The Fiat Izhorski (Freikorps) model is here

Prototype 1916 :

At the end of 1914, the Russian army had a single armored car unit equipped with Russo-Balt type C and a Mannesmann-Mulag self propelled gun. The only Russian car manufacturer was then the Russo-Balt factory and it was not in a position to provide quickly either a more resistant chassis or the amount of chassis requested by the General Staff. Studies were requested from other suppliers. The Izhorski factories offered an interesting armored project but always run on chassis problems. For this reason a special commission was sent to foreign countries commanded by Colonel Piotr Ivanovich Sekretev (the same man who had led the commission of 1911-1912) in order to buy a large number of vehicles and among these, armored cars. The result of this mission was the immediate purchase of 48 Austin, 40 Renault and 1 Isotta-Fraschini. These were the first armored cars to arrive in Russia. But the needs were enormous. In the plans drawn up by the GVTU (Technical Committee of the Main Military Technical Directorate ) in 1916, by July 1, 1917, it was planned to have 70 platoons of combat vehicles in the army + 100% of the reserve for training and replenishing losses, in total 380 machine gun and 180 cannon armored vehicles were needed. For six months, it was planned to actually double the number of armored vehicles at the front. Because the last purchases of English armored cars in 1915 was unsuccessful and showed that the possibilities of acquiring equipment abroad have been exhausted, it was decided to significantly increase the deliveries to the army not by supplying complete vehicles but by ordering the chassis alone and building the armored superstructure by the Russian factories for example Izhorski. On October 29, 1915, the GVTU approved the « Specifications for the supply of armored cars » by military engineer Captain Makarevsky. In the technical conditions, according to which it was planned to scrupulously order and receive equipment, all the requirements for the chassis and other components and assemblies of armored cars were prescribed in detail. On February 21, 1916, an agreement was reached with Fiat through its American branch (Fiat Automobile Co.) in Poughkeepsie to supply 90 chassis, the delivery date being November 1, 1916. The model chosen was the fiat 50HP which was improved by a more powered four-cylinder 72 HP engine, a reinforcement of the structure by a stronger rear axle with twin wheels, and a second drive station under the name of Fiat type 55. The first chassis were delivered to Russia in the summer of 1916.

In parallel with the purchase of the chassis, the Armored Department of the Military Driving School was developing a project for armoring new standardized armored cars. Armored cars, in accordance with the requirements drawn up by Captain Makarevsky, were to be armed with two machine guns, with independent firing angles, in order to provide a total circular fire. Machine guns should be mounted in two towers on the roof of the armored car, located diagonally. The machine guns had to be made removable so that they could be fired outside the armored vehicle. The possibility of anti-aircraft fire should have been provided.

The requirements for armoring vehicles were determined by the captain of the Reserve Armored Company V. Khaletsky. The driver, machine gunners, engine and radiator were supposed to be covered with armor that could not be penetrated by a Russian-style pointed rifle bullet point-blank, but not thicker than 8 mm. The protection of the engine and radiator was supposed to provide unhindered access to them for mechanics for inspection and maintenance. The hull of the armored cars was supposed to have slopes in front of the towers and behind them, this was supposed to ensure that the shells rolled off the roof of the vehicle during intense shooting. The combat weight of an armored car with full gas tanks, equipment and personnel was limited by the project to about 4160 kg. The driving requirements were very strict: when driving on flat terrain, the speed was up to 80 miles per hour in the forward direction and 25 miles per hour in the rear (85.3 and 26.7 km / h, respectively). The Izhorski plant proposed five different options, the approved project on April 23, 1916 was instructed to implement the Izhorski plant of the Naval Department, which prepared the necessary working drawings in the summer of 1916. The construction of a “trial” model of an armored car began at the end of September, and on December 2 the armored car made its first run along the Kolpino-Petrograd route. On December 3–16, 1916, dynamic tests were passed, the car showed excellent results – the speed on a good road reached 65–70 km / h. Based on the results of the tests, it was decided to severely modify the armored hull in the direction of simplifying it and put the car into production. After the tests, the « trial » armored car was left in the Spare armored company, where it received the name « Georgievets ». In addition to serving in Petrograd to ensure the « revolutionary » order, the machine was used in the suppression of the July 1918 Yaroslavl rebellion of the Socialist-Revolutionaries, when they collected all possible armored forces.

Serial Fiat Izhorski 1917:

Technical description:

A very thorough study had tried to improve everything that had been problematic in a closed armored vehicle, so the Fiat Izhorski represented a real progress on everything that had been produced so far. Compared to the prototype, the armored hull was seriously redesigned, the armor became more compact. The turrets moved forward, the aft armor plate became even without changing the angle of inclination at the entire height. The frontal armor plate was found to be uncomfortable for the driver and was made in the Austin type, with an almost vertical plate with windows for the driver and sloping plate below. The radiator armor was copied from Armstrong-Whitworth armored cars with two doors opening with a lever from the cab. The upper parts of the engine cowl can be opened to facilitate maintenance of the engine. The 4-4,5 mm armored superstructure for the roof and 7 mm for the front and sides are made of nickel-chrome steel plates riveted to a metal frame. The inner surface of the armor was lined with felt to protect against steel spatter and armor fragments. In the battle compartment wee the driver on the right and the chief on the left. The view was ensured by either a large tilting front plate pierced with two vision slots or by small tilting vision ports with ball-proof glass. On the center of the body are two diagonaly positionned turrets, this arrangement made it possible to reduce the width of the vehicle with respect to two turrets side by side, but also to increase the angle of fire.

