Armored Vehicles

BTR-152

Also known as
  • BTR 152
  • SPW-152
  • Schutzenpanzerwagen 152
  • Type 56

The BTR-152 is a Soviet postwar six-wheeled armored personnel carrier built on the ZiS-151 truck chassis and introduced in the early 1950s. Open-topped early vehicles later gave way to roofed and specialized variants, and Houthi forces in Yemen used one as a mobile carrier for a captured M167 Vulcan gun.

BTR-152, Wheeled armored personnel carrier, Armored Vehicles
Image source: BTR-152 Warsaw museum image

Role in Conflicts

Profile / Specs

Profile

Origin
Soviet Union
Built by
ZiSZiLBAZ
Type
Wheeled armored personnel carrier
Service note
Cold War
Designer
B. M. Fitterman and ZIS design team
Designed
1946-1949
Unit cost
US$39,000 (reported export price to Iraq, 1964-1969)
Produced
1950-1962
Number built
12,421 BTR-152 series vehicles
Developed from
ZiS-151 truck chassis

Specifications

Crew
2
Capacity
17 passengers
Weight
8.6 tonnes combat load
Armament
7.62 mm SGMB machine gun on the standard vehicle; some BTR-152s mounted a 12.7 mm DShKM, and BTR-152A variants carried twin 14.5 mm KPV guns
Chassis
Wheeled 6x6 chassis based on the ZiS-151 truck
Speed
75 km/h on road
Range
600 km on road
Armor
Steel armor with about 13 mm front, 6-11 mm sides, and 4 mm floor
Design Changes

The BTR-152 moved from a simple open-topped postwar APC to a family of improved, roofed, and mission-specific variants.

ChangeDetailWhy it mattered
Base vehicleZiS-151 chassis with an open rear troop compartmentKept production simple and used existing truck components.
Improved mobilityBTR-152V added a ZiL-157 chassis, external tire-pressure regulation, and a front winchImproved cross-country mobility and recovery.
Protected variantsBTR-152K added an enclosed roof and NBC filtrationReduced exposure to shell fragments, weather, and contamination.
Specialized mountsSome vehicles carried single 12.7 mm DShKM guns, while BTR-152A variants mounted twin 14.5 mm KPVsExtended the design into fire-support and anti-aircraft roles.

Sources: BTR-152 - Weaponsystems.net; BTR-152 | The Littlefield Collection | RM Sotheby's.

Variants
  • BTR-152V improved chassis variant
  • BTR-152V1 with internal tire-pressure system
  • BTR-152K enclosed-roof variant
  • BTR-152U command vehicle
  • Type 56 Chinese version
Mounted Weapons

The BTR-152 could carry a standard machine gun mount, and later field improvisations turned some vehicles into weapon carriers.

Carried itemItem typeCarriage evidence
DShK, 12.7 mm heavy machine gun, Infantry WeaponsDShKOptional heavy machine gun

Weaponsystems.net notes that some BTR-152s mounted a single 12.7 mm DShKM heavy machine gun as the main armament.

Sources: BTR-152 - Weaponsystems.net

M167 Vulcan, Towed 20 mm short-range anti-aircraft gun, Air DefenseM167 VulcanImprovised rotary cannon mount

The War Zone reported Houthi forces mounting a captured M167 Vulcan gun on a BTR-152 during the 2014 Yemen Civil War.

Sources: Houthi Rebels In Yemen Have Technical Trucks Armed With Vulcan Cannons

Timeline

BTR-152 Key Events

  1. Postwar development

    Weaponsystems.net dates BTR-152 development to 1946-1949 and describes the vehicle as a postwar response to the Red Army's need for a mass-produced APC.

    Sources: BTR-152 - Weaponsystems.net

  2. Enters Soviet service

    Weaponsystems.net places the original BTR-152 production model and Soviet service entry in 1950.

    Sources: BTR-152 - Weaponsystems.net

  3. Roofed and improved variants appear

    Weaponsystems.net says the BTR-152K closed-roof variant arrived in 1957 and that production shifted to the BTR-152K1 on the V1 chassis in 1959.

    Sources: BTR-152 - Weaponsystems.net

  4. Houthi field modification in Yemen

    The War Zone documented Houthi use of a BTR-152 as a carrier for a captured M167 Vulcan gun during the 2014 Yemen Civil War.

