5 weird Soviet vehicles you didn't know about
"haha commie thing go brrrrrrr"
Probably everyone here remembers my first proper article on DT, which has proved very popular and I've even earned some some fancy foreign cash from that. So, I've decided to make a sequel to this.
By the way, here's the original article:
This time it's not about cars, but some strange millitary and not-so-millitary vehicles, so let's start now!
Number 1 - ZIL-29061
Yes, it doesn't even have wheels, as it uses special screws to move. Even though it's not usable on asphalt (as it'll ruin the road completely), the 29061 can go pretty much everywhere - even on water, In fact, this thing was built for searching and recovering spaceship crew from remote areas that were impossible to reach using wheeled or even tracked vehicles. Also, things like that are usually very heavy, but the ZIL weighs just about 1850kg, and it's not as big as you think - it's like the length of a Merc E-Class.
Number 2 - MAZ-541
What a thicc lad.
The MAZ-541 is often called the biggest saloon in history, but no, this is also not a car, but an airport tug made in the late 1950s. Specs? 39 liter diesel engine from a tank producing more than 500hp (and a trainload of torque as well). However, it's not very fast, as it weighs a whopping 28 tons, and it's twice as big as, really, any car in the world. This "car" can also tow a whole Tu-104 plane, which, in comparison is equal to 50 modern capitalist Volkswagen Golfs, or, as MAZ is Belorussian, a trailer with 75 tons of potatoes.
Number 3 - TMS-65U
It's the one on the left.
Because who needs those weeny sanitizer bottles anyway. Built on a Ural-375 chassis (the truck, not the bike), the TMS-65U was made to disinfect things like big and heavy millitary vehicles and buildings, using, ahem, a whole KV-1 jet engine (didn't Jezza, Hamster and Cap'n Slow install one on a Suzuki Jimny?), which was used not to produce thrust, but to spray huge amounts of disinfectant. I don't think you could use that with people, though, as they'll just be blown away as soon as the jet is fired up. Fun fact - if the disinfectant tank is filled with masut, the TMS-65U can be also used to make enormous smoke screens.
Number 4 - MVTU-2
Yep, that's the uhhhhh... thing on the article cover! Based on a GAZ-69 (nice), even though there's so little left of it, and built by Bauman University, the MVTU-2 has special pneumatic rollers instead of wheels, which allows it to drive over objects under angles that quite a lot of jeepers don't have the plums for. There were some serious problems with this thing - the steering mechnism occupied way too much space, which meant that the GAZ's body needed to e turned around, and the tires wore out too quickly.
Number 5 - TES-3
If it's too expensive to build a nuclear power station, The TES-3 is a mobile nuclear reactor built in mid-50s to supply electricity to the remote areas of Syberia and Far North. Of course, a power station can't be made to fit in a little shed, so the TES-3 was not one, but four of those tracked platforms - one with the reactor itself, one with a steam generator and circulatory pumps, one with stuff to generate electricity and one to control all of this.
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Comments (23)
Not Soviet but The Bob Semple tank is one of the weirdest things I've seen
Bob Semple tank is the pinnacle of military vehicle design whether we like it or not
I like the Ekranoplan the Russians built.
Totally forgot about that 👍
For the gamers, I can suggest "Soviet Monsters: Exkranoplans"
store.steampowered.com/app/372160/Soviet_Monsters_Ekranoplans/
If, or course, you're a masochist... IT'S AWFUL!
Not a vehicle as such, but I would've suggested putting an Ekranoplan in the mix, just for good measure. It's the most bizarre Soviet invention ever!
Caspian sea monster ftw
Interesting ideas to solve problems of the time.
Why do they all look like the cars I see in my nightmares. I’m scared