Article published on 11/17/2014 5:47 PM Last edited on 11/17/2014 6:37 PM

Choice Nizhny Novgorod as a place for the construction of a new automobile plant, gigantic in its scale at the time, was not made by chance. Moscow, Leningrad, Yaroslavl and some other cities were named as an alternative. Each of these sites had distinct advantages. But in the complex they were concentrated only in Nizhny Novgorod: there was a sufficiently developed metalworking industry and qualified personnel, forest and water resources; it was also possible to provide cheap transportation of semi-finished and finished products. In addition, Nizhny Novgorod was already a large railway junction at that time, which was also at the confluence of two navigable rivers - the Volga and Oka.

Gipromez and the Metallstroy trust were commissioned to carry out the initial draft design of the car plant. However, Soviet specialists did not yet have experience in the automotive industry, especially large-scale ones. Therefore, it was decided to turn to private companies in the United States, where the government commission left on May 31, 1929.

The choice fell on the Ford company. He was not accidental either. While in automotive world there was no more famous figure than Henry Ford, whose factories produced every second car on the planet in 1922.

A Ford-A passenger car and a one and a half-ton Ford-AA truck were identified as the base models for production at the new plant, which by that time were already widely known in different countries and had proven themselves well. They did not wait for the main plant to go into operation. An assembly line was installed at the Gudok Oktyabrya plant ten kilometers from Nizhny, in Kanavino. Under an agreement with Ford, units and parts were sent there from the United States through Murmansk. On February 1, 1930, the first 10 Ford-AA trucks were assembled in the car assembly shop, and at the end of 1931 the production of Ford-Timken three-axles was launched. But then came the solemn day on January 29, 1932. The first truck of the Nizhny Novgorod automobile plant NAZ-AA rolled off the assembly line to the sound of the factory siren. By the end of the year, the plant produced 60 trucks daily and mastered the production of passenger cars. gAZ-A cars... Yes, yes, already GAZ, not NAZ, since in October 1932 Nizhny Novgorod was renamed Gorky. Changed the name and the car factory.

For all its simplicity, the car was technically quite perfect. It was equipped with a four-cylinder engine with a working volume of 3285 cc. cm, which at 2600 rpm developed a power of 42 liters. from. It was the same engine that was installed on the passenger "Gas-A". He transferred his power to the drive axle through a single-disc dry friction clutch and a four-speed gearbox.

The wheel suspension was dependent. The front wheels were suspended on one transverse semi-elliptical spring with push rods that transferred the load to the frame. The rear ones were held on two longitudinal cantilever springs without any shock absorbers at all. A design feature was the rear suspension and transmission device, where it was used as a longitudinal thrust cardan shaftresting against a bronze bushing.

The service brake had a mechanical drive. Due to the extremely low compression ratio of only 4.25, low-octane gasoline was used as fuel, which was very important in those years. The fact is that the Soviet industry did not produce high-octane fuel, and even planes flew on gasoline with octane number in 70 units. The "lorry" could ride both tractor naphtha and kerosene lamp. The gasoline tank was installed in front of the front wall of the cab. Fuel from it entered the carburetor by gravity. The fuel range was 215 km. The carrying capacity of the vehicle with its own curb weight of 1810 kg was equal to one and a half tons. Hence his nickname "lorry" comes from. Despite this, "lorries" almost always operated with significant overload and often transported up to three tons. A scarce starter with a battery was distinguished by a low resource - rarely on which car they served for more than six months. Therefore, in real operation, the car was started with a "crooked starter", that is, with a crank.

GAZ-AA has been assembled completely from Soviet components since 1933. Until 1934, it was equipped with a wooden and pressed cardboard cabin. Since 1934, he received a metal cabin with a leatherette roof. In 1938, the truck was modernized and received a 50-horsepower GAZ-MM engine - exactly the same that was installed on the GAZ-M1 passenger car. However, there were no external differences between GAZ-AA and GAZ-MM. After the start of World War II, due to the lack of thin cold-rolled steel and a number of components supplied by third-party enterprises, GAZ was forced to switch to the production of a simplified military truck GAZ-MMV, whose doors were replaced by triangular side fences and roll-up canvas doors, the wings were made of roofing iron by a simple bending method, there were no brakes on the front wheels, only one headlight and non-folding side boards were left. Tires characterized by low mileage were especially scarce, therefore, during the war, one and a half lorries often left the assembly line with only two rear wheels, that is, with a single rear axle tire, which, accordingly, reduced the carrying capacity.

It was during the Patriotic War that the brightest page of the biography of the "lorry" falls. Many now scold this car, considering it technically backward compared to the cars used in the German army. However, all the shortcomings of the "lorry" with the beginning of the war turned into its merits. The fact is that the cars used by the Nazis made in Germany, France, Italy, Czechoslovakia and Austria were not adapted to work in winter conditions, had insufficient maneuverability, were very difficult to repair and maintain, and a wide variety of their models significantly hampered the supply of spare parts, training of personnel and repairs. The cars of the Red Army were devoid of these shortcomings. In addition, their simple design and high reliability greatly simplified their operation and maintenance.

Technical characteristics of GAZ-AA:

Engine	gasoline, carburetor, 4-stroke, lower valve
Number of cylinders	4
Working volume, cm3	3285
Max. power, hp / rpm	40/2200
Max. torque, kgf * m (Nm)	15,5 (152)
Drive unit	rear
Transmission	mechanical, 4-speed, not synchronized
Front suspension	dependent, on a transversely located semi-elliptical spring with push rods
Rear suspension	dependent, on two longitudinal cantilever springs, without shock absorbers
Front brakes	drum
Rear brakes	drum
Maximum speed, km / h	70
Acceleration time 0-100 km / h, s.	-
Dimensions, mm	.
length	5335
width	2040
height	1970
wheelbase	3340
ground clearance	200
Curb weight, kg	1810
Tires, inches	6.50 – 20
Carrying capacity, kg	1500
Fuel consumption, l / 100 km	mixed cycle 20.5
Fuel tank capacity, l	40

The main modifications based on GAZ-AA and GAZ-MM:

