The GAZ 63 was a 4x4 miitary variant of the GAZ-51 based on the WW2 lend-leased stuebaker truck. The GAZ-63 was produced until 1968 to c474,000 vehicles in USSR alone. It was declined inti 18 versions, exported and used by China (licence), Hungary, Poland (licence), Romania, Syria and Ukraine. Some are still in ciculation today.

Early Origins

This story began in 1937, when, on instructions from the Council of People's Commissars and through the Foreign Department of the NKVD, part of the drawings of the new Dodge D5 engine with a volume of 3.56 liters was illegally purchased from Chrysler employees for $25 thousand. On this basis, the GAZ-11 lower valve engine was modified to suit local conditions, resized to the metric system and adapted for production in Gorky. The lead designer of the project was Evgeny Agitov, deputy chief designer for engines. Converting inch dimensions to metric gave a slightly smaller working volume - 3.48 liters.

The design differences of the GAZ-11 from the American prototype boiled down to the replacement of the camshaft chain drive with a gear drive and the introduction of a floating oil receiver into the lubrication system. The basic GAZ-11 engine with a cast-iron block head and a compression ratio of 5.6 developed 76 hp. and was first installed in 1938 on a modernized Emka with a phaeton body - model 11-40. A year later, a forced 85-horsepower version of the GAZ-11 A with an aluminum block head and a compression ratio of 6.2 was tested. The GAZ-11A reached the 100-horsepower mark in a two-truckburetor version on the GL-1 racing truck of the 1940 model. Before the Great Patriotic War, GAZ-11 engines were tested by the automobile plant in various conversions: in relation to training aircraft, river boats, armored vehicles and tracked tractors.

The 6-cylinder D-5 engine was used for the first time in a truck in the winter of 1937. A new engine, an enlarged radiator were installed on the standard semi-truck, and a number of cosmetic changes were also made to the front of the truck. Despite the introduction of the GAZ-11 engine into mass production, at the plant at the turn of 1938–1939. They didn’t even think about equipping trucks with such an engine. There was no talk about a new generation of trucks either. On the contrary, since 1937, the Gorky residents began to implement a program of phased modernization of the lorry: the GAZ-AA truck was turned into a GAZ-MM truck by replacing some of the units with newly developed ones. It is noteworthy that in the history of the automotive industry there is no date that would mark the release of new GAZ-MM trucks. She is absent. In 1937-1941. Something new was introduced into the design of the base truck. As a result, by 1941, the GAZ-MM was already in many ways different from the GAZ-AA of the 1937 model, although in essence it remained the same truck.

Simultaneously with the modernization of the GAZ-AA truck, another group of designers led by Vladimir Kudryavtsev began to develop a second-generation truck under the symbol 51. I note that in the United States, the Ford-AA semi-truck did not last long on the assembly line - until 1933. In the USSR, GAZ-AA was produced until 1949, representing, in fact, a twenty-year-old design. In July 1938, the production of prototypes began, the sets of which were ready by January 1939. The first sample was assembled in December 1938, the second only at the end of 1939 - they were in no hurry to assemble the second. In general, there was no rush to introduce the GAZ-51 into production.

The carrying capacity of the new truck was two tons. The truck was characterized by innovations: all-metal cabin; progressive layout (engine and cabin moved forward, which, with a relatively short base, made it possible to have a fairly long platform). Thanks to the 6-cylinder engine, the dynamic qualities of the truck have significantly increased in comparison with the GAZ-MM. Increasing the safety margin of the structure made it possible to increase the traction force on the hook, thereby expanding the towing capabilities of the vehicle. When developing the truck, the designers tried to correct the main shortcomings of the semi-truck, namely: a weak frame, overstressing the front and rear leaf spring suspension. The main focus was on increasing strength and overall increasing the reliability of the truck. Aspects such as safety and reducing driver fatigue were taken into account. As for the frame and chassis as a whole, first of all, for the GAZ-51 a new rigid frame was created with a side member height of 150 mm and a rear cross-shaped cross member, which ensures good connection between the side members in the longitudinal direction. Special unloading struts were installed on the rear cross member (rear traverse), in the place where the towing device is attached.

