The Studebaker company, once well known in the Soviet Union for army trucks, owes its appearance to the Studebaker family, who arrived in New World in 1736 from Germany. At the end of the 18th century, the founder of a new generation, John Clement Studebaker, was born, who gave the world 10 children, including five sons.
This surname is Dutch, and it has been known in the States since 1736, when the first representatives of this glorious family arrived on American soil among the first settlers. The first carriage company was founded by representatives of the Studebaker family in 1798 in the city of Conistoga, Pennsylvania, and strong, solid, and most importantly, roomy vehicles, which played an important role in the development of the "Wild West": the famous resettlement vans, in which the whole family could travel arbitrarily long distances, are a kind of mobile home, the distant ancestors of the current camper buses.
And the workshop that was destined to become car factory, originated in the Indianapolis town of South Bend in 1852, and its capital at the time of its foundation was sixty-eight dollars. (A lot of money in those days, by the way.)
In 1868, older brothers Henry and Clement founded a carriage workshop in South Bend, and then the younger John Moller, Peter and Jacob joined them.
Studebaker factory 1874. 
In February 1902, they built the first electric car, two years later they began to manufacture gasoline cars on the chassis "Garford" (Garford), and in 1911 founded the automobile company "Studebaker» (Studebaker Corporation).
In 1902, the Studebakers release their first electric car and enter the world of auto manufacturing. By the way, the design of electrical equipment for the first Studebaker was developed by Thomas Edison himself.
Despite the undoubted genius of Edison, the idea of an electric car turned out to be premature - the problem of autonomous electric movement has not really been solved yet. The Studebakers had no experience in the production of gasoline engines. Then the brothers turned to the Garford automobile company for help, and already in 1903 their joint brainchild was born - an 8-horsepower Studebaker-Garford-A with a two-cylinder engine. In 1904, the newly-minted automakers released a branded 4-horsepower engine, and then a car with an engine internal combustion: a two-cylinder 16-horsepower car of the Gran Turismo class. However, this car did not bring much success to the brothers. Then all and sundry grabbed the motor carts and not everyone managed to stand out in this crowd.
In 1910, EMF and Studebaker formed a joint venture, Studebaker Corporation, to manufacture passenger cars, some of which were supplied to Garford. Studebaker Corporation produced EMF 30, Flanders 20, Studebaker-Garford 40.
Studebaker Garford 1908
In 1912 they were replaced by models own development with 4-cylinder (AA and SA series) and 6-cylinder engines (E series) now under the Studebaker brand. The Studebaker AA had a 35 hp engine. from. Its cost ranged from 850 to 1,200 dollars. It was the most cheap car in the US at the time. By the way, the AA series was the first American model for export to Europe. For two years (1912 and 1913) 10 thousand cars were produced.
The AA-35 model was equipped with the largest four-cylinder engine at that time with a capacity of 35 Horse power and was offered to customers with three types of bodies - sedan, phaeton and coupe. They laid the foundation for the lineup of the Studebaker brothers. Studebaker became the third largest automaker in America, overtaking Ford and Overland.
In 1914 they were replaced by a four-cylinder version of the SC with 25 horsepower. Unlike the basic AA model fuel tank it was moved to a safer place - under the driver's seat, and to increase export deliveries, the steering wheel was moved from the right side to the left. So in the time of the ona, right-hand drive cars were made in America too! Demand for the new left-hand drive model, which was also cheaper than the previous ones, increased even more (in its simplest version, the Studebaker SC series cost $1,050). It was a huge success for such a young car company.
The Studebaker SD model was produced until 1919. Every year it was improved: the working volume of the engine changed, its power, eventually brought to 44 horsepower. In addition, there was a phased simplification of the design - standardization in mass production affected. The romance of hand-made piece assembly has been forgotten.
Since 1920, the company began to produce only six-cylinder cars. Studebaker cars produced in the late 20s and early 30s had names like Big Six, Light Six, Standard Six (Big Six, Special Six, Light Six, Standard Six), but with the release of a new model line in 1927, traditional technical names were replaced by more presentable ones such as "President", "Commander" and "Dictator" (President, Commander, Dictator).
Studebaker Dictator.
Studebaker President.
In 1925, Studebaker produced 107 thousand cars - a record figure for the company. And in 1927, the company had the opportunity to produce a new series of inexpensive Erskine cars.
Studebaker Erskine 1928
In 1928, Studebaker buys the New York luxury car manufacturer Pierce-Arrow and becomes one of the leaders in the American auto industry. In the same 1928, Barney Roos, the new head of the design department, created an 8-cylinder engine. It was designed for executive car modification "President" (President). Cars with 6-cylinder engines were called "Dictator" (Dictator) (produced 1925-37) and "Commander" (produced 1927-52), and in 1929 they also began to be equipped with 8-cylinder engines.
Commander 1927.
Dictator 1929.
By the way, Studebaker cars participated in the prestigious 500-mile race in Indianapolis. Best result was reached in 1932 when third, sixth and thirteenth places were taken.
However, not orienting in the market situation during the Great Depression that swept the country, President Erskine continued to produce luxurious expensive models and by 1933 brought the company to the brink of bankruptcy. The main part of the production had to be sold for debts. And never again did Studebaker achieve the position it held in 1929. The new owners did the following: firstly, they stopped producing the “President”, and secondly, they introduced two new inexpensive models with 6-cylinder engines (they were used before on the popular and inexpensive car Rockne (Rockne)), and thirdly, returned the independence of the Pierce-Arrow company.
Rockne 
By 1935, the situation had stabilized, and Studebaker products, and not least thanks to their leadership - Paul Hoffman (Paul Hoffman) and Harold Vance (Harold Vance).
In 1934, Studebaker introduced several models with improved body designs, including Land cruiser- a car whose smooth and streamlined shape was borrowed from the famous Pierce-Arrow Silver Arrow show cars.
Now this name is strongly associated with the Japanese SUV, but once it was an American car! Subsequently, the Land Cruiser and Cruiser brand names were assigned to various Studebaker models produced from 1934 to 1966.
