Personal tank: 5 real ways to use old armored vehicles in everyday life

Sometimes the army sells old armored personnel carriers and BRDM to private individuals, and they use them at their own discretion. We have collected 5 of the most unusual, but illustrative cases of turning a combat vehicle into a civilian vehicle.

The most popular way to use an old armored car, as experience from different cities shows, is to turn it into a taxi. There is a similar service in different cities of Russia and Ukraine, but the most unusual of them was opened in 2014 in St. Petersburg.

Taxi in St. Petersburg based on BRDM-2

The service is called "Safe Taxi". As a vehicle, it uses a BRDM (combat reconnaissance and patrol vehicle). In order not to frighten residents and guests of the city with the menacing appearance of his taxi, the owner painted the car in red, almost pink.

But otherwise, the appearance of this BRDM remained unchanged. The taxi has a rotating turret, but the barrel of a large-caliber machine gun sticking out of it is still a dummy.

A safe taxi is good because it is not afraid of bad roads or water obstacles. BRDM can swim, and therefore at night, when bridges are being built in the center of St. Petersburg, such a vehicle can be indispensable.

The small town of Kamianets-Podilskyi in the Khmelnitsky region is one of the largest tourist centers of Ukraine. People go to this settlement for the sake of medieval architecture, rich history, a huge castle and the natural beauty of the Smotrich River canyon.

Recently, it has become possible to admire these beauties not only on foot, but also sitting inside an unusual excursion vehicle — a combat reconnaissance and patrol car of bright yellow color.

The BRDM-2 in Kamianets-Podilsky has been heavily re-equipped for the needs of tourists. An open platform with benches appeared on top of it, from where a great view of the historical and natural beauty of the city opens.

But at the same time, this unusual excursion bus can still overcome water obstacles. So during the trip, he swims across the Smotrich River several times, bringing complete delight to tourists on board and casual observers of this process.

But a resident of Moscow, Timofey Vasiliev, bought a BRDM‑2 for personal use in the summer of 2014 in order to drive this car himself. The purchase cost him a significant amount — 100 million rubles. However, the rubles are not Russian, but Belarusian, which at that time was a little more than 10 thousand dollars.

The Muscovite got the armored car in very poor condition, so he had to spend a lot of money and time on its reconstruction.

Timofey is going to turn his armored car into an unusual private street car for trips around Moscow. But, as soon as the BRDM is put in order, its owner plans to go on an expedition on a real Russian off-road.

This car is better than any landcruisers and range rovers fits the title of "SUV", because it is not afraid of dirt or water obstacles. It will take place even where the "Ural" gets stuck. For example, Timofey plans to overcome on his civilian BRDM‑2 The Kerch Strait to get to the Crimea without having to stand in a long queue for a ferry crossing.

The future design of the personal BRDM‑2 of Muscovite Timofey Vasiliev

However, the fuel consumption of the BRDM‑2 considerable — 40 liters per 100 kilometers of travel.

Oleg Makarov from Kiev has been fond of hunting and fishing all his life. However, he could not find a suitable vehicle for these hobbies. After all, it should be a real SUV, that is, not be afraid of dirt, water and steep climbs. None of the existing production cars could fully satisfy Oleg's requests.

Therefore, he decided to create with his own hands an ideal vehicle for going out into nature. As the basis for this car, Oleg Makarov took the BRDM‑2, which the craftsman considers an ideal platform for endless tuning.

Oleg turned an old combat vehicle into a comfortable modern mobile home, designed, among other things, for a long family trip. It has sleeping places, a small kitchen, a storage room, as well as compartments for hunting and fishing accessories.

The new vehicle was named UMKA (universal mobile amphibious camper). It can move both on the ground in the form of a mobile home, and on the water as an unusual boat. The all-terrain vehicle is designed to carry a maximum of eight people, but there are only four beds in it.

Now Oleg Makarov plans to establish mass production of the UMKA all-terrain vehicle. The cost of the device will be from 50 to 80 thousand dollars, depending on the configuration. Interestingly, according to the documents, this modernized BRDM-2 is listed as a"tractor".

A few years ago, an unusual theme park was opened in the vicinity of Vilnius in Lithuania, which is... a private tankodrome. The owners of this entertainment venue bought several old combat vehicles, including British FV432 armored personnel carriers.

Now anyone can come to this place to feel like they are in the war or at least in the army for a relatively small amount. Visitors can view a collection of armored vehicles, ride some of them and even shoot from cannons or machine guns.

Private tankodrome near Vilnius in Lithuania

This private tankodrome is quite a popular attraction among tourists. There are not so many places left in the European Union now where ordinary people can touch real military equipment and even shoot from it.

Tankman Arnold Schwarzenegger in his youth

In his youth, Arnold Schwarzenegger served for some time in the Austrian tank forces. And already in adulthood, at the zenith of his American fame, Iron Arnie found the same M47 Patton tank, on the armor of which he defended his European Homeland.

Arnold Schwarzenegger's Personal M47 Patton Tank

Schwarzenegger bought this tank and transported it to the United States. The transaction cost was $ 1.4 million. And this is for a combat vehicle more than fifty years old!

Having received the tank at his own disposal, Arnold Schwarzenegger rode it a little, shot several social videos dedicated to promoting a healthy lifestyle, and then gave it as an exhibit to the museum of the city of Columbus in the state Ohio.

Over time, Arnold apparently missed his "old friend" and moved the tank closer to his own home, to California. Now he lets the best students of the After-School All-Stars training program ride on the armor, one of the curators of which is this famous athlete and actor.