The suspension was made on four semi-elliptic springs with springs at the rear springs. A new type of front axle was introduced into the design of the truck, characterized by increased rigidity of the steering arms, as well as increased dimensions of the steering knuckle and kingpin. The new front axle has significantly increased the vehicle's stability. To help improve the reliability of the new truck, a new type of reinforced steering wheel (type M-1; worm and double roller) and the introduction of two truckdans between the gearbox and the rear axle were called upon. The driver's work should have been ensured by the use of a centrifugal clutch, which required less effort when pressing the pedal. The truck received a modern three-seat streamlined cabin. But in order to introduce continuous production of such booths, it was necessary to purchase expensive dies and re-equip some of the equipment. At that time, the plant could not do this.

A group of designers led by Vitaly Grachev built a series of two- and three-axle all-wheel drive vehicles based on the GAZ-51 in 1939–1940. Simplified cabins were installed on these chassis in the absence of all-metal cabins of the new type:
– GAZ-32 – short-wheelbase vehicle (6x6), project;
– GAZ-33 – standard truck (6x6);
– GAZ-34 – long-wheelbase truck (6x6), project;
– GAZ-62 – short-wheelbase vehicle (4x4);
– GAZ-63 is a standard truck with a wheel arrangement (4x4).

Of these trucks, fate favored only the GAZ-63, a variant of the GAZ-51 with a front drive axle. The “sixty-third” model was a one and a half ton vehicle, capable of climbing inclines up to 30°, fords up to 0.8 m deep, and towing a trailer weighing 2 tons. Formally, in December 1939, after successful tests, such a one and a half vehicle was adopted by the Red Army, but in production never went into production, just like the basic two-ton.

The GAZ 51, true successor of the GAZ AA of the interwar.

In 1945, a rapid comparison between the exiting park of interwar GAZ AA and MM trucks, based on 1929 Ford models, and the WW2 lend-lease US built Chverolet and Studebaker trucks showed quite a gap in technology USSR was eager to catch up with. In 1946 the Studebaker US6 was mass produced as the ZIS-151 but in between a shorter, simpler 4x2 variant was directly derived from it, the GAZ-51, which became in effect the replacement for all interwar Soviet trucks.

In all, the GAZ-51 was made until 1975, with 3,481,0333 built. The GAZ-63 compared to it was a droplet: Production until 1968 "only" reached 474,464, less the licenced versions in Poland and China. The GAZ-63 was essentially a 2 ton 4×4 adaptation. Both were virtually identical, sharing the same mechanical basis with a 70 PS (51 kW) 6-cylinder 3485 cc engine. Changes made on the 63 however during production until 1968 made it diverged more considerably oover time. Changes on the GAZ-51 made also provided a constant production until 2 April 1975. In Poland the GAZ-51 was manufactured en masse as the Lublin-51), in North Korea as the Sungri-58 and in China as the Yuejin NJ-130.

From the GAZ 51 to the GAZ-63.

Work on the GAZ-51 truck project never stopped for a minute. Throughout the war, both experimental vehicles, model 1939, were tested. The mileage of each copy reached 50,000 kilometers by 1944. One of the two vehicles had a gas generator installed. After the production of the GAZ-63 with a cabin from the American Studebaker US-6, at the turn of 1943–1944, construction of the third model of the GAZ-51 truck began. The concept of the vehicle was formulated very clearly and clearly: a simple and reliable universal truck, assembled from the best units of that time, well developed and tested by world practice, some of which had already been put into production.

By slightly strengthening some units and using tires measuring 7.50-20”, it was possible to turn the GAZ-51 into a 2.5-ton vehicle, adding 500 kg of payload. The machine now has a hydraulic brake drive that has proven itself well in world practice. Gasoline consumption decreased by 30% compared to GAZ-AA. On the basis of the “fifty-first”, a family of vehicles was re-developed: a truckriage-type bus with 25 seats, a bonnet bus (both on an extended chassis); 4-ton truck tractor, low-bed tractor based on GAZ-63. They decided to hold off on the gas-generating truck; a number of technical problems in this area were still not resolved. Almost everything about this family remains on paper...

There is a legend that it was I.V. Stalin gave instructions to make the truck 2.5 tons, but this is not confirmed by any memoirs of contemporaries and may be a fiction. The GAZ-51 became a 2.5-ton one back in 1942, long before any displays in the Kremlin. In May 1944, the new type GAZ-51 was finally ready; By the summer, the GAZ-68 all-wheel drive chassis was built for the world's first wheeled gun KSP-76, and by September of the same year the fourth copy of the GAZ-51 was completed. According to some reports, sample No. 3 had the same tail as the GAZ 63, i.e., “military type” with a high bumper and L-shaped wings.

