The BT-43 was a Finnish

Finland

Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...

 armored personnel carrier prototype, designed during the Second World War. It was developed from the Soviet-made BT-7 tank, which had been captured in large quantities during the Winter

Winter War

The Winter War was a military conflict between the Soviet Union and Finland. It began with a Soviet offensive on 30 November 1939 – three months after the start of World War II and the Soviet invasion of Poland – and ended on 13 March 1940 with the Moscow Peace Treaty...

 and early Continuation War

Continuation War

The Continuation War was the second of two wars fought between Finland and the Soviet Union during World War II.At the time of the war, the Finnish side used the name to make clear its perceived relationship to the preceding Winter War...

.

History

In May 1943, a request was made for an armored personnel carrier capable of carrying 20 men. It was decided to convert some BT series into BT-43 carriers. The prototype was not a great success and no further development took place. The BT-43 appeared clumsy and with a high profile, it didn't look a bit like a standard armored personnel carrier. The turret was removed, and a wooden platform was located on the modified hull. The result was more suited for the role of an armored supply carrier. It was not considered a front line type vehicle.