OT-810 Armoured Personnel Carrier

Country: Czechoslovakia

Entered Service: 1948

Crew: 2 plus 10 infantry

Weight: 8.4 tons

Dimensions: Length – 5.92m

Armament: Main – 7.62mm/0.3 M59 machine gun

Armour: Maximum – 12mm/0.47in

Powerplant: Tatra 6- Cylinder/ 120hp

Performance: Speed – Approx – 32mph.

It’s History…

During the Second World War, the Germans manufactured the Sd Kfz 251 half-track at the Skoda plant in Pilsen, Czechoslovakia. After the war had finished, the Czechoslovakian Army were desperate for vehicles and as the Skoda factory was tooled up for Sd Kfz production, they started to make the vehicle again. The first vehicles, unchanged from the basic German design, were delivered in 1948.

The first major redesign occurred in the early 1950s, when an armoured roof was placed over the troop compartment and the German engine was replaced with a Czechoslovakian Tatra engine.

When the OT-810 was replaced in 1964 on the introduction of the OT-64. Many of the earlier carriers were converted to anti-tank vehicles. The rear of the vehicle was modified and the gun was placed on to it. These variants would remain in service until the late 1980s.

The hull of the vehicle was an all welded steel construction, with the engine in the front. Behind this, was the joint crew and troop compartment. The driver sat in the front of the compartment on the left-hand side, with the vehicle commander, who also acted as the radio operator and gunner, on the right. The driver and commander had small vision parts to their front and side, and the commander also had a hatch in the roof of the vehicle. The troop compartment held 10 men, five on each side facing each other. In the rear of the vehicle there were two large doors that were the sole means of access for the troops and the crew.

The OT-810 had neither night-driving equipment nor an NBC system. The only variant of the OT-810 ever produced was the anti-tank conversion, which had a crew of just four men this was armed with the M59 recoilless gun, which was carried in the troop compartment and could be fired from inside the vehicle. Alternatively, it could be dismounted and fired from the ground. Forty rounds of ammunition for this weapon were carried in the vehicle. The twin doors at the rear were removed and replaced with a single hatch.

It’s recorded top speed is approximately 32mph!