Gas aa drawings. How the GAZ-AA "Lorry" or Ford's Legacy appeared in the Soviet Union. Main modifications based on GAZ-AA and GAZ-MM

The GAZ-AA car is a popular Soviet car of the pre-war and war times, which has been manufactured at the Gorky Automobile Plant since 1932. The prototype for the legendary "lorry" was an American truck of the no less legendary company of that era - "Ford". It was the Ford AA car of 1930, which the Soviet Union bought at that time, according to the license agreement, and was the prototype.

This is how the famous GAZ-AA lorry was born, which later underwent modernization several times. The design of the car was simple and reliable. In those days, the Soviet auto industry was in an embryonic state, and the relatively inexpensive acquisition of a license to produce your own, domestic truck turned out to be just right.

Why Nizhny Novgorod itself

The choice fell on Nizhny Novgorod as the site for the construction of the newest for that time, gigantic in scale automobile plant, for a reason. Alternative cities were offered then Moscow, Leningrad with Yaroslavl and others. Each of them had certain advantages. However, the full range of all of them was concentrated only in Nizhny Novgorod.

It had a developed metal-working industry and qualified personnel, forest and water resources. In addition, both semi-finished products and finished products were transported there relatively cheaply. And even then Nizhny Novgorod itself had the status of a major railway junction located at the confluence of the Oka and Volga, which were two navigable rivers.

The Gorky plant itself did not lag behind, which then had a high technical potential, as a result of which it was decided to launch production facilities at GAZ. It is interesting that the car, produced under an American license, was rather soon transferred to domestic components. It is clear that it would be more elementary to develop some units at your own enterprise than to order them overseas, and then wait for more than one month for delivery. Consequently, they began to assemble the "one and a half" on their own and with their own materials.

The process of modernization of GAZ-AA "Polutorka"

GAZ-AA "Polutorka" reached the level of serial production in 1932, then in the assembly workshops of the car factory they immediately began to demonstrate high speed in the production of trucks. Every day, sixty vehicles left the new assembly line, but there was still potential for increasing capacity.

The Soviet version differed from the American one by a number of characteristics. So the tin clutch housing was replaced with a cast one, the worm gear was reinforced, and the carburetor was equipped with an air filter.

The design of the body had to be done anew, the onboard version was made by comparing domestic GAZ-AA drawings. Later, Soviet designers developed a unique dump truck version of the "lorry", which differed in that the body did not need to be turned over. The loads themselves slid under the weight of their own weight along the bottom of the body, which was specially calculated. All that was needed was to open the tailgate.

Chassis GAZ-AA

Structurally, the rear suspension of the "lorry" was peculiar and unusual. For example, with its semi-elliptical springs treated in a special way. They were placed in front of the rear axle beam in such a way that their damping took on lever characteristics. As a result, the design of the rear suspension has become more compressed, which is reflected in its greater manufacturability relative to full elliptical leaf springs. However, this design had one flaw. So in the process of braking, the spring blocks took on the entire load, which led to frequent failures. There was a loosening of the stepladders, and shifts of the spring sheets relative to the longitudinal axis began to occur.

Cabin GAZ-AA made of wood

The GAZ-AA lorry began to be fully equipped with Soviet parts in 1933. Cabins in the first cars were made of wood, and since 1934 the car was equipped with a metal module with a canvas roof. The GAZ-AA frame had spring suspensions. Missing shock absorbers added instability and rigidity to the car's ride. At the same time, the car successfully transported goods and broke down infrequently. GAZ-AA engines were unpretentious and highly maintainable. The lowest-grade oil products, low-octane gasoline and even kerosene were poured into gas tanks in the hot season.

Weaknesses

The weakest points of the "one and a half" were the starter with the battery. Their service life barely reached half a year, after which the units failed, and the batteries were repaired. Basically, cars started with crooked starters.

In addition, there was one significant problem in the operation of the GAZ-AA truck, an acute shortage of tires. It even happened that the rear axles of cars were equipped with not four wheels, as established by the passport, but only two, which caused the load capacity of the car to suffer.

Be that as it may, but the "one and a half" were the most massive Soviet cars of the pre-war and wartime. In addition, their chassis were used for various modifications. They were ambulances, various tanks, light and acoustic installations, mobile repair “bats”, anti-chemical, hygienic and sanitary auto laboratories, radio stations and early warning radio systems, charging and lighting stations and aircraft launchers.

Some updates "one and a half"

In 1938, the "one and a half" received new GAZ-MM engines with a power of up to 50 liters. with., which were previously installed on Molotovets-1. In addition to the upgraded engines, the "one and a half" were equipped with improved steering gears and cardan shafts with needle bearings. The chassis was made spring, but there were no shock absorbers.

