Algeria People's National Armed Forces

GarryB wrote:

The thing is though they'll still have their actual IFVs there, transporting infantry, and armed with the same 30mm cannons and Kornet ATGMs (I think they upgraded their BMP-1/2s already).
In that case the 115mm HE rounds as a sort of assault gun role might make more sense.

But the tanks they have will likely have 125mm guns anyway, when they said it would be for an IFV role I assumed they were not going to try to cram troops into it but were going to use it to support tanks, so it would be operating further forward than the IFVs would with its heavier armour.

Hard to know exactly how they intend to use it really... wonder what they are going to do with all those T-62 tank turrets... would be interesting to mount them in pill boxes for coastal defence if their was a naval threat. Would upgrade them for better main gun elevation though.
...

Soviet union/Russia used a lot of old tank turrets, T-34-85, T-54/55, PT-76 on ships, coastal protection, patrol vessels, and coast guard. If I remember correctly a patrol vessel shmel was armed with PT-76 turret, and many coast guard ships had T-55 turrets. With having a large coast I wonder if they have ships that could take a T-62 turret.

GarryB wrote:

Soviet union/Russia used a lot of old tank turrets, T-34-85, T-54/55, PT-76 on ships, coastal protection, patrol vessels, and coast guard. If I remember correctly a patrol vessel shmel was armed with PT-76 turret, and many coast guard ships had T-55 turrets. With having a large coast I wonder if they have ships that could take a T-62 turret.

That was mostly for river patrol boats because the lack of complex wide angle FOV stabilisation systems doesn't matter on a river.

actually I only found one river/ small coastal boat with a tank turret called the shmel.

The other boats that had tank turrets were all large coast guard vessels so it seems it was a cheap choice for the coast guard, I have more pictures if needed. They even kept the search light on the T-55 turret and cupola hatches tank turrets in use.

Mir wrote:Several countries that borders the Amazon river also have similar river patrol boats with tank type turrets.

Russia has the Shmel with the PT-76 turret but they also have two other boats - the Vosh and Yaz with more powerful T-55 turrets.

PS - is that a Trabant in your profile pic?

Yeah I found a few coast guard vessels using T-55 turrets, and an older ship no longer in service using T-34-85 turret.


Yes I owned this Trabant P601 for almost 8yrs, loved it best car I owned and drove it anywhere including winter, and drive from south on england to Scotland. Even used it for a while as my daily driver. Now using a 30yrs old Mercedes 190E. But thinking of getting another Trabant.

Mir wrote:The little Trabant is amazing! Wish I could get my hands on one. The best thing about it is that the body can't rust!

Made from waste cotton and waste phenol resin. World's first car made from recycled material lol. Where are u located.

I remember the Germany reunification, that brought some new stuff
They combined both Trabant and Wartburg with West Germany stuff.
Trabi gets a 1.1 VW engine from Polo model, and some minor improvements inside, while Wartburg - 1.3 from Golf 2.
None of them are capable to compete with used cars from FGR, still really inexpensive and actually reliable.
Ol' good' times when I was 30 kilos younger

Not even close buddy
We have our own hierarchy here, concerning cars you could have got.
The Zastava used to be a wet dream.

ALAMO wrote:I remember the Germany reunification, that brought some new stuff
They combined both Trabant and Wartburg with West Germany stuff.
Trabi gets a 1.1 VW engine from Polo model, and some minor improvements inside, while Wartburg - 1.3 from Golf 2.
None of them are capable to compete with used cars from FGR, still really inexpensive and actually reliable.
Ol' good' times      when I was 30 kilos younger        

Yes and no. Yes they used a four stroke VW polo engine, but the Trabant 1.1 was designed and built before German reunification. And the same with the Wartburg 1.3 built before reunification, but used VW engine despite the divide deals were still made between the two sides. In my eyes the 2 stroke engines are better.

Actually, both of them were, Trabi in '88 I believe, and Wartburg in '89. That used to be a fan song for GDR car industry, those cars could not stand a chance against much more modern cars available in numbers just after reunification. Tons of them ended up in Poland, both were very popular cars in the early 90s. My neighbour had Trabi
A combi version of Wartburg was actually a very useful utility car, I remember that perfectly well, as we had a combi version of Opel Kadett with 1.3l engine at that time.
Leaving aside the external look, where Opel obviously was way more modern, the capacity and comfort were really on pair for both.

