Hi All,

Quick question, did the Soviets take the BTR 40 to Afghanistan? or had it been replaced by then?

Many thanks.

Steve aka Redprol

I'm fairly certain the Russians didn't use them in Afghanistan but I think the Afghan forces fighting with the Russians had some.

Thanks Karl,

Have to admit havent seen any refs to it in Afghanistan, i knew the DRA had some but not sure about numbers.
Love your BTR 80, just trying the modulation set on an old Zevzda BTR70 i had half built, awaiting the new Trumpeter BTRs to go the whole hog, hoping for an 80 and 152 soon.

Steve

I'm not sure about numbers either. Wikipedia says 100 were ordered but I don't trust Wikipedia.
I've seen pictures of Afghan Army versions on parade in Kabul in 1968- the right side markings show a white circle with a triangle in the middle (triangle may be just the vehicle color but it could also be black- photos aren't great) in front of the rear wheel, rougly in line down from the Gunner's position. There also appears to be another marking toward the rear behind the rear wheel well, it looks like a yellow Hexagon shape framing something in red. Thats the best I can do right now. Will try and get some more info for you.

I was going to buy some of the old Zvezda and Skif BTRs a while ago but then Trumpeter announced all those nice new kits so I figure I'll just wait around for those. I believe an 80 and a 152 are on the cards, not totally sure.

Thanks for taking the time to check out the BTR-80A. I found the modulation technique a lot of fun to do and I'm planning on doing another green one on a new BTR release, maybe the 40.

Karl, Thanks any help re Afghanistan will be gratefully recieved, Soviet or DRA, looking forward to more of your builds, the BTR 80 inspired me to give the modulation a go, also hoping Trumpeter will go all the way with the Soviet stuff they have served us well so far, but im sure im not alone in having a wish list thats very long. What would be heaven for me a Tetra truck series, and some dicent Ural trucks.

Regards

Steve

Steve, I did a few searches in Russian and came up empty. I don't speak the language so its a bit of a hindrance- you might want to ask one of the Russian guys around here- they might have more luck.

See standard Afghan insignia of that time - it was used on aircrafts and armoured vehicles:


Yes - the Afghans had used BTR-40 in some amounts, and those APCs were used in some combat.

As for Soviets - they had used BTR-40 in Afghanistan in very small quantity. But, for example, 33rd Mechanized Infantry Regiment had these APCs in it's inventory, and the rumours are exists, that it's BTR-40 were used in combat. Sorry - no photos.

Eduard, Karl,

Many thans, i too spent most of the day searching and came up with zero.
But thats life sometimes.

Steve

Please note:
grey square on image of Afghan insignia IS NOT the part of this insignia. This grey square is simply background.