In 1966, a revolutionary combat vehicle, the BMP-1, was born in the Soviet Union. This tracked infantry fighting vehicle was distinguished by the presence of a fairly powerful armament, consisting of a 73-mm smooth-bore 2A28 "Thunder" cannon, paired with a 7.62-mm PKT machine gun, and an ATGM "Baby". This complex of weapons surpassed the capabilities of similar combat vehicles in other countries, among other things, the Soviet BMP was also floating. The appearance of a new combat vehicle in the USSR forced the countries located on the other side of the Iron Curtain to look for adequate answers.
Three years later, the first prototype of its own tracked infantry fighting vehicle, the Marder, was assembled in Germany. The development of this combat vehicle was carried out in West Germany from 1966 to 1969 by specialists from Rheinmetall AG on the order of the Bundeswehr. This BMP model was mass-produced in Germany until 1975, during which time about three thousand combat vehicles of this type were assembled at the Rheinmetall factories. At the time of adopting the Marder BMP, in terms of security parameters, it surpassed all known combat vehicles of this class and had a high speed of movement over rough terrain. These qualities made it possible to effectively use the BMP together with the German main battle tanks Leopard 1 and Leopard 2 as part of separate strike groups. However, the "Marten" had its drawback - relatively weak armament, which was represented only by the 20-mm automatic cannon RH 202, coaxial with the 7.62-mm MG3 machine gun.
Begleitpanzer 57
Only in 1977, the armament of the BMP Marder 1 (the number "1" in the name of this combat vehicle appeared in 1985) was supplemented by the ATGM "Milan". Up to this point, the FRG was working on various projects of a combat vehicle that would have more powerful weapons and could effectively destroy Soviet BMP-1 at any real battle distances. The new combat vehicle was supposed to fill the niche of light tanks, which almost completely disappeared from the scene after the end of World War II.
For example, in the FRG in the mid-1960s, work on the creation of the light tank Ru 251 was stopped. Despite the excellent dynamics and compact dimensions, the gun of this tank was considered insufficient to effectively withstand the existing models of Soviet armored vehicles. The concept of a pre-armed BMP seemed more viable to the German designers. This is how the idea appeared to create an escort tank on the basis of the Marder tracked infantry fighting vehicle already existing in Germany.
The new combat vehicle received the designation Begleitpanzer 57, where the number "57" indicated the caliber of the artillery gun used, and the Begleitpanzer literally translated from German as "escort tank". Also, this combat vehicle was known under the abbreviation AIFSV - Armored Infantry Fire Support Vehicle (armored infantry fire support vehicle). The new combat vehicle was created privately by engineers from Thyssen-Henschel and Bofors without the participation of the state customer and the Bundeswehr. Representatives of these companies believed that the combat vehicle they were creating was in line with the trends of the times. In their opinion, an infantry support tank could occupy its own niche in the armored vehicle market. The support tank they created was built on the basis of the Marder BMP, the vehicle was created in a single copy. The prototype Begleitpanzer 57, classified as an AIFSV, was first introduced to the military in November 1977.
BMP Marder 1A3
Adopted three years after the appearance of the BMP-1, the German Marder infantry fighting vehicle turned out to be not only the most protected vehicle in its class, but also the heaviest among serial BMPs, its weight reached 28, 2 tons, which was comparable to the average weight tank, if we are guided by the classification of the end of the Second World War. Later, as part of the upgrade to the Marder 1A3 level, its weight increased to 33.5 tons, which was the limit value for the selected engine and the existing chassis without a noticeable decrease in mobility. The high security of the BMP corresponded to the views of the Bundeswehr on the requirements for combat vehicles of this class, while significantly reducing the aircraft's air transport capabilities and making it impossible to overcome water obstacles without special training.
The layout of this infantry fighting vehicle was aimed at providing maximum protection for the crew and troops and the most convenient and safe process of landing / disembarking troops in real combat conditions. In front, on the right side of the hull, the engine compartment was located, to the left of it was the driver's seat, behind the mechanic there was a fighting compartment with a rotating two-seat turret (places of the BMP commander and gunner), behind them was the troop compartment, where 7 shooters from all weapons: six sat on the sides of the combat vehicle, three in a row, the seventh - a non-commissioned officer (commander of the landing group) sat along the axis of the vehicle with his back in the direction of travel, controlling the stern machine gun. For the landing and landing of the assault force, a hydraulically operated ramp door located in the stern was used.
