Speaking of planes, tanks and guns, we tried to show as far as possible their less combatable, but no less useful comrades.
This time we will talk about the equipment that could meet you at any airfield during the Great Patriotic War. Of course, it was possible to do without these machines if it pressed hard, but it was still more convenient with them.
1. So, the first exhibit will be the anti-aircraft searchlight station Z-15-4.
The station was used everywhere in air defense units, at airfields to illuminate their own and search for other people's aircraft.
Automotive anti-aircraft searchlight station Z-15-4 was a searchlight with guidance and position control systems, transported in the back of a ZIS-12 truck.
The floodlight was installed the most common closed type Z-15-4 (3 - zenith, 15 - lens size 150 cm, 4 - power in kilowatts) with an instant ignition electric arc lamp with two carbon electrodes, and a paraboloid glass reflector with a diameter of 150 cm.
The light source was an electric arc, which provided a luminous intensity of up to 650 million watts at a range or illumination height of up to 10 km. The plane could be illuminated in the sky at an altitude of 12 km.
The searchlight was powered from a 20 kW generator installed on the vehicle itself, and from stationary sources of electricity.
The searchlight was mounted on a trolley with four rubber wheels. The cart was rolled into the back and so the searchlight was transported to the position. It was possible to work directly from the body of the car.
A reel with an electric cable and a hand winch was located between the trolley and the cabin. The power switchboard was located on the rear outer wall of the cab.
Searchlights Z-15-4 were reduced to separate anti-aircraft searchlight battalions, which consisted of three companies (three-platoon composition). The platoon consisted of four searchlight stations. Combat use of searchlight stations consisted of searching for enemy aircraft with a beam of light and accompanying the target until it was destroyed by fire weapons.
With the help of several searchlights, searchlight fields (SPF) were created in the sky, which ensured the operation of anti-aircraft artillery and night operations of Soviet fighter aircraft.
Station Z-15-4B was produced in 1938-1946 at the Moscow plant "Prozhektor". In total, 15 529 Z-15-4 car searchlight stations were manufactured during this time.
Station weight - 6100 kg
Searchlight weight - about 950 kg
Axial luminous intensity - 650 million W
Duration of burning of a pair of coals - 75 minutes
Beam range - up to 12 km
Deployment time is about 8 minutes.
Removal of the control post from the searchlight - 60 m
Travel speed - 60 km / h
Combat crew - 5 people
2. Petrol tankers BZ-35, BZ-35S and BZ-41.
A petrol tanker … Which is easier? But living in the army without him is very problematic. The increasing amount of equipment in the armies simultaneously prompted all designers to develop these simple but irreplaceable machines.
The first and most widespread Soviet refueller was the BZ-35, which entered service in 1935. The ZiS-6 car was equipped with an elliptical tank with a capacity of 3200 liters, a mid-position gear pump and compartments for sleeves.
BZ-35 could simultaneously refuel several pieces of equipment. To work with it, a biaxial gas trailer BP-35 with a capacity of 1 ton was produced.
On the rear wall of the tank there was a control system, where the levers for turning on the dispensers, pressure gauges, fuel meters and a fuel level indicator in the tank were located.
BZ-35 was completed with a set of hoses (receiving, dispensing and pumping), for the transportation of which a special box was made.
The car proved itself very well in operation and was found to be very useful. But it did not go into large-scale production. BZ-35 were operated only by large airfields of the Red Army Air Force. The pre-war circulation of the BZ-35 did not exceed 100 vehicles.
With the outbreak of war, the speed of refueling cars, tanks and aircraft became a very serious factor. I had to urgently get out, and so a small, but very efficient BZ-41 refueling tanker appeared.
For it, the chassis of the lighter ZiS-5 truck was used.
The gross vehicle weight was 6.1 tons.
The capacity of the tank is 2500 liters.
The maximum pump capacity is 400 liters per minute.
The maximum speed is 60 km / h.
Naturally, when powerful and passable trucks from the United States began to come to us, namely the Studebaker US.6.3, they returned to the idea of replenishing the ranks of petrol tankers.
Yes, it was difficult for the ZiS-5 to keep up with the advancing tank units, say, in a spring or autumn thaw. Or to wade through the mud to a dry "jump" airfield in aviation.
"Studebaker", which, as we have already had the honor to tell, has shown that it copes with our filth. This is how the BZ-35S appeared. "S" is, of course, "Studebaker".
The BZ-35S consisted of an entire tank with a capacity of 4500 liters (more than that of the ZiS-6), on a Studebaker US.6.3 chassis with a 95 hp Hercules JXD engine.
A car with a total weight of 5.4 tons accelerated to 72 km / h. The fuel transfer rate was 375 l / min.
3. Air starter AS-1.
The machine was produced since 1932 and was intended to start the engines of propeller driven aircraft.
The launch was carried out by grabbing the propeller of the aircraft and scrolling the crankshaft of the aircraft engine through a tubular structure with two drive shafts.
The end of this device (it was called the "trunk") mated with the hub of the aircraft propeller.
The slots for the trunk are perfectly visible here.
A vertical pedestal with stretch marks and a shaft that rotated from the transfer case of the car was installed behind the cab.
This power take-off system made it possible to start almost all aircraft engine models. The starter gave out 1100-1300 rpm. The horizontal height of the trunk was 2.9 m.
Standing on the platform, the aircraft technician adjusted the trunk and propeller vertically.
Performance characteristics of the machine: the number of revolutions of the starter - 1110-1300 rpm; the horizontal height of the trunk is 2.9 m.
The base was the same "lorry" GAZ-AA with a 40 hp engine.
4. PARM.
The most common vehicle for technical assistance was the PM-3 car repair shop (type A flyer), which received the designation PARM during the war years.
It was simple and unpretentious, but it was precisely on the arrival of this machine that pilots who had sat down on forced, and broken tankers, and even railroad workers counted on.
The equipment was housed in a box body. The PARM set included:
1. Locksmith's workbench with a vice.
2. Welder's table with installed manual monophonic press and manual emery sharpener.
3. Benzosvar-gasoline cutter.
4. Oxygen bottle.
5. Oven.
6. Cabinet with lubricating and filling equipment.
7. Ladder at the rear of the body.
8. Folding crane with manual hoist with a lifting capacity of 500 kg, which was attached to the front bumper.
9. Cabinet with locksmith tools.
In principle, with the help of such a kit, it was possible to carry out many works directly at the scene of the accident.
There is not much to tell here, everything is, in principle, clear and understandable. Uncomplicated and unpretentious machines, modest such war workers. But sometimes they are simply irreplaceable.
All the vehicles shown in the photo can be seen (and not only seen, but also touched) in the Museum of Military Equipment of the UMMC in Verkhnyaya Pyshma.
Luxurious collection, I hope that over time it will be possible to find an oil heater, a battery station and a mobile power station. It would be interesting, wouldn't it?