Six-wheeled (three-axle with a 6 × 4 wheel arrangement) off-road truck, carrying capacity 2.0 tons. Created on the basis of the licensed Ford-Timken truck of the 1931 model. Years of issue: 1934-1943. In 1937 he received a more powerful 50-horsepower engine and other components from GAZ-MM. The total production until 1943 was 37373 units. On the basis of GAZ-AAA, the headquarters bus GAZ-05-193 (1936-1945), as well as serial armored vehicles BA-6 (1936-1938, 394 units), BA-10A (1938-1939) and BA-10M ( 1939-1941, a total of 3331 units). In the late 1930s, the armored hulls of the armored vehicles of the early series were rearranged on the shortened GAZ-AAA chassis, thus the BA-27M (1937-1938), BAI-M and BAI-3M (1939-1940) armored vehicles were obtained. In addition, experienced BA-6 m and BA-9 were created; experienced amphibious armored vehicles PB-4 (1933-1934, 6 units) and PB-7 (1936/37, 1 unit). A chemical combat vehicle BKhM-1 (1935-1937) was produced, an experienced ambulance armored personnel carrier BA-22 for 10 wounded was created (1937). BA-10 - in the fall of 1941 - in the spring of 1942, the residual batch of BA-10M armored hulls, which remained at the Izhora plant, was supplied to the GAZ-MM biaxial chassis. These armored vehicles were delivered only to the Leningrad Front.

GAZ-410 - a dump truck on the GAZ-AA and GAZ-MM chassis, carrying capacity of 1.2 tons, an all-metal self-unloading body. Years of issue: 1934-1946.

GAZ-42 - a gas generator modification that used wood chocks as fuel. The engine power is 35-38 hp, the passport carrying capacity is 1.0 tons (the real one is less, since a significant part of the shortened platform was occupied by the 150-200-kilogram stock of chocks). Years of issue: 1938-1950.

GAZ-43 - coal-fired gas generator version. It was distinguished by the smaller dimensions of the gas generator unit. Produced in small batches in 1938-1941.

GAZ-44 - LPG version on compressed (compressed) gas. Gas cylinders were located under the cargo platform. Released in a small batch in 1939. On cars of the first releases, a NATI-SG6 gearbox was installed, which was subsequently replaced by a NATI-SG19 gearbox. The NATI-SG19 double-membrane reducer was more compact than the NATI-SG6 single-membrane reducer. All equipment was located under the engine hood. The gearbox was located above the engine, which gave it sufficient heat to prevent freezing. To control the gauge of the gas supply in the cylinders, a pressure gauge was installed on the lining of the front beam of the cab. 60 cubic meters of compressed gas was stored in six cylinders. The weight of the gas installation was 420 kg. Gas equipment was produced by the Kuibyshev carburetor plant. The average mileage of a car without gas replenishment depended on fuel and was: 150 km on coke oven gas and lamp gas, 200 on synthesis gas, 300 on methane.

NATI-3 - an experimental half-track modification with a rubber-metal track driven by a sloth from a standard bridge. Tested 1934-1936.

GAZ-60 - serial half-track modification with a rubber-metal track driven by a sloth from a standard axle. Years of issue: 1938-1943.

GAZ-65 - modification of cross-country ability with a caterpillar-wheeled mover driven by standard rear wheels. In 1940, an experimental industrial batch was released, which showed the complete unsuitability of this scheme for the conditions of real operation of cars both in the front and later in the rear (fuel consumption exceeded 60 l / 100 km).

GAZ-03-30 - 17-seater general purpose bus with a body on a wooden frame with a metal sheathing. It was produced at the facilities of the GAZ subcontractor - GZA (Gorky Bus Plant, formerly the Gudok Oktyabrya plant). Years of issue: 1933-1950, with a break in 1942-1945. The most common model soviet bus pre-war period.

GAZ-55 (M-55) - an ambulance, equipped with rear axle shock absorbers. Capacity: 10 people, including four on a stretcher. Years of production: 1938-1945. The most massive ambulance of the Red Army during the Second World War.

PMG-1 - fire truck (line). Years of issue: 1932-1941 (?). The most massive pre-war fire engine in the USSR, in fact, this fire engine began the real motorization of firefighting in our country.

Based on materials from sites 66.ru, anaga.ru

On January 29, 1932, the most massive pre-war truck rolled off the assembly line of the Gorky Automobile Plant.

The first time I heard the strange word "Lorry" was in childhood from my grandfather. He told how, during the war, as a twelve-year-old boy, under fire, he helped load potatoes that were waiting to be sent to the front. And then he ran in front of the car, which did not include the only headlight, and warned about the craters left by the shells. To my question "what is this - Lorry?" grandfather could not answer. And not because I didn't know what it was, but because I didn't understand, how I can't know it. My father satisfied my interest a little more: “And this is such a truck with a wooden cabin. They brought us bread on it in the morning. " And then began a colorful story about a warm loaf, which the boy carried home before school and, unable to resist the smell, broke off the crust, for which he received a reprimand from his mother every time.

GAZ-AA car (1933-1939) in the museum of the Moscow Automobile Plant named after Lenin Komsomol. Photo: RIA Novosti

The birthday of "Polutorka", or rather, the GAZ-AA truck, is January 29th. On this day in 1932, the first car rolled off the assembly line of the plant in Nizhny Novgorod (which in the same year will become Gorky). It was equipped with a four-cylinder engine with a working volume of 3285 cm 3, which developed a power of 42 liters. and a four-speed gearbox. The frame was the basis, and the springs served as the suspension, providing a carrying capacity of one and a half tons. Hence his nickname "lorry" or "one and a half thin". Despite this, "one and a half" almost always operated with significant overload and often transported up to three tons. Until 1934, the car was equipped with a cabin made of wood and pressed cardboard, later they were replaced by metal, and during the war, materials were not always enough even for doors made of tarpaulin.

Having already become a fairly popular transport, the "Polutorka" proved to be indispensable during the Second World War. Simple, reliable design and unpretentious nature allowed the car to become both a supplier and a carrier of weapons.

American roots

The history of the Gorky Automobile Plant took place in the spring of 1929: on March 4, the Supreme Council of the National Economy of the USSR signed an order on construction, on April 6, a location was chosen, and on May 31, an agreement was concluded with Ford Motor Company on assistance in organizing and setting up mass production of cars of the Ford-A type and trucks of the type Ford-AA. That is, in essence, GAZ-AA is an American product. At first, 72 thousand car sets were brought from America, and the production was a simple assembly. But in parallel with it, the plant was establishing its own production of chassis and other components, and from 1933 the car became completely Soviet.

Ford-AA. Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org

Almost a million

During the entire production period, 985,000 GAZ-AA vehicles were produced in various modifications. For the Nizhny Novgorod Automobile Plant (future GAZ), this was the first production car, but in addition to it, the assembly was carried out at the Moscow plant KIM (AZLK), at the Rostov car assembly plant and at UlZiS (UAZ).

