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| GAZ-MM | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Overview | |
| Manufacturer | |
| Production | 1938–1956 |
| Body and chassis | |
| Class | Truck |
| Layout | FR layout |
| Powertrain | |
| Engine | 3.3L GAZ-M1 I4 |
| Transmission | 4-speed manual |
| Dimensions | |
| Wheelbase | 3,440 mm (135.4 in) |
| Length | 5,335 mm (210.0 in) |
| Width | 2,040 mm (80.3 in) |
| Height | 1,970 mm (77.6 in) |
| Curb weight | 1,810 kg (3,990 lb) |
| Chronology | |
| Predecessor | GAZ-AA |
| Successor | GAZ-51 |
The GAZ-MM is a Soviet light truck produced at the Gorki Auto Plant from 1938 to 1947, and then at the Ulyanovsky Auto Plant up to 1956. The truck was a modernized and improved variant of the GAZ-AA that used the more powerful engine from the GAZ-M1, upgrading the vehicle's power to 50 hp. Other improvements included a reinforced suspension, alongside a new steering and cardan shaft. The styling also slightly changed, incorporating simple angular fenders, rather than the GAZ-AA's more rounded ones.
Due to some engine shortages at the factory, some believe that the actual mass-production of the GAZ-MM trucks only started in 1940, since the GAZ-M1 engine needed to get firstly used in the GAZ-AAA and BA-10 vehicles.
In 1942 a simplified variant of the truck, with the GAZ-MM-V index started getting produced, due to material shortages, but limited production of the original "unsimplified" GAZ-MM continued. After the Great Patriotic War ended, the production of all the variants of the GAZ-MM fully restarted, but by that time the Gorki plant was producing the newer GAZ-51 trucks, and so it seemed that the days of the GAZ-MM were starting to end, as GAZ wanted to free-up production capacity at their factory.
Due to these reasons, the production of the GAZ-MM truck was transferred to the Ulyanovsky Auto Plant (UAZ), where production lasted until 1956.
Variants
Most of the variants of the GAZ-MM were just modernized variants of the ones from the GAZ-AA series.
- GAZ-65: Prototype halftrack version. Produced in 1940.
- 4M GAZ-AAA: Anti-air truck fitted with quadruple 4M Maxim M1910 gun.
- 72-K GAZ-MM: Anti-air truck fitted with a 25 mm automatic air defense gun M1940 (72-K) cannon built during World War II.
- GAZ-55: ambulance version.
- GAZ-42: gas generator-powered version.
- GAZ-MM-V: simplified variant.
References
- "ГАЗ-ММ – герой блокады Ленинграда". 4 May 2017. Retrieved 21 August 2021.
- "ОАО "ГАЗ"/Горьковский автомобильный завод (ГАЗ)/ ГАЗ-ММ". Retrieved 21 August 2021.
- "ГАЗ-ММ: машина жизни". Retrieved 21 August 2021.
- "Памятник воинам-водителям в г.Амвросиевка". Retrieved 21 August 2021.
- "ГАЗ 67 ржавый дедушка Бортжурнал ГАЗ-АА.ГАЗ-ММ.ГАЗ-ММ-В". 20 March 2017. Retrieved 21 August 2021.
Further reading
- Andy Thompson: Trucks of the Soviet Union: The Definitive History. Behemont 2017, ISBN 978-0-9928769-5-1.