The access was made by two doors placed diagonally on each side of the body opposite fom the turrets. The doors could only be opened by a special key. The armament consisted of two Maxim 1910 machine guns in two turrets, the height of which was significantly increased to increase the angles of declination and convenient anti-aircraft fire. A sliding door on the top of the turret allowed the fire upward at an angle of 80 °. The horizontal angle of fire was 290 °. The junction of the turrets with the hull was covered with a horizontal armor ring to prevent bullets and « fragmentation » splashes from bullets from entering the turret slots. On the roof was mounted a fan to evacuate the gases as quickly as possible. An additional tank of water for the cooling of the weapons was mounted in each turret. The engine was electrically started from the inside. The speed was 65 km / h on the road and 18 km/h when reversing. Due to the heavy weight, thin wheels, lack of all-wheel drive, the armored car practically could not move on soft ground,. Any rivers and streams were an obstacle for him, slopes of more than 15-18 degrees were also insurmountable. But such comments were made to almost all armored vehicles at that time, which were used in combat. In parallel with the construction of the prototype Fiat, the Armored Car Commission on November 23, 1916 discussed the issue of increasing the cross-country ability of vehicles by installing a Kegress system. Although one Fiat chassis was handed over to Kegress, the job was not done. The range was 100 to 140 km for an 80-liter tank. The rear wheels were twinned to support the weight, the tires were filled with glycerin-gelatin to increase bullet resistance. For the night driving, two headlights were positioned on either side of the body, later a headlight was also mounted in front of the radiator behind the front armored doors. Finally, a self-destruct charge was provided to prevent the vehicle from falling into enemy hands. The Fiat Izorski was a very effective machine for its time and well suited to its missions. With its powerful engine, ease of spare parts and reliability, it surpassed other vehicles in its class.

Combat use:

The first serial production armored cars were ready only in October 1917.

As of 4 October 1917:

51 chassis received from the United States.

1 chassis supplied to the Belgian corps of self-machine guns in Russia in replacement of a former Minerva armored car (captured later by the Germans and renamed « Raudi ».

1 chassis supplied to Adolphe Kegresse to build a semi-tracked fiat prototype (not realized)

8 chassis supplied to the British detachment of RNAS armored cars in Russia.

41 chassis used for Izorski Fiats including 16 armored cars fully armored and located in different places at the plant and 25 in completion phase. The armor plate was prepared for almost 100 vehicles and the Board of the Plant asked to continue work, to urgently provide the Fiat chassis remaining at the disposal of the State Higher Technical School.

On 1 April 1918, 47 vehicles were produced. Subsequently, the work continued, and the finished vehicles entered service with the armored units of the Red Army. On April 29, 1918, Tsentrobron signed an agreement for the production of another 54 armored vehicles of this type, but only 33 were produced in 1918 bringing the total production to 80 armored cars.

All armored vehicles were sent to the Red Army, and fought mainly in the European part of the country. Since January 1918, all armored vehicles of the Red Army were grouped into Armored cars Detachments (ABO), 4 armored vehicles each. Depending on the restoration and repair of combat vehicles, the Red Army had at a time from 150 to 216 armored vehicles. As of July 1, 1920, the Red Army had the maximum number of ABOs – 52, of which 42 were in combat units. In total, 83 Armored detachments were formed during the war years. Linear ABOs were part of the rifle and cavalry divisions, and separate ones were attached to the High Commands of the fronts, the armies and troops of the Cheka, and served as the « Reserve of the High Command ».

The Fiat Izorski was the second model by the number of armored cars in the Russian army after the Austin. It was employed in the Russian Imperial army during the last stages of the first world war, the Red Army during the Civil War but also during the Polish Russo War of 1919-1921, and was also captured by the independent armies of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. To the extent that certain spare parts could be obtained from civilian models like the Amo F15 truck, the fiat Izorski had a long life. At the end of 1921, the Red Army still had 55 fiat in its ranks, and as of March 1, 1931, there were at least 44. In the early 1930s, the production of Russian vehicles such as the ba27 was assured. The fiat thus went to depots and then were destroyed or exposed in the open air in schools or barracks.

Weight: 5300 kg

Crew: 4 to 5

Length: 4.8 m

Width: 1.9 m

Height: 2.6 m

Engine: 72 HP

Speed: 65 km / h

Autonomy: 140 km

Total produced: 80 (including prototype)