Twist the handle

Due to constant problems with the starter, which did not always work for more than six months, in order to start the car, the drivers had to turn the handle. This action has often become a key moment in films with the participation of "Lorry".

"Heavenly" wings

In the summer of 1943, the Gorky plant was badly damaged by bombing, and due to a lack of materials, the production of GAZ-AA was greatly simplified. The truck was equipped with only one left headlight, only rear brakes and only a tailgate. Thin steel sheets went into service, as a result of which the plant was forced to abandon their use in the "Polutorka" cabin. But without wings, the car could not drive on the roads of that time, so they began to be made of roofing iron. The new material had no plasticity and the wings were square.

GAZ-AA car at the opening of the historical exhibition of GAZ cars "Heroes of the Time" in the capital's GUM. Photo: RIA Novosti

Fire line

With the advent of "Polutorka" - an inexpensive mass truck, the motorization of the fire service became possible. At the Miussky plant of fire trucks, founded in Moscow in 1919, a fire engine was assembled on the GAZ-AA chassis. For alteration, trucks from the KIM conveyor were driven under their own power. They differed from the basic "extinguisher" by the presence of a power take-off box, thanks to which the pump that pumped water worked. The name "line" comes from a special wooden body, with benches for the fire brigade and a water tank.

Coin of Russia "Leningrad" with the image of one and a half, breaking the blockade across the lake. Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org

Minted in silver

The legendary car was featured on the obverse of the coin issued in the Leningrad series. The “road of life”, along which the supply of the besieged city went, was laid by these very trucks.

Historical value

In the Soviet Union, it was forbidden to own trucks privately, so most of the "Lorries" were gradually withdrawn and transferred to various enterprises. Over time, it became more and more difficult to repair them, and the cars were handed over to Vtorchermet. Since then there were annual rates for the delivery of secondary raw materials, it was easier for enterprises to write off old equipment. That is why GAZ-AA in good condition - a real rarity and an auto collector's dream.

CITY OF THE FUTURE

The first five-year plan for the development of the national economy of the USSR for 1928-1932 laid the foundation for a grandiose industrialization program. The plan provided for the construction of more than one and a half thousand large facilities - hydroelectric power plants, metallurgical plants, automobile and tractor plants. All these projects required transport, so one of the strategic tasks was to organize the mass production of trucks.

By the end of the 1920s, trucks in the USSR were serially produced by two car factories: the Moscow First State Automobile Plant (former AMO) and the Yaroslavl Third State Automobile Plant. However, their capacity was sorely lacking, since both enterprises were created on the basis of pre-revolutionary industries. So, by the time the first five-year plan was launched, there were only about one and a half thousand cars in the whole country. It is not surprising that already in the mid-1920s, the Soviet government planned the construction of the country's first auto giant, the production capacity of which would make it possible to produce 100 thousand cars a year. In the absence of the necessary experience and technological resources, it was advisable to purchase production abroad. And the gaze of the Kremlin experts turned to overseas, primarily to Detroit. This North American city was seen by the builders of socialism as an exemplary "auto city", a metropolis of the future in which people live and work, obeying a single functional concept. It was in this format that they dreamed of building a Soviet auto giant. Next to the workshops, it was planned to build residential quarters for workers and create all the associated infrastructure.

As a result of negotiations, the company General motors refused to participate in the project, and the only candidate for partners remained Ford, which suited the Soviet side quite well. First, the name of Henry Ford and his automobile empire were associated with manufacturability and rationalism; secondly, this brand was quite well known in our country (small in volume, but stable export of cars Ford to Russia began as early as 1909); thirdly, the models of the new Ford platform, which in 1927-1928 replaced the outdated "T" family, were the best suited for the needs of the USSR. A car Ford-A and a one and a half ton truck Ford-AA were simple, unpretentious, inexpensive and, most importantly, to a significant extent, structurally unified among themselves.

DREAMS AND REALITY

The technical agreement with Ford was signed on May 31, 1929. It was planned to build a highway not far from Nizhny Novgorod, near the village of Monastyrka, at the confluence of the navigable rivers - Oka and Volga. The Soviet side signed a contract for the construction of a plant and a camp for workers with a Cleveland firm Austin Company... In addition to the construction of the auto giant, the contract with Ford provided for the operational construction of two car assembly plants - in Nizhny Novgorod and Moscow, where the assembly of cars was planned Ford from ready-made vehicle kits (according to the agreement, the USSR undertook to purchase 72 thousand vehicle kits). These assembly lines allowed the initial production of cars before the completion of the construction of the Nizhny Novgorod plant and served as a kind of industrial training complexes for workers. For the construction and arrangement of branches, the American side attracted a construction company already well-known in our country Albert Kahn, Inc.

In 1929, part of the area of \u200b\u200bthe Gudok Oktyabrya agricultural machinery plant located in the town of Kanavin near Nizhny Novgorod was allocated for the creation of the First Car Assembly Plant. In February 1930, the assembly of the first trucks from American vehicle kits began there. Ford-AA... On November 6, 1930, both passenger cars and freight "Fords" began to roll off the main conveyor of the Moscow Second Car Assembly Plant (since December 26, 1930 - the State Car Assembly Plant named after KIM).

And in Nizhny Novgorod, dreams of a motor city gradually melted away: firstly, the project estimate turned out to be more modest than expected, and secondly, the labor enthusiasm of the performers was surprisingly combined with slovenliness and inconsistency of actions of numerous management structures. The largest auto plant in Europe was built on time, but the results were far from utopian ideas about the industrial city of the future. The new building near Monastyrka was secretly called Sotsgorod, and in 1932 it received the official status of the Avtozavodsky district of Nizhny Novgorod. In the second half of January 1932, the plant, which was preparing to launch at its design capacity, mastered the production of a cylinder block, a crankshaft, frame side members and a number of other parts. Having failed to achieve regular supplies of components from subcontractors (in particular, sheet steel), the cabs of the "pre-production" trucks were assembled from plywood, and on January 29, 1932, the first cars left the assembly line of the Nizhny Novgorod Automobile Plant. NAZ-AA.

On October 7, Nizhny Novgorod was renamed to Gorky, the factory abbreviation also changed, and one and a half trucks with chassis serial numbers higher than "3800" already had the brand "GAS"... By the end of 1932, the production of trucks at the Gorky Automobile Plant reached 60 vehicles per day.

