Garford-Putilov Armoured Car

A Garford Putilov in use by German Freikorps forces.

Garford-Putilov armoured cars were a type of armoured fighting vehicle produced in Russia during the First World War era. They were built on the frames of Garford Motor Truck Co. lorries imported from the United States.

Although considered to be a rugged and reliable machine by its users, the Garford-Putilov was severely underpowered. With a total weight of about 11 tons, and only a 30 hp engine, the vehicles had a top speed of approximately 10–11 mph (16–18 km/h). The design was also overloaded (top-heavy), and therefore had very limited (if any) off-road capability.

Armanent consisted of a single 76.20mm cannon in a turret with 270 degrees of traverse at the rear of the vehicle, and 2 or 3 7,62 mm machine guns. 2 of these machines guns were in casemate like mounts towards the front of the vehicle, but the guns could not provide full frontal cover at short range.

Besides the countries that emerged from the ruins of the old Russian Empire, Garford-Putilov armoured cars were also deployed by German forces. The Germans captured several of the vehicles, and put them to some use towards the end of World War I, and post-Armistice in the "Freikorps".

History

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