D-442 FUG


The D-442 FUG and D-944 PSZH are the result of the Hungarian domestic development of a relatively cheap amphibious armoured scout car and armoured personnel carrier series. The FUG and PSZH were exported with limited success and are also known under their Czechoslovak designation, OT-65.

Development and characteristics

Due to its similarities with the Soviet BRDM series of armoured scout cars, the D-442 FUG is often misidentified as a modification of the BRDM-1. Although the FUG has a similar appearance to the BRDM-2, major differences reflect its independent design.
The Hungarian military abandoned a domestic armoured reconnaissance car project based on the World War II-era Csaba because the Soviet government promised to sell large numbers of old BA-64s from Soviet reserves at a low price. Hungary never received the BAs, leaving the Hungarian People's Army without a wheeled armoured reconnaissance vehicle from 1945 until the 1960s. The need for reconnaissance vehicles and persistent shortages of Soviet APCs and scout cars encouraged the domestic development and mass production of a cheap reconnaissance vehicle. To hasten development and reduce costs, the design largely used existing civilian parts and boat-manufacturing experience.
The hull was designed by the Danube Shipyard to maximize buoyancy when crossing rivers. This produced a more angular shape than the BRDM-1's boat-like hull; it also used two waterjets for amphibious propulsion instead of the single one found on the BRDM-1. The powertrain was almost completely of domestic design: the engine, winch, and rear axle came from Csepel D-344 trucks; the front suspension was a variant from Ikarus buses; and the transmission and transfer system were designed by Rába. The design retained the BRDM-1's belly wheels. Unlike the BRDM-1's conventional 4x4 vehicle layout, the FUG is more similar to the BRDM-2, featuring a rear engine compartment and a front crew compartment. The transmission is located in the middle, which makes the crew compartment noisy.
Image:POL OT-65 Otter Scout Car.JPG|thumb|left|Polish D-442 FUG in a museum. The armoured shutters with integral vision blocks on the windshields and a single firing port on the left-hand side of the hull are visible.
The FUG was lightly armoured with welded rolled homogeneous steel plates, 13 mm thick at the front and 7 mm thick at the sides and rear. During production, every plate was test-fired upon for quality control, and traces of this testing are visible on the vehicles. The armour was sufficient against small-arms fire and shell splinters but not.50-calibre fire. The vehicle has very few penetration points at the bottom of the hull, providing good mine protection. To facilitate this, the front axle had external fastening points rather than screws through the belly plate, and only the steering rod penetrated the armour.
The development of a domestically designed small turret with an anti-tank rocket launcher and PKT machine gun was abandoned for political reasons. The turret was highly similar to the one on the OT-62B but with a significantly lower silhouette. Consequently, a major drawback of the D-442 FUG was a lack of permanent armament and firing ports. Operating the pintle-mounted front 7.62 mm light machine gun required the gunner to be exposed to counter-fire.
The vehicle shares the seating configuration and infrared driving lights of the BRDM-1 and BRDM-2. Like the BRDM-1, it has no permanent armament, windshields that can be replaced in combat with armoured shutters, and two firing ports on each side of the troop compartment. Both the driver and the commander can use episcopes to view the battlefield.
The D-442 FUG has hatches over the commander's and driver's stations and a round escape hatch in the floor. The vehicle is equipped with a winch, primarily for self-recovery when stuck in difficult terrain. To improve cross-country capability, the driver may use the central tyre-pressure regulation system to temporarily decrease the pressure in all tyres before crossing an obstacle. The four auxiliary belly wheels can be lowered hydraulically for crossing obstacles and gaps. In water, the vehicle is driven by two water jets that are steered by reversing thrust. Stability in water is improved by a trim board erected at the front before entering the water, which serves as additional armour on land.
It was designed primarily for reconnaissance behind enemy lines and was converted for artillery observation, mobile command/observation, and NBC reconnaissance. The Hungarian FUG version can be fitted with a pintle-mounted RPD LMG, but on the OT-65 the main weapon was a 7.62 mm UK general-purpose machine gun with electromagnetic release.

