Solved TGF-271: ZIL, SA H Aerodrome

[faksta]

Hi!

From what I could find from Russian sources the car was called ZIL SAK (ЗИЛ САК) and was built in two examples in 1966. Here on picture is a tow section. Apparently there was something else behind usually, performing the ain purpose itself: pre-flight check-ups of aircrafts.

[Bill Murray]

Hi Faksta.............

I would hope that you can finish out the whole story of this vehicle.

Like many others, I spent some hours trying to find the answer with no success but that is all part of the "game".

Still, it would be nice to have a complete answer as I could not find any reference to any of the ZIL model numbers that have been posted so far.  Even though I use Google.ru. I must not be using the correct "questions" and the Russian description of such a vehicle in English may be totally different.

I hope you can add a bit more to this one.

Bill

[WayneB]

So it is also used in an  aircraft ground support role?

I just kinda solved the puzzle by guessing, I have absolutely no knowledge of the Russian language, but I did live opposite an airbase for 20 years so have seen a fair bit of ground support equipment.

[faksta]

I'll post what I've got on this car here when I get home then, not so many time left until then, I hope

[faksta]

Like it happens, the story comes a bit later than supposed, sorry for the waiting. Source of my information is a book called 'Secret cars of the Soviet army' by Evgeny Kochnev.

_________________________________________________________________________________

The car, called ZIL SAK (SAK stands for 'aerodrome control system'), was developed at ZIL together with Dzerzhinets plant in Moscow in 1966 (Dzerzhinets produced various aggregates; its successor is Aeroelectromash, set up on the basis of the elder plant and also responsible for aggregates like generators, electronics etc.) and built in two examples. The car was an air transportable unit for pre-flight diagnostics, both military and civil. SAK consisted of two sections - the front one (the picture in post #1 here) is a tow section, the rear one carried the power unit (ZIL 135 engine of 180hp driving the generator). The tractor had a driver's seat and some space for personnel and equipment up to 1 tons of weight. Rear wheels of the tractor had built-in electric engines driven by the engine in the rear section (which could also serve as a power source for aircrafts' onboard electric systems). ZIL SAK tractor weighed around 4 tons, had 5540mm in length, the whole two-section unit - 5,5 tons and 8,8 meters. Maximum speed was at 32 kph. The car was tested at Zhukovsky military airfield near Moscow.
__________________________________________________________________________________

[WayneB]

Thanks for the info

I thought it may be air transportable due to the angle of the side windows, it looked to me like it was made to fit inside an transport plane.

[targhediferro]

Thank you for all these infos; the source where I took the picture just speaks about a mobile control tower, but I understand that its uses are more than one.

[Bill Murray]

Kudos to faksta

Very nice to get the whole story on this very interesting vehicle at last.

As I wrote earlier, I learned a lot about airport support vehicles in doing research on this puzzle and that is always a valuable addition to my knowledge about different pieces of the automotive world.

faksta, please continue to look now and then for a photo of the complete two vehicle unit just for the record.

Bill