D-8
As a result of their extensive experience with armored cars during the Civil War, the Soviets showed a great deal of interest in developing more modern versions during the 1930s. However, their initial efforts were slowed until the rejuvenation of the Russian automobile industry which began in the late 1920s.
The earlier armored car designs, such as the BA-27, were based on a truck chassis. Following the BA-27 project, the next projects were undertaken at the Izhorskiye Factory in Kolpino on the basis of newly imported Ford Model A automobiles, and their Soviet copies, the GAZ-A.
The chassis for most armored cars of the 1930s were built by the KIM plant in Moscow and the Gorkiy plant in Nizhny Novgorod.
These chassis were shipped to the armored car manufacturers (primarily the Izhorskiy and the smaller but longer established Vyksinskiy plant), where the armored bodies were mounted on the chassis and final assembly was undertaken.
Prior to 1931, the imported Ford Timken chassis was used for some Soviet armored cars. While this chassis was available thereafter, the provision of series production technology to the USSR by Henry Ford in 1931-32 gave a major boost to Soviet armored car production.
The D-8 Armored vehicle, designed in 1931 by N. I. Dyrenkov, was relatively light and had no turret. The design utilized a licensed passenger car Ford A chassis.
Made in the USSR in 1931
Production: 28 (the only survived)
Crew: 2 persons
Armour: 6 mm
Engine: Ford-A (4 cylinders)
Power: 40 HP
Max. speed: 85 km/h
Weight: 1580 kg
Armament: 1 × chain gun DT (7,62 mm)
