The GAZ-A is a passenger car mass-produced from 1932 to 1936, first passenger car produced in the Soviet Union, near-exact copy of the Ford Model A from 1930. The "Gazik" was popular with the citizens wealthy enough to afford one, and by 1935, 100,000 had been built at GAZ, including enclosed saloons (GAZ-6), light lorries and pickups (GAZ-4). The contract between Ford and the Soviet Union was dissolved by mutual agreement and in 1936, production ended after 41,917 cars alone in favor of the improved GAZ-M1. Some were used by the Red Army as staff cars, but they lacked 4x4 capabilities. They were used for the earliest Soviet armoured cars, the DA-8 and DA-12, which were not very successful.

The cooperation between Ford '=(Motor Company) and Russia started in 1909 when the Tsar publicized his effort to modernize the Empire and call for investors. Ford soon became an important supplier of passenger cars and commercial vehicles, with the first Russian tractors and trucks being 1910s Fords. However the war and Russian Revolution shattered these plans. In 1922 however, the new Soviet Authorities tried to renew these old links and seek Ford assistance once again. A contract led to the importation of tens of thousands of Fords into the Soviet Union as its vehicle industry remained underdeveloped.
The first ideas about the need to organize licensed production of foreign-brand cars in the USSR for the purpose of speedy motorization of the national economy began to be heard as early as the beginning of the second half of the 1920s. The main option for following this path seemed to be the production of American-brand cars, which were already being mass-produced and whose technical competencies in organizing large-scale production could be applied in the USSR. The magazine "Behind the Wheel", founded in 1928, already in its first issue published an article by E.A. Chudakov "The Future of the Automobile Industry in the USSR", which argued for the advisability of choosing a "tested type of foreign car" and its delivery in the form of ready-to-assemble vehicle kits with the parallel deployment of production of the same model using our own resources and parts manufactured in the USSR.
In order to reduce the cost of finished products by saving on the scale of production of similar parts, car production should be carried out not by a large number of small and medium-sized enterprises, as in Europe, but by several auto giants capable of producing 100 thousand cars per year. The names of the preferred brands of cars were not given in the article, but the vector of the discussion had already been set. In issue No. 3 of Za Rulem for the same year, the Ford Company made a kind of response in the article “The Ford Company on the Motorization of the USSR”:
In addition, the agreement provided for the right of the Soviet side to receive technical documentation for new Ford models for nine years (later this right was used in the creation of the next Gorky model - GAZ-M1). The USSR, for its part, was obliged to purchase at least 72 thousand vehicle kits, which were to be assembled on the territory of the USSR for three years, while the construction of an automobile plant for the production of cars under Ford license from parts produced in the USSR was underway. The design of the automobile plant in Nizhny Novgorod was commissioned from the Detroit company Albert Kahn Inc., named after its founder, architect Albert Kahn. Between 1929 and 1932, Kahn's company designed more than 500 objects for the USSR. These were, first of all, tractor (tank), aircraft and automobile plants.
The first "Fords" in the USSR were released in December 1929 by the Kharkov Automobile Assembly Plant, which received one hundred Ford-A and Ford-AA vehicle kits. The second, on February 1, 1930, was the 1st Automobile Assembly Plant, located on the territory of the Gudok Oktyabrya plant in the city of Kanavin, Nizhny Novgorod Region. This plant assembled mainly trucks, but in the middle of 1930, a batch of 218 Ford-A units was also assembled. Finally, on November 6, 1930, Soviet Fords began to roll off the assembly line of the 2nd Automobile Assembly Plant in Moscow (since December 26, 1930, the State Automobile Assembly Plant named after KIM), which assembled Fords from vehicle kits for the longest time - until the end of 1932.
The three plants produced 3,804 Ford-A passenger cars, mainly phaetons (a certain number of Ford-A with closed bodies also came in vehicle kits, but their share in the total volume of Ford-A was small). The Nizhny Novgorod Automobile Plant, planned as the main one for the production of Ford-A and Ford-AA, began its work on January 1, 1932. In the second half of January 1932, the plant mastered the production of cylinder blocks, crankshafts, frame side members and a number of other parts. Without waiting for regular deliveries of components from related enterprises (in particular, sheet steel), the cabins of the "pre-production" trucks were assembled from plywood, and on January 29, 1932, the first NAZ-AA cars rolled off the assembly line of the Nizhny Novgorod Automobile Plant. Almost the entire year was spent on mastering the production of the Ford-AA truck, and passenger Fords appeared only in December, which was due to underdeliveries of components from related enterprises. By the end of the year, instead of the planned 696 phaetons, only 34 were assembled. However, this was still considered an achievement.
GAZ-A (Nizhny Novgorod was renamed Gorky on October 7, 1932, so the Ford-A series immediately went under the GAZ brand - only two experimental phaetons, assembled in August 1932, were called NAZ-A) was a copy of the Ford model A Standard Phaeton 35B, which was produced in the United States itself in relatively small quantities - the main production object in the Ford Company was the Ford-A with a Tudor Sedan body. Externally, the Soviet GAZ-A differed from its American parent by the absence of additional small headlights installed on the sides of the windshield. Also, the GAZ-A received a radiator grille with a mask of a simpler, almost rectangular shape (the Ford-A had a small "beak" on top). The design of the car did not shine with innovations and bold engineering solutions, but at the same time, the "A" family was the latest Ford development at that time, and it was also impossible to call the Ford architecture archaic.
On April 17, 1935, the hundred thousandth car rolled off the GAZ assembly line. It was the GAZ-A, intended as a gift to the People's Commissar of Heavy Industry G.K. Ordzhonikidze. The hero of the day was dressed up: the body, unlike the black and olive serial brothers, was painted in two colors - burgundy red and milky beige. The radiator cap was stamped with a special emblem, and its grille was decorated with a nickel-plated diagonal nameplate "100,000" and the inscription below "Sergo Ordzhonikidze from the Molotovtsev collective 1935". The "festive" options included two electric signals, two small additional headlights like those of the Ford-A, located in the lower corners of the windshield frame, and two spare wheels located in the niches of the front wings (in production models, the only spare wheel was attached to the outside of the rear wall of the body.) All visible chassis elements and body parts, usually painted black, were nickel-plated.
By 1935, the new GAZ plant had delivered circa 100,000 vehicles, mostly GAZ-AA trucks, the remainder being GAZ-A and derivatived vehicles based on the same chassis. Also in 1935, the contract between Ford and the Soviet Union terminated by mutual agreement. Back in the US, anticommunism was getting on the way of business. In 1936, production of the GAZ-A ended after 41,917 cars produced, as the new fully enclosed and more modern GAZ-M1 was introduced, again with some initial help by Ford. The GAZ-A was declined into several vehicles, inclusing an enclosed car, an ambulance and an utility lorry, as well as an armoured car. The GAZ-A was also of course used by the Army and became its first staff car.
The spoked wheels were suspended by two transversely located semi-elliptical springs. The front one rested on the I-beam of the front axle, the rear one - on the "pipes" of the half-axles of the rear axle. Smooth running was ensured by hydraulic shock absorbers of the rotary type.
The body made of stamped parts was also an example not so much of artistic design as of utility: an engine compartment with opening "book" sidewalls, a simple interior, no trunk. Four doors mounted on the front hinges, like those of modern cars. The windshield rotated in the frame and was fixed with wing nuts, and the need for this "option" arose not in the summer heat, but on the contrary - in frost, so that the glass frosted over from the breath of the riders did not obstruct the view. In case of bad weather, the canvas top could be supplemented with canvas sides with small celluloid windows, but there was no heating system.
The phaeton had a single wiper mounted on the upper rail of the windshield frame in front of the driver's face to fight the rain. The wiper had a vacuum drive, so it was connected to the carburetor inlet manifold with a hose. (The Ford did not have an air filter.) As a result, the "wiper" demonstrated its greatest efficiency at idle speed.
Two solid "sofas" allowed the driver and three passengers to sit in the "boat" of the cabin with relative comfort. The simple instrument panel included three gauges: the already mentioned window for monitoring the fuel level, an ammeter and a speedometer. The latter was quite unusual: the numbers printed on the drum replaced each other, informing the driver of the speed, showing up in the fixed "eye" of the instrument. The engine operating mode control system is quite remarkable.
In addition to the accelerator pedal used for "operational" changing of engine speed, two "tactical" levers were installed on the steering wheel, behind the hub. The left one allowed manual adjustment of the ignition timing, and the right one - to fix the position of the carburetor throttle valve. The starter was activated by a trigger located above clutch pedal, and the gas pedal "tablet" could easily be confused with the support for the driver's right foot, located slightly to the right and below. It is not surprising that the description of the engine starting procedure took up one and a half pages in the factory instructions.
The engine design was fairly typical for those years: in-line, four-cylinder, flat-head. Moreover, the cast-iron cylinder block was cast together with the upper half of the engine crankcase, and the lower half was steel, stamped. The cylinder head was also made of cast iron. Gasoline from the tank located above the knees of the driver and front passenger, behind the dashboard, flowed by gravity into the carburetor, which had no air filter. The inconvenience associated with the close proximity of people and fuel was compensated by the ease of monitoring the amount of gasoline in the tank: the driver simply watched the position of the float through a special transparent window in the instrument panel.
The piston group was lubricated by splashing. At the same time, the engine design did not provide for not only a fuel pump, but also an oil filter. The mechanisms of the car used only 21 rolling bearings, seven of which were roller bearings, and the rollers were wound from steel strips. Babbitt plain bearings used in the crankshaft supports and in the places where the connecting rods landed required refilling with babbitt every 30-40 thousand km. The design of the valves did not allow for their adjustment, so if necessary, the gap was increased or decreased by grinding or slightly "forging" the ends of the rods. According to Lev Shugurov, the low compression ratio (4.2) in hot weather allowed this engine to run even on kerosene.
The cardan shaft with a single hinge on the gearbox side was also enclosed in a pipe rigidly attached to the main gear housing. The mechanical service brake acted on the "drums" of all four wheels through a cable drive; the belt "handbrake" blocked only the rear ones. The front part of the frame housed the power unit, consisting of an engine, clutch and three-speed gearbox. It remains to add that the design changes made by engineers during the period of preparation for the production of the Ford-A in the USSR in order to adapt the model to production and operational realities were reduced to a minimum: the clutch housing and steering mechanism were reinforced, and the engine intake system was equipped with an air filter.