ALMOST THE SAME

Gorky trucks differed slightly from the overseas prototype. Differences can be divided into forced ones, caused by a shortage of materials or negligence of subcontractors, and made on purpose, which was due to the need to adapt the structure to difficult operating conditions. The first group includes, for example, a cabin made of wood and pressed cardboard, which until 1934 periodically "replaced" the standard metal cabin with a leatherette insert in the roof on the conveyor. The second - strengthening the clutch housing, improving the steering mechanism, equipping the engine intake system with an air filter and a gasoline sump, as well as attaching the engine to the frame on rubber shock absorbers. The new onboard platform was designed by Gorky engineers back in 1930.

The basis of the design of the GAZ-AA was a steel stamped spar ladder frame. Beam front axle was suspended from it using one transverse semi-elliptical razor. The rear axle was attached by means of two longitudinal cantilever springs, that is, the rear end of the spring was hinged to the bridge beam, and in the middle and the second end it was connected to the frame (through a swinging shackle). This design of the rear suspension did not allow full transmission of the pushing force, so this mission was entrusted to a hollow tube in which the propeller shaft was enclosed. At one end, this pipe was rigidly attached to the main gear, and at the other end, it rested against the frame cross member through a ball joint. The front end of the pushing tube and the axle shaft housings were connected by oblique braces, designed to evenly distribute dynamic forces. In the front suspension, the mission of transferring the longitudinal load to the frame was performed by a V-shaped thrust fork.

Only the front suspension was equipped with single-acting lever hydraulic shock absorbers. The mechanically operated service brake acted on the pads of all four wheels; "handbrake" had a tape mechanism and blocked only the rear wheels. The power unit of the machine consisted of an in-line four-cylinder low-valve engine with a working volume of 3285 cm 3 and a power of 42 hp. and four-stage (as opposed to three-stage on GAZ-A) a manual transmission without synchronizers.

The low compression ratio (4.2) made it possible to use not only low-octane gasoline grades in the heat, but also combustible substances that were not originally intended for internal combustion engines - for example, kerosene or alcohol. Fuel entered the carburetor by gravity, since the gas tank was located in the upper part of the front wall of the cab, hanging over the knees of the driver and passenger. This arrangement allowed the use of a "live" fuel level sensor, which was an ordinary float visible from the cockpit in a special graduated window on the dashboard. In addition to the fuel "window" on the dashboard there were an ignition switch, an ammeter and a speedometer. A common external light in the upper part of the panel served to illuminate the instruments. But the driver's workplace was equipped with numerous controls for power and ignition systems. Under the dashboard, there was a tap that shut off the fuel supply from the tank. Nearby was a "start button" - a thrust for adjusting the enrichment of the working mixture. Directly behind the "steering wheel" on the steering column on the right, a "hand throttle" lever was installed to regulate the position throttle... The same lever on the left made it possible to adjust the ignition timing. In addition, a "flag" for turning on the evening light (headlights and a lone taillight on the left side) and a horn button were located on the steering wheel hub.

The starter was started with a foot trigger above the brake pedal, and next to the accelerator pedal, a mushroom-shaped footrest protruded from the floor, which could also be mistaken for a pedal. A two-seater all-metal cab with a leatherette insert in the ceiling, nothing but the absence of door trim, which did not differ from the front half of the GAZ-A cabin, made the truck more comfortable than its open passenger brother. Spare wheel was attached under the frame behind the rear axle.

TEST OF WAR

In terms of reliability and endurance, GAZ-AA was somewhat inferior to its only real competitor in the domestic market - the Moscow three-ton ZIS-5, but the Gorky Automobile Plant significantly surpassed the ZIS in production capacity, so it was precisely the one and a half that was to become " universal soldier"the national economy, and the Gorky designers - to create all kinds of" peaceful "and" military "modifications and improve the basic model.

It is for the purpose of identifying weak points designs in December 1932, the trucks took part in a test run from Nizhny Novgorod to Moscow and back, and in the summer of 1933 - in an extreme "Karakum" raid. Most of the typical breakdowns were attributed to the poor quality of components supplied by subcontractors. In 1933, the Moscow and Gorky car assembly plants finally exhausted the stock of American car kits and switched to assembling cars from parts of domestic production.

In 1936, the Gorky residents mastered the production of a new GAZ-M engine - boosted to 50 hp. version of the GAZ-A engine. The lorries began to be equipped with this unit in 1938. At the same time, a new steering mechanism unified with the "emka" appeared and the fastening of the rear springs was strengthened. This modification received the designation "GAZ-MM" (contrary to popular belief, the pre-war "MM" outwardly did not differ in any way from the serial "AA"). Since October 1940, a reinforced towing device and new design spare wheel fittings began to be installed on GAZ-MM.

The plumage of the lorry changed with the beginning of the Great Patriotic War. They saved metal, so the front end gradually lost all elements that were not considered vital: the crimped wings were bent from roofing iron, and the roof and doors were made of tarpaulin. The headlight and wiper were installed only on the driver's side, and the front brakes, muffler and bumper were completely absent. Since 1943, the canvas flaps of the cab sidewalls have given way to wide wooden doors.

The simplified modification of the GAZ-MM continued to be produced after the end of the war, however, full metal doors, a muffler, front brakes, a bumper and two headlights were returned to the cars, and a rectangular window appeared in the rear wall of the cab.

At GAZ, the last one and a half truck was assembled on October 10, 1949, and at the Ulyanovsk Automobile Plant (UlZIS), which had been assembling GAZ-MM since 1947, the production of these trucks was stopped only by 1951.

From 1932 to the beginning of the war, GAZ, the KIM plant and the car assembly plant in Rostov-on-Don, in total, produced more than 800,000 AA and MM models. During the war, the Gorky Automobile Plant assembled 102,300 trucks.

Diagram of the car GAZ-AA

Technical characteristics of GAZ-AA

Number of places	2		Weight:
Maximum speed	70 km / h		equipped (no load)	1810 kg
Fuel consumption at full load (when driving on a highway)	18.5 l / 100 km		complete, including:	3310 kg
Electrical equipment	6 V		on the front axle	825 kg
Accumulator battery	3-ST-80		on the rear axle	2485 kg
Generator	GBF-4105		Smallest turning radius:
Lifting capacity	1500 kg		along the outer rut front wheel	7.5 m
Starter	MAF-4006
Tire size	6,5-20		Ground clearance (full load):
			under the front axle	275 mm
			under rear axle	198 mm

Engine: GAZ-A, in-line, carburetor, four-stroke, four-cylinder, low-valve, water-cooled

Transmission: mechanical, three-way, with four forward and one reverse gears

Gear ratios: I 6.4; II - 3.09; III - 1.69; IV - 1.0; reverse gear - 7.82

Clutch: single disc, dry

Main gear: bevel gears with spiral teeth; ratio - 6.6 or 6.67

The history of these machines is inextricably linked with the first Stalinist five-year plans. With the roads of wartime hard times. With the restoration of the destroyed areas of the country. The name given to them by the people is a lorry.

