Honnaako-Qxeqqepu

Poplavko-Jeffery
Armoured Car
Russia, 1916
Papermodel 1/43 Scale
Poplavko-Jeffery Armoured Car
Russia, 1916
The 26th armoured car platoon (avtopulyemyetnyj vzvod) equipped with Austin and Garford
armoured cars, commanded by Staff Cpt. Victor Poplavko, which departed to the front on 9
November 1915, was also equipped with Jeffery Quad trucks as support vehicles. One of the
Jeffery Quad trucks was rebuilt under V. Poplavko's direction as a semi-armoured
maintenance vehicle. ts purpose was to provide platoon's armoured cars with fuel and
ammunition and to recovery damaged cars. t was fitted with a partial armour of the engine
and driver's cab from the front and sides. The car was named "Charodyey" (Wizard - the
platoon's armoured cars also had names beginning with: "Ch"). Experience showed, that the
off-road capabilities of the Wizard were much better than the platoon's armoured cars. Seeing
this, Poplavko decided to test the Wizard's usefulness as a pioneer vehicle.
Further tests were so promising, that Poplavko proposed to Army HQ to rebuild Jeffery trucks
as armoured cars with increased heavy-terrain capability. Poplavko's original concept was to
use these vehicles as APCs carrying 10 lightly armed troops. After Army trials of the
'Charodyey' in Petersburg, on 8 August 1916, the Committee for armoured cars ordered 30
armoured cars on Jeffery chassis in zhorsk Factory. They differed from the original Poplavko
idea, for they were not fitted for carrying soldiers (if necessary, a few soldiers could be carried
in a low cargo compartment). The profile of their lower body made it possible to overcome
terrain obstacles and break wire entanglements and poles. The first series of 30 cars were
completed by the end of Spetember 1916. An additional vehicle out of an second order of 90
was completed in 1917 before the revolution stopped any further production.
All 30 Poplavko-Jeffrey amored cars were used on the South-Western front supporting the
17th Army Corps' offensive in June 1917. They were quite successful although the narrow
frinng arcs (+/-15 deg.) of the fore and aft machine guns was a noted deficiency as was the
exposed engine inside the vehicle. Five of the armoured cars were captured by the Germans
in 1917 and two of these were used by the Freicorps to suppress a communist revolution in
1919. Small numbers were used in the Russian Civil War although most were replaced by
newer armoured cars in 1920. The Polish Army used at least two Poplavko-Jeffery cars,
captured from the Soviets, in 1920-21. One of these was named "Wnuk".