http://www.military-today.com/apc/btr_80.htm
It has the same general architecture of its predecessors:: driving vane on the front, then the turret area, the infantry compartment and then the engine compartment on the rear, provided with a water jet to give amphibious capability.
The driving position is on the left, while the commander is seated on his right, both having hatches over them.
The gunner is seated inside the turret, that hasn't any hatch on its top.
It can carry 7 soldiers, that can dismount from side doors; they can also protrude from two hatches on the deck, and have six hatches to fire with individual weapons on the sides of the vehicle, two of which for machine guns. The commander has a further hatch to fire outside aside his window.
The hull is made of welded steel plates; it can resist to 12.7 mm rounds on its front, and to 7.62 mm rounds on its sides and top.
The turret is armed with a 14.5 KPV heavy machine gun, and a coaxial 7.62 mm one.
The engine is a 8 cylinders V diesel, with a power output of 240-260 hp; the speed on street is of 80-90 km/h with a range of 600 km, while the speed on water is about 10 km/h.
The vehicle has 8x8 driving wheels; the first two pairs of wheels are steering.
It is provided with a central tyres inflation system, and can be fitted with run-flat tyres that allow to move even when they are damaged.
Besides it is provided with an NBC protection system, that creates an overpressure of filtered air in the troop compartment and shuts the engine down in case of a chemical or radiological attack.
Other security devices include an automatic fire suppression system, and a self-recovery winch.
These images show a typical BTR-80 of the Russian army. The vehicle was widely exported in foreign countries.
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:BTR-80A_(3).jpg
The original turret was replaced with a new one, armed with a 30 mm gun and a 7.62 mm coaxial machine gun, installed in an external pod. This weapon has a dual-fed with both HE-frag shells and armor-piercing ones. Having an high elevation, it can be used against low-flying planes and helicopters too.
This version is in service with the Russian army and was exported to foreign countries.
http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/showthread.php?t=49690
The North
Korean army has some BTR-80A in service (32, according to some sources);
here are two images of them during a parade.
They allow a comparison with their North Korean derivatives.
North Korea has started the production of a modified clone of the BTR-80. The vehicle was first revealed during the parade of 2010, and is believed to be produced in quantity. Its name is still unclear; it is usually referred as M-2010 in the west, and a well informed site refers it as Chunma-D.
http://spioenkop.blogspot.nl/2014/01/north-korea-and-her-fighting-vehicles.html
Comparing the photos of this vehicle to an usual BTR-80, we can see
some differences:
- the turret is completely different: it is wider, higher and with two 14.5 mm KPV side to side, plus a coaxial 7.62 machine gun;
- the side doors are different from those of BTR-80, divided into two pieces each; the doors of the NK vehicle seem in one piece, hinged on the upper side plates; the division between the upper side and lower side plate is in a slower position than on BTR-80; a footstep is installed under each door;
- the v-shaped ladders between the wheels have one more tubular footstep;
- the firing hatches on the sides are somewhat different, and exist in two variants: on some examples, all the hatches are angulated to fire forward as on BTR-80A; other examples have flush hatches to fire on the sides as on BTR-70; the firing hatch of the commander, aside his window on the frontal plate, was deleted on the NK derivative;
- the sides plates are not straight up to the rear of the hull as on BTR-80, but angulated, and the hull becomes narrower on the rear;
- the arrangement of boxes and tools on the sides is different from BTR-80: the box under the right exhaust pipe of BTR-80 has disappeared; we see a blade and a towing rope on the right side; the hand grips arrangement has changed on both sides;
- the rear deck is completely different from that of BTR-80, having not the characteristic longitudinal covers of the cooling grids; the rear plate is horizontally broken into two angulated ones:
- the shape of the driver's and commander's hatches are different.
http://www.military-today.com/apc/north_korean_8x8_apc.htm
An 8x8 APC bearing a coffin during state funerals.
The image shows the left side of the vehicle, that is relatively clean,
apart for the angulated firing hatches, some hand grips, a towing cable
and the short style exhaust pipes, all contained on the rear angulated
plate.
Both the firing hatches and the exhaust stacks exist in at least two variants; seems that the angulated firing hatches are associated with short exhaust stacks, while flush hatches are associated with long stacks.
An high-resolution image, unfortunately ruined by the flowers that cover some details.
The exhaust pipes are of the long type, and the firing ports are flush.
