It was the first purpose-built Soviet reconnaissance vehicle to enter service since the BA-64 and was built on the chassis and drive train of the BTR-40 armored personnel carrier. It is the world's first mass-produced combat vehicle of its class. [1]

The BRDM-1 (also known as the BTR-40 P) [2] first appeared in 1959, and was in production until 1966. Total production was around 10,000 vehicles; less than 600 remain in the reserves of a number of countries. It was armed with a pintle-mounted heavy machine gun.

BRDM-1两栖侦察车是一款20世纪50年代中期研发的4×4装甲侦察车，具有陆地和两栖行驶能力，现虽已停产但在多国作为备用车辆使用。 [1] 车前尖锐，向上倾斜，内含引擎，载员舱延伸至车尾，唯一出入通道是顶舱门。 车身侧面和尾部竖直，载员舱的正面、侧面和尾部内倾，正面有两块装甲盖板，侧面有两个射孔。 车体两侧负重轮之间各有两个腹轮，在道路上行驶时升起，防浪板不使用时收在车前之下。 车尾下安装单个喷水式推进器，当车辆为陆地模式时被掩盖。 [1] …

1957年本车正式加入苏联陆军，并获得正式名“战斗侦查巡逻车”（Bronirovannaya Razvedyvatelnaya Dozornaya Mashina，缩写为BRDM），直到1962年BRDM-2开始批量生产，原先的BRDM才被改名为BRDM-1。

More than converting a BTR-40 to be amphibious, they built a boat-shaped hull with a convertible wheeltrain, 4x4 or 8x8 to increase mobility of the worst soft grounds like swamps, sand, deep mud, creating a truly all-terrain vehicle.

БРДМ-1水陆两用轮式侦察车是一款苏联的水陆两用轮式侦察车。 苏联于1956年2月完成了该车的第一辆样车，并在黑海地区进行试验，翌年决定采用，1957年末投产。

2022年8月8日 · BRDM-1 is the first purpose-built Soviet amphibious armored scout car to enter service. It was a successor of the older BA-64 and was built on the chassis and drive train of the BTR-40 armored personnel carrier. It is the world’s first mass-produced combat vehicle of …

2020年2月6日 · brdm-1装甲侦察车可以看作是苏联轻型装甲车辆的重要里程碑，代表了二战后苏军对相应车型的需求和解决方案。 从最初的5人车组、80千米/小时的设计需求，到后来的BRDM-1，苏联的工程师给出了一个符合当时技术水平的答案。

The BRDM-1 (Bronirovannaya Razvedyvatelnaya Dozornaya Mashina, Бронированная Разведывательная Дозорная Машина, literally "Armored Reconnaissance/Patrol Vehicle" †) was an amphibious armored scout car used by Russia and the former Soviet Union.

The BRDM-1 is derived from and replaced the open topped BTR-40 Armored Scout Car and was succeeded by the BRDM-2 Scout Car Series. In fact, the BRDM-1 is so closely related to the BTR-40, its original designation was BTR-40P (P= denoting it's amphibious capability).