The Soviet BMP-1 is a tracked, amphibious infantry fighting vehicle (IFV) with a long service history.
Service history
Soviet Union The BMP-1 entered service with the Soviet Army in 1966. The first unit to be equipped was the 1st Motor Rifle (renamed as Armoured) Battalion of the 339th Guards Red Banner Belostok Motor Rifle Regiment of the 120th Guards Rogachev Motor Rifle Division (Belorussian Military District), which tested thirty Ob'yekt 765 IFVs and three experimental Ob'yekt 765s.
BMP-1s were first seen by the West during the 7 November 1967 military parade in Moscow. Its appearance created a stir in the West where lightly armed APCs were still the main means of transportation and infantry support on a battlefield.
In the Soviet Army, BMP-1s were typically issued to motorized rifle divisions and the motorized rifle regiments of tank divisions where they replaced the BTR-152 wheeled armored personnel carrier (APC), the BTR-50P and some BTR-60P APCs.
There was considerable debate among Soviet tank specialists about the utility of the BMP at the time: it had weak armor and a low-powered armament in comparison with main battle tanks (MBT)s and was far more expensive than wheeled APCs. The probability of nuclear warfare had decreased significantly at the beginning of the 1970s, new tactics for the use of IFVs during conventional warfare had to be developed. Those tactics had to take into consideration the large numbers of anti-tank weapons prevalent on modern battlefields. It was finally decided that a BMP-1 with soldiers inside could be used successfully during breakthrough operations or in the pursuit of retreating enemy forces.
BMP-1s were widely used in the Soviet–Afghan War. Besides the usual motorized rifle and tank units, they were also operated by some Soviet special forces units.
BMP-1s were unsuited to fighting in the mountainous regions of Afghanistan. They were originally designed to be used together with MBTs and infantry in rapid maneuvers during an assault across flat and forested European areas in nuclear conditions. In Afghanistan, the main enemies were not other AFVs, but land mines and ambushes prepared by the Mujahideen armed with light anti-tank weapons; the BMP-1's anti-tank firepower was not suitable.
A new up-armored variant of the BMP-1, designated the BMP-1D, (it was sometimes known as the "Afghan" variant), was urgently pressed into service in 1982. Many field modifications were carried out by various units. These included welding an additional AGS-17 "Plamya" automatic grenade launcher, without its mounting, on the bracket of the anti-tank guided missile (ATGM) launcher on the turret roof or a 2B9 "Vasilek" 82 mm automatic gun-mortar on the roof of the troop compartment to increase the vehicle's firepower when guarding vital routes. Crew members noted that the 73 mm OG-9 HE-Fragmentation round for the main gun, which was supposed to increase the vehicle's firepower against unarmored vehicles and infantry, had a large dispersion, insufficient point-blank range and an occasional inability to penetrate cob walls due to its low muzzle velocity. The PG-9 HEAT round was able to penetrate Afghan pise buildings, but because of the poor fragmentation effect of an anti-tank projectile a small hole was often the only result.БРОНЕТАНКОВАЯ ТЕХНИКА В АФГАНИСТАНЕ (1979–1989) . Otvaga2004.narod.ru. Retrieved 20 September 2011. Based on the experience of Afghanistan, a BMP-1PG (Ob'yekt 765Sp8) was fitted with an additional AGS-17 grenade launcher on the left hand side of the turret roof. It was developed by the Kurgan Engineering Works. A few BMP-1s were used in Afghanistan as support for airborne forces and were equipped with RPG-16 airborne shoulder-launched anti-tank rocket-propelled grenades, (RPG)s, taken from the BMD-1 IFV.Arms Control . Armscontrol.ru. Retrieved 20 September 2011.
Many BMP-1s and BMP-1Ps fell victim to Mujahideen attacks and anti-tank landmines (see Protection Issues section for more details); a fate shared by many Soviet light AFVs. A number were also captured by the Mujahideen. The Soviet Army lost 1317 APCs and IFVs of all types during 9 years of war in Afghanistan.БРОНЕТАНКОВАЯ ТЕХНИКА В АФГАНИСТАНЕ (1979–1989) . Otvaga2004.narod.ru. Retrieved 20 September 2011.
Russia
BMP-1s and vehicles based on it are used by the following units of the Russian Army or are stationed at some of the following locations:Warfare.ru. Warfare.ru (5 September 2010). Retrieved 20 September 2011.