However, they immediately decided to abandon this type of cabin in favor of a more attractive appearance, although for some buyers GAZ left the option of installing this type of tail unit. The GAZ-51 was primarily a civilian vehicle for transporting goods on regular roads. Gradually, in prototypes No. 4 and No. 5, the cabin became more and more smooth and moved away from the usual American, as it was then called, alligator type. Some changes were made to the 1945 model. They raised the height of the side members to 190 mm (even in the 1938 plan, the height was set at 180 mm), and increased the size of the windows. In fact, this was the final version of the appearance of the new truck (citizens would not see the truck in this form until the early 50s...).

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On June 19, 1945, five days before the Victory Parade, at the famous automobile show in the Kremlin, the Soviet leadership was presented with samples of the GAZ-51 and GAZ-63, as well as the new Pobeda passenger models GAZ M-20 and GAZ M-25. Along with the Pobeda, the GAZ-51 was about to hit the assembly line, but in mid-1945 it became clear that the plant was simply not ready to properly provide the technological base for the mass production of the GAZ-51/GAZ-63. A situation arose in which it was necessary to choose between Pobeda and GAZ-51. The chief designer of the plant, Andrei Lipgart, nevertheless took upon himself responsibility and obligation - the plant will mass-produce both models no matter what. This was also a kind of feat. It was decided to produce the truck with a cabin on a wooden frame lined with plywood, since the country's aluminum industry was still recovering after the war.

The first trial batch of trucks rolled off the assembly line in January 1946. Small-scale production of the GAZ-51 began in June 1946, and large-scale production only from the end of 1947. The first batches of the new 2.5-ton vehicle began to be shipped to consumers in the summer, although state tests of the GAZ-51 truck began only in the fall: the rush to complete the task affected them - only by the summer did they manage to complete factory tests. The state run was held from October 12 to November 5, the most difficult time for vehicle traffic, especially during the rainy season on dirt roads. In accordance with the test objective, a 5,403-kilometer route was chosen - from Gorky to Moscow, then across the entire territory of Ukraine, Moldova, Belarus and back through Moscow to Gorky.

Eleven trucks took part in the run, of which seven were GAZ-51 and four were service trucks. As a result of the tests, the GAZ-51 truck received high marks; its design is considered successful and modern. The commission made comments regarding the vehicle's truckgo platform. Its dimensions (2940x1990x540 mm) and capacity of only 3.2 m3 (for bulk truckgo) turned out to be insufficient. But the plant was no longer able to change the dimensions of the platform, otherwise there would have been a production pause in the production of trucks that had just begun. Only in 1955, with the transition to the modernized GAZ-51A truck, the internal dimensions of the platform were increased to 3080x2080x600 mm and they began to produce trucks with both fixed and folding side walls - at the request of the customer.

As for the 4x4 modification, in 1946 there was no talk of its serial production. According to the 1946 plan, one hundred copies of the GAZ-63 were to be produced, but neither in 1946 nor in 1947 the truck plant could physically master the production of an all-wheel drive modification. The first GAZ-63 army trucks left the factory gates only in September 1948, five years after the production of the prototype and almost ten years after the start of development. In the same year, the plant built an experimental hooded bus, which had no prospects of becoming a serial one, and also began producing a short-wheelbase chassis for the GAZ-93 dump truck for the Odessa Automobile Assembly Plant. The first modifications of the GAZ-51 began to appear only at the turn of 1949–1950, after the last GAZ-MM lorry left the GAZ assembly shop on October 10, 1949.

For the GAZ-51, everything ended favorably - the model entered the production line, albeit with a wooden cabin, but with the Pobeda it turned out not so smoothly. The production of the truck was discontinued in August 1948 after assembling five thousand copies. There were enough shortcomings to suspend the production of the sedan for six months... In 1947, the creators of the GAZ-51 truck were awarded the Stalin Prize of the second degree; in 1949, a similar prize was awarded to the group of designers of the GAZ-63 truck, led by Pyotr Muzyukin. A lot has been written about the production truck GAZ-51/ GAZ-51A and its modifications. The truck was destined to become the most popular truck in the history of the USSR. This road worker was produced for thirty years (1946–1975), during which 3,481,033 trucks were created.