GAZ-A was intended primarily to meet the transport needs of Soviet institutions and enterprises. A significant portion of the output was received by the military - even as of January 1, 1941, the Red Army still had 2,757 GAZ-A vehicles and another 378 5AK mobile radio stations (pictured above) mounted on these vehicles. In addition to the phaetons themselves, GAZ supplied large batches of GAZ-A chassis to the Izhora Plant and the Vyksa DRO Plant for the production of light armored vehicles D-8, D-12 and FAI. GAZ-A entered service with taxi institutions in various cities, which made it possible to unify their diverse composition and simplify the supply of spare parts.
Nevertheless, despite the "service" focus, any citizen of the country could easily win a Ford-A or GAZ-A in the Osoaviakhim or Avtodor lotteries. Also, private individuals had the opportunity to purchase phaetons under special auto obligations - provided that the buyer made monthly payments, the state guaranteed him the receipt of a car in 1-4 years - photo 1. However, this option was offered only to active members of "Avtodor" - being a simple NEPman with a sufficient amount of money was not enough to purchase a personal car. But rewarding the best workers or cultural figures with a GAZ-A phaeton was not at all uncommon.
It should be noted that in operation, the GAZ-A began to cause numerous complaints from drivers immediately after the start of production due to, as they believed, the low quality of the cars. In fact, there was initially a certain error in choosing the production facility - the Ford-A was structurally poorly suited for use on the then roads of the USSR. The network of highways in the USA was much more developed and most of the problems that Soviet drivers encountered were simply unknown there.
Therefore, despite the fact that the GAZ-A was exactly the American Ford, the result of driving along the "directions" in the USSR, which replaced asphalt roads, was the failure of almost all units of the Nizhny Novgorod phaeton: the most durable units (engine, gearbox, drive axle) could go up to 25 thousand kilometers without major repairs, while the rest - even less. It is not surprising that the question of the need to replace the GAZ-A with a new model arose before Soviet designers almost immediately. The production of the GAZ-A continued until January 1936, when it was replaced by the GAZ-M1. In just over three years of its existence, 41,917 cars were produced on the conveyor.
Another interesting story was connected with the GAZ-A. With the start of the GAZ-M1 production, every institution or private owner in Moscow was offered to exchange their Ford-A or GAZ-A manufactured before 1933 for a new "emka". It is noteworthy that no additional payments were required for the exchange. During the whole of 1936 and the first quarter of 1937, 2,500 GAZ-A were exchanged in Moscow. A similar exchange of GAZ-A for new GAZ-M1 was also carried out in other large cities of the USSR - in Leningrad, Kyiv, Kharkov, Odessa, Tbilisi, Vladivostok and a number of other cities, about 1,200 cars were exchanged by April 1, 1937. By April 1937, there were still 4,700 GAZ-A cars left in Moscow, of which about 1,000 belonged to private owners. Apparently, by this time, interest in such an exchange had somewhat waned, because on April 21, a Resolution of the Council of People's Commissars was published, ordering the completion of the exchange of GAZ-A phaetons for GAZ-M1 by July 15 of the same year.
First of all, the exchange was supposed to affect private owners. Moreover, the value of the cars being handed over had already been assessed, and the owner had to pay the difference in price when receiving a new "emka". This could also be done in installments - over the course of 1-2 years. Moreover, the handed over GAZ-A was required to "...be in good technical condition, fit for operation, have a set of tools and a spare wheel with rubber." From July 15, 1937, based on the order of the People's Commissar of Internal Affairs - General Commissar of State Security N. Yezhov, a ban on the complete ban on the movement of GAZ-A and Ford-A phaetons in Moscow came into effect.
ORUD inspectors and police officers were charged with the duty of detaining all such cars on the streets of Moscow, regardless of their ownership. Drivers of such cars were to be arrested for 3-5 days, passengers were to be fined 100 rubles, and the heads of the garages to which the detained car was attached were to be brought to criminal responsibility. In addition, phaetons with license plates from other regions of the country were also to be detained when entering Moscow. Thanks to such measures, a total of about 8,000 GAZ-A and Ford-A phaetons were forcibly replaced in Moscow with GAZ-M1 sedans. From March 1, 1938, the use of phaetons was also prohibited in Leningrad.
The reason for such draconian measures was the authorities' idea of how the updated capital of the first communist state should look - Moscow was undergoing a major reconstruction that radically changed the appearance of the city, and the car no longer fit into the new wide streets and avenues. To test the military and expeditional potential of the GAZ-A, several modified vehicles took part in the Karakum run of 1933: Some of the vehicles were equipped with "super-balloon" tires - one of the tasks was to check how much such wheels improve the vehicles' cross-country ability compared to standard tires.
The GAZ-A was also used in militar service from the start. Officers looked for a proper Soviet model for liaison betwen unit, and the moderate off-road performances of the GAZ-A were good enough for the job. The lack of road was an issue in USSR, but 1920s Fords were designed to be handled on no more than dirt roads, also abundant in many corners of the US. In Russia however, winter, spring and autumn conditions were not friendly to the car, which struggled in adverse terrain, and only were valuable in the summer, albeit excessive dust could clog the radiator. With their large tyres and good suspensions, they could do also limited grass runs, againg if conditions were there, and perform on paper some limited reconnaissance.
The military GAZ-A was identical to the civilioan model but by its olive green paint and canvas-color tarpaulin. In some cases in winter, the same tarpaulin received canvas extensions with plastic windows to be fully enclosed. It had no armament, not any specific feature but symbolism as well. How many were used is a mystery, but probably more than two thousands. Albeit they were replaced by a proper 4x4 GAZ, the model 64 in 1935, many of these were still around when WW2 started, notably used between barracks and HQs as well still sometimes by border guards or the NKVD.
Development of the "Gazik"

