There’s some for sale on the following:
www.russianmilitary.co.uk,
www.armytech.com,
www.tanksforsale.co.uk,
www.milweb.net.
If you are buying one that is not UK-based
and you cannot view the vehicle first, or
you are purchasing through a disreputable
dealer, please take precautions before
handing over your hard-earned money. Many
people have fallen foul of unscrupulous
‘organisations’ in former Soviet Bloc
countries that are only interested in your
money. If you’re lucky you will end up with
something that has just been salvaged out
of a scrapyard near Vladivostok; if you’re not
the vendor disappears and you get nothing!
Owning a BRDM-2
“Occasionally the American ‘Red
Ball Express’ would arrive with
captured Soviet armour and we
were allowed to crawl over it…”
the turret itself. However, this shortcoming
was rectified in the later Polish BRDM2M 96 modernisation programme and its
successors. A common Polish modification
was to mount the spare wheel on top of the
turret.
Service history
The BRDM-2 series was extensively used
by Warsaw Pact forces throughout the Cold
War. Since the break-up of the USSR it has
been modernised by some of these nations.
In Russia itself, BRDM-2s are being replaced
by BTR-60 as a divisional reconnaissance
vehicle. Poland bought 450 BRDM-2s of
different variants; by 2004 this figure had
risen to more than 600, and it was Poland
that kept updating the original design with
its BRDM-2M series. It remains in service in
many former Soviet Bloc countries including
the Ukraine and Romania. Like all Soviet
equipment the BRDM-2 was also sold to
many Arab and African countries. What
made it so popular for the export market
was its ease of operation and reliability –
and it was cheap to buy and run.
BRDM-2s have been seen in many
theatres of battle and were used by Soviet
forces in their war in Afghanistan. The
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February 2012
vehicles that were captured, as well as
some derelict ones which were restored,
are now in use by the Afghan National army.
It saw service with Egypt and Syria during
their wars against Israel, and the Iraqi Army
also had some during the first Gulf War.
They were also used in the Croatian war
of independence by the Yugoslav People’s
Army and then by the Yugoslav Army against
the KLA during the Kosovo War.
Can I Buy One?
Due to the large production figures there are
quite a few available. While still in service
with 49 countries they tend to only operate
smaller quantities. With the breakup of
the USSR there are many sitting around
in scrapyards and storage facilities which
have not been made available on the open
market. It is important to join a society
like the Military Vehicle Trust (MVT), not
only for talking to other owners but as an
invaluable source for tracking down vehicles
and parts! From what I’ve seen prices are
around £10,000-£14,000. If you are looking
for something a little different, still useable,
and fairly cheap to purchase and run, then
the BRDM-2 series is definitely something
to consider.
What better way of finding out about what
an AFV is like to own, run and drive than
speaking to somebody who owns one? Ian
Barlow owns a BRDM-2 RKh, and explains
the whys, whats and wherefores…
“I had originally sought after the BRDM
as a sort of Swiss army knife of off-roaders.
It had every tool it needed to cross any
eventualities and was only limited by its
own cumbersome dimensions or operator
deficiencies. I first drove one after I had
volunteered at a local museum when I was
15 and from that moment was hooked.
After my life became more settled I started
looking for an off-roader to fill my spare time
as well as being something I could use for
airsoft. I looked at Defenders, FV432s, and
even considered modifying a Freelander
with a GPMG mount. But if I was looking
at those I may as well get what I’d always
wanted: a BRDM-2! It didn’t take long to
find companies willing to import one, and at
a comparable cost to a second-hand Grand
Cherokee.
“Two years on since I bought the BRDM-2
and it is still great to own. It has been very
reliable, easy to work on and relatively
easy to drive. Driving it is very similar to a
normal car except the gear lever positions
are mirrored. The visibility isn’t too bad when
driving either as there’s a good all-round
view from the periscopes (arguably better
than a lot of modern SUVs). Although I
have wired a few additional cameras for
improving visibility, it is still recommended
to drive on the roads with a spotter (for
example, seeing to the right when stopped
at a roundabout can be a little tricky). The
mpg suffers because of the fixed rear axle –
I currently average 7.5mpg on the roads.” ■