About the GAZ-63

Development

Its start on the assembly line coincided with the beginning of the Cold War, which threatened to turn hot. And he finished his production journey exactly 20 years later - in the year when Soviet tanks entered Prague. But the world war, fortunately, did not break out either in these two decades or later. Probably, this is also why the GAZ-63 can be found “alive” even today...

It has never been a secret that all-wheel drive vehicles in the USSR were created primarily for the army. And at the end of the forties, when yesterday’s allies became potential adversaries, the country urgently needed new military vehicles, because the main fleet of all-wheel drive vehicles of the Soviet army during the Great Patriotic War were American models. However, our factories had the design groundwork. At Gorkovsky, in particular, an all-wheel drive truck was designed before the war.

In the second half of the thirties of the last century, the truck was created unified with the GAZ-11-51, which was supposed to replace the outdated GAZ-MM lorry in production. The model, like other new products from Soviet factories, was planned to be put on the assembly line in 1942. Based on the GAZ11-51, the all-wheel drive GAZ-63 and its version with a shortened wheelbase, the GAZ-62, were designed. The prototype appeared back in 1939–1940. Three-axle models with indexes 33 and 34 were also developed. The leading designer of the projects was the author of many models with all driving axes P.A. Grachev.

Work on the trucks that were to be put on the assembly line after the war continued as soon as the Germans were driven away from Moscow. When fine-tuning the GAZ63, Gorky engineers obviously truckefully studied the Lend-Lease Chevrolet G-7107. Such trucks, close to the 63rd in layout, were assembled at GAZ during the war. However, the American version had a lower load capacity and dual-slope wheels at the rear.

In 1943, a sample of the GAZ-63 appeared with a slightly modified American Studebaker cabin. By this time, P.I. became the leading designer of the 63rd. Muzyukin is, by the way, the chief designer of UAZ in the future. The final version of the GAZ-51 and GAZ-63 cabins was created not without the influence of the same Studebaker, but the Soviet cabin with rounded wings and large headlights built into them was noticeably more modern. Developments on the three-axle GAZ-33 were transferred to Moscow, where they were used to create the ZIS151. The Gorky residents simply did not have a powerful enough engine for such a truck.

Well, the GAZ-63, as usual, was shown in the Kremlin in 1945, among other trucks. True, production was slightly delayed. GAZ-51 entered production in 1946. Large-scale production of the all-wheel drive truck began on September 31, 1948. Soviet reference books indicated 1946 for a long time. But at this time we could only talk about the so-called zero series, the vehicles of which were subject to controlled operation. The designers received the 63rd Stalin Prize. By the way, in those years bonuses were given out to engineers, including automotive ones, quite often. And there was a reason...

Final Vehicle

GAZ-63 production

According to modern terminology, the GAZ-63 can even be considered a truckgo-passenger vehicle. In the body with high sides there were folding benches on the sides. You had to have the stamina of a soldier or feel the most urgent need to go somewhere in order to sit for a long time in the back of this rigid (with spring suspension) bouncy truck. But anything is better than crossing the abysses of the Soviet off-road on foot!

According to the passport, the load capacity of the GAZ63 on asphalt was 2000 kg, on the ground - 1500 kg. But who counted them, these kilograms, somewhere on a distant collective farm or a timber industry enterprise forgotten by the regional committee authorities? And the truck could also pull a trailer weighing up to 2000 kg - read: a light gun.

The truck's maneuverability was excellent! With all single wheels, it had almost identical front and rear tracks, plus ground clearance, depending on the tires, amounting to 270–280 mm, and approach and departure angles of 48° and 32°, respectively. In addition, there was a transfer case with a reduction gear (1.96). Since the gear ratio of the first stage of the gearbox was 6.40, you could even plow the all-wheel drive “lawn” if you wanted (of course, adding ballast to the body). There was also a version of the GAZ-63A - with a winch. In general, in the right hands, the 63rd could drive where it was sometimes strucky to go.