The cooperation between Ford '=(Motor Company) and Russia started in 1909 when the Tsar publicized his effort to modernize the Empire and call for investors. Ford soon became an important supplier of passenger cars and commercial vehicles, with the first Russian tractors and trucks being 1910s Fords. However the war and Russian Revolution shattered these plans. In 1922 however, the new Soviet Authorities tried to renew these old links and seek Ford assistance once again. A contract led to the importation of tens of thousands of Fords into the Soviet Union as its vehicle industry remained underdeveloped.
The first ideas about the need to organize licensed production of foreign-brand cars in the USSR for the purpose of speedy motorization of the national economy began to be heard as early as the beginning of the second half of the 1920s. The main option for following this path seemed to be the production of American-brand cars, which were already being mass-produced and whose technical competencies in organizing large-scale production could be applied in the USSR. The magazine "Behind the Wheel", founded in 1928, already in its first issue published an article by E.A. Chudakov "The Future of the Automobile Industry in the USSR", which argued for the advisability of choosing a "tested type of foreign car" and its delivery in the form of ready-to-assemble vehicle kits with the parallel deployment of production of the same model using our own resources and parts manufactured in the USSR.
In order to reduce the cost of finished products by saving on the scale of production of similar parts, car production should be carried out not by a large number of small and medium-sized enterprises, as in Europe, but by several auto giants capable of producing 100 thousand cars per year. The names of the preferred brands of cars were not given in the article, but the vector of the discussion had already been set. In issue No. 3 of Za Rulem for the same year, the Ford Company made a kind of response in the article “The Ford Company on the Motorization of the USSR”:
“The possibility of the participation of American industry in the motorization of the USSR is a complex issue. We have not yet fully accustomed ourselves to the laws and customs existing in the USSR, and it is possible that for this reason we are waiting for the first step from the USSR. Naturally, the Ford Company and many other automobile firms are very interested in the development of motorism in the USSR.”Perhaps the first step was made by the Soviet side somewhat earlier - in the total import of cars to the USSR, Ford cars already occupied a noticeable size, and by 1929 the volume of Ford imports exceeded a thousand units per year. Be that as it may, Ford's interest in cooperation with the USSR was noticed and on December 19, 1928, the Soviet side went to negotiate with Henry Ford and, at the same time, with General Motors. Ford offered more interesting conditions and on May 31, 1929, a ten-year agreement was signed between the USSR and the Ford Company, according to which Ford provided patents for the production of cars, technological equipment for their production and was to provide technical assistance in establishing their production in the USSR and training Soviet workers and employees.

In addition, the agreement provided for the right of the Soviet side to receive technical documentation for new Ford models for nine years (later this right was used in the creation of the next Gorky model - GAZ-M1). The USSR, for its part, was obliged to purchase at least 72 thousand vehicle kits, which were to be assembled on the territory of the USSR for three years, while the construction of an automobile plant for the production of cars under Ford license from parts produced in the USSR was underway. The design of the automobile plant in Nizhny Novgorod was commissioned from the Detroit company Albert Kahn Inc., named after its founder, architect Albert Kahn. Between 1929 and 1932, Kahn's company designed more than 500 objects for the USSR. These were, first of all, tractor (tank), aircraft and automobile plants.
The first "Fords" in the USSR were released in December 1929 by the Kharkov Automobile Assembly Plant, which received one hundred Ford-A and Ford-AA vehicle kits. The second, on February 1, 1930, was the 1st Automobile Assembly Plant, located on the territory of the Gudok Oktyabrya plant in the city of Kanavin, Nizhny Novgorod Region. This plant assembled mainly trucks, but in the middle of 1930, a batch of 218 Ford-A units was also assembled. Finally, on November 6, 1930, Soviet Fords began to roll off the assembly line of the 2nd Automobile Assembly Plant in Moscow (since December 26, 1930, the State Automobile Assembly Plant named after KIM), which assembled Fords from vehicle kits for the longest time - until the end of 1932.
The three plants produced 3,804 Ford-A passenger cars, mainly phaetons (a certain number of Ford-A with closed bodies also came in vehicle kits, but their share in the total volume of Ford-A was small). The Nizhny Novgorod Automobile Plant, planned as the main one for the production of Ford-A and Ford-AA, began its work on January 1, 1932. In the second half of January 1932, the plant mastered the production of cylinder blocks, crankshafts, frame side members and a number of other parts. Without waiting for regular deliveries of components from related enterprises (in particular, sheet steel), the cabins of the "pre-production" trucks were assembled from plywood, and on January 29, 1932, the first NAZ-AA cars rolled off the assembly line of the Nizhny Novgorod Automobile Plant. Almost the entire year was spent on mastering the production of the Ford-AA truck, and passenger Fords appeared only in December, which was due to underdeliveries of components from related enterprises. By the end of the year, instead of the planned 696 phaetons, only 34 were assembled. However, this was still considered an achievement.
GAZ-A (Nizhny Novgorod was renamed Gorky on October 7, 1932, so the Ford-A series immediately went under the GAZ brand - only two experimental phaetons, assembled in August 1932, were called NAZ-A) was a copy of the Ford model A Standard Phaeton 35B, which was produced in the United States itself in relatively small quantities - the main production object in the Ford Company was the Ford-A with a Tudor Sedan body. Externally, the Soviet GAZ-A differed from its American parent by the absence of additional small headlights installed on the sides of the windshield. Also, the GAZ-A received a radiator grille with a mask of a simpler, almost rectangular shape (the Ford-A had a small "beak" on top). The design of the car did not shine with innovations and bold engineering solutions, but at the same time, the "A" family was the latest Ford development at that time, and it was also impossible to call the Ford architecture archaic.
On April 17, 1935, the hundred thousandth car rolled off the GAZ assembly line. It was the GAZ-A, intended as a gift to the People's Commissar of Heavy Industry G.K. Ordzhonikidze. The hero of the day was dressed up: the body, unlike the black and olive serial brothers, was painted in two colors - burgundy red and milky beige. The radiator cap was stamped with a special emblem, and its grille was decorated with a nickel-plated diagonal nameplate "100,000" and the inscription below "Sergo Ordzhonikidze from the Molotovtsev collective 1935". The "festive" options included two electric signals, two small additional headlights like those of the Ford-A, located in the lower corners of the windshield frame, and two spare wheels located in the niches of the front wings (in production models, the only spare wheel was attached to the outside of the rear wall of the body.) All visible chassis elements and body parts, usually painted black, were nickel-plated.
By 1935, the new GAZ plant had delivered circa 100,000 vehicles, mostly GAZ-AA trucks, the remainder being GAZ-A and derivatived vehicles based on the same chassis. Also in 1935, the contract between Ford and the Soviet Union terminated by mutual agreement. Back in the US, anticommunism was getting on the way of business. In 1936, production of the GAZ-A ended after 41,917 cars produced, as the new fully enclosed and more modern GAZ-M1 was introduced, again with some initial help by Ford. The GAZ-A was declined into several vehicles, inclusing an enclosed car, an ambulance and an utility lorry, as well as an armoured car. The GAZ-A was also of course used by the Army and became its first staff car.
Design of the GAZ-A

General layout
All units and assemblies were attached to a stamped riveted trapezoidal frame with side members and box-section crossmembers.The spoked wheels were suspended by two transversely located semi-elliptical springs. The front one rested on the I-beam of the front axle, the rear one - on the "pipes" of the half-axles of the rear axle. Smooth running was ensured by hydraulic shock absorbers of the rotary type.
The body made of stamped parts was also an example not so much of artistic design as of utility: an engine compartment with opening "book" sidewalls, a simple interior, no trunk. Four doors mounted on the front hinges, like those of modern cars. The windshield rotated in the frame and was fixed with wing nuts, and the need for this "option" arose not in the summer heat, but on the contrary - in frost, so that the glass frosted over from the breath of the riders did not obstruct the view. In case of bad weather, the canvas top could be supplemented with canvas sides with small celluloid windows, but there was no heating system.
The phaeton had a single wiper mounted on the upper rail of the windshield frame in front of the driver's face to fight the rain. The wiper had a vacuum drive, so it was connected to the carburetor inlet manifold with a hose. (The Ford did not have an air filter.) As a result, the "wiper" demonstrated its greatest efficiency at idle speed.
Two solid "sofas" allowed the driver and three passengers to sit in the "boat" of the cabin with relative comfort. The simple instrument panel included three gauges: the already mentioned window for monitoring the fuel level, an ammeter and a speedometer. The latter was quite unusual: the numbers printed on the drum replaced each other, informing the driver of the speed, showing up in the fixed "eye" of the instrument. The engine operating mode control system is quite remarkable.
In addition to the accelerator pedal used for "operational" changing of engine speed, two "tactical" levers were installed on the steering wheel, behind the hub. The left one allowed manual adjustment of the ignition timing, and the right one - to fix the position of the carburetor throttle valve. The starter was activated by a trigger located above clutch pedal, and the gas pedal "tablet" could easily be confused with the support for the driver's right foot, located slightly to the right and below. It is not surprising that the description of the engine starting procedure took up one and a half pages in the factory instructions.
Engine and performances