It was this hull and chassis that migrated to the new Begleitpanzer 57 combat vehicle without significant changes. Thus, the hull provided reliable bulletproof protection for the crew and the landing force. In the frontal part of the hull, the armor thickness reached 20 mm (set at an angle of 75 degrees). Frontal armor was able to withstand hitting 20-mm BOPS from a distance of 0 meters (firing point-blank) and 25-mm BOPS from a distance of 200 meters. The armor of the hull and stern was weaker, but was able to provide protection against Soviet 14.5 mm B-32 armor-piercing bullets.
The power plant also inherited from the "Marder". The infantry support tank was powered by the Daimler-Benz MTU MB 833 Ea-500 diesel engine, it developed a maximum power of 600 hp. The transmission and engine, located in the frontal part, provided the crew of the combat vehicle with additional protection. Accordingly, the front wheels were driving, the rear wheels were guiding. In total, 6 road wheels were used in the torsion bar suspension of the Begleitpanzer 57. The estimated speed of the BMP reached 75 km / h, this slightly exceeded the dynamic characteristics of the infantry support armored vehicle (about 70 km / h), since its mass increased by almost five tons.
As conceived by the developers, the new combat vehicle, created on the basis of the "Marder", was intended to conduct reconnaissance and fire support of its infantry in confrontation with any Soviet infantry fighting vehicles and armored personnel carriers. In order not to distract expensive and much more powerful Leopards for these purposes, the German designers installed a new low-profile asymmetric turret with a 57-mm Bofors automatic cannon under the impressive 57x438R projectile on the BMP chassis. This turret replaced the original turret with a 20 mm automatic cannon.
It was in the combat module that the main difference between the Begleitpanzer 57 and its progenitor was. The combat module of the infantry support tank was a small commander's cupola and the main armament, which was installed on the right side of it. The main weapon was the powerful 57 mm Bofors L / 70 Mk.1 automatic cannon with a rate of fire of 200 rounds per minute. The initial velocity of the armor-piercing shells of this gun was 1020 m / s. This was enough to fight all existing models of light armored vehicles of the enemy. Such shells posed a serious threat to tanks when they hit the sides of the hull or stern, not to mention the damage to the tracks, chassis, observation devices and damage to the systems placed outside the armored hull. The gun was paired with a 7.62 mm MG-3 machine gun, a single machine gun that is an upgrade of the famous MG-42.
The Bofors L / 70 Mk.1 cannon was part of the Swedish universal naval artillery installation, the presence of a barrel with a length of 70 calibers (4577 mm) provided the gun with excellent ballistic characteristics. The gun had an air-cooled barrel, an electrically-released wedge breechblock, a hydraulic recoil brake and a spring-loaded knurler. Barrel survivability was estimated at more than 4000 rounds. The penetration of the 57-mm armor-piercing projectile was enough to hit the BMP-1 in any projection at any distance.
The maximum angles of vertical guidance of the 57-mm gun were 8 degrees down and 45 degrees up. Since the automatic cannon was located outside the habitable volume of the tower, when the barrel was lifted up, the breech dropped deep into the tower, and when lowered, it rose above it. The ammunition load of the gun was 96 rounds and included both armor-piercing and high-explosive fragmentation shells. The crew of the combat vehicle consisted of three people - the commander, the gunner and the driver. The first two were located in the turret combat module: on the left was the commander's hatch, on the right was the gunner's hatch, the mechanic drive was in the left front of the hull. The commander had at his disposal a stabilized round periscope for observing the terrain; in addition to telescopic observation devices, the gunner had a thermal imager and a laser rangefinder at his disposal.
Begleitpanzer 57
The artillery and machine gun armament of the vehicle was complemented by the BGM-71B TOW ATGM launcher, located on the right side of the turret. A rocket fired from this installation confidently penetrated up to 430 mm of homogeneous armor. Ammunition Begleitpanzer 57 consisted of 6 anti-tank missiles. The presence of the TOW ATGM on board made it possible to confidently fight against enemy tanks. At the same time, the crew could replace the missiles without leaving the space protected by armor. After the launch of the rocket, the container of the launcher became in a horizontal position close to a small round hatch in the roof of the tower, through which the process of loading the installation with missiles, which were stored inside the hull, was carried out.
Tests of the Begleitpanzer 57 support tank continued in Germany until 1978. The military had no complaints about the reliability of the presented sample, but the role of the machine on the battlefield remained not fully understood for them. The vehicle lost its troop compartment, while its armament was redundant for the reconnaissance vehicle. To fight the main battle tanks of the enemy, the 57-mm gun was not enough, and the launcher for the TOW ATGM could also be installed on a conventional Marder BMP, which was done later. Due to the lack of interest from potential buyers, the Begleitpanzer 57 remained a single combat vehicle.