Just the engine thrust would be enough! The GAZ-63 had a GAZ-51 unit - a descendant of the pre-war GAZ-11, copied from the Dodge D5. By the way, this engine was produced until the end of the 80s! At 63 it developed only 70 hp. at 2800 rpm and 205 Nm at 1500–1700 rpm. The truck was only capable of a maximum speed of 65 km/h (children's speed in modern times). However, this indicator is, of course, not the main one for such a machine. Much more important for Soviet realities is that thanks to the additional (relative to the GAZ-51) gas tank, the A-66 gasoline supply (yes, there was one!) was 195 liters. The truck, consuming on average 25–29 liters per 100 km, could travel approximately 650 km without refueling.

But the driver also had to match the truck. There is very little space between the steering wheel and a simple sofa. Vacuum-driven windshield wipers worked slower the faster the truck was traveling. At first, the cabin did not even have a heater; it appeared only in 1952. It’s even somehow inconvenient to talk about the absence of power steering and brakes in relation to this soldier-like ascetic truck.

But the most important disease of a tall, narrow-gauge vehicle was poor stability. The tendency to rollover at high speeds can be forgiven - not its modes. But even off-road, especially on slopes, the driver had to be alert. However, that’s why he is a driver, and not just a user. From a person who was entrusted with such a serious truck (and who was also taught to patch the chamber, “shake up” the truckburetor, or even jam the piston), it is logical to expect skills in overcoming off-road conditions.

Of course, the plant knew about the lack of stability. Therefore, prototypes with a wider track and a different cabin were designed and built. But the modernized truck was not put into production. All efforts and resources were directed towards a fundamentally new model - GAZ-66. In the meantime, the 63rd gave birth to several, including very interesting, modifications. Even during the war, P.A. Grachev designed a wheeled self-propelled gun, unified in chassis with the 63rd GAZ-68 (aka SU 63). But this model did not go into production either. In contrast, by the way, to the BTR-40 armored personnel truckrier, many of its components and assemblies were also common to those used on the GAZ-63.

And there were other, practically civilian, modifications: the GAZ-63P truck tractor, designed for a semi-trailer weighing up to 6000 kg, and its version 63D - with a power take-off for a dump semi-trailer. Both trucks had dual-slope rear wheels. Several versions of fire engines, tanks for transporting fuel, oil and milk, and ambulance vans were built on the GAZ-63 chassis. The Kurgan Bus Plant built a small number of KAVZ-663 - all-wheel drive buses on the GAZ-63 chassis, with a body similar to the Gorky GZA-651 and similar vehicles produced by many large and small factories in the USSR. Among the prototypes based on the GAZ-63 were versions with a soft roof for airborne troops, and a half-track prototype.

Until 1968, when the 63rd gave way to the 66th on the assembly line, 474,464 trucks were produced. For a long time they met on the roads, and sometimes on city streets. Of course, despite the strength and simplicity of the design, over the years there have been fewer and fewer tall trucks with “toothy” tires. But then, already in the 80s, 63 began to “float up” from army warehouses - well-groomed and in good condition. As a rule, it is these “demobilized” copies that belong today to fans of Soviet retro. The lower-valve “sixes” are not at all young, but are still ready to go where they cannot go without special training, the “lawns” are still purring in the same way - in a fighting manner. Almost like in the years of their youth, when the 63, together with the whole country, were preparing for a big war. Which, fortunately, never started.

Other tech specifics

The GAZ-63 had a frame structure, all-wheel drive with a switchable front axle (two driveshafts to the drive axles and an intermediate one between the gearbox and transfer case), short overhangs and single wheels with adjustable internal pressure.

Car tires measuring 280–457 mm made it possible to briefly reduce the pressure to 0.7 kg/cm2 when driving on virgin snow or wetlands. In this case, the vehicle speed should not exceed 10 km/h. The service life of the tires during such driving did not exceed 150 km (when operating with a normal pressure of 2.8 kg/cm2, the warranty mileage of the tires is 10 thousand km). The compressor, of course, was missing.

To inflate tires in the field, a device was used that was screwed into the engine instead of one of the spark plugs. The engine started and ran on five cylinders, the piston of one of the cylinders pumped air into the tires. You should not think that a gasoline-air mixture entered the tires. The inlet air valve of the device had significantly less resistance than the intake manifold and carburetor with an inertia-oil air cleaner.