Since the "one and a half" cars are technologically advanced, and their production was launched in the shortest possible time, the car became indispensable in all sectors of the Soviet national economy. In those days, a carrying capacity of up to 1.5 tons was enough. So, during the harvesting period, a lot of cars drove out to the fields, which soon took out the crop for processing, and then they returned to the fleets. "Lorries" were considered universal vehicles, being trouble-free and unpretentious.

Specifications GAZ-AA "Lorry"

Layout of cars: front-engine, rear-wheel drive. Cars had:

Length - 5335 mm;
Height - 1870 mm;
Width - 2030 mm;
Ground clearance - 200 mm;
Wheelbase - 3340 mm;
Curb weight - 1750 mm.

Transmission - mechanical, four-speed gearbox. The maximum speed of the "one and a half" was developed up to 70 km per hour.

"Lorries" - universal cars of their era

In addition to ordinary flatbed trucks, the Gorky Automobile Plant produced a dump truck modification GAZ-S1. This car worked on a rather unusual principle. The loads in the bodies were initially located in such a way that their masses pressed on the tailgates, which were locked with an ordinary stopper. Loaders or drivers opened the locks, and under the weight of their own masses, goods, for example, building materials, fell out. After that, the empty bodies were again locked.

Battle path GAZ-AA. "The road of life"

The role of GAZ-AA cars - "one and a half" in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945 was written many times and a huge number of books were written. However, the most important historical route along which the legendary car traveled was called the “road of life”, laid on the winter ice of Lake Ladoga. It was the only road linking besieged Leningrad and the outside world.

At that time, only light "lorries" could pass on the ice. Military GAZ-AA, with the help of darkened headlights, carefully covered the entire distance. Moreover, they were constantly exposed to fire, which was conducted by German artillery, but still delivered provisions to the besieged northern capital. A lot of cars went under water, but still the city was saved.

Since the beginning of the war, the Gorky Automobile Plant produced military trucks according to a simplified version, all because of the shortage of cold-rolled metals and many other components for cars. The military "lorry" had no doors. They were replaced by installed canvas screens. The two front wings were replaced with conventional roofing iron. They braked only with the rear wheels, the illumination of the roads was carried out by one headlight. The side boards of the bodies were not folding.

Completion of production

Only in 1944 did the car configuration acquire a normal format. Everything that was missing appeared: wooden doors, brakes on the front wheels, a second headlight and folding side boards. After the war, "lorries" were still produced in large quantities until 1956, while the state needed trucks. These cars met until 1960, until the outdated "lorry" was replaced by the GAZ-51.

If you have any questions - leave them in the comments below the article. We or our visitors will be happy to answer them.

The history of the "one and a half" began about 90 years ago, when the young USSR began to acquire the automotive industry. Half of the cars in the world then, in 1928, were produced by the Ford company (including 3 out of 5 in the US itself), and despite the fact that the US and the USSR did not yet have diplomatic relations and were not expected, commercial benefits dominated over politics, and the government of the USSR concluded with Henry Ford the First an agreement on the transfer to the Soviet side of production technologies and equipment for the production of trucks and cars, as well as on the training of Soviet specialists at Ford corporation factories (there were also attempts to conclude similar agreements with Chrysler and General Motors, alas - unsuccessful).

As a result, in 1929 construction began on a huge automobile plant in Nizhny Novgorod (renamed Gorky in 1932, and back to Nizhny Novgorod in 1991). As a result, the first "one and a half" carried the abbreviation NAZ-AA; the abbreviation GAZ appeared a little later.

Structurally, those cars were a complete technical copy of the Ford-AA truck, they were assembled in the USSR at first by the screwdriver assembly method (in Moscow and Nizhny Novgorod) from car kits delivered from the USA. Actually, the technical documentation and drawings of Ford products were received in the USSR only in 1932. Soviet engineers looked at them, shook their heads, and immediately began to upgrade the car, based on local realities. So, changes were made to the design of the clutch housing and steering mechanism, due to which these nodes were significantly strengthened. The suspension also changed a little, and a little later, the initially wooden cabin was replaced with a metal one - and it turned out to be a truck that was outwardly familiar to everyone from Soviet films of that era.

The “lorry” finally matured in 1934, when an engine from a GAZ-M passenger car (the legendary “emka”) was installed on it. With this power unit, it was produced until the end of production in 1946. The car modernized in this way received the name GAZ-MM, and entered the history of the war as a "lorry".

