of tank tractors can be seen transporting armored personnel carriers removed from the depot.

It is unknown with certainty why outdated equipment was returned to the Russian Federation’s military services. This may be another indication of a shortage of armored vehicles in the ranks of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.

There is also an assumption that the vehicles will be used to implement the new Russian tactics. Old armored tracked vehicles can be turned into remotely controlled kamikaze platforms – they will be filled with explosives and sent to destroy fortified defensive positions. In this context, the use of obsolete armored personnel carriers seems like a logical step.

Similar tactics were used by fighters of the ISIS terrorist organization in Syria during the battles for the city of Deir ez-Zor. Terrorists sent BTR-50P converted and packed with explosives, to the positions of Syrian troops.

BTR-50P

BTR-50P is a Soviet amphibious armored personnel carrier developed in the 1950s, designed on the basis of the chassis of the PT-76 amphibious light tank.

BTR-50 serial production began in 1954 at the Stalingrad Tractor Plant and ended in 1969. More than 6300 vehicles of various modifications were produced in total.

The armored hull of the vehicle is welded from steel rolled armor plates with a thickness of 8-13 mm. Armor can protect against small shrapnel and light weapons of the 7.62mm caliber.

The crew of the vehicle consists of two people. The armored personnel carrier has a large landing compartment that can accommodate up to 20 people.It can also transport up to 2 tons of cargo on its roof (while driving on water)..

The Russian defense industry complex has a BTR-50 modernization project from the Muromteplovoz enterprise, which provides for the installation of a combat module with a 2А72 30mm automatic gun and a new 4-stroke YAMZ-7601 diesel engine. However, the models seen in the photo did not receive a combat module, which may indicate that the cars were only depreservated without further modernization.