In an effort to make their products competitive, to give the machines grace and elegance, the company invited the famous stylist Raymond Levy (Raymond Loewy) as a consultant. And so, in 1938, an attractive Champion car appeared (produced 1939-52) with a 6-cylinder engine of 2687 cm3. Thanks to this small car, sales increased to 100,000 cars a year.
Studebaker also made an attempt to gain a foothold in the commercial truck market. In 1936 he introduced a new model line trucks with a cab located directly above the engine, and in 1937 - a round-shaped Coupe-Express pickup truck.
The production of trucks under the Studebaker brand continued until the end of 1963. Among them were various specialized vehicles, chassis for buses and fire trucks. It is thanks to the powerful and reliable American trucks that were supplied under Lend-Lease to the USSR during the Second World War that this brand is well known in our country. On the basis of the Studebaker truck chassis, the famous Katyusha and Andryusha guards mortars, various tractors, cranes, and engineering vehicles were created. Were going Soviet modifications"Studebaker" at the Moscow and Gorky ZIS automobile plants, as well as at a specialized enterprise in Minsk. In the USSR, "students" became a real symbol of a military vehicle.
In military service.
In 1907, the first 30-horsepower sports models H began to enter the American army, which served for the delivery of urgent dispatches. During the First World War, the Studebaker cars were mainly used in the armed forces. In 1917, Captain Arthur Crossman, on a 24-horsepower SF chassis, was building high-speed machine-gun carts that reached a speed of 96 km / h. To work in the warehouses of the US naval ports in 1908–14. used cargo electric vehicles"Studebaker" with a payload of 750 kg to 5 tons and a chain drive rear wheels capable of moving at speeds up to 13 km/h. This was the only case in history of the widespread use of electric vehicles in the armed forces. It is worth adding that in 1918 one of the world's first tanks was built at the Studebaker.
In the interwar period, the company was still content with the supply of its serial products to the army. These were mainly passenger cars, on the extended chassis of which, since 1928, by order of large hospitals, spacious sanitary bodies of the Metropolitan were installed. In 1939, 90-horsepower Commander cars were used for them. The cargo range, which consisted in the 30s. from the S, T and K series, when delivered to the army, it did not undergo any changes at all. The only special military machine in 1933, the T5 machine-gun armored car built on a light chassis began to accompany the cavalry. With the outbreak of World War II, the largest contract came from France, which ordered 2,000 commercial 2.5-ton K25 vehicles with an 86-horsepower Hercules JXK (Hercules) engine and a 5-speed gearbox, which differed from the serial ones only in a protective grille.
The expansion of the military conflict in Europe forced the leadership of Studebaker to take up the creation of all-wheel drive army vehicles.
In the prewar years, attempts to somehow standardize the multi-brand vehicle fleet of the American army did not bring noticeable success. And only at the height of the Second World War, in 1940, the main classes of machines were identified - 2.5-ton, three-axle, with all-wheel drive. Their production, due to various bureaucratic delays, was launched only a year later.
For the navy and the marine corps, vehicles of this type began to be built by International Harverster. And the largest order - equipping the ground forces - went to the General Motors Corporation (GMC for short). She was entrusted with the release of triosok. The production of machines began in January 1941. They were based on components and assemblies of GMC commercial trucks and were designated as the COE type (short for Cabine over engine - cab over engine). Soon, the demand for such cars far exceeded the company's production capabilities. I had to place orders for military trucks and other manufacturers. The choice fell on the well-known firm Studebaker.
In February 1940, the first army 1.5-ton truck K15F (4 × 4) appeared, unified with the civilian K25 series and equipped with Timken drive axles.
On its basis, by simply adding a third drive axle, a 2.5-ton version of the K25S (6 × 6) was created, for which an order for 4724 vehicles was received from the military department at the beginning of 1941.
Studebaker K25S, 6×6, 1940
At the same time, the company was offered to organize the assembly of a more advanced 2.5-ton CCKW (6 × 6) army vehicle developed by General Motors Corporation, but by that time Studebaker had already created its own 2 based on the K25S model. US6 (6×6) 5-ton truck with flat paramilitary grille, rectangular front fenders and wood-metal body with awning and 16-seat folding benches.
Having tested it, the US Army Quartermaster Corps decided to organize serial production of a simplified US6 range at Studebaker for lend-lease deliveries to countries with underdeveloped road network, meaning by them the USSR, China and Australia. The release of the US6 series began in January 1942, and by the end of the year, Studebaker was producing 4 thousand cars a month.
The first assembled Studebaker US6.
From a technical point of view, the Studebaker US6 was a standard and absolutely ordinary American car, almost unknown in the United States and Western European countries, and remaining in the second echelon of automotive equipment during the Second World War. It had a classic layout and a traditional design, its carrying capacity on the highway was 5 tons, on the ground - 2.5 tons (in the USSR it was estimated at 4 tons). The car was equipped with an in-line 6-cylinder Hercules JXD gasoline engine (5243 cm3, 87 hp), a Brown-Lipe dry single-plate clutch, a Warner 5-speed manual gearbox and a 2- step transfer, individual cardan drive axles "Timken" with a split crankcase, rear spring-balanced suspension, 2-seater all-metal cab (since 1943 - open with a soft top), 6-volt electrical equipment and tires size 7.50-20.
They were produced in South Bend until the end of 1944. It was these vehicles that made up the bulk of the 152 thousand Studebaker trucks that came under Lend-Lease to the USSR through Murmansk, Iran and Alaska. In the USA, they were also produced by the RIO company (REO), partially the machines were assembled by three temporary enterprises TAK (Truck Assembly Plant) in Iran, the Moscow ZIS plant and the future MAZ. Studebaker also manufactured the US6.U5 tanker with a capacity of 2850 liters, the chassis with the US6.U9 cab and a series of short-wheelbase dump trucks - US6.U10 with rear dumping (US6.U11 with a winch) and US6.U12/U13 with side dumping
In 1942–44, the company produced a 5-ton 6 × 6 series, which included flatbed trucks US6.U7 and US6.U8 with a winch and a short-wheelbase truck tractor US6.U6. US6 series cars weighed 3670-4850 kg, had an official gross weight 8.6 tons, ground clearance - 250 mm, cruising range - up to 400 km, developed a speed of 72 km / h and consumed an average of 38 liters of fuel per 100 km. They were widely used to install various bodies and weapons. In the USSR, since 1943, 6 × 6 and 6 × 6 chassis served for normalized 16-round multiple launch rocket systems BM-13N and BM-13SN, the famous Katyushas, as well as BM-8-48 and BM-31-12 installations . In the Soviet army, they were in service until the mid-50s. In total, Studebaker produced 197,678 US6 series machines.