Tactical and technical data

Wheel formula 4X2
Curb weight, kg 1810
Load capacity, kg 1500
Maximum speed, km/h 70
Power reserve, km 215
Dimensions, mm:
length 5335
width 2040
height (in cab) 1970
Ground clearance, mm 200
Engine power, l. With. (rpm):
GAZ-AA 42 (2600)
GAZ-MM 50 (2800)

By the way, almost immediately with the start of the war, the car began to undergo serious modernization, aimed primarily at reducing the cost and speeding up production; driver comfort was among the first to be sacrificed. While pre-war cars, elegant and beautiful, were mobilized from the national economy to the army, GAZ urgently made up for the losses of military vehicles with lorries, the appearance of which can hardly be called anything other than “brutal”. So, almost immediately, the right headlight, rear-view mirror, bumper, silencer, as well as the horn and front brakes disappeared from the car. Graceful rounded deep wings were replaced by angular ones made of roofing iron, the cabin was again made of boards and plywood. At the peak of simplification, the janitor disappeared from the car, and the doors (they were replaced by canvas rolls), and the cabin was a wooden frame covered with fabric. The driver's seat was made of solid wood without any upholstery, and from the controls in the car there were two pedals (gas-brake), a gear knob (without a knob), a steering wheel, and a gas meter. Such cars carry the symbol GAZ-MM-V (“V” means “Military”). However, the fact that these cars did not live for a long time can be considered a justification for such asceticism; in the midst of the battle for Moscow - just a few days.

It was also the “lorry” that most often walked along the “road of life” in the first winter of the blockade of Leningrad. Overloaded beyond the norm, climbing hills exclusively in reverse (including due to the lack of a gas pump, the fuel was self-propelled) - this car delivered food to the city and evacuated sick and weakened Leningraders, mainly old people and children.

And in the winter of 1941-42, a legend appeared in the besieged city that once the driver of a lorry stalled on the ice of Lake Ladoga warmed up its engine with a torn padded jacket soaked in gasoline and wound around his hands, and then left the shelling without having time to throw off the burning rags from his hands . And so he came to the city, with his hands burned to the bone. And everyone who received a blockade ration of 125 grams of bread believed that in this piece of life there is a bit of flour brought by a nameless hero along the road of life on an overloaded "lorry" over all the norms.

An interesting point: despite the fact that most of the "one and a half" that walked along the "Road of Life" consisted of pre-war cars, often the drivers themselves deliberately made "light versions" of them. For example, they turned off one headlight, for reasons of blackout. And the second headlight was equipped with a “stub”, an ordinary tin with a narrow horizontal slot in the middle. This was done for reasons of blackout at night. The doors were also removed, one or both; this was done in case the car starts to fall through the ice, so that nothing would prevent you from quickly jumping out of the cab. And the heat loss from such tuning was partially compensated by a large amount of clothing on the driver’s body (which was almost always given to those who were evacuated in the back), partially by a bucket of glowing coals on the floor.

985,000 copies of GAZ-AA, GAZ-MM and their derivatives were produced, including during 1941-45. - 138 600.
Thus, the "one and a half" became the most massive Soviet car in the first half of the 20th century. They could be found on the roads of the country until the end of the 60s.

The history of these machines is inextricably linked with the first Stalin five-year plans. With the roads of military hard times. With the restoration of the destroyed regions of the country. The name given to them by the people is one and a half.

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-generating models of pre-war vehicles with the GAZ brand. And yes, he will agree with us that considering the most famous basic machines, it is not at all necessary to touch on their numerous, but lesser known varieties.

In comparison with their Moscow peers, AMO-3 and, the Gorky lorry had a less perfect design of individual units and assemblies, and its suspension and chassis, originally designed for American highways, were of little use for our operating conditions. But there was nothing special for carriers to choose from: the domestic automobile industry was actually just emerging, and in comparison with any car with a horse-drawn convoy, the latter still lost outright ...

GAZ-A and GAZ-AA car engines

GAZ-A cars and GAZ-AA trucks received the same Ford engine. No wonder: remember that the first lorry from recent history, in the 90s, shared their power units with Volga-31029.

The licensed Ford engine, which was inherited by Soviet cars in the 30s, 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 support bearings, and did not have counterweights to reduce vibration. And therefore, the stake was placed on a massive flywheel, which was additionally loaded with a clutch, which, of course, could not but transfer an increased dynamic load to the crankshaft rear support bearing. And the main and connecting rod bearings did not have, as they do now, thin-walled replaceable liners to improve the maintainability of the motors, but were filled with babbitt, and then required processing in place to fit 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, and a common central balancer, rotated. 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 distributed more evenly.

The GAZ-25 power unit, after changes in the lubrication system, was subsequently redesignated as the 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 that were selected initially, or worked from repair to repair, with all known consequences due to the resulting incorrect clearances.

Lubrication under pressure, as such, practically did not exist, the performance 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 crankshaft and camshaft support bearings, and the connecting rod bearings were lubricated " self-drawing”, clinging in the lower position to 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 were only a grid on the oil receiver, and factory requirements for changing the oil every 800-1000 km. run. If any of the readers does not believe that the lorry motors did without filters at all, then on the proposed scheme for the circulation of oil in the engine, he still will not find them.

Oil pressure was not controlled 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 engines are of the thermosiphon type, with water circulation due to expansion when heated. And a small “exciting” pump only initiated the beginning of this circulation. There were no blinds, thermostats, water temperature control devices.