    Sources: Houthi Rebels In Yemen Have Technical Trucks Armed With Vulcan Cannons

Media

BTR-152 Images

BTR-152, Wheeled armored personnel carrier, Armored Vehicles - view 1
Source: BTR-152 Togliatty museum image
Related Weapon Systems
BTR-152M armored personnel carrier, 6x6 wheeled armored personnel carrier, Armored VehiclesArmored VehiclesBTR-152M armored personnel carrier6x6 wheeled armored personnel carrierThe BTR-152M armored personnel carrier is a Yemeni-service listing within the Soviet BTR-152 6x6 APC family, retained from older Yemeni Army stocks and documented during the 2014 Yemen Civil War. Public evidence supports a conservative role: legacy protected mobility where serviceable vehicles remained available, plus broader BTR-152-family use as a base for improvised AK-630 or GSh-6-30K naval-gun installations by Yemeni government forces.
M167 Vulcan, Towed 20 mm short-range anti-aircraft gun, Air DefenseAir DefenseM167 VulcanTowed 20 mm short-range anti-aircraft gunThe M167 Vulcan is a U.S.-origin towed short-range air-defense gun built around the 20 mm M168 six-barrel rotary cannon, a carriage-mounted adaptation of the Vulcan family for close-in defense against aircraft and ground targets. U.S. records place M-167 guns with coalition forces during Desert Shield and Desert Storm, while Yemen imagery shows Houthi forces using captured guns on improvised vehicle mounts as mobile direct-fire weapons.
BTR-50, Tracked amphibious armored personnel carrier, Armored VehiclesArmored VehiclesBTR-50Tracked amphibious armored personnel carrierThe BTR-50 is a Soviet tracked amphibious armored personnel carrier based on the PT-76 light tank chassis. Designed to move infantry and light weapons across rivers and broken terrain, it carried a small crew plus a large troop compartment behind light welded steel armor. Its record spans Arab-Israeli wars, the Iran-Iraq War, Syria, and Russia's Ukraine deployment of stored vehicles, including photographed and loss-documented BTR-50PK carriers fitted with BPU-1 turrets.
Walid armored personnel carrier, 4x4 wheeled armored personnel carrier, Armored VehiclesArmored VehiclesWalid armored personnel carrier4x4 wheeled armored personnel carrierThe Walid, also rendered Al Walid or Waleed, is an Egyptian 4x4 armored personnel carrier produced by Kader Factory for Developed Industries. Open sources describe it as a BTR-40-like open-topped APC using a German Magirus-Deutz/UNIMOG-derived truck chassis made under licence in Egypt with a locally produced armored body, two crew, space for about ten troops, a pintle 7.62 mm machine gun, central tire-pressure regulation, and no amphibious, NBC, or night-vision equipment. It first saw combat in the 1967 Arab-Israeli war, later appeared in captured Israeli service, and was followed in Egyptian production by the Fahd APC family.

Sources

Houthi Rebels In Yemen Have Technical Trucks Armed With Vulcan CannonsPublisher: The War Zone | Note: 2014 Yemen Civil War: used by Houthi forces as a Soviet-era BTR-152 wheeled armored personnel carrier mounting a captured M167 Vulcan gun. | Accessed: 2026-06-26BTR-152 - Weaponsystems.netPublisher: WeaponSystems.net | Note: Supports origin, development, production, producer history, designations, specifications, users, and variant background. | Accessed: 2026-06-26BTR-152 | The Littlefield Collection | RM Sotheby'sPublisher: RM Sotheby's | Note: Supports BTR-152 background as the first post-World War II Soviet APC, chassis lineage, improved model details, and specialized variant context. | Accessed: 2026-06-26BTR-152 Warsaw museum imagePublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Supports image provenance and licensing context for the BTR-152 primary image. | Accessed: 2026-06-26BTR-152 Togliatty museum imagePublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Supports image provenance and licensing context for the second BTR-152 gallery image. | Accessed: 2026-06-26The Economics of Soviet Arms Transfers to the Third WorldPublisher: JSTOR | Note: Supports the reported BTR-152 export price to Iraq in 1964-1969. | Accessed: 2026-06-26