BKA 1125 – the USSR armored river artillery cutter

BKA 1125 - Soviet armored river boats, designed and built in the interwar period and during World War II. The length of this type of ship reached 22.7 meters, width - 3.6 meters. The displacement reached 29-30 tons; the maximum speed did not exceed 18 knots. Units of this type were armed very differently, but it always consisted of a 76.2 mm gun, mounted in the turret of a T-28, T-35 or T-34 tank. 7.62 and 12.7 mm caliber machine guns, 24-M-8 unguided rocket launchers were also installed. River boats of the BKA 1125 type were put into operation in the 1930s, and by the summer of 1941, approximately 85 units of this type were in operation along with similar ships. These cutters were small, so they could work even in narrow rivers, and the small draft allowed them to operate in very shallow waters. The ships were also distinguished by quite high structural durability and resistance to enemy fire. Due to the fact, that tank turrets were used in the armament, they were called "river tanks". Cutters of this type actively participated in the operations of 1941-1945 and were used on such rivers as the Volga, Pripyat, Bug and Oder.

A small and simple, well-designed and excellently externally detailed model for modelers of any experience. Only complete beginners will not be suitable for it, and beginners and modelers with little experience, who have glued several models, are recommended to work under the supervision of a more experienced colleague and not to rush. The color reserve is available, but not very large, the graphic instructions are excellent, the textual instructions are quite large and describe the entire process of gluing the model quite well. The model recreates the ship, built in March 1944 in the Urals and given the hull number "302". It fought on the Pripyat River in July, participated in the liberation of Lunitsa and Pinsk as part of the Dnieper Flotilla, sailed all the way across the Bug and Vistula in hot clashes and battles. In the spring of 1945, under the command of Staff Sergeant A. Davydov, it was transferred to Berlin and participated in the shelling of the city of Sched. The last battle of the "302" cutter in World War II took place on May 6, 1945 in the Szczecin Bay. After the war it served in the Border Guard Service, and from May 5, 1975, the cutter again served in the USSR Navy. Later it was erected as a monument in Khabarovsk at the main base of the Amur Flotilla.