The little-known military vehicles of this company include experienced low-profile vehicles built in 1941–43. and unified with the US6 family. The most original was the 1.5-ton version of the LC (4 × 4), which looked more like a trailer than a car. It was a self-propelled platform with a central control post moved forward and two longitudinal benches in the entire length of the open body, under which a 109-horsepower Hercules JXD engine was installed longitudinally on the right, and a fuel tank, radiator and tool box on the left. An improvised driver's cab was created by a body awning with celluloid glass.
Lightweight low-profile cars LA and LB (6 × 6) differed in the location of spare wheels and the driver's seat - next to the engine or in the far left corner of the body. This made it possible to increase the area of the cargo platform, reduce its own weight and overall height to 1.9 m.
The three-ton version of the LD was equipped with a lowered loading platform and single tires. Work on heavy turret armored vehicles never left the experimental stage. The most notable were the T21 (6×6) armored car with a 112-horsepower Hercules engine, known as the T43 self-propelled artillery mount, and the T27 (8×8) variant with a 110-horsepower Cadillac V8 engine, hydromechanical gearbox , independent torsion bar suspension, first, second and fourth drive axles. Their speed reached 98 km / h. The company also manufactured tracked carriers "Vizl» (Weasle)
as well as engines for B17 bombers.
Studebakers in the USSR.
Studebakers were delivered to the USSR in a huge, incredible amount - about 200 thousand pieces. If all of them were put bumper to bumper, the chain would stretch from Brest to Stalingrad. Such a purely everyday detail is also noteworthy: each “student” (that’s how trucks began to be called in the USSR), along with a beautiful set of wrenches, was attached as work clothes to a beautiful waterproof driver’s jacket made of sealskin, but this luxury was immediately confiscated by military leaders and quartermasters - the Soviet driver and the padded jacket will fit.
Studebaker US6 column towing Zis-3 guns. Kharkov direction, 1943
To the front.
Post-war history of the brand.
Despite the fact that the Studebaker company could sell its old models for several years, in April 1946 the new car, the drawings of which were made by Virgil Exner. It was a car sold as the Champion, Commander or Land Cruiser.
The car had six-cylinder engines. In the Champion model, it was a 2.8-liter power unit with a capacity of 80 hp. s, while the other two models had 3.7-liter engines with a capacity of 94 liters. from. The Champion model was the smallest of the three with a wheelbase of 2840 mm, the Commander wheelbase was 3020 mm, while the Land Cruiser had 3120 mm.
The Champions and Commanders series was supplemented by the famous 1950 model. The Studebaker Commander Starlight Coupe is known for its original front end. 
In 1953, Studebaker launched a new car known as the Champion or Commander, which was designed by Raymond Loewy, the famous creator of the Coca-Cola bottle. These were excellent models, unusually low for that time - only 1420 mm.
The sporty versions of these models were the Starlight and Starliner hard-top coupe bodies. In 1955, Studebaker reintroduced the pre-war name President in the top class version of the Champion and Commander models. A three-color version appeared, known as the President Speedster.
When did Detroit come into fashion? compact cars, Studebaker released the Lark car with a choice of six-cylinder and V8 engines. Such a “Zaporozhets” in American style. In 1954, Studebaker and Packard agreed to cooperate to counter the Big Three from Detroit, but, unfortunately, nothing came of it.
The failure came despite the fact that Lowy designed the Avanti car in record time in 1962. The model had an attractive fiberglass body and offered a large selection of V8 engines. There was even a version with two Pekstoi turbochargers, the engine of which developed more than 330 hp. from.
In a last attempt to save Studebaker from financial ruin, production was moved to Canada, to Hamilton, where all 1964 cars were assembled. But there were too few of them. In 1964, only 29,969 were sold.
Studebaker's reaction was to stop producing the GT Hawk, but sales continued to fall, with only 17,000 units sold in the end. Stocks of large engines were used up, and since they could not be produced in Canada, the engines were purchased from General Motors. These 3186 cc six-cylinder power units from the Chevrolet Chevy II and 4637 cc V8 engines found their way into the Studebaker Lark cars, which were renamed the Challenger, Commander, Dayton and Cruiser in 1964.
In 1966, the company's prospects were bleaker, so on March 17, the final decision was made to close the enterprise. The last car to leave the factory that day is in the Studebaker collection.
Until now, no one has had the desire to acquire a "famous brand".
Firm Studebaker formally exists, but somehow virtually. It produces more electric generators, small batches of small tractors, kitchen equipment.
There is also a Studebaker offspring - Avanti Motor Corp.
In Canada, this company produces privately commissioned remakes of their favorites. At least the same Avanti in the amount of 150 pieces per year. And before ... Yes, before successful models Studebaker's were sold at 250,000 a year.
Afterword.
A very strange situation with the Katyusha monuments. Basically, the ZiS-5 stands on the pedestals, on which they were not placed at all (in fact, the ZiS-6 were used in relatively small quantities) and the ZiS-150, which was generally produced after the war! Such an attitude towards the Studebakers is strange. Monuments dedicated to the Studebakers in the USSR (Russia) can be counted on the fingers.
Monument to Katyusha on Poklonnaya Gora in Moscow.
The Studebers were more fortunate in domestic cinema. The list of films about the war where the real Studebakers appear is large, and the most famous are:
“Zhenya, Zhenechka and Katyusha”, “The meeting place cannot be changed”,
PS. And finally, a couple of rare chassis for the M13 - Katyusha. And also Lend-Lease.
The Lend-Lease Fordson W.O.T.8 (30-cwt (1½-ton), 4 × 4) car works as a chassis - a number of such cars arrived in the USSR from Canada in late 1941 - early 1942. Presumably, due to their all-terrain qualities, they were mainly used for the Katyusha.