The K-14 carburetor, similar to the American Zenith, was mounted under the intake manifold, and was with an “upward” flow of the mixture, only due to vacuum in the cylinders. There was no gas pump - the supply was carried out by gravity, fortunately, 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 the 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, in anticipation of the start of production of the GAZ-M1 passenger car (1936), the engine was somewhat modernized. The increased compression ratio to 4.6 made it possible to increase power to 50 hp. at 2800 rpm, and a torque of up to 17 kgm at 1450 rpm. A fuel pump appeared on this engine (at the Emka, the gas tank was located under the rear overhang), a new ignition distributor with a centrifugal advance automatic device, as well as an output from the oil line to the pressure gauge in the cab of a passenger car.

But, as mentioned above, the lorry did not receive an increased power engine immediately. Yes, and the “modernization” was good for itself (as indicated by the letter “M”), if the truck engine did not receive an updated set of attachments at the same time! 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 GAZ-MM lorry, and a gas tank under the body, of a larger volume - with a regular 40-liter capacity, you won’t run into much. But it was not supposed to: get along, chauffeur, with what you have, you are not the first!

In 1941, the engine of the GAZ-MM truck, which had been produced since 1938, was again upgraded. But only ... for installation on army command jeeps GAZ-64, (later GAZ-67). The power unit received a high-performance water pump for forced circulation of water, an ignition distributor with a centrifugal advance automatic device, and a K-23 carburetor with a “falling” mixture flow, which made it possible to increase 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 cars

The clutch of GAZ-AA and GAZ-MM cars is dry, single-disk, 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 integral with the gearbox housing.

Four-speed gearboxes, with spur gears, without synchronizers, had the following gear ratios: 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 and.

Thanks to the ingenuity of front-line drivers, the “fifth speed” appeared on the lorries. A stick with a horn at the end, broken out from a branch of a suitable tree, served as this. She was placed in a thrust between the gearshift lever in the fourth speed position, and the bulkhead of the engine compartment. This solved the problem of constant “knocking out” of the direct transmission on the move of the machine 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 gearbox, which were originally provided for by the design of these vehicles.

The big problem with the maintainability of these trucks was the design of their drivelines. The transmission had a single joint that allowed the transmission of torque at a changing angle. This hinge connected the output, (secondary) shaft of the gearbox, with the drive shaft of the rear axle. The drive shaft of the rear axle was installed in a closed pipe, rigidly connected to the final drive housing. And the compression - recoil of the rear axle suspension was compensated only by a longitudinal spline connection of the drive shaft inside the pipe. And therefore, in case of malfunctions-wear and tear of a single hinge, it was necessary to remove it from the springs, unhook it 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. The already mentioned propeller shaft pipe, which rested against the rear axle, did not allow to remove the gearbox by sliding it, as it should be, back. And as the reader guesses, the way out was the only and diametrically opposite one - to remove the entire power unit, the engine along with the gearbox, forward.

In the figure below, an image of the driveline, final drive, 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 size of the parts, the shape and arrangement of the final drive housing. The mutual layout and arrangement of all parts that transmit forces to the wheels are the same for GAZ trucks and cars of the 30s.

Item 5 in the figure is the only drive shaft joint 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 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 engines. Recall that the GAZ-51 with a 70-horsepower engine, the rear axle gearbox had an even greater (6.67) ratio.

The lorry axle had axle shafts unloaded by ¾ and forged together with the differential gears. What did it mean? When assembling this unit, at first both axle shafts were assembled into a single unit, together with the final drive differential box. Then, on this node from both sides, the casings of the axle shafts “moved”. And then, at the ends of these semi-axes, wheel hubs were installed on a conical landing, which were fixed from turning with dowels, and from weakening the mutual conical connection - with cottered nuts.

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

Well, 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 conical-key landing without a special puller, or heating by gas welding, for a “time”, cannot be removed. This is not for you a semi-axle of a fully unloaded type, like the ZIS-5, or GAZ-51, to be taken out by simply screwing in two bolts with M 12 threads ...

But that's not all. What is the difference between fully unloaded half shafts, say, from GAZ-51 or ZIS-5, and half shafts, from a lorry, unloaded by ¾? The fact that in the first case, the hub at the end of the bridge beam has a mount independent of the axle shaft, and the breakdown of the latter does not affect the mount of the hub and wheels.

And if the driver does not have another axle shaft with him, the car is simply taken on a “tie” or on a “fork”, and for some time it acts as a trailer. And at a lorry, the rear wheel hub is kept 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 along with the wheel onto the road, will not keep it. Then a “ski” was brought under the broken end of the bridge, but in the days of one and a half, not every truck was able to drag such a “plow”. Well, tractors, as you know, do not go far ...

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

Chassis GAZ-AA

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

These reactive thrusts prevented the beam ends from moving back and forth in the longitudinal axis of the machine. And the semi-elliptical spring, rigidly fixed with a “hump” up its middle in the front of the car, and hinged to the ends of the front axle beam, did not allow the latter to move left or right.

