The WWI Russian Armored Railcar Strela model is here
Of all the European countries, Russia has been a particular country as far as the train is concerned. In fact, with a limited road network and specific climatic conditions, the train took on capital importance from the start of its development. Moreover, the Russian nation, considering itself psychologically as subject to invasions, has always invested heavily politically and militarily in this field. This is why armored trains naturally became part of the Russian military effort during WWI. Beside these heavy, slow to implement and vulnerable machines, it was necessary to create lighter vehicles for reconnaissance (typically 5 to 10 km upstream of the train). Moreover, where the threats were less serious, as for example in Siberia, simpler vehicles seemed more adapted. Such an armored railcar could be hooked up to an armored train and used as part of it as an ordinary armored platform, and if necessary, act independently.
Armored railcars:
After the Benz armored car, The second project came in October 1915, by order of Major General Kolobov, two companies of the 2nd Trans-Amur Railway Brigade were commissioned to design and manufacture three armored railcars armed with machine guns. Two projects were developed :
one for a light railcar with two machine guns by the 4th company of the 1st Trans-Amur Railway battalion Lieutenant Kochengin and the mechanical engineer Osnovin in Odessa.
the second for a single heavy railcar with four machine guns by the 4th company of the 2nd Trans-Amur Railway battalion in Kiev.
The work started in the workshops in Kiev but because of too much work, the construction was moved to Odessa for the light railcars. Construction began on November 30, 1915. The various elements came from everywhere: the 8 mm steel plates of the Nikolaev shipyard, the 4 cyl 25-30 hp engine of a civilian car, the transmission and the ball bearings of Moscow. The wheels were ordered from Kiev’s mechanical engineering plant, but the result was so devastating that another order was placed at the Greter and Krivanek factory as well as the box elevation system and the machine gun stands.
Two light armored railcars were built. Their dimensions: Length: 3,5 m, width: 2.2 m, height: 1.4 m (body). The engine was located transversely to the longitudinal axis and started with an external crank. A tank with a capacity of 30 liters was located on the top of one of the sides. The gearbox had two speeds for forward and two for reverse. The transmission was by chain. The two cylindrical turrets were located diagonally so that they could fire together in the same direction. The machine guns were Maxim ones. The front and rear were streamlined to provide greater bullet protection and less wind resistance when traveling. Couplings were used to alter the width of the track in the event of a switch to European track allowing the wheels to move both symmetrically and unilaterally. When changing tracks, the train was lifted by four jacks permanently fixed to its floor. The wheels were designed riveted between the rim and the disc. It was difficult to manufacture them and for the second model, tram wheels were used, graciously donated by the Odessa Tram Company. To observe the path, a universal periscope was set up, which allowed a circular view of the area while the observer was in a stationary position.
The railcars coul be coupled with trains by a special device. The three armored railcars (one heavy and two light) were considered successful and the army planned the construction of 15 to 20 additional models by larger industrial enterprises. At the same time, the Putilov factory was also preparing an armored railcar project and the technical commission of the military railways was thus left with three different projects. She decided on March 10, 1916 in favor of the Putilov project but unfortunately, the factory could not ensure the manufacture because all available means were already affected. Requests from other factories were also failures and eventually the project was abandoned.
The light armored railcars were used by the 2nd Trans-Amur Railway Brigade until the summer of 1917. In June, one of them was assigned to the detachment of Colonel Kondyrin operating on the southwestern front. During the civil war, one of them was captured by the red troops (the famous Strela: »arrow ») and fight in the region of Tsaritsyn (future Stalingrad) until the summer of 1919. We do not know their fate future. The well known photo « strela » is dated 1920, thus is the hands of the reds.
