MAZ 537 "Hurricane" - a heavy four-axle tractor of a truck type, military purpose. Produced at the Minsk Automobile Plant from 1959 to 1965. Since 1963, it has been produced at the KZKT, Kurgan Wheel Tractor Plant. Carrying capacity up to 50 tons on semitrailers of the type ChMZAP-5247G.
MAZ 537 device
The design of the tractor is quite simple, and therefore reliable. Cabin MAZ 537, a photo of which at first was unavailable due to military secrecy, four-seater, two-door, metal, equipped with an autonomous heater. The engine is located behind the cab in the engine compartment, next is the transfer case, which transmits rotation to eight independent axles. At the rear of the loading platform is the fifth wheel coupling. Some modifications to the machine are equipped with a winch. The tractor moves on eight wheels, four front wheels are swivel. Tubeless tires are inflated; in the event of a puncture, the pressure loss compensation mechanism is activated. The MAZ 537 Hurricane car , whose technical characteristics speak of power and reliability, is a good example of the achievements of military equipment.
Power point
D-12A-525A high-speed diesel engine adapted for GOST 4749-73 fuel. Power 525 HP at 2100 rpm Cylinders - volume 38,880 cc / cm, number 12, V-shaped arrangement. Diameter - 150 mm, compression ratio 14.5.
The motor is equipped with a pre-heater.
Cooling - forced circulation of antifreeze.
Transmission - three-stage, with hydromechanical switching.
Dimensions
Length - 8960 mm, height - 2880 mm, width 2885 mm. The wheelbase is between the first and second axles of 1700 mm, between the second and third 2650 mm, between the third and fourth 1700 mm.
Track - 2200 mm for all bridges. Ground clearance (clearance) - 500 mm.
Mass - 21.6 tons.
Modifications
- MAZ 537A is an onboard tractor, capable of carrying 15 tons in the back, 65 tons of total weight with a trailer on the highway or 30 tons on a dirt road.
- MAZ 537D - equipped with an alternating current generator.
- MAZ 537G - equipped with a winch.
- MAZ 537K is a tractor designed for transportation of long crane equipment.
- MAZ 537L - for towing aircraft, equipped with a compact metal body.
The project to create a new powerful tractor
In the early 50s of the 20th century in the USSR there was a need for new powerful vehicles for the military. Missile systems, heavy tracked armored vehicles, fortification excavators and other equipment needed to be transported both over short and long distances. Particularly difficult was the redeployment of military units, which was carried out regularly. Up to six months, it was spent on railroad crossings and small-sized automobile transport.
The design of the universal tractor began in the fall of 1954, and by the summer of 1956 prototypes were ready. A four-axle long-wheel drive all-wheel drive chassis has become the basis for several modifications of the military towing truck. The characteristics of the machine were designed for long journeys at a speed of 40 - 50 km / h. The tractor’s power was enough to transport the platform with a ballistic intercontinental missile. However, the road train could only follow the paved road and only on flat ground. It was not possible to overcome even a slight rise, since the trailer did not have inertia.
Application
The MAZ 537 "Hurricane" tractor, the technical characteristics of which testified to its reliability, was also widely used in regular troops for transporting various long-range combat systems. However, towing long platforms was difficult due to the excessively distant hitch. The road train did not fit into turns, maneuverability was limited.
Each move to another place of deployment was a daunting task for the military, the road train had to be stopped often, by complex manipulations to align the course. Difficulties arose due to the narrow roadway. In the post-war USSR, all roads were extremely narrow, vehicles moved in one row, in both directions. The danger of moving to the ditch was every minute. The heavy tractor fully occupied its lane and still drove into the oncoming traffic. Complaints rained from the civilian population, but the situation did not change.
In the end, the military departments began to warn about the upcoming transportation of missile systems in advance. Notifications of the upcoming relocation were received by road services and the state traffic inspectorate. The police blocked traffic on the highway, within 25-30 kilometers, a tractor with a trailer occupied the entire width of the carriageway and safely drove through a free section to the next post. Then the next stage was blocked.
Two years later, the design bureau of the Minsk Automobile Plant began to develop a truck version of the tractor with the MAZ 535V index. The body was abolished, in its place a coupling device with an automatic lock-lock and two degrees of radial rotation was installed. The vertical load on the rear of the tractor increased sharply, the designers had to reconsider the parameters of the rear suspension. We stopped on bridges with a planetary gear and differential. Thus, the rear axles took up the main load.
MAZ 537
The latest version of the truck tractor was distinguished by a more advanced power supply and engine cooling system. The flanges of the driveshaft propeller shafts were reinforced. The need for this was dictated by frequent breakdowns, when a loaded tractor could not overcome the rainy section of the road and the engine torque tore off the cardan joints.
The creation of a family of heavy tank tractors of the MAZ 537 brand, the characteristics of which were repeated by the main parameters of the MAZ 535 and MAZ 536 models, was the beginning of the era of road trains of a new class, with a high load factor. A powerful incentive has appeared for the development of increasingly sophisticated heavy semi-trailers and trailers for transporting multi-ton indivisible goods.
The need to move massive structures has always existed. Road trains appeared much earlier than in the USSR, and this circumstance accelerated the process of developing Soviet heavy-duty vehicles, since no one wanted to lag behind advanced technologies. To begin with, design bureaus of automobile industry enterprises developed the ZiS-10 tractor with a fifth wheel coupling, based on the well-known ZiS-5 dump truck. The carrying capacity of the new machine was only 6 tons. A small number of towers were released; the ZiS-10 was not widely used.
