and the Battle of Berlin. Eighty-one BA-64Bs were also donated by the Soviets to the Polish People's Army and ten to the 1st Czechoslovak Army Corps. The Czechoslovak BA-64Bs were used in the Prague Offensive of 1945. During the early to mid 1950s, ex-Soviet BA-64s were shipped to a number of Soviet client states in Eastern Europe and Asia, including Bulgaria, East Germany, Romania, Albania, North Korea, and the People's Republic of China. Small quantities were later also supplied to Yugoslavia. In North Korean service, the BA-64 engaged ground forces of the United Nations Command during the Korean War, where it received the nickname "Bobby" from American soldiers. This was a likely play on the armoured car's Russian nickname, "Bobik". The last country known to have received BA-64s for its armed forces was North Vietnam, although it is not known whether these saw actual combat during the Vietnam War. By the 1970s, BA-64s had been retired by all Warsaw Pact armies, being typically donated to paramilitary groups such as the East German Combat Groups of the Working Class, and similar workers' militia units. However, some remained in service with the national armies of North Korea and Albania. In 2013, the Korean People's Army continued to hold an unknown number of BA-64s in reserve. Description The BA-64 consisted of the chassis of a GAZ-64 or GAZ-67 jeep modified to accept an armoured hull. The jeep chassis required some alterations to accept the hull; for example, the cooling, fuel, and electrical systems had to be relocated while the rear suspension was braced to accommodate the additional weight. Suspension consists of semi-elliptical springs front and rear, and steering is restricted to the front wheels. A BA-64's gearbox initially had one reverse and three forward gears on a two-speed transfer case, although a few models appear to have one reverse and four forward gears and no transfer case. All BA-64 hulls were of all-welded steel construction and varied in armour thickness from 15mm on the hull front to 6mm on the hull sides. To provide maximum ballistic protection, most armour plates were angled at approximately 30°. Both the driving and engine compartments were located at the front of the hull. The crew members are seated in tandem, with the turret gunner seated behind and above the driver. The driving compartment is fitted with a one-piece hatch cover opening upwards. When the hatch is closed