The very logic of the conduct of hostilities posed the task of developing a minelayer with an armored corps, which would allow him to set up obstacles without fear of return fire from the enemy, at least from small arms, and shrapnel strikes, thereby protecting the crew and ammunition stowage during the execution of a combat mission … Armored protection also allowed the minelayer to set minefields, as they say, right under the enemy's nose, not giving him time to maneuver.
The basic vehicle for the new minelayer was a self-propelled 100-mm cannon of the post-war development SU-100P ("object 105"). This artillery system was put into service, but in 1949-1957. only 24 pieces were manufactured, and in connection with the opinion of the First Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU N. S. Khrushchev that missiles are able to replace both aviation and artillery, they refused it. However, on the basis of this artillery system in 1960, the creation of the GMZ tracked mine layer - "Object 118" began. The ROC for the creation of the GMZ were set by the Decree of the Council of Ministers of the USSR of February 4, 1956. It was adopted by the order of the USSR Minister of Defense of February 22, 1960 and in 1961-1969. serially produced at UZTM. As the base chassis, a self-propelled tracked vehicle was used - product 123, a special modified chassis of the former Su-100P installation.
The minelayer was developed at OKB-3 "Uralmashzavod", chief designer - Georgy Sergeevich Efimov. Supervised the work of the deputy. chief designer E. A. Karlinsky. Leading design engineers replacing each other were: Yu. A. Simonyan, Yu. M. Nikitin and Yu. P. Sarapultsev.
Structurally, the vehicle is divided into four compartments: engine, control, mine and operator. In the control compartment, which is located in the left (in the direction of the vehicle) half of the bow of the hull, the seats of the driver-mechanic and the vehicle commander are located. The operator is in the aft compartment, where he controls the process of issuing mines. In the rear of the hull of the minelayer there is an installation with a tray for issuing mines and a plow-camouflage device.
The body of the machine is sealed, equipped with a HLF, which makes it possible to work in chemically or radioactively contaminated areas. The crew of the car is three people - the commander of the car, the driver and the operator. The main armament is the 7.62 mm PKT machine gun. The ammunition load is 1000 rounds. To install a minefield, the GMZ is equipped with TM-57, TM-62 anti-tank mines. The mines are equipped with contact and non-contact (for TM-62) fuses. The set to be transported is 208 minutes.
The issuance of mines to the laying mechanism is carried out by a belt conveyor through a window in the lower part of the aft sheet of the machine body. The movement of the conveyor belt is synchronized with the movement of the tracks. With changes in the speed of the machine, the accuracy of laying mines does not change, and the mining step set by the operator is observed.
Mines in a mine compartment are inserted into special sections. Each section holds 4 mines. Thirteen sections make up one row, and there are four such rows in the mine compartment. Thus, the total number of mines is 208 pcs.
The mines are inserted into the sections in such a way that the fuses are directed to the stern of the minelayer's hull, then they come out correctly - fuses up. After loading the mines, the minelayer is ready to install the minefield. When approaching the mining line, the operator, on command, lowers the plow device and the launching conveyor into a semi-transport position and opens the covers of the mine dispensing windows. After reaching the place of work (setting the minefield), the operator lowers the plow device to the working position, puts the gear lever, depending on the mining step, in position 4 or 5, 5. The operator also takes over the control of the mechanic drive, observing the exit of mines, and sets the mining speed. After the last mine has been released, the yellow light "Kit issued" on the operator's console lights up. The plowing device and the launch vehicle are raised to the semi-transport position.
The recharging time of the machine is 15 to 40 minutes. To do this, it is also necessary to involve a sapper platoon, which prepares the mines for laying (opens boxes, equips mines with fuses and gives mines to the crew upstairs).
Laying mines in the ground is carried out only in the first gear (on the ground in the first and second) and only in soils of I-III density categories. Installation of mines in stony, crushed stone and frozen soils is not allowed.
GMZ had to take part in the hostilities. This happened for the first time in Afghanistan, where they ended up either by accident, or by stupidity, or simply as a regular unit of the engineer battalion of the division. But the spirits did not have tanks, and therefore there was nowhere to use the mechanized installation of minefields. And after a couple of equipped GMZs were shot down, and a decent-sized crater remained in place, they quickly decided to hide all the mines, removed the mine cassettes and used the minelayer as a transport. Even the spirits were afraid to shoot at these cars, remembering those explosions. After all, if two tons of TNT explodes, then the arrow will not seem a little. This is how the motorized riflemen were transported.
In the early 1990s. 3 tracked minelayers were in service with the Pridnestrovian armed forces and took part on March 2, 1992 in local battles. One car was destroyed. More detailed information is not available. But, judging by the photo below, these were not GMZ, but GMZ-2.
