Video: Why was the 24-wheeled MAZ-7904 built in the USSR?
2024 Author: Seth Attwood | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 15:55
During the Cold War, the USSR did not spare funds and resources for the development of its nuclear potential. So, in the early 1980s, the Minsk Automobile Plant developed a giant 24-wheeled truck designed to transport and launch intercontinental missiles. Its size is still amazing.
In 1983, an experimental special-purpose vehicle "7904" was created at the Minsk Automobile Plant (MAZ). In the same year, the device was sent to the Baikonur cosmodrome for further tests. The giant truck was intended for use in the Energia-Buran program to transport fallen space debris and detached stages of space rockets. An engine from a sea vessel with a capacity of 1500 hp was installed on the MAZ-7904 chassis.
The operation of the MAZ-7904 complex gave preconditions for the subsequent creation of a chassis for the MAZ-7906 model within the framework of an already new project - "Celina-2". In 1984, the MAZ plant produced two MAZ-7906 models with sixteen wheels, and a year later the 24-wheeled MAZ-7907 appeared. In the early 1980s, both versions of the ground vehicle chassis with a carrying capacity of up to 140-150 tons were tested. Wheels manufactured by pidgestone were 2.8 meters in diameter.
The dimensions of the MAZ-7907 are truly impressive: length - 32 m, width - 6, 8 m, height - 4, 5 m. The main technical feature of the truck was the use of a gas turbine power unit with a capacity of 1250 hp, which was located in the front of the chassis. The engine ran on a VSG-625 electric generator, which transmitted energy through a transmission to 24 electric motors (30 kW each).
MAZ-7907 had a rather complex but efficient transmission with 24 drive wheels. The special chassis design and huge wheels allowed the truck to move off-road at a maximum speed of 25 km / h. According to Novate.ru, the mass of the truck itself was almost 65 tons, and together with the rocket on board it exceeded 200 tons. It is a one-of-a-kind vehicle with 24 drive wheels, 16 of which can turn.
The Celina-2 project was launched in the late 1970s. The first chassis for a mobile missile system was developed at the Minsk Automobile Plant in 1982. All works were kept in the strictest confidence, and even today you are unlikely to find out the details of its creation. The mobile complex was supposed to carry 104, 5-ton missile "Molodets" 22, 6 meters long. Not only to transport, but also to withstand its launch.
The truck was primarily intended for off-road driving. Chassis "7907" and "7906" have been tested successfully. Test groups, which replaced each other every forty days, went to the test site, overcoming several control points. The tight deadlines and high intensity of the testing program required the participation of a large group of factory specialists: A. Savina, F. Tsurpo and others. During the inspections, various problems arose that were solved by military means - right on the spot.
MAZ-7907 was transported to Baikonur for testing in strict secrecy. At the cosmodrome, the mysterious history of the rocket complex ends. Why MAZ trucks were never put into operation remains a mystery. In 2006, two MAZ-7907 were sent back to the plant in Minsk for further restoration. Then they were planned to be exhibited in a museum of military equipment, but this never happened.
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