ZIL-153

ZIL-153
The preserved prototype of the type ZIL-153 in the Kubinka tank museum (2005)
General properties
crew	2 (commander, driver) + 16 infantrymen
length	6.97 m
width	2.82 m
height	2.13 m
Dimensions	10.0 tons
Armor and armament
Armor	6 - 13 mm
Main armament	1 × 7.62mm MG SGMB
agility
drive	8-cylinder petrol engine 132 kW (180 PS )
suspension	Torsion bar suspension
Top speed	90 km / h
Power / weight	18 hp / ton
Range	600 km

Under the designation ZIL-153 ( Russian ЗИЛ-153 ), a number of prototypes of a floating armored personnel carrier were built in the Soviet Zavod imeni Lichatschowa (ZIL) in the late 1950s . A total of ten machines were to be built in the first pilot series, but the project was canceled prematurely. Instead, the BTR-60 was mass- built based on a similar design. A complete copy of the vehicle has been preserved in a Russian museum.

In terms of design, the vehicle has nothing to do with the ZIS-153 , the prototype of a truck-based half-track vehicle that had been manufactured by the same manufacturer a decade earlier.

Vehicle history

The Other Side of the Same Vehicle (2013)

Front view (2013)

At the end of the 1950s, the Soviet Army began looking for a successor to the BTR-152 armored personnel carrier . Essential requirements were an increase in performance and the ability to cross bodies of water without prior preparation. A competition was initiated among various design offices and vehicle factories and corresponding prototypes were produced. These included the GAZ-49 from the Gorkowski Avtomobilny Sawod (GAZ), the Object 1015 from the Kutaiski Avtomobilny Sawod and the designs Object 560 and Object 560U from the Mytishchinsky Maschinostroitelny Sawod (a mechanical engineering plant from Mytishchi ). In addition, the Zavod imeni Lichatschowa built a corresponding test model with the ZIL-153. Planning began in 1957 and in 1959 the first prototype was completed.

Technically, the vehicle differed significantly from the BTR-152, which was based on the ZIS-151 truck . The newly developed V8 gasoline engine with a displacement of seven liters from our own production, which was later used in series production in the Ural 375 truck for many years , was placed in the rear. The six individually suspended wheels were all fitted with large low-pressure tires, the air pressure of which was also adjustable via a tire pressure control system. A torsion bar suspension was also installed. The Jaroslawski Motorny Sawod delivered a five-speed manual transmission. The vehicle also received a radio and a machine gun of the 7.62 mm caliber of the SGMB type . Many parts of the construction are identical to those on the ZIL-135 heavy truck . The prototype also received a winch.

The tests on the vehicle dragged on until 1960 and were successfully completed. Although the prototype received good reviews, it was finally decided to build the GAZ design in series under the designation BTR-60 . At the time, ZIL had already completed ten tanks made of welded sheet steel, but they were not completed. A preserved and complete prototype is now in the Kubinka Tank Museum .

Based on the ZIL-153 there were drafts for further developments, which ran under the names Object 851 and Object 852 . However, they were no longer realized.

Technical specifications

For the prototype ZIL-153.

• Engine: eight-cylinder gasoline engine (V-engine)
• Engine type: ZIL-375, identical to the one in the Ural-375 truck
• Power: 180 PS (132 kW)
• Displacement: 6962 cm³
• Compression: 6.5: 1
• Torque: 465 Nm
• Fuel: gasoline with at least 76  octane
• Transmission: Five-speed manual transmission from JaMZ
• Top speed (road): 90 km / h
• Maximum speed (swimming): 10 km / h
• Range: 600 km
• Power-to-weight ratio : 13.2 kW / t
• Armor thickness: 6-13 mm
• Armament: 1 × machine gun with caliber 7.62 mm of the SGMB type , 1250 rounds of ammunition
• Drive formula : 6 × 6

Dimensions and weights

• Length: 6970 mm
• Width: 2820 mm
• Height: 2130 mm
• Tire dimension: 16.00-20 "
• Drive-over step height: 600 mm
• Trench width that can be traversed: 1800 mm
• maximum negotiable slope: 30 °
• Weight: 10.0 t

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Зенитный ракетный комплекс "ОСА". In: Журнал “Техника и вооружение”, 07/2010. (Russian)
2. ↑ ^{a b c d} ЗИЛ-153. ОПЫТНЫЙ КОЛЕСНЫЙ БРОНЕТРАНСПОРТЕР. (Russian)
3. ↑ Website for the vehicle with specification of the engine type (Russian)
4. ↑ Website for the vehicle with some historical aspects and an original photograph (Russian)
5. ↑ Motor data for ZIL-375 (Russian)

Web links

Commons : ZIL-153  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• The history of the BTR-60 (Russian)