It entered service with a number of Warsaw Pact member states beginning in , and formed the mainstay of Soviet motor rifle battalions until the advent of the amphibious BTR series during the s. BTRs were available in several marks, and were manufactured in large numbers for the Soviet military and export. Late production models utilized automotive components from the more reliable ZIL truck. In Soviet service, a number were also deployed as artillery tractors.
During World War II , Red Army tacticians favored combined arms offensives, which emphasized the deployment of light infantry in concert with tanks. However, the Soviet infantrymen lacked the armored protection and rapid mobility of the tanks, and remained comparatively vulnerable to enemy fire.
By the end of the war, the initial Soviet tactic of tank desant , in which the infantry rode into battle atop the tanks they were supporting, had been superseded by the introduction of M3 Half-tracks and M3 White armored cars.
The infantrymen would then disembark and enter combat on foot. Wartime experiences demonstrated that the Red Army had an urgent postwar requirement for more wheeled armored vehicles, and the general staff specified a new reconnaissance vehicle and armored personnel carrier APC.
A new design bureau at the Gorkovsky Avtomobilny Zavod GAZ was set up to study potential concepts accordingly; their final prototype, the Izdeliye BTR , was accepted into service but was regarded as too small to be used in an APC role. Prototypes were built with automotive components from the ZIS production line; however, the APC chassis incorporated a more powerful engine and a shorter wheelbase than its utility truck counterpart. Androsov, A. Petrenko, V.