BM-13, which is "Katyusha" on the chassis of the Lend-Lease all-wheel drive truck Ford Marmon HH6-COE4. Apparently, most of the 500 trucks delivered to the USSR were used just to install BM-13 launchers on them, so they cannot be called piece, but they are also known ...
He roars a little strained engine, the forces of which, like the current subcompact. At times, when I turn on the third too early, the transmission howls indignantly. But all the same, for some reason, for a second there is no doubt about its reliability and reliability, full readiness to go again to any front - even to the Baltic Sea, even to the Pacific Ocean.
Trying to change gear quickly, I did not notice a ditch overgrown with grass. "Studer" jumped so that the passenger almost got the ceiling with the back of his head. But for this car, such a road is a training road. For nothing that "American"!
THREE-AXLE AMERICA
It's no secret that seven decades ago, foreign cars differed from domestic models just as noticeably as they do today. Exceptions were extremely rare. So the Studebaker-US6 is completely different than its peers - the Soviet lorry and three-ton. Those basically were also once "Americans", but by the beginning of the war their design was outdated by at least ten years. It is not difficult to understand what feelings a powerful four-wheel drive transatlantic truck evoked among the drivers of the Red Army who were not spoiled by such equipment!
We have similar machines appeared only after the war. The all-metal cabin of the "student" evokes associations with Soviet trucks of the post-war period for a reason. At one time, it was considered a model of space and functionality. It is surprisingly comfortable to sit: the steering wheel does not rest even on my belly, which is not at all taut, the outstretched legs easily find the pedals. By the way, they are surprisingly light - of course, adjusted for the class and age of the car. I was even more surprised by the steering wheel, the force on which, even when the car is standing, is comparable to what had to be applied to the steering wheel of other Soviet trucks on the go. And no amp!
Of course, by modern standards, the dynamics of the “soldier” is ridiculous. How about those from the 1940s? Remember Kopytin from the legendary film "The meeting place cannot be changed"? "" The "student" has a threefold motor! "" This, of course, is a strong exaggeration: the simple and unpretentious lower-valve "six" of the Hercules company developed only 87 forces against 73 "horses" of the ZIS-5 engine. The latter was not saved even by a volume larger by 300 cubes. But it was certainly very difficult to catch up with an American truck on a three-ton truck, and even more so on a bus created on its basis.
There are five gears in the “student” box, the last one being overdrive. A tribute to the American fashion to save, relaxed dust on the highway. Patency? Please! All three bridges are leading (they also delivered a simplified version of 6 × 4 to us), and the front one is connected through a transfer case with a reduction gear. The first gear is also, by the way, not weak - with a ratio of 6.06. Ground clearance- 250 mm. So that the car does not dig in with narrow front wheels, quick and thrifty drivers increased their width, making them, like the rear ones, gable. The design of the hubs quite allowed it.
The main drawback of the car, from the point of view of the Soviet driver, was a rather high compression ratio - 5.24 (the ZIS-5 engine had 4.6). Because of this, the American unit did not like absolutely hellish mixtures: it refused to pull, or even just start.
My almost 70-year-old veteran started with a half turn. By the way, the starter is activated by pressing the clutch pedal to the floor (I also met this strange decision in some other "Americans", including post-war ones). It is clear that when shifting gears, it is impossible to press the pedal to the end. But with some experience, getting used to this feature is easy.
IN WAR AS IN WAR
Oh, how timely "students" began to come to the USSR! The Germans had already been driven away from Moscow, but, as Konstantin Simonov wrote in The Living and the Dead, "there was still a whole war ahead." The troops were sorely lacking in equipment, especially transport, specially designed for military conditions. Studebaker has become a real lifesaver. A small example: it is no coincidence that this particular model immediately pops up in memory at the mention of the famous BM-13 guards mortars, colloquially - "Katyushas". There was no suitable domestic chassis, in addition to the three-axle ZIS-6, produced in scanty quantities and completely discontinued after the evacuation of the plant in the fall of 1941, there was no.
Lend-lease cars, including "Studebakers", massively went to the USSR in 1942. Huge batches of cars were delivered by sea convoys to Murmansk and Arkhangelsk, and also driven under their own power from specially organized assembly plants in Iran. By the way, if there were no military supplies, the name of not the largest and not the most famous overseas company, which is unusual for the Russian ear, would be associated by the vast majority with the indignant cry of Ostap Bender: “Is your dad Studebaker?”, Entered into Russian folklore thanks to the pen of I. Ilf and E. Petrov.
Drivers who have passed the roads of the war, for a long time told their sons and grandchildren stories about the reliability and endurance of allied vehicles. Soon, however, such stories became more stingy: from some point on, it became simply dangerous to praise the technique of a “probable enemy”.
"Studers" were designed for a load of 2500 kg, but 3500 or even 4000 kg were often carried along front-line roads. On the highway, a three-axle truck developed about 70 km / h, consuming an average of 38 liters of gasoline per 100 km. A tank with a volume of just over 150 liters was enough for about 400 km. For combat conditions, it was a very solid run. After all, in war there are completely different measures of time and distance than in civilian life.
THE SOLDIER HAS COME FROM THE FRONT
Neatly tinted, polished Studebakers took part in the Victory Parade in the summer of 1945. Well, their less elegant brothers went to the Far East - to the last front of World War II. Then lend-lease cars had to be handed over to suppliers in those ports where they came two or three years ago. Eyewitnesses said that tears welled up in the eyes of soldiers and mechanics: washed, well-groomed, still quite serviceable cars right there, in the port, were put under pressure and taken home already as scrap metal.
However, many cars still remained in the USSR. After all, who will control military losses? Brave "students" met on the roads of the country until the early 1960s. Well, then some of them got into good hands connoisseurs of history or, like this “student” with whom we seem to find a common language, in the cinema.
Nothing to worry about with this car. Roads, time - he does not care. After all, although he is an American, he lived such a long and difficult life in Russia that he became his own here. Not just an ally - a comrade!