May the reader forgive us for the fact that here we will consider only ordinary trucks with an onboard platform, leaving behind the scenes buses, dump trucks, three-axle and gas generator models of pre-war equipment with the GAZ brand. And let him agree with us that considering the most famous basic machines, it is not at all necessary to touch on their many, but less known varieties.

In comparison with its Moscow peers, AMO-3 and, the Gorky lorry had a less perfect design of individual units and assemblies, and its suspension and chassisoriginally designed for American highways were of little use for our operating conditions. But the carriers had nothing to choose from: the domestic automobile industry was in fact only in its infancy, and in comparison with any car with a horse train, the latter still lost outright ...

Engines of cars GAZ-A and GAZ-AA

Passenger cars GAZ-A and trucks GAZ-AA received the same "Ford" engine. No wonder: let us remember that the first one and a half from modern history, in the 90s, shared their power units with Volga-31029.

The licensed Ford engine, inherited in the 30s by Soviet cars, was far from perfect not only from the standpoint of today, but already in the pre-war years.

The crankshaft of this four-cylinder unit was mounted on only three journal bearings and did not have counterweights to reduce vibration. And therefore, the bet was placed on a massive flywheel, which was additionally loaded with a clutch, it could not, of course, not transfer an increased dynamic load to the rear support bearing of the crankshaft. And the main and connecting rod bearings did not have, as now, thin-walled replaceable liners to increase the maintainability of the motors, but were filled with babbitt, and then required processing in place for the size of the necks of a particular shaft.

For comparison, let us recall how the Soviet four-cylinder GAZ-25 engine was made, almost the same size. This engine of the 1944 model received a four-bearing crankshaft. The crank of the first cylinder was located between the first and second bearing journals of the crankshaft, the crank of the fourth cylinder was located between the third and fourth bearings, respectively. And between the second and third bearing journals, the cranks of the second and third cylinders rotated, and a common central balance bar. Due to this arrangement of the crank mechanism, the weight of the flywheel was reduced to a minimum, and the loads on the main bearings were more evenly distributed.

The GAZ-25 power unit, after changes in the lubrication system, was later redesignated as M-20, and was known as the engine for the Pobeda and GAZ-69 vehicles.

The gas distribution mechanism of the lorry did not have the ability to adjust the gaps in the valves, which were selected initially, or worked from repair to repair, with all the known consequences due to the resulting incorrect gaps.

Lubrication under pressure, as such, practically did not exist, the capacity of the oil pump was only enough to provide supply with a slight excess pressure, (0.8 - 1.5 atm on a warm engine) to the support bearings of the crankshaft and camshafts, and the connecting rod bearings were lubricated by "self-sucking", catching in the lower position for the level of oil poured into the crankcase.

The piston group and cylinders were lubricated with the same spray. There were no oil filters, there was only a mesh on the oil receiver, and the factory requirements for an oil change every 800-1000 km. mileage. If any of the readers does not believe that the motors of one and a half did without filters at all, then on the proposed oil circulation scheme in the engine, he still will not find them.

The oil pressure was not monitored in any way, by unscrewing the plug in the oil line, the driver could only make sure that the pump was working, and there was still some kind of oil supply.

The cooling systems of these pre-war motors are of the thermosyphon type, with water circulation due to expansion during heating. A small "exciting" pump only initiated the beginning of this circulation. There were no blinds, thermostats, or water temperature control devices.

The K-14 carburetor, similar to the American "Zenith", was attached under the intake manifold, and had an "upward" flow of the mixture, only due to the vacuum in the cylinders. There was no gas pump - the feed was carried out by gravity, since the 40-liter fuel tank was located above the carburetor, in fact, in the engine compartment.

But, be that as it may, it was precisely such an engine that one and a half lorries had from 1932 to 1938. This power unit, with a cylinder diameter of 98.43 mm. with a working volume of 3.28 liters, and a compression ratio of 4.2, developed 42 hp. at 2600 rpm, and a torque of 15.5 kgm at 1200 rpm. / min.

In 1935, on the eve of the start of production of the GAZ-M1 passenger car, (1936), the engine was slightly modernized. The increased compression ratio to 4.6, made it possible to increase the power to 50 hp. at 2800 rpm, and a torque of up to 17 kgm at 1450 rpm. On this engine, a gas pump appeared, (the “emka” had a gas tank located under the rear overhang of the body), a new ignition distributor with a centrifugal advance automatic, as well as an output from the oil line to a pressure gauge in the cabin of a passenger car.

But, as mentioned above, the lorries did not receive an engine of increased power immediately. And the "modernization" was good for itself, (as indicated by the letter "M"), if the truck engine did not receive an updated kit attachments! And their drivers were still left without oil pressure control, and with the only possible manual adjustment of the ignition timing. A gas pump would be, like an "emka", a lorry GAZ-MM, and a gas tank under the body, of a larger volume - with a standard 40-liter capacity you can't hit a lot. But it was not supposed to: get along, chauffeur, with what you have, not you first!

In 1941, the engine of the GAZ-MM truck, which had been produced since 1938, was again modernized. But only ... for installation on army command jeeps GAZ-64, (later GAZ-67). The power unit received a water pump of increased productivity for forced water circulation, an ignition distributor with a centrifugal advance automatic, and a K-23 carburetor with a "falling" mixture flow, which made it possible to raise the power to 54 hp. Only the drivers of one and a half, as before, remained in their own interests ...

Transmission of GAZ-AA and GAZ-MM vehicles

The clutch of GAZ-AA and GAZ-MM vehicles is dry, single-disc, with a mechanical lever drive. The clutch did not have its own crankcase, and therefore, during installation, it was installed on an open flywheel, which was then closed by a crankcase made at the same time as the gearbox housing.

Four-speed gearboxes, with spur gears, without synchronizers, had the following gear ratios of the stages: 1.- 6.40; 2.- 3.09; 3. - 1.69; 4.- 1.00; Z.Kh. - 7.82. Later, these units were taken as the basis for gearboxes for GAZ-61, -64, -67 jeeps, and post-war trucks, etc.

