The first four-axle vehicle was designed with the axle configuration 8x8, MAZ-535. MAZ-535 was designed for transportation of artillery systems, up to 10 tons weight.
The development of this vehicle was the real scientific and technical revolution in the USSR automotive industry. It had a hydromechanical transmission, a semiautomatic continuous drive transmission, an independent suspension with a torsion bar, a centralised tire inflation system, seven differential gears in the power drive system and many other things for which there were no similar designs in the world.
MAZ-535 was provided with the D12A-375 engine (manufactured by Barnaul Transport Machinery Plant), 375 hp; due to it, the average driving speed as high as 35-40 km/hour is possible. In 1958, batch production of these vehicles was launched.
The famous ballast tractor, MAZ-535A, became widely used in the army for transportation of artillery systems, and it took its worthy place in history and in peoples’ memory. It was this vehicle that was used at multiple military parades at the Red Square for transportation of plywood dummies of fierce Soviet missiles throwing such a scare into possible enemies.
As a result of upgrades of the MAZ-535A vehicle (the range of application was expanded for its loading platform), the MAZ-535V and MAZ-537 truck tractors with the MAZ-5247 semitrailer were designed, intended for transportation of Soviet crawler vehicles, such as tanks and self-propelled guns.
Later, all technical documents for these vehicles were sent to the newly founded Kurgan Wheel Tractor Plant (KZKT), and production of these trucks was relocated to this plant. In addition to KZKT, SKB-1 was a predecessor for other enterprises, such as Belarusian Automobile Plant (BelAZ), with the technical documentation for the MAZ-525 dump truck (1958) sent to it, and Mogilev Automobile Plant (MoAZ), where manufacturing of the MAZ-529 scraper (1960) was launched
With the modification of the Pioner-UTTH (“Pioneer”) missile system (NATO reporting name is SS-20 mod.1 Saber), the MAZ-547V was made
Fundamentally new design from Volat designers intended to carry the Tor surface-to-air missile system
In 1970, the work was launched in SKB-1 under the general supervision by B.L. Shaposhnik for the design of the most extensive top-secret third generation of Oplot (“Stronghold”) intended to be used to carry the especially strong weapons and to replace two series, MAZ-537 and MAZ-543
The MAZ-529V single-axle tractor, designed for civil purposes, was the first vehicle launched in batch production in 1958
Foundation of SKB-1 Special Design Bureau for heavy wheel artillery tractors and related engines with the testing facilities.
Tractor-road MZKT-74135 - winner of the tender in the United Arab Emirates.
MWTP OJSC overpassed the landmark: 20,000 items of products made!
The MAZ-79221 eight-axle all-wheel-drive wheel chassis is designed to carry the Topol-M missile system’s independent launching unit, related systems and special equipment
The first four-axle vehicle was designed with the axle configuration 8x8, MAZ-535.
MAZ-7907 is the pilot chassis made by Minsk Automobile Plant for the 15P157 launcher of the 15P162 Tselina-2 (“Virgin Land 2”) ground-based mobile missile system with the RT-23 UTTH (15Zh62) intercontinental ballistic missile. This is the only vehicle in the world provided with 24 driving wheels including 16 steerable wheels energised from the generator driven by the tank gas turbine
The completely new vehicle, MAZ-543, was designed to carry the TEMP missile launcher, and this vehicle, in various modifications, is still in batch production!