ALLY
The first samples of "Studebaker-US6" appeared in 1941, large-scale production began in January 1942. The car was equipped with a 6-cylinder Hercules-JXD engine with a power of approximately 87 hp. (according to the American SAE standard - 93 hp), a five-speed gearbox and a two-stage transfer case. In addition to the most famous version with all-wheel drive and a metal platform, this model was produced in many other modifications. Among the best known are versions equipped with a winch, truck tractors, chassis for the installation of weapons and special bodies, a simplified version with a 6 × 4 wheel arrangement. Most of the machines had an all-metal cab, later versions had a canvas top and aprons instead of doors. According to various estimates, 200-220 thousand copies were produced before 1944. More than 80% of the trucks were delivered under Lend-Lease to the USSR.
Studebaker US6 - Comrade StuderMay the reader forgive us for the fact that in this material there will be no color “funny pictures” from our days. Used only evidence of the era of military hard times, - technical documentation publishing house of the People's Commissariat of Defense of the USSR, and American documentation on the "screwdriver assembly" of army trucks from car kits. But it seems that for lovers of history, such evidence is a hundred times more valuable and interesting than colorful popular prints.
Studebaker trucks were supplied to the USSR during the Great Patriotic War as technical assistance to the fighting Red (since January 1943 - Soviet) Army. In the 1950s and 1980s, this assistance from our overseas allies in the anti-Hitler coalition, if not hushed up at all, was significantly reduced. True, and there was a reason: no Lend-Lease supplies could replace the promised second front in Europe, with the opening of which the Allies were in no hurry for almost two years. But today, the arguments of our other compatriots about that time are not uncommon, beginning with the words: "If it were not for foreign technology ...". But history, as you know, has no subjunctive mood.
In 1941 - 1945, Studebakers were produced mainly for deliveries to our country, where the majority (about 100 thousand) of these machines ended up. For greater clarity of this number, we point out that by the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, in the entire Red Army there were more than 102 thousand ZIS-5 trucks alone. And one more figure: 375.8 thousand - this is how many trucks the Soviet Union received from abroad during the war years. And "Students" made up more than a quarter of this income.
But no matter how good these machines were, they could not make a significant contribution to the motorization of our army. As of May 1945, in the fleet of the Soviet armed forces, all vehicles received under lend-lease accounted for only a third of the total, and the Studebakers, taking into account inevitable combat losses, at any time (and, of course, not from the very beginning of the war) could hardly be more than a quarter of that third, i.e. no more than 7-8%. Another thing is that at the final stage of the war, they began to appear more often in photographic and newsreel frames. But this is not difficult to explain - such machines were needed, first of all, in the advanced units of the advancing troops.
Photo 1. Studebaker US6. Flat fenders - convenience for repairs and maintenance of the motor.
Photo 2. The body is well covered from rain and wind.
The vehicles were delivered in two ways - fully assembled, on their own through Iran and the Caucasus, as well as in the form of vehicle kits, through the ports of Murmansk and Arkhangelsk (Photo 3).
Photo 3. Kits of the designer "DIY" in American style.
These machines were delivered to us in four main versions: onboard all-wheel drive, with a 6x6 wheel formula, (model YUS6, photos 1 and 2), chassis for multiple rocket launchers, (photo 4) onboard without a front drive axle with a 6x4 formula, (model YUS6x4 ), and non-wheel drive truck tractors (photo 6) complete with semi-trailers
Photo 4. Chassis for "Katyusha".
In addition, all-wheel drive vehicles were supplied both with and without self-pulling winches. The photograph from the technical documentation of the Lend-Lease period shows a machine without a winch, as well as a chassis equipped with a winch (photo 5). And the photo reshoots are not of very high quality (Fig. 6) showing the design features of machines with a 6x4 chassis. But it seems that these documentary evidence is still better than unsubstantiated information taken from nowhere.
All-wheel drive flatbed vehicles had a permitted carrying capacity of 2.5 tons on all types of roads, 6x4 flatbed trucks on the highway could carry up to 5 tons, and truck tractors, also on the highway, could work with a single-axle semi-trailer with a total weight of 6.4 tons.
Engines "Studers"
Due to the design of their power units, Studebakers in the United States were considered second-class cars. The finicky Yankees were no longer satisfied with the low-power lower-valve engines of an outdated design. But for us, such vehicles were also good - and there were not enough ordinary trucks, and there were no all-wheel drive three-axle vehicles at all. In addition, the low-octane gasoline acceptable for Studers assumed the trouble-free refueling of these vehicles in Soviet military units along with domestic vehicles.
Studebakers were equipped with 6-cylinder in-line carburetor engines "Hercules", series JXD. With a working volume of 5.24 liters, and a compression ratio of 5.82, these power units developed a power of 95 hp. at 2600 rpm.
They were equipped with single-chamber carburetors Carter-429C, and typical for that time, inertial-oil air filters. The motors had oil filters coarse and fine cleaning. The water pumps were gear-driven from the camshaft, and a broken fan drive belt did not stop water circulation in the cooling system.
Cars with such power units developed speeds of up to 70 km / h, and on the highway they spent up to 30 liters of gasoline of the Soviet A-56 brand per 100 km of track. At the same time, the cruising range for fuel (one tank with a capacity of 150 liters), taking into account sections of the road with bad roads, was considered equal to 390 km.
In photo 7 of the engine, a perhaps unprecedented case for that time is recorded - the name of the car is cast on the intake manifold, although the engine, as we know, had its own name.
Transmission "Studers"
The single-disk dry "flat" clutch (Fig. 8) of all car models, with a central pressure spring, had a lever mechanical drive.
Figure 8. Single plate clutch with "flat" basket and central pressure spring.
All varieties of Studebakers were equipped with the same 5-speed gearboxes, with a fifth overdrive.
gear ratios:
1. - 6.06; 2. - 3.5; 3. - 1.8; 4.- 1.0; 5. - 0.79; Z.Kh. — 6.0.
Readers may know that in the gearboxes of domestic cars, when you turn on reversing, due to an additional gear that provides reverse rotation of the secondary shaft, the reverse gear is always more powerful than the first speed. But in this case, there is no typo in our text. But the transfer boxes differed in the gears of the demultiplier, (downshift).
For all-wheel drive vehicles, the gear ratios were:
1. - 2.602; 2. - 1.55. For machines without a front drive axle, 1. - 1, 82; 2. - 1.55.