The engine design was fairly typical for those years: in-line, four-cylinder, flat-head. Moreover, the cast-iron cylinder block was cast together with the upper half of the engine crankcase, and the lower half was steel, stamped. The cylinder head was also made of cast iron. Gasoline from the tank located above the knees of the driver and front passenger, behind the dashboard, flowed by gravity into the carburetor, which had no air filter. The inconvenience associated with the close proximity of people and fuel was compensated by the ease of monitoring the amount of gasoline in the tank: the driver simply watched the position of the float through a special transparent window in the instrument panel.
The piston group was lubricated by splashing. At the same time, the engine design did not provide for not only a fuel pump, but also an oil filter. The mechanisms of the car used only 21 rolling bearings, seven of which were roller bearings, and the rollers were wound from steel strips. Babbitt plain bearings used in the crankshaft supports and in the places where the connecting rods landed required refilling with babbitt every 30-40 thousand km. The design of the valves did not allow for their adjustment, so if necessary, the gap was increased or decreased by grinding or slightly "forging" the ends of the rods. According to Lev Shugurov, the low compression ratio (4.2) in hot weather allowed this engine to run even on kerosene.
The cardan shaft with a single hinge on the gearbox side was also enclosed in a pipe rigidly attached to the main gear housing. The mechanical service brake acted on the "drums" of all four wheels through a cable drive; the belt "handbrake" blocked only the rear ones. The front part of the frame housed the power unit, consisting of an engine, clutch and three-speed gearbox. It remains to add that the design changes made by engineers during the period of preparation for the production of the Ford-A in the USSR in order to adapt the model to production and operational realities were reduced to a minimum: the clutch housing and steering mechanism were reinforced, and the engine intake system was equipped with an air filter.
Variants of the GAZ-A
- GAZ-A: Main production version. Produced 1932-1936.
- GAZ-A-Aremkuz: 3rd-party conversion, enclosed 4-door at Moskow's Aremkuz plant.
- GAZ-AA: Pickup truck produced 1932-1938.
- GAZ-4: Pickup on the GAZ-A chassis, produced 1933-1936.
- GAZ-6 "Pioneer": 2-door sedan on GAZ-A chassis, produced 1933-1936.
- GAZ-AAAA: Prototype 3-axle based on the GAZ-A. GAZ-AA cab, rear drive from GAZ-AAA. 2 side-mounted spare tires to overcome obstacles.
- GAZ-TK: 3-axle car based on the GAZ-A, produced 1936-1938
⚙ GAZ-A specifications | |
Weight | 1,080 kg (2,381 lb) |
Dimensions | 3,875 x 1,71 x 1,78 (152.6 x 67.3 x 70.1 in) |
Wheelbase | 2,630 mm (103.5 in) |
Suspension | Leaf springs |
Propulsion | 3.3 L GAZ-A (Ford L-head) +3-speed manual |
Speed | 60 kph |
Range | c300 km |
Armament | None |
Payload | 500 kgs. |
Crew | 1+4 |
The GAZ-A in service

GAZ-A was intended primarily to meet the transport needs of Soviet institutions and enterprises. A significant portion of the output was received by the military - even as of January 1, 1941, the Red Army still had 2,757 GAZ-A vehicles and another 378 5AK mobile radio stations (pictured above) mounted on these vehicles. In addition to the phaetons themselves, GAZ supplied large batches of GAZ-A chassis to the Izhora Plant and the Vyksa DRO Plant for the production of light armored vehicles D-8, D-12 and FAI. GAZ-A entered service with taxi institutions in various cities, which made it possible to unify their diverse composition and simplify the supply of spare parts.
Nevertheless, despite the "service" focus, any citizen of the country could easily win a Ford-A or GAZ-A in the Osoaviakhim or Avtodor lotteries. Also, private individuals had the opportunity to purchase phaetons under special auto obligations - provided that the buyer made monthly payments, the state guaranteed him the receipt of a car in 1-4 years - photo 1. However, this option was offered only to active members of "Avtodor" - being a simple NEPman with a sufficient amount of money was not enough to purchase a personal car. But rewarding the best workers or cultural figures with a GAZ-A phaeton was not at all uncommon.
It should be noted that in operation, the GAZ-A began to cause numerous complaints from drivers immediately after the start of production due to, as they believed, the low quality of the cars. In fact, there was initially a certain error in choosing the production facility - the Ford-A was structurally poorly suited for use on the then roads of the USSR. The network of highways in the USA was much more developed and most of the problems that Soviet drivers encountered were simply unknown there.
Therefore, despite the fact that the GAZ-A was exactly the American Ford, the result of driving along the "directions" in the USSR, which replaced asphalt roads, was the failure of almost all units of the Nizhny Novgorod phaeton: the most durable units (engine, gearbox, drive axle) could go up to 25 thousand kilometers without major repairs, while the rest - even less. It is not surprising that the question of the need to replace the GAZ-A with a new model arose before Soviet designers almost immediately. The production of the GAZ-A continued until January 1936, when it was replaced by the GAZ-M1. In just over three years of its existence, 41,917 cars were produced on the conveyor.
Another interesting story was connected with the GAZ-A. With the start of the GAZ-M1 production, every institution or private owner in Moscow was offered to exchange their Ford-A or GAZ-A manufactured before 1933 for a new "emka". It is noteworthy that no additional payments were required for the exchange. During the whole of 1936 and the first quarter of 1937, 2,500 GAZ-A were exchanged in Moscow. A similar exchange of GAZ-A for new GAZ-M1 was also carried out in other large cities of the USSR - in Leningrad, Kyiv, Kharkov, Odessa, Tbilisi, Vladivostok and a number of other cities, about 1,200 cars were exchanged by April 1, 1937. By April 1937, there were still 4,700 GAZ-A cars left in Moscow, of which about 1,000 belonged to private owners. Apparently, by this time, interest in such an exchange had somewhat waned, because on April 21, a Resolution of the Council of People's Commissars was published, ordering the completion of the exchange of GAZ-A phaetons for GAZ-M1 by July 15 of the same year.
First of all, the exchange was supposed to affect private owners. Moreover, the value of the cars being handed over had already been assessed, and the owner had to pay the difference in price when receiving a new "emka". This could also be done in installments - over the course of 1-2 years. Moreover, the handed over GAZ-A was required to "...be in good technical condition, fit for operation, have a set of tools and a spare wheel with rubber." From July 15, 1937, based on the order of the People's Commissar of Internal Affairs - General Commissar of State Security N. Yezhov, a ban on the complete ban on the movement of GAZ-A and Ford-A phaetons in Moscow came into effect.
ORUD inspectors and police officers were charged with the duty of detaining all such cars on the streets of Moscow, regardless of their ownership. Drivers of such cars were to be arrested for 3-5 days, passengers were to be fined 100 rubles, and the heads of the garages to which the detained car was attached were to be brought to criminal responsibility. In addition, phaetons with license plates from other regions of the country were also to be detained when entering Moscow. Thanks to such measures, a total of about 8,000 GAZ-A and Ford-A phaetons were forcibly replaced in Moscow with GAZ-M1 sedans. From March 1, 1938, the use of phaetons was also prohibited in Leningrad.
The reason for such draconian measures was the authorities' idea of how the updated capital of the first communist state should look - Moscow was undergoing a major reconstruction that radically changed the appearance of the city, and the car no longer fit into the new wide streets and avenues. To test the military and expeditional potential of the GAZ-A, several modified vehicles took part in the Karakum run of 1933: Some of the vehicles were equipped with "super-balloon" tires - one of the tasks was to check how much such wheels improve the vehicles' cross-country ability compared to standard tires.
The GAZ-A was also used in militar service from the start. Officers looked for a proper Soviet model for liaison betwen unit, and the moderate off-road performances of the GAZ-A were good enough for the job. The lack of road was an issue in USSR, but 1920s Fords were designed to be handled on no more than dirt roads, also abundant in many corners of the US. In Russia however, winter, spring and autumn conditions were not friendly to the car, which struggled in adverse terrain, and only were valuable in the summer, albeit excessive dust could clog the radiator. With their large tyres and good suspensions, they could do also limited grass runs, againg if conditions were there, and perform on paper some limited reconnaissance.
The military GAZ-A was identical to the civilioan model but by its olive green paint and canvas-color tarpaulin. In some cases in winter, the same tarpaulin received canvas extensions with plastic windows to be fully enclosed. It had no armament, not any specific feature but symbolism as well. How many were used is a mystery, but probably more than two thousands. Albeit they were replaced by a proper 4x4 GAZ, the model 64 in 1935, many of these were still around when WW2 started, notably used between barracks and HQs as well still sometimes by border guards or the NKVD.

