BKL-199701 ArmourCollection / Bronekollektsia 1/1997: Austin Russian WW1 Armoured Cars. Photos, schemes, colour pictures. 32 pages, soft cover, text in Russian

By the beginning of the First World War (or, as it was then called, the Great) War, not a single army in the world had armored units in its composition. And now, just three weeks after its beginning, in Russia, absolutely prosaically, an event took place, which became a stage in the development of armored forces.

On August 19, 1914, by order of the Minister of War, the formation of the 1st automobile machine-gun company - the world's first armored unit - began! By October 1917, in terms of their number and organization, the quality of armored vehicles and the tactics of their use, the Russian army was not only not inferior, but in many respects even surpassed the armies of other belligerent states. Only in the number of armored vehicles Russia was slightly inferior to England.

The Austins became the most massive armored vehicles of the Russian army. During the period from 1914 to 1919, about 250 combat vehicles of three English and one Russian series were manufactured. Simple in design and reliable in operation (by that time, of course), these armored vehicles have proven themselves well on the fronts of the First World War, and then the Civil War in Russia. They have been used in various climatic conditions from Belarus to the Far East and from Arkhangelsk to Central Asia and the Caucasus, and everywhere with consistent success. The best modification of the "Austin" was the vehicles of the last - Russian series, designed by engineers of the Putilov plant. In terms of the combination of combat and operational qualities, the Russian "Austin" can be safely called the best armored vehicle of the First World War.