The FUG {Felderito Oszo Gepkocsi) fulfils a similar role in the Hungarian Army to the Russian BRDM-1 amphibious scout car but has its engine at the rear rather than at the front and two instead of one water-jets for amphibious operations.

The vehicle entered service with the Hungarian Army in 1964 and with the Polish and Czech armies in 1966. The Czechs call the vehicle the OT-65. There are no known plans for the upgrading or modernisation of these vehicles.

It is considered that these vehicles will be phased out of service in the next few years and replaced by more modern vehicles.

In Slovak service its replacement could be the Aligator (4 x 4) light armoured reconnaissance vehicle covered later in this section.

The hull of the FUG is of all-welded steel with the driver seated at the front on the left and the vehicle commander on the right. Both are provided with a hatch cover to the front, which is hinged at the top and opens upwards, and a windscreen with a wiper. The hatch is equipped with on integral vision block for use when closed.

The crew compartment is behind the driver and the only means of entry is by the hatch in the roof that opens either side of the vehicle. The roof hatches can be locked vertical to give a measure of protection when the 7.62 mm SGMB machine gun is being used. A ventilator is mounted in the roof of the vehicle over the commander's position. Six circular firing ports are provided, two in each side and two in the rear. A vision slit is provided to the left of the driver and to the right of the commander.

The engine compartment is at the rear of the hull with the air inlet immediately behind the crew compartment, the air outlets either side and the exhaust pipe on the right side.

On either side of the vehicle, between the front and rear wheels, are two belly wheels, which are lowered by the driver and driven from a PTO. This gives the FUG improved cross-country ability and allows it to cross trenches. When the belly wheels are lowered the vehicle is driven in first gear.

The FUG is fully amphibious, being propelled in the water by two water-jets at the rear of the hull. Before entering the water a trim board is erected at the front of the vehicle which is stowed under the nose when not in use, and the bilge pumps are switched on. When not required, the water-jets are covered by a hinged shutter. Standard equipment includes infra-red driving lights. Some models are also fitted with an infra-red searchlight and a central tyre-pressure system that allows the driver to adjust the tyre pressure to suit the type of ground being crossed. It has no NBC system.

Main armament comprises a pintle-mounted 7.62 mm SGMB machine gun with limited traverse, which is aimed and fired by one of the crew members with the two hatches open.

• Ambulance

The FUG is known to be used as an ambulance although it is clearly unsuited to this role.

• Radiological-chemical reconnaissance

vehicle

This performs a similar role to the Russian BRDM-1 RKh vehicle and is used to mark lanes through contaminated areas. Mounted on either side of the hull rear is a rack that carries lane marking poles. When required, the racks are swung vertically through 90° so that they are over the rear of the hull and lane marking poles can then be dispensed into the ground from inside the vehicle.

• OT-65A

This is a Czech modification and is the basic vehicle with the turret of the OT-62B tracked armoured personnel carrier mounted on the roof. The turret is armed with a 7.62 mm M59T machine gun with an elevation of +20° and a depression of -10°. The turret can be traversed manually through 360°. Mounted externally on the right side of the turret is an 82 mm T-21 Tarasnice recoilless gun which can be aimed and fired from inside the turret but can be reloaded only from the outside. The T-21 fires a HEAT projectile weighing 2.13 kg with a muzzle velocity of 250 m/s which will penetrate 230 mm of steel armour. Maximum range is 2,500 m, effective range 450 m and about 300 m against moving targets. The crew of the OT-65A enters and leaves the vehicle by a small roof hatch that opens either side of the roof immediately behind the turret. This has also been referred to as the FUGa in Eastern literature.

• PSZH-IV APC

There is a separate entry in the Armoured personnel carriers (wheeled) section for the Hungarian PSZH-IV (4 x 4) armoured personnel carrier. This was originally called the FUG-66 and later the FUG-70 until it was established that it was an armoured personnel carrier and not an amphibious scout car. This has also been referred to as the FUG-2 in Eastern literature.

Production complete.