GarryB wrote:Have seen a programme... I think it had Jeremy Clarkson so it might have been an episode of Top Gear and they had fields of old Trabant car bodies because they don't rust... just sitting there... so maybe someone with some brains might develop a new electric car platform you can put a trabant body onto.... an electric car that needs no oil or petrol and a body already made and wont rust...

Regarding turrets on boats some of their early torpedo boats had turrets from early tanks like T-26 turrets with machine guns or with the 45mm gun and machine guns. Since then they have had T-34 and T-54/55 turrets that have been used and I suspect due to the number produced they will have T-72 turrets as well.

They also had turrets dug in to fortifications near borders in some places too from memory... and I would expect near ports would be a useful location, though perhaps 2S1 turrets and 2S3 turrets might be more useful for port defences...

Another use for turrets such as 2S1 & 2S3 would be to mount them a truck platform, and used like A-222E Bereg-E 130mm coastal mobile artillery system. This would keep it mobile, actually a 2A36 Giatsint-B gun would be ideal for such task.

Does anyone know if Algeria is still operating it's Mig-25? Haven't seen any pictures or mention of them. I did find an interesting article on Algeria's mig-25 and variants. Seems they are keeping the interceptor versions (PD) in service rather than the recce/bomber (RB) unless they are having a mix of both but article does suggest PD version.

"Algeria was the first export customer for MiG-25 (ASCC/NATO-code ‘Foxbat’). Related contract was signed in 1978, and a group of pilots and ground personnel underwent conversion training in Krasondar already during the same year. Thus, the first out of a total of eight MiG-25Ps, three MiG-25Rs and two MiG-25PUs were shown in the public already during celebrations for 25th anniversary of the Algerian revolution, on Nov. 1, 1979.

The type entered service with two units: 120th (Independent) Squadron, flying MiG-25Ps from Bechar, Tindouf and Ouaragla, and the 515th (Reconnaissance) Squadron, based at Ain Oussera AB.

Algerian Foxbats never saw combat, but did take part in several ‘combat-like’ operations. In 1980s, they flew several reconnaissance and power-demonstration operations along the Spanish coast, and then over Morocco, and in 1988 flew CAPs during the PLO’s Congress in Algeria. MiG-25Rs also flew reconnaissance sorties during the war with Islamic extremists, starting as early as 1986.
The fleet should’ve been bolstered through addition of two batches.

Details are scarce, but it seems that by 1997 up to 20 MIG-25PDS’, 6 MiG-25RB/RBShs, and at least one MiG-25PUs were acquired, most of which were upgraded to more advanced standard in Ukraine of mid-1990s, too.

The fleet is meanwhile quite dated, and thus it was expected that the remaining interceptors would be replaced by MiG-29SMTs and Sukhoi Su-30MKA and Su-30MKRs, in late 2000s. However, because of the scandal in which the MIG RSK delivered second-hand instead of newly-built MiG-29s, in 2007 (all of these were returned to Russia a year later), and because the Su-30 lacks the QRA capability, the 120th Squadron is still operational and keeping two MiG-25PDS’ each on alert at Bechar, Tindouf and Ouragla until today.

From time to time, they are taking part even in joint exercises with NATO-members."

https://theaviationgeekclub.com/a-quick-look-at-algerian-foxbats-the-only-mig-25-fighters-to-take-part-in-nato-exercises/amp/

How?
It is an obsolete airframe with tons of workload.
No other operators in existence, as you can't consider Libya.
Who would pay the price for a project with depreciation shared by several pieces only?
And for what reason, having Su-57 in a pipeline?

It is hard to maintain a fleet under UN embargo, harsh&brutal civil war, and in a country, with no industrial record other than oil Libya used to be.
I am rather impressed that they still have anything flying there, yet the 25s ...

Mir wrote:Libya was a prosperous country under Gadafhi. It was when he decided to get rid of all his chemical weapons and his nuclear plans NATO bombed them back into the Stone Age. The civil war was NATO induced. Gadafhi also made the mistake in wanting to get rid of the US $ as a trading commodity.  

Not as much NATO, but France, and Sarkozy in detail.
He was publicly called to give back the bribed money poured into his presidential campaign by Kadaffi.
And he is already convicted for bribery, but not that one particular