MAZ 7310 is a four-axle transportation of missile ballistic complexes

The large-dimension four-axle four-wheel drive vehicle MAZ-543 (MAZ-7310 after the change in GOST) was produced by single experimental specimens since 1958. In mass production the machine went in 1962.

A bit of history

June 25, 1954, on the initiative of Marshal G. Zhukov in the Council of Ministers of the USSR, a decision was made to create design bureaus for the development of a multi-axis off-road wheeled vehicle for the Ministry of Defense at the Minsk Automobile Plant. In a short time at the MAZ was created SKB-1 and the workshop for the provision of pilot production. The first developments were eight-wheeled and truck tractors, which after several years of production were transferred to the Kurgan plant of wheeled vehicles.

Military functions

The main purpose of the MAZ-7310 was the transportation of missile systems, after it was discovered that the tractor on wheeled wheels copes with the task better than the caterpillar conveyor. The Minsk plant was almost completely transferred to the production of a missile chassis.

Specificity of the application of the machine required to divide the whole cabin into two side ones. Between them a space was formed in which the nasal part of the ballistic missile was laid . The frame was also concave in the middle part. The cross bars had a semi-elliptical configuration designed to load ballistic missiles. Sometimes for the transportation of particularly large missiles a coupler of two MAZs was used, since one car could not overpower a multitone load.

Technical capabilities

Two MAZs in one harness coped with the task. Helped the dual steering. The pair of cars had as many as eight wheels that could turn in the right direction and thus provided the necessary maneuverability of the road train. The same machines worked on construction sites, in oil producing enterprises, in industry. Powerful MAZ-7310 used to transport heavy, long and indivisible cargo.

Gradually the population ceased to be surprised, having seen a huge car with four pairs of huge wheels. In the early seventies, ever more often began to appear notes about huge military tractors. MAZ-7310, photos of which were printed in newspapers and magazines, no longer represented any secrets for the broad masses. Self-propelled units and missile systems on these chassis were openly shown at the military parade on Red Square in 1965. Then MAZ-7310 began to regularly participate in all the demonstrations organized by the Ministry of Defense of the USSR.

Application

In addition to using the car for military purposes, the MAZ-7310 found application in the national economy. On the basis of the chassis, many different modifications have been created: dump trucks, flatbed trucks, pipe trucks, tractors, fire trucks and snow-removal vehicles. Everywhere, where a mobile technique with high efficiency was required, MAZ-7310 was used.

The car was impressive in size and could only be used in large areas, such as airports or marinas for large dry cargo ships. In 1973, the plant for the production of fire engines in Pryluky was established for the production of AA-60 for airfields. This was a real breakthrough, as the previous modifications, created on the basis of ZIL-157, Ural-375, ZIL-131, could not cope with the task due to the insufficient supply of water and foam reagent. A fireman on the basis of the MAZ-7310 took 10 tons of fire-fighting equipment, 12,000 liters of water solution and 900 liters of effective foam.

In winter, the fire version quickly cleared the snow on the runway, using a powerful cannon that shot a snowstorm at a distance of up to 40 meters. Since the MAZ-7310 is a universal model, the car was used both as a fire truck and as a snow-removing machine. If necessary, the car could also pull the passenger aircraft to the starting position.

Power point

The MAZ-7310 was equipped with a diesel engine D-12-525, created on the basis of the tank V-2. Six-cylinder configuration with a V-shaped arrangement could not be better suited for work on a wheel arrangement of 8 x 8. The thrust of the engine was about 525 liters. from. At a rotation of 2000 rpm, which met the technical requirements to the fullest. Thanks to a powerful motor, the car was called MAZ-7310 "Hurricane". Transmission was a semi-automatic type, hydromechanical, four-speed.

Weight and overall parameters

Technical characteristics of the machine:

• Gross weight - 43200 kg;
• Capacity of gasoline tank - 2 x 160 liters;
• Fuel consumption - 98 liters per 100 kilometers;
• Length of the car - 14300 mm;
• Height - 3300 mm;
• Width - 3180 mm;
• Gauge - 2375 mm;
• Base wheel - 2200 x 3300 x 2200 mm;
• Ground clearance - 400 mm.

Modernization

In 1977, the car was restyled, resulting in another, more advanced version of the AA-70. This "fire" could extinguish the fire with the help of powder. The car carried a third additional tank, designed to load three tons of reagent. The capacity of the water tank was reduced to 9.5 tons. The fire truck, created on the basis of MAZ-7310 tractor, became the most effective mobile fire extinguishing means on the whole territory of the USSR. The Ministry of Defense purchased AA-70 in large quantities. All military airfields were manned by fire trucks of the Minsk Automobile Plant. In civil aviation, the equipment was delivered on a residual principle - the limits not chosen by the Ministry of Defense were redirected to Aeroflot.

Approximately the same super-power eight-wheeled MAZs came from the military units to the "citizen". The cars were written off in accordance with the end of the service life set for military automotive equipment and sent to forestry. MAZ-7310 was an indispensable assistant in logging.