But, as any person understands, such a suspension in plan 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 in the trucks we are used to, then the car, getting a roll on one side, does not lose the ability to continue moving. In addition, a smart driver can still build a strut between the frame spar and the bridge beam to even out the roll. But what to do with a single broken transverse spring, and in a situation where the front axle beam starts to "walk" even more to the left - to the right?

The rear suspensions of GAZ-AA and GAZ-MM cars are made on two longitudinal cantilever-type springs. The spring packs of such suspensions, "hump" up, on the swing axles are attached to the frame, as in the balancing suspensions of three-axle machines. The front ends of such packages, with the help of earrings, are also hingedly attached to the frame spars. And a 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 larger 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 by the rear wheel against an obstacle (stump from a tree, falling into a pit), the suspension “turned out”, the springs broke, and the jet thrusts bent. Why be surprised? The springs and jet thrust actually received a hit "on the end", which they were not designed for. 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, which came out on the same (if not worse immediately after the war), roads, there were no such decisions. Neither front nor rear suspension.

In the photo we see a stuck lorry, in a harmless, in general, situation - the wheels did not fall into the pit, the beams of the bridges did not burrow into the ground.

Lorry with a tarnished reputation

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

By the way, there are cases that lorries, forced, or when the case turned up, were converted to the “fifty-first” move. With the installation of post-war spring suspensions, and with the "rolling up" of new bridges.

The author of these lines, in 1997, was personally involved in the repair of such a truck. It was the car of the military-patriotic search group "Crew" (headed by S.N. Tsvetkov, died in 2001). She, already redone, (with a motor and a GAZ-51 gearbox), was found by the “Tsvetkovtsy” in one of the ruined farms in the Russian outback. And now, probably, this car is in the museum of equipment of Vadim Zadorozhny, (village of Ilyinskoye, Krasnogorsk district, Moscow region). And if any of the readers sees it there, they can be sure, at least by the 6-pin wheel mount - one and a half "a la GAZ-51", existed.

A photo of another similar machine is on the Internet. We see the wheels from the GAZ-51, which cannot be installed on the hubs of the lorry axles.

And the magnification of the image clearly shows that the rear axle from the GAZ-51 is also installed. It is given out by a "cylindrical" hub with a half-axle flange of a fully unloaded type. In addition, an attentive and knowledgeable reader will also notice a package of post-war springs, “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 labor costs in comparison with re-equipment during ordinary repairs? After all, making such changes to a state or collective farm truck is not at all like putting a motor or rear axle from the Volga on a personal Pobeda ...

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

Divisional, 76 mm. the ZIS-3 cannon, which went through the whole war on tires and 5 studded front hubs from the GAZ-AA truck, had its own, 2-window rims. So the question is asked: was it worth changing the technology for the production of rims, actually from a lorry, with almost the same load falling on these parts? At the ZIS-3 gun, its total weight, (1200 kg), was distributed over two single wheels. And for a loaded lorry, the total weight on the rear axle (2485 kg.) Was distributed over two double slopes.

There is enough photographic evidence on the Web that light and openwork rims of one and a half sometimes went to the dustbin of history. And instead of them, 2-window disks were used 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 rims from the ZIS-5, although the designers, of course, already knew 6-window rims from.

Truly, according to the saying, "Burned with milk, they blow on the water."

What other evidence is needed that the “hodovka” of one and a half, despite all their military and labor merits before the party and the state, was “Third grade - not a marriage”?

We believe that an objective reader will agree with us: when considering the designs of even well-known and well-deserved front-line machines, 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, there was an opinion among front-line drivers who drove domestic cars. In a critical combat situation, those who rode the ZIS-5, and not on the "lawn", were more likely to survive. And on the front-line "plowed" roads, the reliability of the chassis was no less important than the reliability of the engines ...

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

Control mechanisms GAZ-AA and GAZ-MM

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

The steering gears of the pre-war GAZ-M1 and the first Pobeda had the same relationship. In 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 Pobeda.

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 compared parameters were 835 and 880 kg, respectively. But at Pobeda, since 1950, the gearbox has been increased to a ratio of 18.2.

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

In the working brake systems of GAZ-AA and GAZ-MM cars, the same sizes of pads and drums were used for the front and rear wheels. Interchangeability "in a circle" is an absolute blessing, but only when it does not contradict elementary logic and common sense.

It should be obvious to everyone that in a two-axle truck with twin rear wheels, the rear brakes should be more efficient. The load on the rear axle is always higher, and the rear dual ramps, in terms of their total weight and the total area of contact 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 brake mechanisms, 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 back of the GAZ-51 wheels, the same dimensions were 380, 80, and 38 mm, respectively. And what were the Americans thinking about when they installed the same drums, with a diameter of 355 mm, and the same pads, with a width of 63 mm, on the front and rear axles of their Ford AA trucks?