Basic military GAZ-A with tarp.

GAZ-A tarp down, muddy

GAZ-A tarp fully closed, winter

Armoured Car D-8
GAZ-4 pickup (to come)
GAZ-6 sedan (to come)
Gallery

GAZ-A plan
GAZ-A

GAZ-A in the Republic of Tatarstan, April 2025

GAZ-6 at Retrocars parade Nizhny Novgorod

GAZ-4 of the Soviet Army

GAZ-4 in Museum

GAZ-A of 1974, preserved


Sources/Read More
denisovets.ru/gaz/gazpages/gaz AAdenisovets.ru/gaz/gazpages/gaz A
his.1sept.ru
autogallery.org.ru
commons.wikimedia.org
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GAZ-A
o5m6.de
sovavto.net
Video
WW1 Vehicles


LGOC B-type troop Bus
Mack AC
Pierce-Arrow AA truck
BSA 14/18 hp-20/25 hp
BSA 13.9 h.p
Lanchester staff Car
Thornycroft J
Maudslay Lorry
AEC Y Type
Foster-Daimler Tractor
Motorc. Triumph H
Ford Model T Patrol Car
FWD Model B 3-ton Lorry
Leyland 3-ton truck
Vulcan truck
Vauxhall D-type staff car
Crossley 20/25 staff car

Berliet CBA
Berliet Type M
Châtillon-Panhard Tractor
Panhard K11
Latil TAR Tractor
Panhard-Genty 24 HP
Renault EG
Renault AG1 Landaulet
Renault Truck 60CV
Renault FB Artillery Portee
Schneider CD Artillery Tractor

(list in research)

Holt tractor
Liberty Trucks, assembled by:
- Bethlehem
- Brockway
- Diamond T
- Gardford
- Gramm-Berstein
- Indiana
- Kelly-Springfield
- Packard
- Pierce-Arrow
- Republic
- Selden
- SMTC
- Sterling
- USMTC
- Velie
- Dart
- Lafrance
Ricker truck
Ford Model T Mil.
Spruce log truck
Dodge M1918 Light Repair truck
Dart BB, E, L, Liberty CC4, J Tractor
5-ton Artillery Tractor
Ford Model T Ambulance
Mack AC "Bulldog" Truck
Holt 15-ton Tractor
Jeffery Quad Lorry
FWD Model B
FWD SU-COE

Lancia IZ
Fiat 15ter Ambulance
Fiat 15ter Lorry
Fiat 18BL Lorry
Hersent-Thiriont Flamethrower
(list in research)

(list in research)

Berna C2 Truck (Swiss)
(list in research)

A7V Überlandwagen
Beobachtungsanhänger
Büssing KZW1800 Artillery Tractor
Daimler Marienfelde Truck
Field Artillery Limbers
Große FeldKüche Hf.13
Mercedes 37/95 Staff Car
(list in research)

Austro-Daimler Lorry
Austro-Daimler Artilleriezugwagen
B-Zug Artillery Tractor
Feldküche M.1915

(list in research)
Allied ww2 Vehicles

-AEC Armoured Command Vehicle (415)
-AEC Matador
-Albion CX22S
-Albion FT15N
-Albion WD.CX24
-Austin K2/Y Ambulance
-Austin K3
-Austin K4
-Austin K4 Dropside
-Austin K5
-Austin K6 GS
-Austin K6 Gantry
-Bedford MW
-Bedford OXA Armoured
-Bedford OXC Semi-trailer
-Bedford OXD GS
-Bedford OYC Tanker
-Bedford OYD GS
-Bedford QL series (QLD, QLR/QLC QLT TC)
-CMP FAT
-Commer Q2
-Crossley Q-Type
-Diamond T tank transporter
-Guy Quad-Ant FAT
-Guy Lizard ACV
-Humber FWD
-Karrier KT4
-Karrier K6
-Leyland Hippo Mk I/II
-Leyland Lynx
-Leyland Retriever
-Mack EXBX
-Morris 15cwt
-Morris CDSW
-Morris ML Ambulance
-Morris C8 GS/FAT
-Morris Commercial CD series
-Morris Commercial CS8
-Morris C9
-Morris GS Terrapin
-Morris PU
-Scammell Pioneer
-Scammell Pioneer TRCU
-Scammell Pioneer SV1S/T
-Thornycroft Hathi (1924)
-Thornycroft Nubian
-Thornycroft Tartar
-AEC Matador
-Albion CX22S
-Albion FT15N
-Albion WD.CX24
-Austin K2/Y Ambulance
-Austin K3
-Austin K4
-Austin K4 Dropside
-Austin K5
-Austin K6 GS
-Austin K6 Gantry
-Bedford MW
-Bedford OXA Armoured
-Bedford OXC Semi-trailer
-Bedford OXD GS
-Bedford OYC Tanker
-Bedford OYD GS
-Bedford QL series (QLD, QLR/QLC QLT TC)
-CMP FAT
-Commer Q2
-Crossley Q-Type
-Diamond T tank transporter
-Guy Quad-Ant FAT
-Guy Lizard ACV
-Humber FWD
-Karrier KT4
-Karrier K6
-Leyland Hippo Mk I/II
-Leyland Lynx
-Leyland Retriever
-Mack EXBX
-Morris 15cwt
-Morris CDSW
-Morris ML Ambulance
-Morris C8 GS/FAT
-Morris Commercial CD series
-Morris Commercial CS8
-Morris C9
-Morris GS Terrapin
-Morris PU
-Scammell Pioneer
-Scammell Pioneer TRCU
-Scammell Pioneer SV1S/T
-Thornycroft Hathi (1924)
-Thornycroft Nubian
-Thornycroft Tartar

-Ford F8 CMP
-CMP C15/F15 (1940)
-CMP CGT/FGT FAT (1942)
-CMP C30/F30 LRGD (1942)
-CMP C30/F30 (1940)
-CMP C60/F60 LWB (1941)
-CMP C60/F60 SWB (1942)
-C-60X 6x6 CMP
-F-60H 6x4 CMP
-Ford F-GT CMP
-Chevy C-GT CMP
-C8A 1C1 HUP
-Chevrolet 3 ton truck
-Chevrolet WB 30cwt LRDG
-Chevrolet C8/C8A 4x2 CMP
-CMP C15/F15 (1940)
-CMP CGT/FGT FAT (1942)
-CMP C30/F30 LRGD (1942)
-CMP C30/F30 (1940)
-CMP C60/F60 LWB (1941)
-CMP C60/F60 SWB (1942)
-C-60X 6x6 CMP
-F-60H 6x4 CMP
-Ford F-GT CMP
-Chevy C-GT CMP
-C8A 1C1 HUP
-Chevrolet 3 ton truck
-Chevrolet WB 30cwt LRDG
-Chevrolet C8/C8A 4x2 CMP

-Berliet DGRA
-Berliet GDC
-Berliet GDM
-Berliet VDCA
-Berliet 30
-Bernard fuel carrier
-Citroën Kégresse P14 .
-Citroën Kégresse P17
-Citroën Kégresse P19
-Citroën 23U
-Citroën 32U
-Citroën T45
-Citroën Traction Avant
-ELMAG
-Fiat France 38R
-Ford France
-Hotchkiss PKW Type 680
-Hotchkiss 686
-Hotchkiss 686 PNA
-Isobloc W843M medical bus
-Laffly S15R
-Laffly S15T
-Laffly S15R
-Laffly S35T
--Laffly V15T
-Laffly W15T/R
-Laffly 20TL
-Laffly 25
-Laffly 45
-Latil TAR H2
-Latil M2Tl6
-Matford F917
-Panhard K113 Truck
-Panhard K125 Truck/Bus
-Peugeot 202
-Peugeot 402
-Peugeot DMA
-Peugeot DK
-Peugeot DK5
-Renault AHS
-Renault AHN
-Renault AHR
-Renault AGC
-Renault ADK
-Renault ADH
-Renault AHSs
-Renault YCR (TRC-36R)
-Saurer type 3CT
-Simca 5 staff car
-Simca 8 staff car
-Somua MCL
-Somua MCG
-Talbot staff car
-Unic TU1
-Unic P107
-Trippel SG6
-Willeme DU10
-Berliet GDC
-Berliet GDM
-Berliet VDCA
-Berliet 30
-Bernard fuel carrier
-Citroën Kégresse P14 .
-Citroën Kégresse P17
-Citroën Kégresse P19
-Citroën 23U
-Citroën 32U
-Citroën T45
-Citroën Traction Avant
-ELMAG
-Fiat France 38R
-Ford France
-Hotchkiss PKW Type 680
-Hotchkiss 686
-Hotchkiss 686 PNA
-Isobloc W843M medical bus
-Laffly S15R
-Laffly S15T
-Laffly S15R
-Laffly S35T
--Laffly V15T
-Laffly W15T/R
-Laffly 20TL
-Laffly 25
-Laffly 45
-Latil TAR H2
-Latil M2Tl6
-Matford F917
-Panhard K113 Truck
-Panhard K125 Truck/Bus
-Peugeot 202
-Peugeot 402
-Peugeot DMA
-Peugeot DK
-Peugeot DK5
-Renault AHS
-Renault AHN
-Renault AHR
-Renault AGC
-Renault ADK
-Renault ADH
-Renault AHSs
-Renault YCR (TRC-36R)
-Saurer type 3CT
-Simca 5 staff car
-Simca 8 staff car
-Somua MCL
-Somua MCG
-Talbot staff car
-Unic TU1
-Unic P107
-Trippel SG6
-Willeme DU10