Development of PSZH

The FUG's drawbacks and a lack of modern APCs in the Warsaw Pact prompted the development of the D-944 PSZH in the late 1960s. The PSZH was designed as Hungary's main APC. The vehicle had small two-part side doors and lacked auxiliary belly wheels. The PSZH had a turret armed with a 14.5 mm KPVT heavy machine gun and a 7.62 mm coaxial general-purpose machine gun protected by thin but sloped armour. Both weapons could be elevated between -5 and +30 degrees. The turret has an IR spotlight next to the armament and on top, and a radio antenna on the back of the turret. Like the BRDM-1 and BRDM-2, there were hatches over the driver's and commander's stations. The turret used in the D-944 PSZH had better ergonomics and observation capabilities compared to the BRDM-2's BPU-1 turret.
The PSZH had a similar layout to the FUG but carried six troops and three crew members. The commander and driver sat at the front, and the gunner was in the turret, while the passengers sat on the sides of the hull in place of the FUG's belly wheels. The rear troops had an internal radio and could observe to the rear and sides. The middle troops sat just inside the door and could use their weapons with the upper part of the door open.
The D-944 PSZH had slightly better protection, with maximum armour of 14 mm, and also introduced an NBC protection system and infrared night-vision equipment. As a modification of the D-442 FUG, it also has a round escape hatch in the floor. Buoyancy was improved slightly to accommodate the turret's weight.

Service history

FUG armoured scout cars were used by Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Bulgaria, East Germany, and Romania. Hungary also developed the PSZH-IV armoured personnel carrier from the D-944 PSZH armoured scout car. The PSZH-IV prototype first appeared in 1966 and took part in only a single manoeuvre parade in Bratislava, mounting an egg-shaped turret and a dummy automatic cannon. The PSZH-IV was first thought to be an armoured scout car by the West due to its small size and 4x4 configuration, and was dubbed the FUG-66 or FUG-70 after the FUG 4x4 scout car.
The PSZH-IV is no longer in service with Hungary but remains in reserve. Czechoslovakia sold its OT-65 vehicles to Iraq. Iraq also bought the PSZH-IV APC. The vehicles were likely used by the Iraqi Army during the Iran–Iraq War, the Persian Gulf War, and the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

Variants

Hungary

  • D-442.00 FÚG – Basic armoured scout car without the turret. It had an R-113 or R-114 radio.
  • * D-442.01 PK-FÚG – Command vehicle version with R-113 or R-114 and R-114M or R-112 radio for platoon and company commanders. Later, an R-403 or R-407 relay was included for company and battalion commanders.
  • * D-442.03 VS-FÚG – NBC reconnaissance vehicle based on the D-442 FÚG with specialized chemical, biological, and radiological detection equipment and flag dispensers for marking contaminated areas.
  • * D-442.01 MRP-FÚG – Forward air controller post, based on the D-442 PK-FÚG with an R-114 and an R-159 radio.
  • * D-442.02 MÜ-FÚG – Engineer reconnaissance vehicle with special equipment.

    PSZH APC

  • D-944.00 PSZH – Armoured personnel carrier with a small two-part side door on both sides of the hull and a turret armed with a 14.5 mm KPVT heavy machine gun and a 7.62 mm KGKT coaxial general-purpose machine gun.
  • PSZH-2: Four-axis redesignation of the PSZH with a complete BMP-1 turret mounted with a 73 mm 2A28 Grom main armament. No prototype was built.
  • D-944.00M PSzH-M – Rebuilt original D-944.00 with an R-123 radio and a PKT machine gun instead of the old KGKT. The motor was a 110 hp D-414.44/2 diesel.
  • * D-944.00 PSZH-F – Armoured personnel carrier for reconnaissance platoons and companies.
  • * D-944.77 PSZH – Armoured personnel carrier for the Hungarian Border Guard and internal security police troops. It was developed from the basic APC version with minor changes and retained a turret, unlike the German PSZH-IV-10.
  • * D-944.31 SZDPK-PSZH – Command vehicle for mechanized company commanders, based on the D-944.00 PSzH with two R-123 radios and an antenna. It has an additional R-107 radio in the troop compartment. Inside, there was space for only two personnel: one for the radioman and one for the commander.
  • * D-944.21 ZPK-PSZH – Command vehicle for mechanized battalion commanders and for reconnaissance company commanders, based on the D-944 PSzH with additional radios and an additional radio antenna on the right-hand side of the hull. It has two R-123 radios and one R-130 radio, plus two additional R-107 radios in the troop compartment.
  • * D-944.22 ZTÖF-PSZH – Command vehicle for mechanized battalion staff chiefs and for reconnaissance platoon commanders, based on the D-944 PSzH with additional radios and an additional radio antenna on the right-hand side of the hull. It has one R-123 and one R-130 radio, plus two additional R-107 radios in the troop compartment.
  • * D-944.21 OPK-PSZH – Command vehicle for towed artillery battalion commanders with three R-123MT radios and artillery reconnaissance equipment. The armament consists of only one PKT machine gun.