Austin Putilovsky
With the outbreak of the First World War, scattered facts of the successful use of armored vehicles at the front raised the question of deploying mass production of these combat vehicles. On August 17, 1914, the Minister of War, Adjutant General Vladimir Alexandrovich Sukhomlinov, suggested that Colonel of the Life Guards of the Jaeger Regiment Alexander Nikolayevich Dobzhansky form an armored machine-gun automobile battery, and on August 19, with permission to start building armored vehicles, “laid the foundation for the existence of armored vehicles and the formation of a company”.
However, the capacities of Russian factories were not enough to cover the needs of the army in transport vehicles, not to mention armored ones. Therefore, in August 1914, by order of Sukhomlinov, a special procurement commission of General Secrettev was formed, which left for England to purchase automotive equipment and property, including armored vehicles. Members of the commission, together with officers of the Main Military-Technical Directorate of the Russian Imperial Army (GVTU), the successor to the Main Engineering Directorate, developed tactical and technical requirements for this type of military equipment.
Manufacturer: UK (chassis) and Russian Empire (armament, armor…)
Year: 1916
Crew: 4
Production: 168
Power: 30 HP
Max speed: 60 km/h
Range: 250 km
