Eastern Express 35162 BRDM-U armored vehicle

The BRDM-U (other designations: BRDM-1U or BTR-40PU) was a Soviet armored car and command vehicle from the Cold War period. The first prototypes of this vehicle appeared at the turn of the 1950s and 1960s. The drive was provided by a single carburettor engine GAZ-40P with a power of 90 HP. The wagon was 5.6 meters long and 2.25 meters wide. The BRDM-U was developed as a development version of the BRDM-1, which entered mass production in 1957. Outwardly, it was very similar to its prototype, it differed in details. Like the BRDM-1, it also had very good off-road properties and provided its crew with protection against small-caliber weapons and artillery shell fragments. However, it played a completely different role on the battlefield - it was a classic command vehicle for motorized and mechanized units, equipped with a fairly extensive communication system based primarily on the R-112 radio station and three antennas. Thus, it allowed for relatively efficient command of the line subunits and the ability for officers in command to observe the course of the fighting.