The soldiers were always keen on inventions and ingenuity, which helped not only to endure all the hardships of hostilities more easily, but even to save their lives and their comrades. And although sometimes solutions of this kind seem rather strange outwardly, they are really effective. It is for this reason that Soviet soldiers ride sitting on armored vehicles from above - not for the sake of bragging, but out of vital necessity.
For the first time, Soviet soldiers drove "on armor" back in the early 1940s. The photographs from the period of the Great Patriotic War show the famous T-34 tanks, on which the Red Fighters sit densely. Then the armored personnel carrier did not yet exist, and when it was required to advance in off-road conditions, it was the tanks that were most easily able to transfer the infantry to the front line. Of course, this was very risky, because a fighter sitting on the armor could be shot down by an enemy bullet, but there were no other options then.
After the end of the war, the Soviet military-industrial complex began the development and production of the first armored vehicles, which entered service by the beginning of the next decade. But the very first field tests revealed some flaws in their design.
True, the command did not refuse to continue the operation of armored personnel carriers. Therefore, all the problems were most clearly manifested during the war in Afghanistan. So, it became clear that the high fire hazard of the engine and the insufficient thickness of the armor became the cause of casualties among Soviet soldiers, especially when a land mine hit an armored vehicle. That is why the fighters preferred to ride on armor - so there was a chance to fly into a ditch, and not burn up inside the car.
The same trend continued in the Russian army during the hostilities in Chechnya. At the same time, another reason was especially manifested why the soldiers drove armored vehicles. The fact is that the war in the uncontrolled territory complicated the supply of ammunition, which the soldiers constantly needed, so they had to carry them with them. That is why the personnel drove while sitting on the armored personnel carrier - most of the space inside the car was simply occupied by weapons and cartridges for it.
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