The GAZ-46, army designation MAV (Russian, малый автомобиль водоплавающий, ''small floating car''), is a Soviet-made light

four-wheel drive A four-wheel drive, also called 4×4 ("four by four") or 4WD, is a two-axled vehicle drivetrain capable of providing torque to all of its wheels simultaneously. It may be full-time or on-demand, and is typically linked via a transfer case pr ...

amphibious military vehicle that entered service in the 1950s and has been used by many

Eastern Bloc The Eastern Bloc, also known as the Communist Bloc (Combloc), the Socialist Bloc, the Workers Bloc, and the Soviet Bloc, was an unofficial coalition of communist states of Central and Eastern Europe, Asia, Africa, and Latin America that were a ...

allied forces since.

History

During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Canada, Britain and the United States forwarded large quantities of military materials to Russia. Among those were jeeps, trucks, and

amphibious vehicle An amphibious vehicle (or simply amphibian) is a vehicle that works both on land and on or under water. Amphibious vehicles include amphibious Amphibious cycle, bicycles, Amphibious ATV, ATVs, Amphibious automobile, cars, Duckboats, buses, truc ...

s like the 6×6

DUKW The DUKW (GMC type nomenclature, colloquially known as Duck) is a six-wheel-drive amphibious modification of the GMC CCKW "deuce-and-a-half" 2½-ton trucks used by the U.S. military during World War II and the Korean War. Designed by a part ...

and the 4×4

Ford GPA The Ford GPA "Seep" (Government 'P' Amphibious, where 'P' stood for its 80-inch wheelbase), with supply catalog number G504, was an amphibious vehicle, amphibious version of the World War II Willys MB, Ford GPW Military light utility vehicle, je ...

. The latter were used to help men and equipment get across the many rivers of Eastern Europe and combat the Germans. Seeing merits of such vehicles, after the war, Russia decided to develop two similar vehicles, using domestic automotive parts, the BAV, an equivalent of the DUKW, and the MAV, an equivalent of the Ford GPA. Due to bad reception of the Ford GPA 'Seep' by Allied soldiers, most of them were routed to Russia under the US

Lend-Lease Lend-Lease, formally the Lend-Lease Act and introduced as An Act to Promote the Defense of the United States (),3,000 Hurricanes and >4,000 other aircraft) * 28 naval vessels: ** 1 Battleship. (HMS Royal Sovereign (05), HMS Royal Sovereign) * ...

program, before production was halted prematurely in 1943. The research institute NAMI developed a prototype NAMI-011, basing on

GAZ-67 The GAZ-67 and the GAZ-67B (from January 1944) were general-purpose four-wheel drive A four-wheel drive, also called 4×4 ("four by four") or 4WD, is a two-axled vehicle drivetrain capable of providing torque to all of its wheels simultane ...

B parts, in 1949. The authorities decided, that it should be manufactured in GAZ works, as GAZ-011, but the factory was reluctant, because a design needed much perfecting, while the GAZ-67B was obsolete and due to be replaced with

GAZ-69 The GAZ-69 is a Soviet four-wheel drive off-road vehicle produced by GAZ (ГАЗ, or ''Gorkovsky Avtomobilnyi Zavod'', Gorky Automobile Factory) between 1953 and 1956 and then by UAZ between 1956 and 1972, though all of these light truck class ...

. As a result, an improved model GAZ-46 was built using the frame and parts of the

4×4 half-ton light truck, of which production started with the Gorky factory in 1952. The principal functions of the GAZ-46 MAV were to make light work of crossing lakes and rivers for men and materials, as well as performing river reconnaissance. As of the end of the fifties the latter role became reserved for the

BRDM-1 The BRDM-1 (''Bronirovannaya Razvedyvatelnaya Dozornaya Mashina'', Бронированная Разведывательная Дозорная Машина, literally "armored reconnaissance/patrol vehicle") is a Soviet amphibious armored scout c ...

, a much more powerful 4×4 amphibious vehicle. The GAZ-46 MAV used the mechanics of existing Russian GAZ 4×4 "jeeps" as well as being created somewhat bigger for better

buoyancy Buoyancy (), or upthrust, is the force exerted by a fluid opposing the weight of a partially or fully immersed object (which may be also be a parcel of fluid). In a column of fluid, pressure increases with depth as a result of the weight of t ...

, and its design is heavily inspired by that of the wartime Ford GPA. Just like the 'Seep', its hull is entirely out of steel, welded to a steel chassis. The layout is the same: engine compartment in the front, crew compartment in the center, and the spare wheel horizontally mounted on the rear deck. The driver and the commander of the vehicle have individual seats in the front with a three-seat bench behind them. The windshield can be folded down, and if necessary, a cover can be installed to close the cockpit. The engine is coupled to a manual three-speed gearbox and a two-speed transfer-case. Also, there is a screw-propeller for in the water propulsion, driven by a

power take-off A power take-off or power takeoff (PTO) is one of several methods for taking power from a power source, such as a running engine, and power transmission#Mechanical power, transmitting it to an application such as an attached implement or separate ...

, and a proper rudder provides good maneuverability. Front and rear suspension is in the form of leaf-sprung rigid live axles. Thanks to its steeply raked front and rear and four-wheel drive, the GAZ can manage reasonably steep river banks before swimming across.

Notes

References

* René Pohl: ''Mit dem Auto baden gehen.'' HEEL Verlag, Gut-Pottscheidt Konigswinter 1998, {{DEFAULTSORT:Gaz 46 Amphibious military vehicles Military vehicles of the Soviet Union GAZ Group military vehicles Military vehicles introduced in the 1950s

History

See also

Notes

References