Thanks to the quick-wittedness of the front-line drivers, "fifth speed" appeared on the lorry. This was a stick with a spear at the end, broken out of a branch of a suitable tree. It was placed between the gearshift lever in the fourth speed position, and the bulkhead engine compartment... So the problem of constant "knocking out" of the direct transmission on the move of the machine was solved when the parts of the secondary shaft of the gearbox were worn out. And the drivers of the ZIS trucks, meanwhile, managed only four speeds in the checkpoint, originally provided for by the design of these cars.

The big maintainability issue with these trucks was the design of their driveshafts. The transmission had a single hinge that allowed the transmission of torque at a variable angle. This hinge connected the output (secondary) shaft of the gearbox to the drive shaft of the rear axle.The drive shaft of the rear axle was installed in a closed pipe rigidly connected to the crankcase main gear... And compression - the recoil of the rear axle suspension was compensated only by the longitudinal splined connection of the drive shaft inside the pipe. And therefore, in case of malfunctions-wear of a single hinge, it was necessary to remove from the springs, uncouple from the jet and brake rods and "roll back" the entire rear axle.

If it was necessary to repair the clutch, everything was even more difficult. Removing the gearbox by sliding it back, as expected, did not allow the already mentioned propeller shaft pipe, which rested against the rear axle. And as the reader guesses, there was only one way out and diametrically opposite - to remove the entire power unit, the engine together with the gearbox, forward.

In the figure below, an image of the cardan drive, main gear, axle shafts and wheel hubs of a GAZ-A passenger car is proposed. The fundamental difference between such a combination of units in a lorry is in the dimensions of the parts, the shape and structure of the main gear housing. The mutual arrangement and arrangement of all parts that transmit forces to the wheels are the same for GAZ trucks and cars of the 1930s.

Item 5 in the figure is the only hinge of the drive shaft that transmits forces at a varying angle.

But the rear axle of the car, as such, was not a gift, and assumed considerable problems for the operators and repairmen.

The main gear with a 6.60 gearbox did not contribute to the thrust-to-weight ratio of these machines, with their 40-50-horsepower motors. Recall that for the GAZ-51 with a 70-horsepower engine, the rear axle gearbox had an even greater (6.67) ratio.

The one and a half axle had half shafts, unloaded by ¾, and forged together with the differential gears. What does this mean? When assembling this unit, at first, both axle shafts were assembled into a single unit, together with the differential box of the main transmission. Then, on this unit from both sides, the axle shafts were "pushed". And then, on the ends of these semi-axles, wheel hubs were installed on a tapered fit, which were fixed against turning with dowels, and against loosening of the mutual conical connection - with cotter nuts.

The hubs did not rotate on double tapered roller bearings, with the possibility of adjusting them as they wear, as now, but on single cylindrical ones, without the possibility of adjusting the preload.

Well, and as the reader understands, the axle shafts were not taken out by definition, in the event of a breakdown of one of them, it was necessary to remove and completely disassemble the entire bridge. And the hubs "boiled" on their tapered - keyed fit without a special puller, or heating by gas welding, just "once", cannot be removed. This is not a fully unloaded semi-axle, like the ZIS-5, or GAZ-51, to take out, simply by screwing in two bolts with M 12 thread ...

But that's not all. What is the difference between fully unloaded axle shafts, say, from GAZ-51 or ZIS-5, and axle shafts, from one and a half, unloaded by ¾? The fact that in the first case, the hub at the end of the axle beam has a fastening independent of the semi-axle, and the breakage of the latter is not reflected in the fastening of the hub and wheels.

And if the driver does not have another half-axle with him, the car is simply taken to the "tie" or "fork", and for some time performs the duties of a trailer. And for a lorry, the rear wheel hub is held in place only as long as the axle shaft is intact. And in another case, friction alone in the roller bearing of the hub, from falling out together with the wheel on the road, will not keep it. Then, under the broken end of the bridge, a "ski" was brought, but in the days of one and a half, not every truck was able to pull such a "plow". Well, as you know, tractors do not go far ...

We come to another section, highlighting the miscalculations of the pro-American design embodied in the Soviet car.

Undercarriage GAZ-AA

At the beginning of the article, there was already a mention that both pendants of the lorry were not present at all for our transport workers. The front suspension of the GAZ-AA, and others like it, included a single transverse spring, and the so-called spacer fork - two jet rods, converging V-shaped, from both ends of the front axle beam, to the hinge of their attachment in the middle of the frame.

These jet thrust prevented the movement of the ends of the beam back and forth in the longitudinal axis of the machine. A semi-elliptical spring, rigidly fixed "hump" up by its middle in the front of the car, and pivotally - to the ends of the front axle beam, did not allow the latter to move to the left - to the right.

But, as any person understands, such a suspension in terms of it was not a very rigid triangle, in fact, with two (!) Attachment points in the longitudinal axis of the machine.

If one of the longitudinal springs breaks down in the trucks we are used to, then the car, receiving a roll on one side, does not lose the ability to continue moving. In addition, the savvy chauffeur can also fit a strut between the frame side member and the axle beam to even out the roll. But what to do with the only broken transverse spring, and in a situation when the front axle beam begins to "walk" even more to the left - to the right?

Rear suspension cars GAZ-AA and GAZ-MM, are made on two longitudinal cantilever springs. Packages of springs of such suspensions, "hump" upwards, on the swing axes are attached to the frame, as in the balance suspension of three-axle machines. The front ends of such packages, with the help of earrings, are also hinged to the frame side members. And the rear beam is attached to the rear cantilever and downward ends of the springs. This bridge also has jet thrust.

What do we see? The fact that the rear shoulders of the springs have a deliberately wider range of bending angles than the front ones - the springs perceive an uneven load along their entire length. What do we know from history? The fact that when reversing, with accidental but strong blows rear wheel about an obstacle (a tree stump, falling into a hole), the suspension “turned out”, the springs broke, and the jet thrust was bent. Why be surprised? Springs and jet thrust actually received a blow "in the butt", for which they were not designed. For more or less smooth work in tension - compression, and axial impact - are far from the same thing. It is no coincidence that on the GAZ-51 cars that came out on the same (if not even worse right after the war) the road, there were no such decisions. Neither front nor rear suspension.

In the photo, we see a lorry stuck in a generally harmless situation - the wheels did not fall into the hole, the bridge beams did not burrow into the ground.

