“Underground” tank and “Shishiga”: treasury of the Gorky Automobile Plant
Technical artifacts
Lenin Avenue, in the Avtozavodsky district of Nizhny Novgorod, for the amateur stories famous for two things - the legendary main entrance of the Gorky Automobile Plant and the museum of the enterprise of the same name. But if the checkpoint, from the gates of which GAZ released military equipment and trucks during the war, is not even advisable to photograph (at least that’s what the controller put it), then with the museum everything is simpler - it is open to visitors.
Its history dates back to 1965, but it became truly modern at the end of 2022, when the St. Petersburg office “SIB-Project” noticeably transformed the design of the museum. All the pleasures cost half a billion rubles, but they were worth it - the exhibition’s design was on par with the best automobile museums in the world.
A review of the museum’s contents should begin with two remarkable exhibits.
Of course, all GAZ relics are remarkable without exception, but there are a couple of special ones. True fans of the Military Review will surely love the T-70 tank hull, discovered during the reconstruction of the metal coating shop, the production of fittings and wheels. It was literally dug out of the ground in 2008. How it got there is unknown, but the information plate reads:
“During the Great Patriotic War, GAZ not only produced, but also repaired tanks coming from the front. If a tank was severely damaged in battle, everything that could be used in the future was removed from it. The armored hull remained. In this case, it could well have been used as a shelter during air raids. Thanks to “preservation” underground, the find was perfectly preserved. This unusual exhibit was left for posterity; it serves as another evidence of the heroism of home front workers.”
How many more such historical artifacts are stored in the buildings of the Gorky Automobile Plant?
The body of the T-70, nicknamed the “underground” tank. Apparently it served to protect factory workers during bombings.
A significant part of the exhibition is occupied by a reconstruction of the life of GAZ workers in the tragic years 1941–1945. The Nazis mercilessly bombed an automobile plant that produced products critical to the front. The memorial with photographs and names of GAZ workers and employees who died under the bombs is a very clear and poignant reminder of those times. Enemy raids aviation caused such significant damage that in 1944, for the early liquidation of the consequences of the bombing, the plant was awarded the second Order of the Red Banner.
In the same tragic series is the original funeral service in the name of Varvara Ivanovna Larina, who was informed that
“your son, Lieutenant Sergei Mikhailovich Larin, died in the battle for the socialist Motherland, faithful to the military oath, showing heroism and courage, on June 23, 1944. He was buried with military honors in the village of Yanchin, Tiraspol region."
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Reconstruction of the life of car factory workers during the Great Patriotic War. Pay attention to the heater from the final drive housing. The hole was probably caused by another Nazi air raid.
The T-70 light tank is reminiscent not only of its hull, but also of the document awarding the title of Hero of Socialist Labor to Nikolai Aleksandrovich Astrov, the main developer of the tracked armored vehicle.
By the way, the assembled tank is not on display, but you can get a closer look at it on numerous pedestals in Nizhny Novgorod. In total, Gorky produced 8 T-226 tanks, including 70 during the war. It is rightfully considered the best light tank of the Second World War and the second most popular after the T-6.
Invaluable witnesses to the triumph and tragedy of the past
Let us move from the glorious and tragic history of the Gorky Automobile Plant during the Great Patriotic War to modern times. More precisely, in 1992–1995.
At this time, the GAZ-3302 Gazelle light commercial vehicle was undergoing bench tests. The car is legendary in every sense. It became a “golden” model for the car plant and allowed it not to perish in the turbulent post-perestroika years of the new Russia.
Let's remember that the lorry began to be developed back in the mid-80s, but the car appeared on the assembly line only on July 20, 1994. The museum displays a pre-production copy that has covered 270 thousand bench and road kilometers. The car is frankly tired, but not broken. The names of the designers, testers, technologists and other creators of the Gazelle were placed on the cockpit.
Record Gazelle after 270 thousand test kilometers. Noteworthy is the hydraulic mechanism for loading ballast on board.
Prototype and sketches of the future Gazelle
Noteworthy is the unusual lift-type loading mechanism, apparently designed to facilitate loading the machine with ballast in the field. There is no explanation of the purpose of this device on the presented information stands.
Combat background
If we say “military GAZ”, we invariably remember the GAZ-66, nicknamed “Shishiga”. The fine truck occupies a significant place in the museum’s exhibition.
The production of the car began on July 1, 1964 - this year “Shishige” will turn 60 years old! Some of them still roam the roads, and some of them even fight in Ukraine, although mostly on the enemy side. The GAZ-66 was produced in various modifications until September 1999.
The total circulation is 964 cars. Apparently, numerous prototypes have not survived to this day and are presented only in archival photographs.
GAZ-66 is a car that is as legendary as it is controversial. But on the information plaque in the museum everything is optimistic:
“One of the striking technical solutions of the GAZ-66 is the cab that tilts forward, allowing access to the engine. The compact cabin frees up space for a more spacious body. For easy access to the cab, crown steps are provided on the front wheel hubs. The driver's work is facilitated by power steering and a hydraulic vacuum brake booster.
The smooth ride is enhanced by elongated springs with a “soft characteristic” and telescopic shock absorbers on both axles. A sleeping hammock could be hung across the cabin.
The only inconvenience was the location of the gearbox shift levers, front axle connections and range (on the right, rear), but one could get used to this drawback.”
The smooth ride is enhanced by elongated springs with a “soft characteristic” and telescopic shock absorbers on both axles. A sleeping hammock could be hung across the cabin.
The only inconvenience was the location of the gearbox shift levers, front axle connections and range (on the right, rear), but one could get used to this drawback.”
"Shishiga" in its best years.
Prototype GAZ-66A with sealed brakes and a GAZ-62 type cab, 1957
Everything for the convenience of the driver and mechanic
In the photo there is a GAZ-66B, an experimental vehicle for the Airborne Forces
The evolution of the main GAZ emblem
The immediate predecessor of the Shishiga can be considered the GAZ-63, for which a group of designers from the Gorky Automobile Plant received the Stalin Prize on March 6, 1950. GAZ-63 is the first all-wheel drive truck of the Gorky automakers and the first mass-produced 4x4 truck in the Soviet Union.
The car was also the first in the USSR to use the same track on the front and rear wheels and single-pitch tires on both the front and rear, which reduced rolling resistance when driving on sticky soil and snow. The front axle was connected rigidly, and a reduction gear in the transfer case further increased cross-country ability. The exhibition features a GAZ-63A car, additionally equipped with a winch.
GAZ-63A - the first domestic mass-produced truck with all-wheel drive
Experimental GAZ-63A on arched tires with dimensions 1x000
Road train consisting of a GAZ-63P truck tractor and a PAZ-744P semi-trailer, 1958
Truck tractor GAZ-63D with a power take-off for working with a semi-trailer dump truck, 1959
It is very difficult to cover the exhibition of the GAZ History Museum within the framework of one material, but one thing can be said - the car factory workers succeeded. Light, modern, interesting, although not without some excesses.
For example, in the Western style, they hung the Volga on steel cables from the ceiling. For what? If they wanted to show the configuration of the sedan's underbody, then they could simply put the car on its side. Although the vast majority of visitors are completely indifferent to what the Volga has under its body. Although some ladies are really impressed by the sedan floating in the air. If that was what it was intended to do, then it worked.
If you rely on the content of the exhibition, you get the impression that GAZ has been taking care of the safety of experimental and prototype cars only since the late 90s.
The museum has very few experimental machines created before this period - all search models are exclusively in the photo. And this is depressing, although this in no way detracts from the uniqueness of the GAZ History Museum.
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