-C2P Tractor
-
C4P -
C7P -
Polski-Fiat 508 Lazik -
Polski-Fiat 621 -
PZInż 302 -
Ursus A -
Vickers E staff car -
Sokół 1000 motorcycle
C4P -
C7P -
Polski-Fiat 508 Lazik -
Polski-Fiat 621 -
PZInż 302 -
Ursus A -
Vickers E staff car -
Sokół 1000 motorcycle

-BZ-38
-GAZ AA M1927 M1932 M1941
-GAZ–MM
-GAZ AAA M1937/1940
-GAZ-60
-GAZ-65
-SU-1-12
-SU-4
-SU C-6
-SU-12
-Yag-6
-Yag-10
-Yag-10 SPG
-ZIS-5/V/BZ
-ZIS-6
-ZIS-12
-ZIS-22M HT
-ZIS-33 HT
-ZIS 41 HT
-ZIS 42M HT
-FN-Kégresse T3
Artillery tractors
-Komsomolets (4,041 pre-war)
-T-26-T
-STZ-3 (3,658 pre-war)
-STZ-5 (7,170 pre-war)
-Stalinets (ChTz S-65) (?)
-Komintern (1,017 pre-war)
-Voroshilovets (1228 1942)
-Kommunar (504 pre-war)
-YA-12 (1,666)
-Wheeled Tractor SKhTZ 15-30 (1930) Specialized Vehicles
-BM-13 Katyusha (1940) Soviet staff cars
-GAZ A
-GAZ M1 "Emka"
-GAZ 11-73
-GAZ 61-73
-GAZ 67 Amphibious armoured cars
-PB-4
-PB-7
-BAD-2
-GAZ AA M1927 M1932 M1941
-GAZ–MM
-GAZ AAA M1937/1940
-GAZ-60
-GAZ-65
-SU-1-12
-SU-4
-SU C-6
-SU-12
-Yag-6
-Yag-10
-Yag-10 SPG
-ZIS-5/V/BZ
-ZIS-6
-ZIS-12
-ZIS-22M HT
-ZIS-33 HT
-ZIS 41 HT
-ZIS 42M HT
-FN-Kégresse T3
Artillery tractors
-Komsomolets (4,041 pre-war)
-T-26-T
-STZ-3 (3,658 pre-war)
-STZ-5 (7,170 pre-war)
-Stalinets (ChTz S-65) (?)
-Komintern (1,017 pre-war)
-Voroshilovets (1228 1942)
-Kommunar (504 pre-war)
-YA-12 (1,666)
-Wheeled Tractor SKhTZ 15-30 (1930) Specialized Vehicles
-BM-13 Katyusha (1940) Soviet staff cars
-GAZ A
-GAZ M1 "Emka"
-GAZ 11-73
-GAZ 61-73
-GAZ 67 Amphibious armoured cars
-PB-4
-PB-7
-BAD-2

-Praga N (1915)
-Praga TNSPE (1916) AC
-Praga MN, LN (1926)
-Praga RN (1933)
-Praga SND (SNDgs) (1937)
-Praga RND (1935)
-Praga T6 (1937) artillery tractor
-Praga RV (1934)
-Praga AV (1936)
-Tatra 26
-Tatra 57/57K (1932-1940)
-Tatra 72
-Tatra 82
-Tatra 92
-Tatra 81
-Tatra 111
-Praga TNSPE (1916) AC
-Praga MN, LN (1926)
-Praga RN (1933)
-Praga SND (SNDgs) (1937)
-Praga RND (1935)
-Praga T6 (1937) artillery tractor
-Praga RV (1934)
-Praga AV (1936)
-Tatra 26
-Tatra 57/57K (1932-1940)
-Tatra 72
-Tatra 82
-Tatra 92
-Tatra 81
-Tatra 111

-Autocar U8144T 5/6-ton 4x4 truck
-Brockway/LaFrance 6-ton 6x6 truck, G512, 514, 547, 569
-Brockway 6-ton 6×6 truck
-Chevrolet m1931
-Chevrolet m1936
-Chevrolet G506 1.5 ton 4x4 truck
-Chevrolet G-7107 4-1/2 ton 4x4
-Chevrolet 3116 1-1/2 ton 4x2
-Chevrolet AFWX-354
-Corbitt 6-ton 6×6 truck
-Diamond T Model 980/981 12-ton 6x4 trucks (G159)
-Diamond T Model 968 4-ton 6x6 truck (G509)
-Diamond T Model 967
-Diamond T Model 970
-Diamond T Model 972
-Diamond M26 Dragon Wagon
-Diamond M19 Tank Transporter
-Diamond T Model 980
-Diamond T 4-ton 6x6 truck
-Dodge 1⁄2-ton truck
-Dodge WC-51/52 (3⁄4-ton Trucks, Weapons Carrier)
-Dodge WC-53 (3⁄4-ton Carryall)
-Dodge WC-54/64 (3⁄4-ton Ambulance)
-Dodge WC-55 (3⁄4-ton Truck, M6 Gun Motor Carriage)
-Dodge WC-56/57/58 (3⁄4-ton (Radio) Command Reconnaissance)
-Dodge WC-62/43 (G-507, 11⁄2-ton, 6x6 truck)
-Dodge M6 GMC
-Dodge D-15 truck
-Dodge T-234 "China/Burma" truck
-Ford B3000 S
-Ford V3000S
-Ford V3000A
-Ford BB
-Ford V8-51
-Ford m1931
-Ford V8 M1937
-Four Wheel Drive Auto Company (FWD) SU-COE 5-6 ton 4x4
-GMS 353 Bofors
-International B2
-International model 1937
-Inl KR-11 5 ton 4x2 dump truck
-Inl M5-6 318 2-1/2 ton 6x6 swb
-G8T 2-1/2 ton 4x2 Truck
-Mack NR15 10-ton 6x4
-Reo 28 XS 10-ton 6x4
-Studebaker US6x4 U-5
-Studebaker US6x4 U-7
-Studebaker US6x4 U-6
-Pacific M25 Dragon Wagon
-Studebaker US6 U4 bz35S 2-1/2 ton 6x6 truck
-T1E1(M1) half-track
-T5 half-track
-T7 half-track
-T9 half-track
-Ward LaFrance
-White 6 ton 6x6 Prime Mover
-White G-691 444T
-White 6-ton 6×6 truck G512, 514, 526, 547
Small truck/car & Misc.
Bantam Reconnaissance Car
Ford GTB
6x6 Willys 'MT-TUG' ("Super-Jeep")
-Willys MB light truck
-Ford GPA ("Seep")
Buick Century Series 60
1941 Plymouth P11 Staff Car
Ford Fordor 1942 Staff Car
Harley-Davidson WLA motorcycle
Tractors.
M1 Heavy Tractor:
-Brockway/LaFrance 6-ton 6x6 truck, G512, 514, 547, 569
-Brockway 6-ton 6×6 truck
-Chevrolet m1931
-Chevrolet m1936
-Chevrolet G506 1.5 ton 4x4 truck
-Chevrolet G-7107 4-1/2 ton 4x4
-Chevrolet 3116 1-1/2 ton 4x2
-Chevrolet AFWX-354
-Corbitt 6-ton 6×6 truck
-Diamond T Model 980/981 12-ton 6x4 trucks (G159)
-Diamond T Model 968 4-ton 6x6 truck (G509)
-Diamond T Model 967
-Diamond T Model 970
-Diamond T Model 972
-Diamond M26 Dragon Wagon
-Diamond M19 Tank Transporter
-Diamond T Model 980
-Diamond T 4-ton 6x6 truck
-Dodge 1⁄2-ton truck
-Dodge WC-51/52 (3⁄4-ton Trucks, Weapons Carrier)
-Dodge WC-53 (3⁄4-ton Carryall)
-Dodge WC-54/64 (3⁄4-ton Ambulance)
-Dodge WC-55 (3⁄4-ton Truck, M6 Gun Motor Carriage)
-Dodge WC-56/57/58 (3⁄4-ton (Radio) Command Reconnaissance)
-Dodge WC-62/43 (G-507, 11⁄2-ton, 6x6 truck)
-Dodge M6 GMC
-Dodge D-15 truck
-Dodge T-234 "China/Burma" truck
-Ford B3000 S
-Ford V3000S
-Ford V3000A
-Ford BB
-Ford V8-51
-Ford m1931
-Ford V8 M1937
-Four Wheel Drive Auto Company (FWD) SU-COE 5-6 ton 4x4
-GMS 353 Bofors
-International B2
-International model 1937
-Inl KR-11 5 ton 4x2 dump truck
-Inl M5-6 318 2-1/2 ton 6x6 swb
-G8T 2-1/2 ton 4x2 Truck
-Mack NR15 10-ton 6x4
-Reo 28 XS 10-ton 6x4
-Studebaker US6x4 U-5
-Studebaker US6x4 U-7
-Studebaker US6x4 U-6
-Pacific M25 Dragon Wagon
-Studebaker US6 U4 bz35S 2-1/2 ton 6x6 truck
-T1E1(M1) half-track
-T5 half-track
-T7 half-track
-T9 half-track
-Ward LaFrance
-White 6 ton 6x6 Prime Mover
-White G-691 444T
-White 6-ton 6×6 truck G512, 514, 526, 547