The transmission layout included five cardan shafts, and an independent arrangement of the gearbox and transfer case.
The drive axles of the Studebakers had single "straight", (the axis of the drive gear and the axle shafts of the wheels lay in the same plane) main gears with a ratio of 6.6 units. The rear axle shafts are of a fully unloaded type. Individual wheel hubs were mounted on two tapered roller bearings each. The drive to the front wheels was carried out by ball joints of equal angular velocities.
Studebaker undercarriage
The rear suspension of both drive axles is spring, balancing, with four lower and two upper reactive levers.
The front suspension is on longitudinal springs with double-acting lever shock absorbers.
The Studebakers had 7.50 x 20 inch tires. They were equipped with tires with either a directional herringbone pattern (photo 1, 2,5), or a “reverse” with transverse lugs (photo 4). But rather narrow single front wheels sometimes “cut through” the surface of soft soils, which significantly reduced the permeability. Soviet front-line drivers found another, temporary use for spare wheels, installing them as dual ramps on the front axles of cars, fortunately, the fasteners of the wheels - studs, futors, nuts, made it possible to do this without problems. The front axle of the car, receiving a large area of \u200b\u200bsupport, fell less into the off-road liquid mud, and the “rowing” was, of course, better.
In combat conditions there was technical possibility install on the "Studer" wheels from damaged cars of other brands, for example, from ZIS-5. This may have been used by economic Slavs, who put dual wheels on the front. So the cars were equipped with a single spare tire, which was not a lot for ten options for punctures. There are modern color foreign photos of the front dual wheels on these machines on the Web. But they are not very relevant here as evidence.
Control mechanisms
The steering of the Studebakers had a mechanism of the "cylinder worm - crank with two fingers" type. Only two cylindrical protrusions on the V - shaped crank worked on the surfaces of the worm ridges, which reduced the area of contact surfaces of the gearbox, and reduced the friction forces in the mechanism (Fig. 9).
In the absence of power steering, such a solution could be a significant help to the driver. As for " reverse side medals" - reducing the resource of the node to complete wear. then, according to American standards, the service life of the car in front-line conditions was only 90 days.
Well, the design of the steering trapezoid was nothing special. One longitudinal rod from the bipod of the steering mechanism to the left knuckle, and one transverse link connecting both wheels.
The brake systems of cars had drum mechanisms with a hydraulic drive, and it seems that what has just been said does not require any comments or explanations. However, it is interesting to note the peculiarity of the layout of the hydraulic brakes to the rear wheels.
It is well known that on rear axles that do not have swivel wheels, a common brake line tee is installed, connected by a hose to a pipeline on the machine frame. And already from this tee pipelines diverge to the executive wheel mechanisms. Brake pipelines were not installed on Studebaker bridges. The brake mechanism of each wheel of the rear bogie had its own separate "vertical" hose, which was connected to the wiring of the brake lines on the vehicle frame.
It is necessary to dwell in more detail on the vacuum brake boosters. In the modern concept, these devices are associated with the definition of "tandem", when the amplifier is assembled in one block with the main brake cylinder, and is installed under the hood. At the Studebakers, these structural elements were spaced along the mount in different places. The main cylinder is under the cabin floor, and the vacuum booster cylinder is even further away, under the body (Fig. 10).
The amplifier, with the help of a rod and a rocker arm, acted on the rod of the main cylinder, parallel to the drive from the brake pedal. With the help of the large arm of the rocker arm, it transmitted the force to the rod up to 650-700 kgf, which was 2-3 times higher than the force in the drive from the pedal. The amplifier of a single car did not have any volume for a vacuum reserve in case the engine stopped. But thanks to the valve system, there was a vacuum reserve in the pipeline for one more braking.
The brake system of the Studebaker semi-trailer had only a vacuum brake drive. If any of the readers are confused by this circumstance - what a vacuum can do - then let us recall the obvious. Effort provides not a vacuum, as such, but the difference between atmospheric pressure and vacuum.
Recall also a fact from the domestic automotive history. The PAZ-652 and PAZ-572 buses had a vacuum drive for the interior doors. And such doors have been opened and closed for more than 30 years, and even - with the engines not running, due to the vacuum reserve in the vacuum - receivers.
The nuances of the device and the operation of vacuum drives on a road train with a Studebaker tractor, let them be an optional activity for those who wish.
The parking hand brake of all American cars supplied to us under Lend-Lease was of the same type - an open drum band. Special, tarpaulin - asbestos tapes with a noose covered the outside of the brake drums mounted on the driven shafts transfer boxes, (Fig. 12). Of course, with the front axles turned on, the "handbrakes" acted on all the wheels of the cars.
Electrical equipment "Studebaker"
The voltage in the electrical system of many American cars of that era was 6 volts. Only Lend-Lease machines, with the same aggregate base (!), Had 12-volt varieties of electrical circuits. And outwardly identical Studebaker machines could have different polarity of electrical equipment. So general-purpose transport vehicles, according to the standard of that time, had a “plus” to “ground” polarity. However, “minus” to “mass” had car radio stations, and cars with shielded electrical equipment, so as not to interfere with radio reception.
“The Studebakers were equipped with a “three-jar” battery firm "Vilard" with a capacity of 153 a./h. This relatively large battery is clearly visible in the photo, (Fig. 5) The generator sets of machines manufactured by Auto-Light, models GEW-4805 with a capacity of 150 watts, had a recoil current of up to 25 A. The Hercules engines were equipped with inertial starters, model MAV-407, 1.5 hp, the same company "Auto-Light". It seems that a small additional digression into history is needed so that the reader understands more clearly what kind of starters we are talking about.
In modern starting electric motors, the inclusion of their drive gears in engagement with the ring gear of the flywheels of power units is carried out by electromagnetic traction relays. In the 50s of the last century, trucks often used starters with mechanical engagement of gears using a foot pedal, but in any case - with a lever-operated gear engagement. And even earlier, it was inertial starters that reigned, where the gears of the starting electric motor were engaged and “thrown back” precisely by the forces of inertia, as evidenced by their name.
