The MT-LB aka Izd.6 [Lit; “Izdeliye 6] tracked armoured vehicle was designed and first built at the Kharkov Tractor Plant in the Ukraine under the direction of Anatoley
Belousov in the early 1960s.
Typical roles of this multi-purpose vehicle include artillery prime mover, command and radio vehicle, artillery fire-control vehicle, cargo carrier and
armoured personnel carrier, especially in difficult terrain such as snow or swamp.
The hull of the vehicle is constructed of all-welded steel armour with the crew compartment at the front, engine immediately behind them on the left side
and the troop compartment at the rear of the hull. The driver sits at the front of the hull on the left side and has a single-piece forward-opening hatch in
front of which are three periscopes. The commander sits to the right of the driver in the centre and has a single-piece rear-opening hatch with two
periscopes to the front. Both the driver and machine gunner have a windscreen to their front which, when in action, is covered by an armoured flap
hinged at the top. There is a vision block in each side of the hull, to the left of the driver and the right of the commander's position.
Many versions are fitted with a small turret and in action, the commander operates this turret. The turret is mounted to the right of the commander's
position and is armed with a 7.62mm PKT machine gun. Like most russian turrets of this type it does not have a hatch cover.
A large space to the right of the engine provides a passage from the crew compartment at the front of the vehicle to the personnel compartment at the
rear. The personnel compartment has two hatches over the top of the troop compartment open forwards. The personnel enter and leave the vehicle by
two doors in the rear of the hull, both of which are provided with a firing port. There is an additional firing port and vision block in each side of the troop
compartment.
The torsion bar suspension consists of six roadwheels with the drive sprocket at the front and the idler at the rear with hydraulic shock-absorbers on
the first and last roadwheel stations. There are no track-return rollers.
The MT-LB is fully amphibious being propelled in the water by its tracks. Before entering the water a trim vane is erected at the front of the vehicle
and the 450 litres capacity bilge pumps are switched on.
Standard equipment on all vehicles includes an NBC system, air-actuated brakes which can be connected to a trailer, an OU-3GK white/infrared
searchlight, TVN-2 infrared drivers periscope and an unditching beam on the roof or vehicle side.
The MT-LB can also tow a trailer or weapon weighing up to 6,500 kg or carry up to 2,000kg of cargo.