Leningrad Military District The 232nd reserve base at Chernaya Rechka (35 BMP-1s) The 268th artillery brigade from Pushkin (Saint Petersburg) (5 PRP-4s) The 380th MLRS regiment from Pushkin (Saint Petersburg) (1 PRP-4)
Moscow Military District The 4th guards Kantemirovskaya tank division The 12th tank regiment at Naro-Fominsk (44 BMP-1s and 4 BRM-1Ks) The 13th tank regiment at Naro-Fominsk (5 BRM-1Ks and 6 BMP-1KShs) The 14th tank regiment at Naro-Fominsk (44 BMP-1s, 3 BRM-1Ks and 1 BMP-1KShM "Potok-2") The 423rd motorized regiment at Naro-Fominsk (5 BRM-1Ks and 8 BMP-1KShs) The 137th independent intelligence battalion at Naro-Fominsk (21 BMPs) The 10th guards Uralsko-Lvovskaya tank division The 61st tank regiment from Boguchar (Voronezh) (41 BMP-1s, 5 BRM-1Ks and 5 BMP-1KShMs "Potok-2") The 62nd tank regiment from Boguchar (Voronezh) (5 BMP-1s, 2 BRM-1Ks and 2 BMP-1KShs) The 112th independent intelligence battalion from Boguchar (Voronezh) (11 BRM-1Ks)
Volga-Ural Military District The 81st guards motor rifle regiment from Samara (126 BMP-1s) The 5967th storage from Markovo (Perm') (127 BMP-1s, 27 BRM-1Ks and 25 BMP-1KShMs "Potok-2")
The 163rd tank repair plant at Kuschevskaya (Krasnodar) (65 BMP-1s and 21 BREM-Chs)
North Caucasus Military District The 90th motorized regiment from the 12th military base at Khelvachauri, Georgia (44 BMP-1s) The 409th motorized regiment from the 62nd military base at Akhalkalaki, Georgia (21 BMP-1s) The 123rd motorized regiment from the 102nd military base at Erevan, Armenia (23 BMP-1s) Storage base at 102nd military base at Gyumri, Armenia (47 BMP-1s)
Besides the Russian Army, BMP-1s are also in service with the internal security troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD). These vehicles were used during counter-terrorism and patrol operations in Chechnya. The following units use the BMP-1, (not a complete list):ВВ МВД\ Национальная Гвардия. Antiterror.sitecity.ru. Retrieved 20 September 2011.
North-West District of the MVD The 33rd independent brigade from Lebyazhye and Lomonosov, (34 BMPs)
Moscow District of the MVD The 1st independent division from Balashikha, (46 BMP-1s) The 21st brigade from Sofrino, (36 BMPs)
North Caucasus District of the MVD The 2nd special purpose division from Krasnodar-451, (34 BMPs) The 99th special purpose division from Rostov-on-Don and Persyanovka, (33 BMPs) The 100th special purpose division from Novocherkassk, (103 BMPs) The 8th special purpose brigade from Nalchik, (33 BMPs), The 22nd special purpose brigade from Kalach, (27 BMPs), The 22nd special purpose brigade from Kalach-na-Donu, (27 BMPs) The 49th special purpose brigade from Vladikavkaz, (12 BMPs) Special purpose Brigades Labinsk, (34 BMPs) Zelenokumsk, (34 BMPs) Mozdok, (34 BMPs)
Volga District of the MVD The 54th division from Gaiva, Perm,(15 BMPs) The 34th independent brigade from Shumilovo, Bogorodsk,(30 BMPs) Saratov Military Institute of the MVD,(4 BMPs)
With the reduction of the former Soviet Army, many of the older vehicles, including BMP-1s, are surplus to requirements. A number of BMP-1s are being converted into civilian tracked vehicles, (to be used for emergency transport, forest fire fighting and logging), for the far northern regions of the country. Some written-off and demilitarized BMP-1s are being given to different military history museums like the "Battle of Stalingrad" museum-panorama in Volgograd or converted into town monuments, a number of obsolete vehicles have been scrapped. Repaired and modernized BMP-1s and 2s are the mainstay of the Russian Army and the internal security troops of the Ministry of Home Affairs of the Russian Federation. It is planned to replace them with BMP-3s and BMP-3Ms.
Chechen wars
The 81st Guards motor rifle regiment, originally stationed in East Germany, was relocated along with other units of the 90th Guard Red Banner Lvov tank division in 1993. The regiment, armed with 31 MBTs and 96 IFVs, later took part in the First Chechen war. During the assault on Grozny on 31 December 1994, the 1st motor rifle battalion and the 131st Maykop motor rifle brigade successfully captured a central train station while the 2nd motor rifle battalion of the regiment blocked the presidential palace. The commanders of both battalions organized outpost and reconnaissance after columns were trapped in the streets, suffering an estimated 150 casualties from snipers and RPGs. The commander and the executive officer of the regiment were badly wounded in the fighting. The regiment placed its block posts under the control of internal security troops and was put into reserve at Severny airport in February 1994 to perform guard duties at Chervlennaya and Chervlennaya-Uzlovaya railway stations. The regiment was withdrawn from Chechnya in April 1995.81-й гвардейский мотострелковый полк. Gsvg88.narod.ru. Retrieved 20 September 2011.
Foreign service
The BMP-1 was exported to many countries and is still in service with about 48 armies. Many countries that can not afford to buy modern IFVs operate the BMP-1 due to its still acceptable maneuverability, reliability, low maintenance costs and because of it being easy to operate and modernize.Nowa Technika Wojskowa issue 06/08 It was in service with all the members of the Warsaw Pact. Numbers varied greatly, some East German divisions had the BMP-1 in all three motor rifle regiments while the Romanians and Bulgarians had no BMP-series vehicles.
Poland
Poland bought 1,409 BWP-1s (BWP-1 is the Polish designation for two Soviet BMP-1 models – Ob'yekt 765Sp2 and Ob'yekt 765Sp3), from the Soviet Union in 1969. The first BWP-1s began to arrive in Poland in 1972 and continued until 1979.SIPRI Arms Transfers Database . Armstrade.sipri.org. Retrieved 20 September 2011. The first vehicles entered service with the Ludowe Wojsko Polskie in 1973. It still plays the role of a basic infantry fighting vehicle. BWP is an acronym for the Polish name for an IFV and stands for Bojowy Wóz Piechoty (which literally translates as Fighting Vehicle of Infantry). As such it is used by many units of the Polish Army, including the 4th armored cavalry brigade (SBKPanc) from Orzysz and the 7th Coastal Defense Brigade from Słupsk. BWP-1s are also used by the Polish peacekeeping unit in KFOR.Боевая машина пехоты BWP-1