When the electric motor was turned on, its gear “flyed” into engagement with the flywheel ring almost without rotating. It was fed to the connection by sliding along the lead screw - the starter shaft, but did not have time to unwind, due to the inertia of rest, amplified by special counterweights. Resting against the limiter at the end of the starter shaft thread, the gear began to rotate with it as a whole, spinning crankshaft motor. And when the flywheel of the started engine began to “overtake” the shaft of the starting electric motor in its speed, the starter drive gear, due to the newly acquired and large inertia forces from the flywheel, was thrown back to its original position along the lead screw.
Starting with American cars, and in particular with Studebakers, Soviet front-line drivers got acquainted with the dimensional lighting “in a circle” that is familiar today, and with separate front parking lights in sidelights. For comparison: there were no sidelights on domestic trucks, the so-called "small light" was provided by separate lamps in the headlights. And there were no rear right marker lights and brake lights at all.
But the American army vehicles also had interesting details - blackout devices of "dimensions" with windows for determining the distance. So, if the driver behind the moving car clearly saw two pairs of red windows in each lamp front car, this meant the distance to the car in front of no more than 20-30 meters. If the four red dots of each lamp merged into two, they were visible at a distance of up to 50-70 meters. At a greater distance, it was not necessary to see the front car, and even more so for the enemy.
Cab, body, frame Studebaker US6
For all the austerity of its decoration, the closed all-metal cabin of the Studebaker was equipped with a heater. The casing of this heat exchanger is clearly visible under the dashboard. And in winter, Soviet soldiers and sergeants driving these vehicles could feel more or less at ease. But the officers of the Wehrmacht, in their service "Opel - Captains" could only warm themselves with schnapps. These cars, which were very common in the German troops, did not yet have regular heaters.
Photo 16. Studebaker cabin interior.
The photo also clearly shows the internal mirror so that the driver can adjust the cap or helmet on his head. And what else could be seen through this mirror with a body with an awning? And even without an awning, the tailgate provided two to three dozen meters of the "dead zone". But, as memories of peacetime, it was still, probably, pleasant ...
The photo also clearly shows the "five-window" instrument cluster. A speedometer with a daily (!) mileage counter, an ammeter, an electric fuel gauge, a technical manometer for direct measurement of pressure in the lubrication system, and a technical remote water temperature thermometer. Not connected to electrical equipment. On our ZISs, only oil pressure was controlled, and Gorky's trucks did not have temperature or pressure control devices in the lubrication system ...
"Studers" had vacuum wiper mechanisms, the speed of which depended on the engine speed. But there was also the possibility of a duplicated manual drive.
The photo clearly shows the elements of the rocker mechanism for lifting windshields. This, in general, an option that is not needed in peacetime (except perhaps to “grab” it in the heat with a breeze), could turn out to be very useful at the front. By raising the windows it was possible to better peer into the vague outlines of night roads, not including headlights and sidelights.
And a typical army cargo-passenger platform of American wartime vehicles later became a model for Soviet army trucks.
Car frames had front and rear buffers (bumpers had not yet been invented), located at the same height. Thanks to this, it was possible to push a stuck car of the same type, or start a stalled one from the “pusher”. But Soviet soldiers came up with another use for this. In heavy road conditions they placed 2-3 Studers close to each other, tying them with chains or cables. And on such a “push-pull” it was sometimes easier to overcome straight sections of muddy roads ...
In such materials, it is customary to talk about modifications of the models under consideration. In part, this - the mention of American options - has already been. In the USSR, such other modifications, of course, were not created. And yet…
Everyone knows that Katyusha rocket launchers were mounted on the Studebaker chassis. However, in most cases, the knowledge of our contemporaries is limited to only BM-13 launchers.In reality, the "Studers" had four types of such weapons. It all started with the well-known, 16 BM-13 charging installation, under 132-mm M-13 rocket shells. These "rails" were inherited by the American car from Soviet installations on the ZIS-6 (6x4) chassis, created before the war.
During the years of war hard times were created in the same way 12 chargers BM-31-12 for heavy 310-mm missiles M-31.
Appeared 10-charging version of the BM-13 CH, also for M-13 missiles. This installation had special spiral guides, (hence the letter designation of the index - prefixes), of a truss structure. During a salvo, the “farms” imparted rotational motion to the shells, which made their flight more stable and increased the firing range.
But all three mentioned installations were intended for "stationary processing" of the front edge of the enemy in terms of areas. The fourth type of rocket artillery on a car chassis was the BM-8-48, with 48 chargers for 82 mm M-8 shells.
This combat vehicle was an installation for escorting the advanced units of the advancing troops. Together with tanks and self-propelled guns, it was intended to suppress specific stationary fortifications of the enemy, and to fight his tank and mechanized columns.
Conclusion
According to the law on lend-lease, all foreign equipment that survived after the war had to be transferred back to the supplier countries. However, according to some reports, soon after the Victory, I.V. Stalin forbade the further sending of cars overseas, speaking in the sense that the Soviet Union had already paid for all these deliveries. He paid with extra millions of lives for the fact that the Allies were in no hurry to open a second front in Europe. We cannot say whether such a ban and statement by the Supreme Commander-in-Chief actually took place, but the fact remains. Foreign military equipment remained in service with our army until the early 50s, and conventional transport vehicles then transferred to the national economy.
Andrey Kuznetsov, mechanic of the museum of retro-technics of the State Unitary Enterprise "Mosgortrans"
Despite the fact that the company has not existed for a long time, in the post-Soviet space the name Studebaker is known, if not to everyone, then to many. Of course, this is due to the era of the Second World War. In the USSR, the famous Studebaker US6 became an integral attribute of 1941-1945 in the people's memory. This three-axle truck was the most massive vehicle delivered Soviet Union under lend-lease.
Studebaker US6
But this story began much earlier, when in 1852 the Studebaker brothers opened their carriage workshop in the United States. Pretty fast them regular customers became military. The company carried out orders for the army of the "North" during the American Civil War, the British government after the outbreak of the Boer War in 1899. In 1904, the company began producing cars with an internal combustion engine, Studebaker-Garford A.
