FAI Armoured Car

FAI eli Ford A Ižorski (Легкий бронеавтомобиль ФАИ) oli neuvostoliittolaisten 1930-luvun alusta 1940-luvun alkuun käyttämä panssariauto. 

Sen valmistus aloitettiin Neuvostoliitossa vuonna 1933, koska edelliset panssariautot D8 ja D12 eivät tyydyttäneet puna-armeijan tarpeita. Ensimmäiset autot hyväksyttiin puna-armeijan palvelukseen 1931, mutta niissä oli suunnitteluvirheitä, kuten torni jota ei voinut kääntää ympäri. 

Suomen tuntematon yksikkö, BA-20M panssariauto talvisodan aika, helmikuu 1940. 

Tämän seurauksena Ižorskin tehdas valittiin suunnittelemaan uusi runko ja torni. 

Uusi auto nimettiin Ford A Ižorskiksi, tai vain yksinkertaisesti FAI:ksi. FAI:n massatuotanto alkoi vuonna 1933. FAI:sta kehitettiin uusi malli FAI-M vuonna 1938. Tässä mallissa oli uusi runko ja siinä oli uusi tehokkaampi moottori. 

Kaasutin-moottori GAZ-M1. Panssariautot D-8 ja FAI oli rakennettu samalle alustalle

BA-20 mallissa oli tasainen katto, Fai mallissa oli ajajan ja tornin katolla kupu.

FAI:ta käytettiin Espanjan sisällissodassa, talvisodassa, jatkosodassa ja operaatio Barbarossan alussa. 

Talvisodassa Suomi sai FAI-panssariautoja sotasaaliiksi moteista, ja käytti niitä vuoteen 1943 asti.

                                  Fai panssari-auto 1943 Suomen poliisin käytössä  

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FAI armoured car
Type	Armoured car
Place of origin	Soviet Union
Specifications
Weight	2 tons
Length	3.75
Width	1.68
Height	2.24
Crew	2
Armor	4–6 mm
Main armament	7.62 mm DT machine gun
Engine	GAZ-A 4-cylinder 42 hp
Suspension	wheeled
Operational range	200 km
Speed	80 km/h

                                                  Irish Ford Mk V Armoured Car

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The FAI (Ford-A Izhorskiy) armoured car was a replacement for the D-8 armoured car, used by the Soviet Union from the early 1930s to early 1940s.

                         Fai Armored Cars, the soviet 7th Motorised brigade 1935.

The FAI was built on the chassis of the GAZ A car, a licensed copy of the US Ford A. This chassis was the major weakness of the FAI. Most commercial car chassis were not powerful enough to move a useful amount of armour or firepower on the battlefield. The Germans were known to get round this particular problem by designing a car chassis that was intended from the outset for both civilian and military vehicles and which was used successfully in at least one German armoured car family of this period. 

However, armoured cars based on commercial car chassis were for the most part, road-bound, thinly armoured and lightly armed. The FAI was a typical example of this class of vehicle with a single 7.62 mm DT machine-gun in a revolving turret. The armour was sufficient to stop most shell fragments and small arms fire, but could not withstand any kind of cannon or heavy machine-gun fire. It was also very vulnerable to mines.

Raskaan panssarivaunu komppanian FAI-M (R-28) auto, Äänislinna, kesäkuu 1942.

The FAI was built in relatively small numbers before being replaced by the very similar BA-20. The early BA-20 had the same vertically sided turret as the FAI. FAIs were employed in the early days of fighting on the Eastern Front in World War II.

The FAI and BA-20 series had a few advanced features. They were of all-welded construction in an era when very few AFVs were welded. Also, they had cork-filled tires to enable them to retain mobility even if the tires were penetrated.

FAI, Finnish technical depot summer 1946. The body and frame length difference is clearly visible. Over the tail top is the spare tire place. This car waiting for scrapped

The FAI and BA-20 are often mistaken for each other. The main recognition feature of the FAI is the two dome-shaped armoured covers over the driver and co-driver's stations. The BA-20 had a flat armoured roof in this area instead.