Main performance characteristics of GMZ:
Types of mines used:
- TM-57 with fuses MVZ-57
- TM-62 with fuses MVZ-62
The total mass of the minelayer is 28.5 tons, Overall dimensions in working position:
Length - 8.62 m.
Width - 3.25 m.
Height - 2, 7 m.
Track - 2, 72 m.
Average speed on unpaved roads is 25-27 km / h.
Mining speed:
- when installing mines on the surface - up to 16 km / h.
- when installed in the ground (snow) - up to 6 (10) km / h.
The mining step is 4 or 5.5 m.
Ammunition mines - 208 pcs.
Crew - 3 people.
Armor thickness - 15 mm
Year of release: 1960-1968
In 1962, the UZTM design bureau began work on further improving the tracked minelayer. This is how the second generation minelayer was born. GMZ-2 ("Object 118M"), which was supposed to replace the GMZ. The vehicle was put into service by order of the Chief of Engineering Troops of the USSR Ministry of Defense dated December 14, 1967.
The main purpose of the GMZ-2 machine, like the GMZ, is the mechanized installation of anti-tank mines. Mines can be installed in the ground and in the snow. In this case, mines can be both disguised and installed on the surface of the ground.
A significant disadvantage of the GMZ was that if only part of the ammunition was used up during mining, reloading was impossible. It was required to lay out all the ammunition in order to be able to charge the car again. This flaw was eliminated in a modified version of the machine. In addition, the GMZ-2 provided for the possibility of disabling the mechanism for bringing the fuses into a firing position, which made it possible to use the machine for installing mines with other fuses (in this case, the fuses were brought into the firing position manually).
The engine power in GMZ-2 was increased to 520 hp, which made it possible to raise the transport speed to 60 km / h.
The crew of the vehicle consists of three people: the driver, the vehicle commander and the operator. The armored body of the vehicle is lightly armored and protects the crew from bullets and shrapnel, as well as has anti-nuclear protection and protects the crew from a shock wave in a nuclear explosion.
The GMZ-2 building has four compartments: control compartment, power compartment, mine compartment, operator compartment. In the bow compartment, between the bulkhead of the power compartment and the left side, the control compartment is located, in which the driver's seat is located, as well as the levers and pedals of the machine control drives. In the roof of the control compartment there are hatches for the driver and vehicle commander. Behind the driver's seat on the left side is the vehicle commander's seat, above which a turret with a PKT installation is installed.
A mine compartment is located in the middle part of the GMZ-2 building. The mine compartment has a mechanism for issuing mines and a cassette with mines. Fuel tanks are located on the sides of the compartment. Two to starboard and one to port. For equipping cassettes with mines, as well as for refueling the car, there are opening doors on the roof of the mine compartment. An antenna is installed on the roof in front of the mine compartment. Also in the mine compartment there is a filtering unit and part of a transportable spare parts kit.
In the rear part of the body, above the dispensing mechanisms, there is an operator compartment. In the operator's compartment there are manual drives with a mechanism for issuing mines, an operator's console, mechanisms for closing the mine exit windows, as well as an operator's turret, which has a hatch and observation devices.
In the previous version of the GMZ, there were no observation devices, so the operator was forced to protrude from the hatch to control the laying of mines, which was unsafe. The main armament is the 7.62 mm PKT tank machine gun. The ammunition load is 1,500 rounds.
To install a minefield, GMZ-2 is equipped with TM-57, TM-62M, TM-62P2 and TM-62T anti-tank mines. The mines are equipped with contact and non-contact (for TM - 62) fuses. The set to be transported is 208 minutes.
For observation of the terrain and aimed firing from a machine gun in the turrets of the commander and the operator, three prism observation devices, periscopic binocular devices TKN-3A, as well as infrared lamps OU-3GK are installed.
The driver has two prism observation devices and a periscopic binocular device TVN-2BM. To provide external communication, the GMZ-2 has a R-123M radio station, the range of which in medium-rugged terrain is up to 20 km. For internal negotiations, the vehicle has a tank intercom.
A modified B-54 diesel engine, designated B-105-B, was used as a power plant. The transmission is mechanical, has 6 forward and 2 reverse gears. The external difference between the GMZ-2 and the GMZ is the presence of observation devices on the vehicle commander's tower and on the operator's tower.
Differences from the first generation GMZ:
- became lighter by 1 ton;
- with the same width and height, it became longer by almost 70 cm;
- the suspension has changed (it has become fully torsion bar).