A lorry with a tarnished reputation

Having carefully examined the situation, with a high degree of probability it can be assumed that the car “sat down” on the jet rods of the front or rear suspensions, or caught on the hinge of the front axle spacer fork. Otherwise, why would you try to support the front, non-driving wheels? And if it was just rear wheel slip, why not just try to rock the truck back and forth from the pusher? However, if the first assumption is still true, then you can immediately make the second one - if this "lawn" had four normal longitudinal springs, like the peer of the ZIS-5, or the successor to the GAZ-51, such situations might not exist in principle ...

By the way, there are cases that one and a half lorries, forced, or on occasion, were converted to the "fifty-first" move. With the installation of post-war spring suspensions, and with the "rolling" of new bridges.

The author of these lines, in 1997, was personally involved in the repair of such a truck. It was the vehicle of the "Ekipazh" military-patriotic search group (leader SN Tsvetkov, died in 2001). It, already altered, (with an engine and a GAZ-51 gearbox), was found by Tsvetkovites in one of the ruined farms in the Russian outback. And now, probably, this car is in the Vadim Zadorozhny Museum of Technology, (the village of Ilyinskoye, Krasnogorsk District, Moscow Region) And if any of the readers sees it there, he will be able to make sure, at least by the 6-studded wheels - lorries "a la GAZ-51" existed.

Photos of another similar car are on the Internet. We see the wheels from the GAZ-51, which cannot be installed on the axle hubs of a lorry.

And the magnification of the image clearly shows that the rear axle from the GAZ-51 is also installed. It is issued by a "cylindrical" hub with a fully balanced axle shaft flange. In addition, the attentive and knowledgeable reader will also notice the post-war spring package, "steps" down.

But why would all this, if GAZ-MM cars were produced until the mid-50s, and there were enough original spare parts for less, in comparison with re-equipment, labor costs during ordinary repairs? After all, making such changes to a state or collective farm truck is not at all like putting an engine or a rear axle from the Volga on a personal Victory ...

On the GAZ-AA and GAZ-MM cars, identical wheels were installed with a tire size of 6.50 x 20 inches, and with five-window disks. The reader, having carefully examined the wheels in the photo on the headband to the material, can agree with us that the rims of trucks, due to such window sizes, could be structurally weakened. This, directly or indirectly, may be evidenced by the following fact.

Divisional, 76 mm. the ZIS-3 cannon, which had passed the whole war on tires and 5-pin front hubs from the GAZ-AA truck, had its own, 2-window rims. So the problem asks: was it worth changing the production technology rims actually from a lorry, with practically the same load on these parts? The ZIS-3 cannon, its total weight (1200 kg), was distributed over two single wheels. And for a laden lorry, the total weight on the rear axle (2485 kg) was distributed over two double slopes.

There is enough photo evidence on the Web that light and delicate rims of one and a half were sometimes sent to the dustbin of history. Instead, they used 2-window disks from the same ZIS-3 guns, or mobile compressor stations of the PKS-5 type.

By the way, if the reader is not in the know, then the first GAZ-51 cars, until the beginning of the 50s, had 2-window wheels from the ZIS-5, although the designers, of course, already knew 6-window wheels from.

Truly, as the saying goes, "Burnt in milk, they blow on the water."

What other proof is needed that the "hodovka" one and a half, despite all their military and labor services to the party and the state, was "The third grade is not marriage"?

We believe that an objective reader will agree with us: when considering the designs of even well-known and honored front-line vehicles, one must be able to see all of them (if any), shortcomings and miscalculations. And not to "cover" them with bullet and shrapnel holes in the wings and cockpits.

By the way, according to some information we have, among the front-line drivers who drove domestic cars, there was an opinion. In a critical combat situation, those who drove the ZIS-5, and not on the "lawn", had more chances to stay alive. And on the front-line "plowed" roads, the reliability of the chassis was in no way less important than the reliability of the motors ...

Therefore, when you read on the net, in the writings of other student-age authors that the lorries "were strong and hardy", such pearls cannot evoke anything but a sad smile (an option - a malicious grin). These people do not understand anything about what they undertook to argue publicly. And in the best case for them, they confuse the outwardly similar Gorky lorry and the Moscow three-ton, giving the first truck the declared advantages of the second car.

Control mechanisms GAZ-AA and GAZ-MM

The steering mechanisms of the GAZ-AA and GAZ-MM machines were a pair of "worm and a sector with two teeth." The gear ratio of the steering gear, 16.6 - typically "passenger".

The same relationship had the steering gears of the pre-war GAZ-M1, and the first "Victory". For the sake of fairness, it should be noted that due to its weight distribution, the weight on the front axle of the lorry was always less than that of the "Victory".

So, with its own weight, the front wheels of the compared cars accounted for: 730 kg for a truck, and 740 kg for a passenger car. At full load, the same comparable parameters were 835 and 880 kg, respectively. But on "Pobeda", since 1950, the gearbox was increased to a ratio of 18.2.

The brake systems of one and a half, as in all domestic pre-war vehicles, are with a mechanical lever-cable drive.

In workers brake systems machines GAZ-AA and GAZ-MM used the same size of pads and drums for the front and rear wheels. Interchangeability "in a circle" is an absolute good, but only if it does not contradict elementary logic and common sense.

It should be obvious to everyone that a two-axle truck with twin rear wheels, the rear brakes should be more effective. The load on the rear axle is always higher, and the rear double slopes, in terms of their total weight and total contact area with the road, are always more resistant to stopping them.

On the post-war "lawns", starting with the GAZ-51 cars, when technological, production and financial opportunities for "variations on the theme" appeared, the rear brakes, in comparison with the front ones, were significantly strengthened. So, at the front wheels, the diameter of the brake drums was 355 mm, the width of the pads was 60 mm, and the diameter of the working cylinders was 35 mm. For the backdrop of the GAZ-51 wheels, the same dimensions were 380, 80, and 38 mm, respectively. And what were the Americans thinking, installing on the front and rear axles their Ford-AA trucks the same drums, with a diameter of 355 mm, and the same pads, with a width of 63 mm?

Band drum parking braking mechanisms in one and a half acted on the rear wheels.

History has left us no indication of how effective or trouble-free they were. However, taking into account all that has been said about the sizes rear pads working braking, it can hardly be doubted that the "handbrake" was an additional and original amplifier rear brakes, both during work and during emergency braking. Otherwise, the axiom that the brakes on the lorry left much to be desired could not but be confirmed. And therefore the drivers of these cars, perhaps, were the most disciplined and accurate on the roads - life obliged ...