Foreign analogues
At the end of the 30s of the last century, motorists got acquainted with two heavy road trains of foreign production, Daimond T-980 and REO 28XS truck tractors, transferred to the USSR under Lend-Lease. Overseas towers worked in tandem with the Roden Trailer three-axle semi-trailers, with a carrying capacity of 45 tons. The cars were equipped with winches and transported armored vehicles.
At that time, in the Soviet Union, tanks and other heavy military vehicles moved exclusively on their own or were transported on railway platforms. Both methods seemed irrational, but there was no alternative then.
Post-war period
After the end of World War II, the USSR seriously took up the development of domestic heavy tractors for the army and the developing national economy. In 1951, the automobile plant in Yaroslavl mastered the production of three-axle vehicles YAZ-210G with a platform and a powerful winch. It was not possible to establish a large-scale production of these machines, and besides, the tractors could not go off-road, especially in the rainy season or spring thaw.
Thus, the tasks of creating heavy vehicles still needed to be addressed, especially since rapid industrial construction was unfolding in the country, and strategic missile systems were emerging in the military department, which needed mobility. Armored forces also needed reliable heavy-duty tractors.
Design department
The Council of Ministers of the USSR in June 1954 adopted a resolution on the creation of SKB (special design bureaus) for the development of particularly powerful military tractors with the possibility of subsequent modification in the civilian industrial version. It immediately became clear that the existing factory technologies and equipment in the automotive industry would not be enough.
I had to start with the machine park, buy modern equipment abroad and create new technologies. A large SKB MAZ was organized at the Minsk Automobile Plant, under the leadership of the chief designer Boris L. Shaposhnik. The specialists were tasked with designing and launching a heavy wheeled tractor. This is how the MAZ 535 towing vehicle appeared, which will soon turn into the MAZ 537, a model with several modifications.
Production
Initially, the funds laid down in the development of a supercar were insufficient, since such a car cannot be cheap. After adjusting the financial support of the project, the work began to boil. Non-standard decisions were made that had never before been used in the domestic automotive industry. I had to take into account the special operating conditions of heavy trucks, the adaptation of the units to the temperature range from plus 50 to minus 50 degrees, profile cross-country ability and many other parameters.
The MAZ 537 heavy truck tractor began to be mass-produced in 1965. The car was intended for towing trailers and semi-trailers weighing up to 40 tons. From the basic version, the 537th model was distinguished by a rear-mounted fifth wheel (345 mm) fifth wheel coupling and a reinforced rear suspension. The MAZ 537 was in constant restyling mode. In the production process, the functions of the transfer case were expanded, rotation transmission was installed on the generator drive. Car carrying capacity has increased significantly and amounted to 68 tons.
In parallel with heavy truck tractors, onboard tractors were developed and produced in limited series for moving goods, up to 22 tons, on the highway. The body of such a car was not equipped with seats, had no arches and an awning, was used exclusively for the transport of goods. A self-extracting winch was placed under the body, in case the tractor got stuck.
Modernization
After some time, the military MAZ 537 was modernized, and the car was assigned the index "P". Specifications remained unchanged, but the winch was abolished, and the body was converted for transportation of personnel. Along the hinged sides, longitudinal benches and arches for the awning were installed, which were adjustable in height - in the lower position, the awning covered the load, in the upper position it served as protection against rain and snow for people. In accordance with its intended purpose, the MAZ 537P tractor could tow platforms with missile systems.
The operation of wheeled tractors required maintenance specialists, qualified drivers and an adequate material base. Therefore, in the 70s, specialized enterprises were formed for the centralized transportation of bulky and heavy cargo. The Spetstyazhavtotrans association was engaged in the transportation of non-standard goods, while developing optimal routes. With the help of MAZ 537 tractors, a marble block weighing 300 tons was transported for the construction of the monument to V.I. Lenin in Leningrad. This unique transport operation was monitored by the whole country.
MAZ 537 tractors were widely used in the north, where oil and gas pipelines were laid. The unpretentious car well proved in a cold climate. Especially for the transportation of long gas-conducting joints, the PV-481 pipe carrier was created on the basis of the MAZ 537 towing vehicle. Also, for working in northern conditions, prototypes of fire engines, technical mobile points, all-terrain vehicles of ambulance were created. However, trial copies were not received in mass production.
In 1991, at the Kurgan Wheel Tractor Plant , serial production of the KZKT-9101 heavy semi-trailer, with a lifting capacity of 54 tons, for the MAZ 537 towing vehicle, the technical characteristics of which completely coincided with the data of the semi-trailer, began. The combination of components turned out to be successful, buyers were able to purchase both a tractor and a semi-trailer immediately within the framework of one order.
Over the years of production, MAZ 537 towing vehicles, the photos of which are presented on the page, have gradually become obsolete, both morally and technically. The machine has exhausted itself, the potential for further development has dried up. Previously hidden shortcomings began to appear, a lot of complaints caused a low engine life of the power plant. The operation of the tractor was associated with frequent interruptions for repairs; the army MAZ 537 did not accommodate the crew, which had to follow separately, when transporting tanks and other armored vehicles. For this I had to attract additional cars.
In the end, on the basis of the 537th model, a new tractor KZKT-7428 was created, which fully met the tasks of transporting combat tracked vehicles. Currently, the family of powerful wheeled tractors successfully solves all the problems of transporting heavy military equipment, as well as civilian large-sized industrial structures.