Tape drum mechanisms for parking braking in lorries acted on the rear wheels.

History has left us no record of how effective or trouble-free they were. However, taking into account everything that has been said about the size of the rear brake pads, it can hardly be doubted that the “handbrake” was an additional and original rear brake booster, both during working and emergency braking. Otherwise, the axiom that the brakes of the lorry left much to be desired could not but be confirmed. That is why 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 return of 13A, and a power of 80 watts. It remained the same for all GAZ-MM cars.

For comparison, we point out that a 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, the interior lighting cover, and even the “cigarette lighter” (cigarette lighter, in the terminology of those years).

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

But inertial type starters, MAF-4006 models, power. 0.9 HP on all pre-war GAZ cars, they were still the same.

As mentioned above, the 4-cylinder pre-war engines of GAZ cars had three types of ignition distributors, and of course, they were completely interchangeable for installation on engines.

On GAZ-AA, the IGC-4003 unit was used, with a lamellar (using contact tires) distribution of high voltage pulses over candles. It had only manual remote ignition timing.

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

And finally, the GAZ-64 and GAZ-67 jeeps received the R-15 and R-30 units, not only with automatic ignition timing, but, unlike the "emok", with easily removable distributor caps, and plug-in connections familiar today, "soft" high-voltage wires.

Let the reader not be surprised or puzzled by the completely unsystematic, not dependent on reality, alphanumeric designations of units and devices of pre-war automotive electrical equipment. Perhaps, according to 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 a "nonsense" ...

And what did the lorries have, at least the GAZ-MM of the post-war assembly? And all the same “Option No. 1” as GAZ-AA, from the beginning of the 30s ... Summarizing all of the above that the “lawns” at the plant were completed according to the “leftover principle”, one gets the impression that they are in the production program GAZ were, in fact, outcast machines. Although this, automatically, could be attributed to their drivers. And the priority was "personal cars" for officials, and promising models.

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

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

Unified with other trucks, the only round rear 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 St.

On the electrical 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". It's just that 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 coil of the speedometer, with the applied numbers of the speed, rotated relative to the fixed risk on the glass of the device.

Cabin and body GAZ-AA and GAZ-MM

Closed from wind, snow and rain, the 2-seater cab of the GAZ-AA and GAZ-MM did not provide any special amenities to the drivers. Unless, by raising the windshield on hinges, it was possible to arrange a “blowing” from below, against fogging from the breath of sitting people. But in winter it was not an option ...

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

The body is a typical cargo platform, for pre-war vehicles with three folding sides.

“What you were, you remained like that ...” - 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, after the Victory. Unlike the post-war UralZIS three-tons, the Ulyanovsk-assembled lorries received neither replaceable crankshaft liners, nor lighter steering, nor hydraulic brakes, nor new instruments ...

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

2.1 / 5 ( 11 votes)

GAZ-AA is a truck of the Nizhny Novgorod (1932), and later the automobile plant in the city of Gorky, whose carrying capacity is 1,500 kg. The model is also called "one and a half". The debut 5-year plan for improving the economy of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (1928-1932) made it possible to launch a magnificent development program.

The plan provided for the construction of more than 1,500 massive facilities, including hydroelectric power plants, metallurgical plants, automobile and tractor plants. To implement all these projects, transport was needed, therefore, there was a difficult strategic task - to organize a full-scale production of trucks. All .

Car history

By the end of the 1920s, cargo series vehicles in the Union were mass-produced by only a couple of automobile enterprises: the First State Automobile Plant in Moscow (formerly AMO), as well as the Third State Automobile Plant in Yaroslavl. But their speeds were not enough, since all two plants were created on the platform of pre-revolutionary capacities.

For example, by the beginning of the first five-year plan, there were only 1,500 cars in the whole country. Therefore, no one was surprised that by the mid-1920s, the Soviet government planned to build the first automobile giant in the Union, the capacity of which would allow the production of about 100,000 vehicles per year.

When the necessary experience and technological resources were lacking, it was best to buy production abroad. And the opinions of Russian experts were focused on the overseas country, or rather, Detroit.

This settlement, located in the north of America, was for the builders of socialism an exemplary automobile giant, a city of the future, in which the settlers live and work, obeying a single and common functional design. Just in a similar format, there were dreams to design the Russian automobile giant.

Near the workshops, they wanted to build residential quarters for workers and design the entire accompanying infrastructure. As a result of the negotiations, the company decided to refuse involvement in the project, so the company remained the only variation. This option suited the USSR quite well.

The very name of Henry Ford, along with his automobile empire, was often associated with technological solutions and rationality. In addition, this company was quite well known in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, because even if not huge, but still stable purchases of Ford cars had been made since 1909.