The protection of the night visor on the turret's roof is evident.
High resolution image of a couple of armoured cars bearing an interesting camouflage, utilized by many vehicles on the parade of 2013.
The colors of the camouflage are: light greyish brown with darker grey-brown softly sprayed on it, medium green, dark olive green (probably the background color).
Note that this vehicles, strangely, are not equipped with the gunner's night vision device over the turret, recognizable as a well visible cylinder with a flat removable cover on its front.
Image from
http://spioenkop.blogspot.nl/2014/01/north-korea-and-her-fighting-vehicles.html
A detail of the armoured car on the background; this one is provided with the usual cover of the night visor (although scarcely visible on the trees background).
The box-like protrusion on the rear of the turret, surmounted by a
cylinder covered by a cupola (probably the NBC ventilation system) on
its right side is clearly visible.
The night visor cover on the turret is clearly visible, as the Manpad SAM installed on the rear of the turret, reachable by the gunner via a circular hatch on the left side of the top of the turret.
Another 8x8 photographed in 2013 parade.
Enlarging the photo, one can see many details of the side.
Note that the firing hatches are of the flushed type, scarcely visible.
Details of the left side of this vehicle or similar ones.
Note the scarcely visible flat type firing hatches.
There is no hatch on the door, it is moved just behind it.
Images of another 8x8 taken in 2013, showing a variant of the vehicle with angulated hatches and short exhaust pipes. The comparison to the image above is easy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eb8kZLd6vb0
Some images of the turret. We can see:
- The thin slot around the front part of the night vision front cover, that is removable, is vaguely visible on the photo; from available images, no wide hinges or other details look present.
- The images above show the front-side of the turret, armed with two RPK 14.5 mm machine guns and one coaxial 7.62 mm machine gun, firing from a vertical slot that is hidden by the frame around the flat front plate.
- A searchlight apparently similar to that of T-62 is solidal to the machine guns support for elevation; it is installed above this, in central position.
- There are 3 smoke mortars on each side of the turret.
Good details of the left side and rear of the turret of a 6x6 (identical to that of 8x8) taken during the parade of 2013.
The turret itself is fundamentally conical, with a flattened part on its front for the guns slots and a cylindrical protrusion on the rear/left for the gunner's hatch; the port is circular, but flattened on the side where it is hinged.
The rear box-like extension has a cylindrical protrusion surmounted by a cupola on the right of its top; such extension seems the intake of the NBC air filter/ventilator.
The pole for the Manpad SAM is located on its top, in a more or less central position.
Another image of 8x8 from that shows clearly the top of the turret:
- the shape is conical, with a flattened zone on its front, a box-like structure on its rear, with a cylindrical structure covered by a cupola that could be the aspiration of the main ventilation/NBC filter.
- the circular hatch of the gunner, on the left, is protruding on the rear; its door is flattened on the hinge side.
- in front of the gunner's hatch, there is the protection of a night vision device (usually absent on 6x6); aside it, there is a pivoting hyposcope for the gunner; another pivoting hyposcope seems to be on the right side of the turret's top (is there a second man in the turret?)
- the small thing on the top's rear is a backwards-oriented cat-eye light.
The image shows the shape of the water-shield plate, a simple rectangle, different from the one of the BTR-80.
Above: three upper views of the 8x8 allow to see the configuration of the rear deck. From the turret, we find:
- a wide box, perhaps for the Manpad sam when not installed on the turret; on its right, there is what seems a mushroom-shaped protection for a fan.
- an hatch, probably for the infantry;
- a window protected by a grille for the engine cooler;
- a box containing a door to close the cooler when wading;
- a large hand grip; probably this plate is hinged on its rear to give access to the engine; on the left side of this plate, another smaller window is probably the exit for hot air moved by a centrifugal ventilator, that creates suction on the cooler window; note the abundant space between the outlet window and the rear end of the plate.
An image of the rear of the North Korean 8x8 showing the configuration of the rear plate, that is not made by one vertical piece, but is made by two angulated ones.
The cover of the water jet is clearly visible, resembling its Soviet counterpart.
The water intake slots on the plates behind the wheels are scarcely visible because of the fuzziness of the image, but can be seen better the photo below.
In the same parade of 2010, it was shown a 6x6 version of the same vehicle, somewhat shorter than the 8x8.
North Korean M-2010 6x6 APC
derived from BTR-80