BMP-2D SOVIET TRACKED INFANTRY FIGHTING VEHICLE - 1985

Description

The BMP-2 (Boyevaya Mashina Pekhoty, Russian: infantry combat vehicle) is a second-generation, amphibious infantry fighting vehicle introduced in the 1980s in the Soviet Union, following on from the BMP-1 of the 1960s. In the Soviet Army, BMPs were typically issued to the motor rifle battalions of tank regiments. In a typical motor-rifle division, one motor-rifle regiment had BMPs, the other two had wheeled BTRs. Proliferation varied greatly among the rest of the Warsaw Pact nations. For example, at least some East German motor-rifle divisions were recorded to have all three motor-rifle regiments with BMPs, ranging down to the Romanian and Bulgarian Armies, some of whose divisions had no BMPs at all. Poland planned to replace its BWP-1 with BWP-2 (BMP-2 and BMP-2D); but, because of financial problems, only ordered 62 vehicles in 1988, which were delivered in 1989. Since obtaining a sufficient number of BWP-2 vehicles after the political changes of 1989 became impossible, Poland was forced to abandon this plan. The 62 BWP-2 that Poland bought were sold to Angola in 1995. (Scale : 1/72e)