On top of that, for the needs of our country, just the cars of the new Ford base, which in 1927-1928 replaced the previous generation “T”, were best suited. The Ford-A passenger car and the Ford-AA lorry were simple, unpretentious, inexpensive and, what is very important, they were well unified in terms of design.

According to the technical agreement, the USSR signed an agreement with Ford on May 31, 1929. It was planned to build an automobile city not far from Nizhny Novgorod, near the village of Monastyrka, where there was a confluence of navigable rivers (Oka and Volga). The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics signed an agreement for the construction of the enterprise, together with a camp for those working on it, with the Austin Company in Cleveland.

The USSR began to cooperate with the well-known American company Ford. As a result, a one and a half ton GAZ-AA truck, which was similar to an American, saw the light.

In addition to the construction of the automotive giant, the agreement with Ford provided for the operational construction of a pair of car assembly plants, which will be located in Nizhny Novgorod and Moscow. They planned to assemble Ford cars from ready-made car kits, because under the contract the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics had to buy 72,000 car kits.

These assembly shops provided an opportunity to launch the production of machines even before the end of the construction of the enterprise in Nizhny Novgorod and were such factories for training production for those who worked there. In order to build and equip branches, an American company decided to attract the construction company Albert Kahn, Inc., which is already popular in Russia.

Already at the onset of 1929, it was decided to allocate a share of the area of the enterprise of vehicles for agriculture "Gudok Oktyabrya", which were located in the city of Kanavin, for the construction of the first car assembly plant. Already in the winter of the following year (1930), they began to assemble the debut Ford AA trucks from America's car kits.

By the end of the same year, passenger cars, along with Ford trucks, began to be produced from the primary conveyor of an automobile enterprise in Moscow. But Nizhny Novgorod's desires for an automobile city began to melt little by little.

In part, this was due to the small project budget, as well as due to the labor enthusiasm of the manufacturers, which in an interesting way was able to harmonize with the negligence and reticence of the decisions and work of many management bodies.

The largest automobile enterprise in European countries was built at the right time, but the result turned out to be far from the “airy” dreams of an industrial town of the future. The new building near Monastyrka was popularly called the Sotsgorod, and after 2 years it acquired the official status of the Avtozavodsky district of Nizhny Novgorod.

While the second half of the first month of 1932 was going on, at the enterprise prepared for the launch of the design capacity, they were able to master the production of a cylinder block, along with a crankshaft, frame spars and other other details. Due to the failure to achieve the constancy of deliveries of components from subcontractors (more precisely, sheet steel), the cabins of the "pre-series" began to be assembled using plywood.

On January 29 of the same year, the debut NAZ-AA cars were produced from the assembly line of the enterprise in Nizhny Novgorod. In October (7th) Nizhny Novgorod was renamed Gorky, and therefore the name of the car was changed. By the end of 1932, the production of cargo vehicles of the Gorky Automobile Plant was about 60 vehicles every day. The name of the truck became - GAZ-AA.

The GAZ AA car turned out to be reliable and hardy, and lost, perhaps, to one real rival in the USSR car market - the Moscow three-ton ZIS-5. However, the automobile enterprise in Gorky had much more production capacity than ZIS.

Therefore, just a lorry was supposed to become a "multifunctional soldier" of the national economy, and Gorky's specialists designed various "civilian" and "military" vehicles and improved the existing standard vehicles.

In order to test the weak structural points of the AA gas truck lorry, at the end of the 32nd year, trucks participated in a test run from Nizhny Novgorod to Moscow and back. Six months later (in 1933) they took part in the summer extreme "Karakum" run.

The lion's share of standard breakdowns was explained by the underestimated quality of components supplied by subcontractors. While the year was 1933, automobile factories in Moscow and Gorky fully used the arsenal of car kits from America and migrated to the creation of cars from spare parts of their production.

After 3 years, the Gorky Automobile Plant was able to master the production of a brand new GAZ-M power unit (50 horsepower), which was a forced version of the GAZ-A engine. One and a half tons began to be equipped with the last engine in 1938.

At the same time, a new steering gear synchronized with the emka was released, along with increased mounting of the rear-mounted springs. Such a modification has acquired the name GAZ-MM. The Gorky Automobile Plant assembled the last lorry on October 10, 1949.

The Ulyanovsk Automobile Plant, which assembled MM from the 47th, stopped assembling these models only by the 51st year. From 1932, before the start of hostilities, the KIM enterprise, together with a car assembly plant in Rostov-on-Don, produced more than 800,000 1.5-ton AA and MM trucks. During the war, GAZ produced 102,300 cargo-type vehicles.

Appearance

Since the autumn of the 40th, they began to put a powerful towing device on it, along with fittings for attaching a spare wheel of a different mechanism. The material of the car was changed as soon as the Great Patriotic War began. If we talk about metal, then they began to save it, therefore, the front part eventually lost all the details that were not considered urgently needed.

