Order above all else
The rapid development of rocketry required in the Soviet Army tractors of the appropriate format and in large numbers. The Minsk Automobile Plant, which developed the family of the country's first heavy trucks MAZ-535/537, managed to assemble only 15 vehicles by 1960. There were many reasons. There was a shortage of workers and engineering and technical workers, equipment for the manufacture of parts, as well as space for the assembly production. The MAZ pilot production workshop was not fully ready and was chronically unable to cope with the planned targets. And so, in 1960, the special production of the Minsk Automobile Plant receives an order for 90 tractors at once. The fact that strategic products were under special control in the USSR Ministry of Defense was mentioned in the previous parts of the story. But this plan was not yet final. On January 15, 1960, a commission of the Presidium of the Council of Ministers of the USSR obliges the special production of MAZ, taking into account the resulting debt, to deliver already 116 cars within a year! It was stress not only for the Minsk plant, but for the entire republic. The Belarusian Automobile Plant, the Mogilev "Electrodvigatel", as well as the leading enterprises of the capital of the BSSR were involved in fulfilling the order of the Ministry of Defense: tractor, bearing, motor, machine-tool plants and automatic lines plant. The pilot production workshop was urgently allocated 218 units of metal cutting, 25 forging and pressing, 20 thermal, 30 welding and 115 units of laboratory equipment, as well as 15 special machines. Earlier, to expand production, Minsk SKB-3 received an order for the development and production of 750 special fixtures, stands and 120 cold dies. This allows us to understand how the MAZ-535/537 series was new for the domestic industry - the production of tooling for the assembly of tractors was organized separately. Personnel shortage has become a significant problem. To master the production of complex equipment in such a short time, it was necessary to replenish with experienced engineering and technical personnel. It was almost impossible to find such specialists outside the Minsk Automobile Plant, so workers were removed from other production lines and transferred to the secret slipways of the pilot production workshop. There was a shortage of engineers and SKB-1, the main developer of new special MAZs, so it was decided to allocate at least 1000 square meters of departmental housing to retain personnel in the field. To solve the problem of state importance, the leadership of the republic and the automobile plant did not spare any resources.
As the flywheel of the serial production of heavy MAZs was spinning, the problem arose of assessing the operation of new equipment. In the army, they had never encountered such complex equipment before - in many ways, even tanks were simpler in terms of constructive solutions, so there were a lot of questions about the operation of multi-axle tractors. For effective interaction with the military operating MAZ-535/537, on August 2, 1960, a car operation bureau was created.
It is noteworthy that only two years after the launch of mass production from May to November 1960, the first large-scale tests of new machines were carried out. Three MAZ-535A tractors covered 20 thousand kilometers under the supervision of the state commission, and the MAZ-537 and -537A trucks within the framework of in-plant field tests - more than 16 thousand.
In the summer of 1960, the factory SKB-1 received an unprecedented influx of fresh personnel: almost the entire output of the automotive faculty of the Belarusian Polytechnic Institute joined the ranks of engineers. It was these yesterday's students who for many years formed the engineering backbone of the personnel of the special production of the Minsk Automobile Plant.
The result of the above work was not just the fulfillment of the order of the Ministry of Defense, but the release of super-planned vehicles - instead of 116, 153 tractors were sent to the army.
1961 was a turning point for the special production of MAZ. Firstly, work began on the 543rd vehicle, which became the core of a whole family of rocket carriers, and secondly, on February 9, the USSR government adopted a resolution to transfer the production of MAZ-535/537 tractors to the Kurgan Uralselmash. Once again, Minskers gave the car to a third-party manufacturer, freeing up resources for a new model. Finally, the culmination of all the hard work was the adoption of the MAZ-535/537 tractors for the armament of the Soviet army. It happened on July 16, 1962, when more than 200 vehicles were delivered to the troops. After that, the Minsk heroes joined the army in a wide series - in 1963, an order was placed for 360 tractors at once. The plant was supposed to produce at least one four-axle giant per day! In addition, the military, after trial operation, returned the tractors to the plant for modernization and revision. So, in 1963, almost 150 cars were returned, of which only 7 were brought into proper condition. As a result, a plant was born in the city of Borisov, which was exclusively engaged in the refinement of strategic tractors and tank carriers under the strict guidance of the citizens of Minsk.
