OT-64
The OT-64 "Sredni Kolowy Opancerzony Transporter" (wheeled armored squad transport) was a joint venture between Poland and Czechoslovakia to develop an 'indigenous' APC for their armies. The Czechs developed engine, transmission and chassis and Poland equipped those with armour, weapons and electronics/NBC equipment.
In Team Yankee
The OT-64 is an alternative transport option for BTR-60 mounted infantry in the Czech and Polish forces, as the OT-64 and SKOT-2 respectively. Unfortunately, Team Yankee considers the SKOT as a visually different BTR-60. refer to that article for a more in-depth analysis on how (not) to use them. The main points are :
- The lack of armour on the sides and the top mean that this vehicle will die if anything dares sneeze at it, while the 14.5mm machine gun's AT 5 lets it threaten artillery pieces, transports and other lightly armoured units. It won't be outgunning IFVs, but they perform an uncannily similar role for a cheap price.
- Interestingly, the OT-64 has a terrain dash of 12" and a cross-country dash of 18". This may not look important, but 2" can be the difference between boxing enemy units in or getting in range of the objective. Remember: these things are SUICIDE units, first and foremost. Tossed en-masse, they prevent your opponents from driving through open terrain or bum-rushing objectives and light vehicles.
- Unfortunately, your OT-64s trade this with 5+ cross. This is less important though, as any decent PACT commander knows better than to drive their parking lot through a forest and leave half their force broken down.
IRL
As mentioned above the OT-64 SKOT was a joint venture by Czechoslovakia and Poland to replace the ageing OT-810, itself a clone of the German Sd.Kfz.251 half-track from WWII vintage. What they came up with was broadly similar to the Soviet BTR-60, but unlike the Soviets who focussed on cheapness and ease of mass-production, the Czech-Polish design was more suited to their needs. With diesel engines, fully enncloseable NBC protection, NVD's and capacity for amphibious assault while still-being air-transportable, the SKOT emulated some of the best western APC's that didn't force people to crawl into the vehicle at the exposed sides. Even though they were quickly superceded by the superb BMP-1 operationally, the SKOT continued to be used well after the fall of the Iron Curtain. The Czechs only replaced them in 2006, while the Poles still use them as support and command vehicles.
| Polish Forces in Team Yankee | |
|---|---|
| Tanks: | T-55 - T55AM2 - T-72M - T-72B |
| Transports: | SKOT-2A - BMP-1 - BMP-2 |
| Troops: | Zmotory Kompania - Hind Assault Landing Company |
| Artillery: | Dana SpGH - BM-21 Hail |
| Anti-Aircraft: | ZSU 23-4 Shilka - SA-13 Gopher -SA-8 Gecko |
| Tank Hunters: | Spandrel |
| Recon: | BMP-1 OP - BRDM-2 |
| Aircraft: | MI-24 Hind - SU-22 Fitter |
| Soviet Support: | SU-25 Frogfoot |
| Czech Forces in Team Yankee | |
|---|---|
| Tanks: | T-55 - T55AM2 - T-72M - T-72B |
| Transports: | OT-64 - BMP-1 - BMP-2 |
| Troops: | Motostrelci |
| Artillery: | 2S1 Carnation - Dana SpGH - RM-70 |
| Anti-Aircraft: | ZSU 23-4 Shilka - SA-8 Gecko - SA9 Gaskin - SA-13 Gopher - M53/59 Praga |
| Tank Hunters: | Spandrel |
| Recon: | BMP-1 OP - BRDM-2 |
| Aircraft: | MI-24 Hind - SU-25 Frogfoot - SU-22 Fitter |