The wings, which were angular, began to be bent from roofing iron, and the roof, along with the doors, was made using tarpaulin. Faro, together with the janitor, was decided to be installed only on the driver's side, and the front brakes, along with the muffler and bumper, were not installed at all.

Starting in 1943, the canvas flaps on the side of the cab were replaced with wide wooden doors. A simplified modification of the GAZ-MM continued to be produced even after the end of hostilities, but the cars received full-fledged metal doors, silencers, front brakes, a bumper and a pair of headlights.

The tarpaulin of the rear wall of the cab had a rectangular window. It is clearly visible in the photo. GAZ-AA was a fairly simple, but successful and technologically advanced truck that was not picky and could not run on the highest quality fuel.

The front of the "Lawn" was quite simple. There was a simple bumper, a pair of headlights and a large rectangular grille. Two front lighting lamps were attached to the wheel fenders and the front hood. An audible signal was installed under one of the lamps.

The hood covers opened like gull wings, providing a convenient free space for repairing the power unit. Nearby was a fuel tank designed for 40 liters. The spare wheel was located under the frame at the rear of the chassis. The side part was occupied by a door with smooth wheel wings and a comfortable footboard.

Also, the wooden body smoothly moved from the side to the rear. The side and rear sides were folding. Also on the back of the vehicle, on the left side, rear lighting could be found.

Specifications

power unit

For all its simple qualities, the GAZ-AA was technically quite perfect. As an engine, it had a four-cylinder engine, the working volume of which was 3.285 liters and which produced about 42 horses. It was the same power unit that was installed on a GAZ-A passenger car.

It was a four-stroke, four-stroke, water-cooled, in-line carburetor. Fuel consumption per 100 km at full load (when driving on the highway) was 18.5 liters. The maximum speed is at the level of 70 km / h.

Transmission

The engine transmitted torque to the drive axle through a single-disk dry friction clutch and a four-speed manual gearbox. It appears to be a three-way mechanism and has four gears forward and one reverse. The box has not been synced. Wheel drive - rear.

Suspension

It was represented by dependent mechanisms. The front-mounted wheels were suspended on a single transversely mounted semi-elliptical spring, where there were push rods that could transfer the load to the frame.

The rear-mounted wheels were mounted on a pair of longitudinal cantilever springs and were devoid of any shock absorbers. As a design feature, there was a rear suspension mechanism along with a transmission, where a cardan shaft was used as a longitudinal thrust, which abutted against a bronze bushing.

Brake system

The service brake had a mechanical drive. The brakes were foot-type with shoe mechanisms. All wheels had drum brakes.

Steering

The steering mechanism had a worm and a double roller, and the gear ratio was 16.6.

Specifications

Engine	gasoline carburetor 4-stroke lower valve
Number of cylinders	4
Working volume	3285 cm³
Max. power	40/2200 hp/rpm
Max. torque	15.5 (152) kgf*m (Nm)
Drive unit	rear
Transmission	mechanical, 4-speed, not synchronized
Front suspension	dependent, on a transverse semi-elliptical spring with push rods
Rear suspension	dependent, on two longitudinal cantilever springs, without shock absorbers
Brakes front/rear	drum
Max Speed	70 km/h.
Length	5335 mm.
Width	2040 mm.
Height	1970 mm.
Wheelbase	3340 mm.
Ground clearance	200 mm.
Curb weight	1810 kg.
Tires	6.50-20
load capacity	1500 kg.
Fuel consumption	mixed cycle 20.5
Fuel tank capacity	40 l.

Pros and cons

Machine advantages

High-quality and reliable body metal;
Good ride height;
Excellent cross-country ability of the car;
Small dimensions of the truck;
There is a windshield wiper (on the driver's side);
Unpretentiousness in fuel;
Understandable service;
Ford's American Roots;
The windshield extends;
You can transport trailers.

Cons of the car

There are no hydraulic boosters of the steering wheel and the braking system of the car;
There are no steering wheel and sofa adjustments;
Ascetic view of the interior;
Weak power unit;
Simple and cold cabin;
Dependent suspension;
High fuel consumption;
Small transportable weight;
Lack of any comfort.

Summing up

Any merger of Russian automobile companies with foreign companies has always benefited the domestic auto industry, and GAZ-AA is no exception. Its similarity with foreign variations can be seen in the photo. The car turned out to be surprisingly simple, but functional and in demand.

Then there were no environmental standards yet, so the fuel consumption of its weak power plant was 20 liters per 100 kilometers. The appearance of the car was very simple, and there was not even a hint of sophistication, because you should not forget the year of its production and the purpose of release.

Near the workshops, they wanted to build residential quarters for workers and design the entire accompanying infrastructure. As a result of the negotiations, General Motors decided to refuse involvement in the project, so Ford remained the only variation. This option suited the USSR quite well.

The USSR began to cooperate with the well-known American company Ford. As a result, a one and a half ton GAZ-AA truck, which was similar to an American, saw the light.