Electrical equipment of the car GAZ-AA

Six-volt equipment GAZ-AA, with polarity "plus to ground" was typical for that time. Consumers were powered by a 3ST-80 battery with a capacity of 80 Ah, or a GBF-4105 generator with a 13A output and a power of 80 W. The same remained for all GAZ-MM cars.

For comparison, we point out that the GAZ-M1 passenger car, in fact with the same engine, immediately received a GM-71 generator, with a return of 18 A and a power of 100 watts. It would seem that everything is quite clear - the bureaucratic "emka" has four more consumers: the second sound signal, the second, rear right lamp, interior lighting, and even "cigarette lighter" (cigarette lighter, in the terminology of those years).

But what fundamentally prevented the one and a half from giving a more powerful generator and a larger battery for more reliable starts of motors in cold weather? After all, trucks, as you know, belong to the category of means of production ...

But starters of inertial type, model MAF-4006, power. 0.9 h.p. on all pre-war GAZ cars were still the same.

As already mentioned above, the 4-cylinder pre-war engines of GAZ cars had three types of ignition interrupters, and of course, completely interchangeable when installed on engines.

On the GAZ-AA, the IGTs-4003 unit was used, with a lamellar (using contact buses) distribution of high voltage pulses through the candles. He had only a manual remote control of the ignition timing.

Almost the same outwardly device IM-91, which received a centrifugal ignition timing machine, was installed on the engines of passenger cars "emoks"

And finally, the GAZ-64 and GAZ-67 jeeps received the R-15 and R-30 units, not only with ignition timing machines, but, in contrast to the “emoks”, with easily removable valve covers, and plug-in connections familiar today, "Soft" high-voltage wires.

Let the reader not be surprised or puzzled by completely unsystematic, not dependent on reality, alphanumeric designations of units and devices of pre-war automotive electrical equipment .. Perhaps, by the standards of that time, not the first letters of the functional purpose of the products were encrypted in them, but the names and surnames of the designers specific products. In any case, we, alas, cannot give an intelligible explanation for such "nonsense" ...

And what did the lorries have, at least the GAZ-MM of the post-war assembly? And still the same "Option No. 1" as GAZ-AA, of the early 30s ... Summarizing all the above that the "lawns" at the plant were completed according to the "residual principle", it seems that they are in the production program GAZ were, in fact, rogue cars. Although this, automatically, could be attributed to their chauffeurs. And the priority was "personal" for officials, and promising models.

As the reader understood, classic battery ignition systems were used on the one and a half, although in the 30s there were also ignition systems from magneto - autonomous high voltage pulse generators. The domestic industry produced magneto types SS-4 and SS-6, respectively, for 4- and 6-cylinder engines. But none of the sources of information at our disposal of those years confirms that magneto was also used on the motors of ordinary onboard one and a half.

The head lighting systems of the pre-war Gorky trucks were more advanced than those of their peers - the Moscow three-ton trucks. They already had "low" and "high" light, (for ZIS cars - the only mode), and a separate switch only for lighting, (for Moscow cars - a general switch for all circuits). For one and a half, the dipped beam had a lamp power of 21 candles (21 watts), and the far one had 32 candles. The aforementioned "cargo" generators did not allow more then.

Unified with other trucks, the only round tail light had two sections. The side light section was covered with the usual red glass, and the stop-signal section was covered with yellow. However, according to the standards of that time, the power of the stop signal lamps was 15 sv.

On the electrical circuit diagram, the reader can see the gasoline level indicator. But this pointer was mechanical, connected to a float in the tank., Located behind the "torpedo" Just the location of the pointer scale was chosen taking into account the window for it in the general instrument cluster. This combination also included an ammeter and a coil speedometer. The speedometer coil, with the marked speed numbers, turned relative to the stationary mark on the glass of the device.

Cab and body of GAZ-AA and GAZ-MM

Closed from wind, snow and rain, the 2-seater GAZ-AA and GAZ-MM cab did not provide any special amenities to the drivers. Is that lifting windshield on hinges, it was possible to arrange "blowing" from below, against fogging from breathing of sitting people. But in winter this was not an option either ...

The design of the driver's seat, near the lorry, and the passenger car GAZ-A, practically did not differ. In the era when "personal cars", unlike trucks, were not offered any other options to drivers, there was no reason to create other dashboards... Controls - standardly located pedals and gearshift lever, ignition timing and fuel supply valve, ignition key, manual light switch and starter foot button. And the switch of the only left windshield wiper with a vacuum drive was located on the body of this device ..

Body - typical loading platform, in pre-war machines with three drop sides.

“What you were, remained so…” - these words of the song from the film “Kuban Cossacks”, (1952), can rightfully be attributed to the pre-war “lawn”, which continued to be produced, as already mentioned, and after the Victory. Unlike the post-war three-ton UralZIS, Ulyanovsk-assembled one-and-a-half trucks received neither replaceable crankshaft liners, nor easier steering, nor hydraulic brakes, nor new devices ...

However, all this is already outside the scope of the originally stated topic.

But first, the German soldiers posed smiling against the background of the broken "lorries", which in the summer of 1941 were scattered by the hundreds on the side of the roads - most of the army's fleet was lost in the first months of the war. The factories were required not only to compensate for these losses, but also to provide the front and rear with the necessary number of trucks. Therefore, with the beginning of the war, the design of the GAZ-MM was revised based on raw materials and technological requirements - and without that simple car simplified even more.

The front fenders became flat, bent on a bending machine and then welded - this saved scarce stamping steel and accelerated the manufacturing process. They also saved steel on the cab: at first it became wooden, and then it completely lost its solid roof - it was replaced by a fabric awning. Instead of the usual doors, awning "rolls" appeared. All unnecessary was removed - this concerned not only unnecessary bumpers at the front, but also the front brakes, side flaps (loading was carried out only through the rear), as well as the muffler. All vehicles were equipped with only one, left, headlamp - exactly the same were installed on tanks, self-propelled guns, and armored vehicles. Naturally, the enterprises - suppliers of headlights worked at the limit of their capabilities and could no longer provide trucks with two headlights.

Almost a million

In 1944, the pre-war equipment was partially returned: doors appeared, and the wooden cabin became wood-metal and remained so until the end of production, the front brakes, hinged side walls and a second headlight returned to their place. The last GAZ-MM left the Gorky conveyor on October 10, 1949. But later it was collected in Ulyanovsk - there was an acute question about the technology to restore the destroyed country. In total, almost a million trucks were produced.