Bantam Reconnaissance Car
Ford GTB
6x6 Willys 'MT-TUG' ("Super-Jeep")
-Willys MB light truck
-Ford GPA ("Seep")
Buick Century Series 60
1941 Plymouth P11 Staff Car
Ford Fordor 1942 Staff Car
Harley-Davidson WLA motorcycle

- Allis-Chalmers Model L
- G-022 Caterpillar Model 60
- G-89 Caterpillar RD7
- G-98, G-107 Allis-Chalmers HD-10DW
- G-101 International Harvester TD-18
- G-126 Caterpillar D7
- G-153 Caterpillar D8
Axis Trucks

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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.
-Opel Blitz
-Mercedes-Benz L3000
-Magirus A3000
-Krupp Protze Kfz.19
-Krupp Protze Kfz.21
-Krupp Protze Kfz.68
-Krupp Protze Kfz.69
-Krupp Protze Kfz.70
-Krupp Protze Kfz.81
-Krupp Protze Kfz.21
-Krupp Protze Kfz.83
-Borgward B 3000
-Skoda Rad Schlepper
-Ost RSO Porsche 175
-Steyr Type 2000A
-Einheits Lkw Kfz.62
-Krupp LKW L3
-Bussing-Nag 4500
-Opel Blitz Omnibus
-Bussing-Nag L
-Mercedes-Benz L1500
-Mercedes-Benz L4500
-Beute Studebaker
-Krupp L3H
-Hanomag SS-100
-Beute Ford B3000 S, V3000S, V3000A
-Beute Ford model BB
-Beute Ford model V8-51
-Beute Tatra 111
German Half Tracks
-Sd.Kfz.2 Kettenkrad
-Sd.Kfz.3 Maultier
-Sd.Kfz.4 Panzerwerfer
-Sd.Kfz.6
-Sd.Kfz.7
-Sd.Kfz.8
-Sd.Kfz.9
-Sd.Kfz.10
-Sd.Kfz.11
-Schwere Wehrmachtsschlepper
-Leichte Wehrmachtsschlepper
-Raupenschlepper Ost
German Staff Cars
-Horch 81
-Horch 108
-Kfz.15 Horch 901
-VW 182 Kübelwagen
-VW Schwimmwagen
-Mercedes-Benz L3000
-Magirus A3000
-Krupp Protze Kfz.19
-Krupp Protze Kfz.21
-Krupp Protze Kfz.68
-Krupp Protze Kfz.69
-Krupp Protze Kfz.70
-Krupp Protze Kfz.81
-Krupp Protze Kfz.21
-Krupp Protze Kfz.83
-Borgward B 3000
-Skoda Rad Schlepper
-Ost RSO Porsche 175
-Steyr Type 2000A
-Einheits Lkw Kfz.62
-Krupp LKW L3
-Bussing-Nag 4500
-Opel Blitz Omnibus
-Bussing-Nag L
-Mercedes-Benz L1500
-Mercedes-Benz L4500
-Beute Studebaker
-Krupp L3H
-Hanomag SS-100
-Beute Ford B3000 S, V3000S, V3000A
-Beute Ford model BB
-Beute Ford model V8-51
-Beute Tatra 111

-Sd.Kfz.2 Kettenkrad
-Sd.Kfz.3 Maultier
-Sd.Kfz.4 Panzerwerfer
-Sd.Kfz.6
-Sd.Kfz.7
-Sd.Kfz.8
-Sd.Kfz.9
-Sd.Kfz.10
-Sd.Kfz.11
-Schwere Wehrmachtsschlepper
-Leichte Wehrmachtsschlepper
-Raupenschlepper Ost

-Horch 81
-Horch 108
-Kfz.15 Horch 901
-VW 182 Kübelwagen
-VW Schwimmwagen

L. Trucks (Autocarro Leggere)
-ОМ Autocarretta da Montagna-SPA TL.37
-SPA AS.37 Sahariano
-SPA CL39
-SPA ТМ40
-Fiat 618
Med. Trucks (Autocarro Medio)
-Alfa Romeo 430RE-Alfa Romeo 800RE
-Bianchi Miles
-Ceirano-50СМ
-FIAT-626 NM
-Isotta Fraschini D65
-Isotta Fraschini D80
-SPA Dovunque-35
-SPA Dovunque-41
-SPA-36R
-SPA-38R
-Autocarro Dovunque SPA 41/42 1
H. Trucks (Autocarro Gigante)
-FIAT-633NM-FIAT-634NM
-FIAT-666
-Fiat 661
-Lancia Ro
-Lancia 3Ro and TE
-Lancia EsaRo
-ОМ Taurus
-ОМ Titano
-Autocarri Unificati Ursus

-Breda TP32
-Breda TP 40
-Breda TP 41
-Breda 6x4 51
-90/53 su Breda 52
-Breda 61 (licenced SdKfz-7)
-Fiat-SPA T.L.37
-Pavesi Р4.31 (L140)
-Fiat 727 half-track artillery tractor
-SPA TM40 wheeled artillery tractor

-Alfa Romeo 6С2500 Coloniale
-Fiat 508M Ballila
-Fiat 508CM Coloniale
-Fiat 1100 (1937) (Balilla-1100 Coloniale)
-Lancia Aprilia Coloniale
-Bianchi VM 6C
-Fiat 2800 CMC

-Benelli 500 M36/VLM
-Bianchi Supermil 500
-Gilera 500 LTE
-Moto Guzzi Alce/Trialce
-Volugrafo Aermoto 125

