"Most used Soviet armored vehicle of WW II?"Am I the only person who doubts this?
Maybe that should be armoured car rather than vehicle?
Armoured Cars or vehicles… not tanks….
Seems to be a matter of translation here, boyz.
The original site (in the link) is in Spanish.
The site uses the phrase: "blindado soviético sobre ruedas más utilizado …"
I don't think this can be translated word-for-word to make any sense in English. I think the word-for-word translation comes out to something like: "armor Soviet on wheels (or rollers) most used …"
(I expect and welcome corrections to this, but I do think that any effort at world-for-word translation is bound to produce something that does not make sense in English.)
So it is best translated with context. I think the best translation would be more like: "most common Soviet wheeled armored vehicle…"
As to how we might measure it, I think we can look at the production numbers (it was produced in larger numbers than any other Soviet wheeled AFV), the number taken into service (it also out-numbered the lend-lease wheeled AFVs in Soviet service), or it's distribution on TOEs (it appears in more places, in more units, at more levels than any other Soviet wheeled AFV).
All in all I think is an appropriate label.
I would describe it more as a scout car or liaison vehicle than an armored car. At least that's my understanding of how it was deployed and used. More an equivalent of the U.S. M20 than the M8, or the British Daimler Dingo than the Daimler Armored Car (DAC).
In any case I don't see the BA-64 filling the role so many gamers seem to want it to fill, as a wheeled light tank engaging in combat operations -- particularly supporting infantry in combat.
-Mark
(aka: Mk 1)