GMZ-2 were in service with the GMZ platoon of the engineer battalion of the division.
In the late 1980s, on the basis of GMZ-2, a universal tracked minelayer UGMZ was developed, designed for remote mining with PFM-1 and PFM-1S anti-personnel mines.
Main performance characteristics of GMZ-2:
Crew - 3 people.
Combat weight - 27.5 tons.
Length - 9.3 m, Width - 3.25 m, Height - 2, 7 m, Clearance - 450 mm.
Armament: 7, 62-mm machine gun, Ammunition - 1250 rounds, 208 min TM-62M, TM-57.
Armor thickness: bulletproof - 15 mm, feed 12 mm.
The maximum speed is 63 km / h.
Cruising range on fuel - 450 km.
Diesel engine, power - 520 h.p.
Mining speed:
on the ground - 15 km / h, into the ground - 6 km / h, in the snow - 10 km / h.
The mining step is 5 or 10 m.
The length of the single-row MP is 1080 m.
With mines with a proximity fuse - 2000 m.
But the GMZ-2 was also not perfect, so in 1984 it was put into service. GMZ-3 (object-318)developed at UZTRM. Differences from previous cars:
- the system of thermal smoke equipment was removed due to too high fuel consumption for the formation of smoke mixture and the impossibility of smoke generation of the machine standing still. Instead, 6 81-mm grenade launchers of the Tucha system were installed on the sides for setting smoke screens;
- the anti-nuclear protection system was removed as unnecessary;
- added the ability to install anti-tank mines TM-89 with a magnetic fuse.
The first demonstration of GMZ-3 "Wind" took place at the RDE-2001 exhibition in Nizhny Tagil, Sverdlovsk region. GMZ-3 is equipped with modern navigation aids (inertial and satellite), which ensures continuous processing of the vehicle's course, finding the shortest path, digital indexing of vehicle coordinates and coordinates of minefield nodal points, coordinates of each mine. All this allows fixing the minefield at the time of mining, drawing the contours of the minefield on a topographic map and simultaneously transferring the coordinates of the minefield to the combat control center of the combined arms unit. The crew of the vehicle consists of 3 people: the commander, the driver and the operator. The armor of the GMZ-3 is quite thin - 15 millimeters, which protects against small arms and shell fragments. The mines are laid on the ground or in the ground with a preset mining step. The mining speed is from 6 to 16 km / h, and the length of the laid out minefield with one charge is up to 1000 meters from mines with contact fuses and up to 2000 meters from mines with proximity fuses. GMZ-3 is equipped with a self-entrenching device, which makes it possible to produce a mechanized piece of cover for a vehicle in medium soils.
GMZ-3 was adopted by the barrage platoon of the engineer battalion. According to the states of some divisions, at the end of the eighties, the GMZ platoon was introduced to the staff of an engineer-sapper company of a motorized rifle or tank regiment. In a quarter of an hour, such a platoon can lay a three-row minefield with a length of 1000-2500 meters. According to combined arms tactics, a platoon of the GMZ in battle was a mobile detachment of the division's barrage, and moved in the direction of a breakthrough of enemy tanks.
GMZ-3 ensures the advance installation of minefields in the expected tank-hazardous areas, as well as in the direct reflection of attacks by enemy tank and mechanized units. To date, GMZ-3 took and are taking part in battles in the East of Ukraine on both sides. Detailed information on specific tasks and their effectiveness is still closed. Only photos from those places.
The disadvantage of the GMZ-3, military experts consider its rather easy booking. In addition, modern technologies already allow the use of remote mining. In the electronic media, publications appeared that on the basis of the Armata platform, in addition to the main tank, heavy infantry fighting vehicle and repair and recovery vehicle, other equipment will be created, in particular, a new generation universal mine layer (UMZ-A). It is these vehicles that will be equipped with means of remote mining, integrated into the automated control systems of the tactical echelon. If necessary, these "land destroyers" in a matter of minutes will cover the direction in which the enemy's equipment may appear. This circumstance should significantly complicate the actions of any aggressor.
Main performance characteristics of GMZ-3:
Combat weight - 28.5 tons.
Crew - 3 people.
The length of the body is 9.3 m.
Hull width - 3.25 m.
Height - 2, 7 m.
Track - 2, 7 m, Clearance - 0.45 m.
Armor type - bulletproof 15 mm.
Engine type - diesel
Engine power - 520 hp. with.
Highway speed - 60 km / h.
In store down the highway - 500 km.
The climb to be overcome is 30 degrees.
The overcome wall is 0.7 m.
The overcome ditch is 2, 5 - 3 m.
Overcome ford - 1, m.