Variants

GAZ-63 specialized NBC chemical cleansing vehicle


GAZ-63 pontoon truck


Tanker variant

The GAZ-63 was exported to socialist and, "developing countries". They were produced under Soviet license in North Korea and China. In the DPRK the truck was called “Sungri-61” (“victory”). In the People's Republic of China, 63 were made under the name “Yuejin NJ230”. They differed in many ways from the original. The North Korea variant for example had lights integrated into a more stremaling hood. The Initial Chinese version was simplified with straight angle cabin and mufflers.

Main variants

• GAZ-63A: Version with front-mounted winch.
• GAZ-63U/AU: Export versions
• GAZ-63D: Tractor-trailer, with dual rear wheels.
• GAZ-63E: Bus chassis (PAZ-659 and PAZ-663)
• GAZ-63EU: Modernized Export version of the 63E
• GAZ-63P: Tractor-trailer with dual rear wheels but no PTO as on GAZ-63D.
• GAZ-63PU: Export version of the latter
• GAZ-63Ye: Version with shielded electrical equipment.
• GAZ-63AYe: Same with front-mounted winch.
• GAZ-63YeU: Export version of GAZ-63Ye

Prototypes

• GAZ-63V: Prototype, modernized with larger wheels, lowered loading platform, parking brake, shielded electrical equipment, rear turn signals, coolant overheat warning indicator.
• GAZ-63AV: same but front-mounted winch, canvas topped cab, all metal body with stretcher mounts, canvas loading compartment cover, new instrument panel, unshielded electrical equipment.
• GAZ-66: Prototype improved GAZ-63 with BRDM-1 wxles and wheels, more modern cab designed by B.B. Lebedev (also for the GAZ-52).
• GAZ-66A: Prototype replacement with GAZ-52F elemants, but same loading platform, transfer case and winch. Axles from GAZ-63V, wheels from the BAV 485.
• GAZ-66P: Prototype tractor-trailer (based on AZ-66A).

Operators

Soviet GAZ-63 damaged after an explosion, Prague Spring 1968


Egyptian GAZ-63 across the Suez canal, 1973 offensive

• China
• Hungary
• Egypt (most probable)
• Poland
• Romania
• North Korea
• Syria
• Ukraine
• USSR

Specs GAZ-63
Dimensions LWH :	5,525 x 2,200 x 2,245m - Wheelbase 3,300m
Total weight, curb/full:	3,200/5,350 tons
Tires :	9.75–18 (from the mid-1950s – 10.00–18)
Tracks :	1588 front, 1600 rear
Ground clearance :	27 cm (1 in)
Crew :	2+8
Propulsion:	6 cyl. GAZ 3485 cm3 70hp/51.5 comp. ratio, 2800 rpm, Tq Nm 205 1500–1700rpm
Transmission:	Gearbox Mechanical 4-speed, transfer case 2-speed
Suspensions:	All-wheel drive type, leaf springs
Brakes:	Disc ft and rear, hydraulic
Speed :	65 km/h (30 mph)
Range (road/off road) :	500 Miles, consumpt. 1L/100 km at 40 km/h
Payload :	2000 kgs (on ground – 1500)
Production	Circa 474,000

Sources

museum.gaz.ru/
51 on en.wikipedia.org
63 on ru.wikipedia.org
off-road-drive.ru
engine.aviaport.ru
www.gaz20.spb.ru
off-road-drive.ru
autoar.org
books.google.fr/
ru.wikipedia.org
enisovets.ru/gaz/gazpages/gaz51v
denisovets.ru/gaz/gazpages/gaz51u
zr.ru/
CC photos

Author's Renditions

Base Civilian GAZ-51 4x2 for comparison

GAZ-63, as built

GAZ-63 with tarpaulin

GZ-63A, 1980s

Polish licenced Lublin 51

North Korean Sungri-58

GZ-51 Bochka Fuel Tank Truck

BM-14/17 RL truck variant

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Sd.Kfz 2, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11 were half-tracks designed just before the war as prime movers, to carry supplies, ammunition, personal, and tow artillery. Many were also converted during the war as armored versions carrying AA FLAK guns (Flakvierling, 37 mm, or the legendary 88 mm Rheinmetall als used as tank hunters), or were converted as nebelwerfer (rocket launching armored vehicles). They were built by Hanomag, Steyr, Mercedes-Benz, Bussing and many other manufacturers until 1945, over 20,000 half-tracks.

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