-Toyota 4x4 Su-Ki (Amphibious truck)
-Isuzu Type 94 truck
-Type 94 6-Wheeled Truck
-Type 95 Mini-truck
-Type 97 4-Wheeled Truck
-Type 1 6-Wheeled Truck
-Type 2 Heavy Truck
-Toyota KB/KC Truck
-Nissan 80 Truck
-Nissan 180 Truck
Tractors
-Type 92 5 t Prime Mover "I-Ke"
-Type 98 6 t Prime Mover "Ro-Ke"
-Type 92 8 t Prime Mover "Ni-Ku"
-Type 95 13 t Prime Mover "Ho-Fu"
-Type 94 4 t Prime Mover "Yo-Ke"
-Type 98 4 t Prime Mover "Shi-Ke"
-Type 96 AA Gun Prime Mover
-Type 98 20 mm AA Machine Cannon Carrier
-Type 98 Half-tracked Prime Mover "Ko-Hi"
-Type 98 20 mm AA Half-Track Vehicle
-Experimental Heavy Gun Tractor Chi-Ke
-Experimental Crawler Truck
-T G Experimental Crawler Truck
-Fordson Prime Mover
-Pavessi Gun Tractor
-50 hp Gun Tractor
-Komatsu 3 ton Tractor
-Light Prime Mover
-Clarton Prime Mover
-Holt 30
Staff cars
-Toyota AA/AB/AC
-Type 93 6/4-Wheeled Passenger Car
-Type 95 Passenger Car "Kurogane"
-Type 98 Passenger Car
-Model 97 Nissan Staff Car, Nissan 70
Motorcycles
-Rikuo Motorcycle
-Rikuo Type 97 Motorcycle
-Rikuo Type 93 side car
Misc.
-Type 94 Ambulance
-Type 94 Repair Vehicle
-Isuzu Type 94 truck
-Type 94 6-Wheeled Truck
-Type 95 Mini-truck
-Type 97 4-Wheeled Truck
-Type 1 6-Wheeled Truck
-Type 2 Heavy Truck
-Toyota KB/KC Truck
-Nissan 80 Truck
-Nissan 180 Truck

-Type 92 5 t Prime Mover "I-Ke"
-Type 98 6 t Prime Mover "Ro-Ke"
-Type 92 8 t Prime Mover "Ni-Ku"
-Type 95 13 t Prime Mover "Ho-Fu"
-Type 94 4 t Prime Mover "Yo-Ke"
-Type 98 4 t Prime Mover "Shi-Ke"
-Type 96 AA Gun Prime Mover
-Type 98 20 mm AA Machine Cannon Carrier
-Type 98 Half-tracked Prime Mover "Ko-Hi"
-Type 98 20 mm AA Half-Track Vehicle
-Experimental Heavy Gun Tractor Chi-Ke
-Experimental Crawler Truck
-T G Experimental Crawler Truck
-Fordson Prime Mover
-Pavessi Gun Tractor
-50 hp Gun Tractor
-Komatsu 3 ton Tractor
-Light Prime Mover
-Clarton Prime Mover
-Holt 30

-Toyota AA/AB/AC
-Type 93 6/4-Wheeled Passenger Car
-Type 95 Passenger Car "Kurogane"
-Type 98 Passenger Car
-Model 97 Nissan Staff Car, Nissan 70

-Rikuo Motorcycle
-Rikuo Type 97 Motorcycle
-Rikuo Type 93 side car

-Type 94 Ambulance
-Type 94 Repair Vehicle
Cold War & Modern Vehicles
Section pending completion.
BAV-485 * MAZ-543 * GAZ 46 * GAZ 67B * GAZ/UAZ-69 * GAZ 51 * GAZ 63* ZIL-131 * GAZ 66 * KrAZ-214 * KrAZ-255 * KrAZ-260 * KZKT-7428 * MAZ-535 * MAZ-537 * MAZ-7310 * Ural 375 * BM-21 Grad * MAZ-535 * MAZ-537 * MAZ-7310 * Ural 375 * URAL 4320 * ZIL-135 * ZIL-151 * ZIL-157 * ZIL-157/PR-11M * ZIL-6 * ZIL-6 * 9P140 Uragan * 9K33 Osa * AT-L
* * * * Praga V3S * Tatra 813
Ford G398 * Borgward BE3000 * Henschel HS 115 * Hanomag AL 28 * Mercedes Standard 4.5L * Mercedes LG 315/46 * Magirus-Deutz 170 * Magirus-Deutz 232 * Magirus-Deutz Jupiter 6x6 * Magirus-Deutz A 6500 * MAN KAT-1 * SLT 50 Elefant TT * Liebherr 8x8 GLW * MAN TGM Mil 18 4x4 * Liebherr 4x4 FKL * MAN 630 L2 * Mercedes LA * Unimog 404 2.5 standard * DKW Munga (1956) * Mercedes G-class * Volkswagen Type 181 (1968) * Volkswagen Iltis (1978) * MAN LX Tactical Trucks * M3 Amphibious Rig * Ford Taunus Polizei
Willys Jeep CJ series * Jeep M606 * Jeep M38A1 * Jeep M170 * Dodge M37 * M151 Mutt * M422 Mighty Mite * CJ V-35(/U) * M274 4x4 "Mule" * M37 Series 4x4 "Power Wagon" * M35 Series 6x6 * M54 Series 6x6 * M123/M125 6x6 * M715 series 4x4 * M561 6x6 "Gamma Goat" * M656 Series 8x8 * M880 series 4x4 * M809 series 6x6 * M520 4x4 "Goer" * M915 series 6x4 * M911 C-MET 8x6 * CUCV M1008 4x4 * HMMWV 4x4 * M939 Series 6x6 * HEMTT M977 8x8
Land-Rover * Bedford RL * Bedford TK/MK * Bedford TM * AEC Militant * Austin K9 * AEC Mandator TEL * Land rover LWB SAS
IFA G5
Nissan 2.5 Truck * * Hitachi Type 73 artillery tractor (1974) * Toyota Type 73 * Isuzu HST * Isuzu TSD-45 * Nissan Patrol * Mitsubishi Type 73 * Toyota Land Cruiser *
Jiefang CA10 * Jiefang CA30
Beijing BJ212 * Beijing BJ2020 * Dongfeng EQ240/EQ2081 * Dongfeng EQ245/EQ2100 * Dongfeng EQ2050 * FAW MV3 * Hanyang HY4260 * Hanyang HY4330 * HTF5680A1 * SFQ2040 LieYing * Xiaolong XL2060 * Jiefang CA-30 * NJ2045/2046 * Shaanxi SX2190 * Shaanxi SX2150 * TA580/TAS5380 * TA5450/TAS5450 * TAS5500 * TAS5570 * TAS5690 * Type 82 truck * WS2300 * WS2400 * WS2500 * Wanshan W-2600 * WS21200 * WS51200
Renault TRM 10000 GP | Renault RM 700-100 TT | Renault TRM 2000 lorry | Berliet GBC 8 TK & Renault GBC 180 | Renault Kerax* | Iveco PPT3 | PML VPCM | Scania CCP10 | Scania TRA TOE NG | Renault ESRC | Renault ESRC AVIT | Renault CCPTA | Mercedes CCP3/5 | Renault Carapace | Renault CDLR | Renault PPDL | Renault CDLR CBH 385 | VLTT | Grizzly LUV | VOS-APP LUV | VOS-PAT LUV | Acmat VLRA | Panhard VPS LUV | Aquus AREG VLFS | Renault T4 VLTP NG | Arquus Trapper VT4 | French Mil. Quads | Renault Kangoo | French Bulldozers | Souvim Minesweeper | EFA Bridgelayer | Renault PFM BDL | SPRAT AVLB








Beijing BJ212 * Beijing BJ2020 * Dongfeng EQ240/EQ2081 * Dongfeng EQ245/EQ2100 * Dongfeng EQ2050 * FAW MV3 * Hanyang HY4260 * Hanyang HY4330 * HTF5680A1 * SFQ2040 LieYing * Xiaolong XL2060 * Jiefang CA-30 * NJ2045/2046 * Shaanxi SX2190 * Shaanxi SX2150 * TA580/TAS5380 * TA5450/TAS5450 * TAS5500 * TAS5570 * TAS5690 * Type 82 truck * WS2300 * WS2400 * WS2500 * Wanshan W-2600 * WS21200 * WS51200
Renault TRM 10000 GP | Renault RM 700-100 TT | Renault TRM 2000 lorry | Berliet GBC 8 TK & Renault GBC 180 | Renault Kerax* | Iveco PPT3 | PML VPCM | Scania CCP10 | Scania TRA TOE NG | Renault ESRC | Renault ESRC AVIT | Renault CCPTA | Mercedes CCP3/5 | Renault Carapace | Renault CDLR | Renault PPDL | Renault CDLR CBH 385 | VLTT | Grizzly LUV | VOS-APP LUV | VOS-PAT LUV | Acmat VLRA | Panhard VPS LUV | Aquus AREG VLFS | Renault T4 VLTP NG | Arquus Trapper VT4 | French Mil. Quads | Renault Kangoo | French Bulldozers | Souvim Minesweeper | EFA Bridgelayer | Renault PFM BDL | SPRAT AVLB
Australia:
Land Rover PerentieBelgium:
F.N. AS 24 "tricar/trike"Sweden:
Scania T112Yugoslavia:
M87 OrkanModern Trucks
Section pending completion.