Tractors from Kurgan, engineers from Voronezh
The transfer of heavy MAZ production from Minsk to Kurgan, which began in 1961, ended in 1964, when the first vehicles came out of the gates of the DM Karbyshev Wheeled Tractor Plant. It was a MAZ-537 truck tractor and a 537A ballast 15-ton tractor, additionally equipped with a hydraulic push bar. In this version, the machine could perform the functions of a pusher-tractor, supplementing the main pulling tractor with its thrust. It is noteworthy that at first, until serious changes were made, all equipment manufactured at KZKT was called MAZ in the old fashioned way. The new plant also produced civilian equipment. These, of course, were truck tractors that transported a wide range of heavy construction equipment on semi-trailers. Since 1970, the MAZ-537R machine with an installed power take-off gearbox and a TT-2 dismantling trailer, which was used as part of the PV-481 pipe locomotive, has been produced in small series since 1970 for the oil and gas pipelines under construction. However, such MAZs were not widely used in civilian life. Firstly, the resource of the tank engine did not exceed 1500 hours, secondly, the consumption of diesel fuel and oil was very high, and, thirdly, highly qualified repairmen and an extensive technical base were required to maintain such equipment.
The firstborn of its own Kurgan development, which received the name KZKT, was the 537L 15-ton onboard ballast tractor. It appeared in 1976 and was formally intended for service at airfields, where the tractor was supposed to tow 200-ton transport aircraft. On the KZKT-537L platform, 16 tons of ballast were placed, the front and rear overhangs were lengthened, and the exhaust system was also modernized so as not to pollute the working space around the coupling. On the basis of the "L" model, an experimental KZKT-537M truck tractor was developed, in which the D-12A engine was replaced for the first time with a YMZ-240NM with a capacity of 500 hp. with. It was already a car engine (and not a variation of the tank B-2) with a corresponding resource. At the very end of the 70s, this 12-cylinder V-shaped engine was nevertheless installed on the 537L production cars.
In addition to the modifications that were discussed in the previous article, a version of the KET-T evacuation transporter also appeared in production. True, it was produced at the Voronezh Central Auto Repair Plant No. 172, and was developed at 21 NIIII in the mid-80s. But the wheeled chassis was Kurgan - MAZ-537G. The crew of the vehicle consists of three people: the commander, the driver and the rigger, who is responsible for the hardening of the damaged equipment and the layout of the rigging equipment. In addition to the fact that KET-T can evacuate equipment with a semi-load and on a rigid hitch, it is able to pull out stuck machines with a lifting-block device. The rigging equipment includes a two-roller unit, which allows to obtain a force for pulling out jammed machines up to 46 tf. If this is not enough, then the pulley block, depending on the configuration, makes it possible to pull equipment out of the mud captivity with an effort of up to 80 tf! The main “target audience” of the KET-T rescuer were KrAZ trucks, special BAZ chassis and MAZ wheeled chassis. The tow truck had additional bonuses for gas-flame cutting of metal, as well as a boom crane designed for one and a half tons of cargo. Finally, in the most extreme cases, the crew could conduct reconnaissance for chemical and radioactive contamination of the area and even carry out blasting operations. For this purpose, the evacuation truck has a set of demolition man # 77.
Another engineering technique based on MAZ-537G, produced in Voronezh, was the MTP-A4.1, or technical assistance vehicle. The main task of the wheeled giant developed in 1984 at 21 Scientific Research Institute was technical assistance to heavy wheeled vehicles and a special chassis. A distinctive feature of this rare engineering vehicle was a small glazed awning. In addition to the fact that the MTP-A4.1 could tow equipment weighing up to 45 tons on a rigid hitch or in a semi-submersible state, three crew members had a supply of oils, special fluids, fuel and spare parts at their disposal.
Subsequently, all engineering equipment and tractors of the Kurgan plant were transferred to the new KZKT-7428 base, which is a deep modernization of the MAZ-535/537 series. This happened in the early 90s and was already associated with the Russian Army.
The history of numerous versions and variations on the MAZ-535/537 theme can be continued for a long time, but the format of this material does not allow to embrace the immensity. However, one iconic vehicle cannot be overlooked - the MAZ-545, developed in 1969.
There is still no final answer to the question of who was the lead developer of the vehicle: Minsk SKB-1 or Kurgan KZKT? Different sources provide conflicting data. Be that as it may, speed, power and capacity - this is how the main parameters of the modernization of the classic heavy MAZ can be characterized. A new turbocharged V-38 diesel engine with a capacity of 650 hp was installed. sec., which increased the average speed of transporting armored vehicles on highways. Previously, the crews of tanks steadfastly transferred the marches to their regular places, but now the tractor has a second row of seats for tankers - the cab has been doubled. An important novelty was a 4-speed shaft mechanical gearbox with electro-hydraulic engagement of friction disc control clutches, providing a wider torque range and eliminating the need for a transfer case. In addition to the truck tractor, the MAZ-545A ballast tractor was built, in many respects similar in parameters to its predecessor.
The 545th tractor from Kurgan did not go into production. Largely because of the "Oplot" series of tractors being developed in parallel in Minsk. But the developments in technology were later effectively applied on KZKT-7426 and 7427 vehicles.