Studebaker-Garford 1905
Gradually, a small workshop turns into a large company. Studebakers refuse the help of other firms in the manufacture of engines and begin to produce cars exclusively under their own brand. One of the first is Studebaker AA. Thanks to its low price, this car entered not only its native American market, but also began to be delivered to Europe, and Studebaker Corporation became an important player in the US automotive industry. After the outbreak of the First World War, Studebaker worked for the Entente countries. In particular, in 1915, 475 cars were built by order of the Russian Imperial Army. Although, according to historical chronicles, those cars did not perform very well on the roads of Russia, so there were no large-scale purchases. But the UK bought Studebaker cars more actively. As of 1918, the British army had almost one and a half thousand cars and trucks of this company.
In the mid-20s, the company is experiencing its heyday, a record number of cars have been sold. Studebaker acquires New York-based Pierce-Arrow, a luxury car maker.
Model of the 30s called "The Dictator"
Plans destroys the "Great Depression" of the 30s. The production of luxury cars almost brought the company to the brink of bankruptcy. However, a wisely chosen policy allowed them to stay afloat, and a little later to develop their own brand style.
In the United States in 1939, the military announced a tender for the supply of trucks for the army. And although Studebaker participated in the competition, it was not among the winners. "Golden hour" came in 1941 after the adoption state program about lend-lease. The winning firms could not keep up with the new volume of orders, so the US government had to include Studebaker as well.
The new army truck was named United States 6 or US6 for short. Mass production launched in June 1941. During World War II, Studebaker delivered over 200,000 vehicles to the Soviet Union. On the basis of the truck chassis produced by the company, the famous Katyushas were created, as well as a variety of cranes, tractors and engineering vehicles. It is noteworthy that each truck delivered to the USSR, along with a set of keys, was accompanied by a driver's sealskin jacket, but this luxury was immediately confiscated by Soviet commanders. It did not reach ordinary soldiers and drivers.
SZO BM-31−12 on the Studebaker chassis
In the post-war years, Studebaker acquired another manufacturer of luxury cars - Packard. However, the program for the production of cars of different classes did not work. Studebaker finds itself in a crisis again. Despite all attempts, and the change of leadership, it is not possible to correct the situation. In 1963, a decision was made to close production, at the same time last car off the assembly line in the USA.
: for example, American off-road trucks. The most famous of them were Studebaker cars, thanks to which the Red Army was able to use the new tactics of mechanized artillery in offensive operations of the Soviet troops in 1944-1945. The Studebakers played an important role in the Iasi-Chisinau operation.
Trucks of strategic importance
“In a modern war, you can’t have an army without trucks”, - said Joseph Stalin during a meeting with the personal representative of the US President Wendell Willkie on September 23, 1942, emphasizing the role of trucks on the Soviet-German front. Speaking about the reasons for the defeats in 1942, Stalin noted the following:
“Our recent failures in the south are due to our lack of fighter aircraft, which is of decisive importance. The second reason that we were defeated is the lack of trucks we have. All our factories that used to produce trucks have switched to the production of tanks.”
It is worth noting that before the start of the war, the USSR had at its disposal more than half a million trucks. “Report of the Supply Department of the GAVTU KA on the work during the Great Patriotic War” dated September 28, 1945 read:
« By the beginning of the war, the fleet of the Red Army consisted of 272.6 thousand vehicles, of which 257.8 thousand were trucks and special (...)
According to the State Traffic Inspectorate of the NKVD, as of January 1, 1941, the fleet of the national economy consisted of 807 thousand vehicles, of which:
cargo and special - 704 thousand units,
passenger cars - 103 thousand units.
The number of serviceable cars was only 55% or 444 thousand units.
It would seem, judging by these figures, the situation with trucks was more or less satisfactory. . But most of the fleet of trucks and special vehicles of the Red Army were 1.5-ton GAZs, and there were no off-road vehicles and tractors at all. In total, on June 22, 1941, the army had 203.9 thousand trucks at its disposal, of which more than half (113.2 thousand units) were "one and a half".
In the event of war, the army was to be replenished by mobilizing vehicles from the national economy: on August 23, 1941, 206,169 units were seized. In the next two years, additional mobilization of vehicles was carried out. In total, during the war, the Red Army received 268,649 vehicles from the national economy. However, the supply of this transport in wartime was associated with difficulties. The cars were handed over to collection points slowly, often they were out of order and understaffed. Therefore, the Main Automobile Directorate of the Red Army made the following conclusion:
“In view of the fact that all serviceable vehicles were mobilized in 1941, and there were not enough spare parts for repairs either in the national economy or in the Red Army, the additional mobilization did not give the necessary results either in quantity or in quality of the vehicles received.”
It is curious that, despite the losses, during the first six months of the war, the number of trucks in the Red Army fleet increased by almost 34 thousand vehicles: on January 1, 1942 there were 237.8 thousand units. The increase was mainly due to the “one and a half” withdrawn from the national economy. But the supply of new vehicles to the army was insufficient. For example, from June 22 to December 31, 1941, the Red Army received 37 thousand vehicles. different types, but their total losses during the same time amounted to 159 thousand vehicles. Since, after the start of the war, the domestic industry could not satisfy the need for manufactured vehicles, the Soviet leadership turned to the allies with a request to start deliveries of vehicles - especially trucks.
Lend-Lease trucks
Already in the first days of the war, the USSR tried to establish contacts with the United States as a supplier of weapons and equipment needed at the front and in the rear. On June 29, 1941, the Soviet ambassador in Washington was instructed by the head of the People's Commissariat of Foreign Affairs, Vyacheslav Molotov, to raise the issue of providing assistance to the Soviet Union with supplies before the US President or Secretary of State. But initially it was not about cars. The USSR wanted to receive aircraft, anti-aircraft guns, equipment for the production of aircraft and tires, as well as installations for the production of high-octane fuel on credit for five years.
The issue of trucks was raised at the Moscow Conference during a discussion with representatives of the United States and Great Britain of the needs of the USSR for military assistance from these countries. As a result, the first protocol on Lend-Lease deliveries, signed on October 2, 1941 in Moscow, included an application for trucks(3 tons, 2 tons and 1.5 tons) 10 thousand pieces per month. Later it became an integral part of other Lend-Lease protocols.
Trucks "Studebaker" from American deliveries in the transport reserve of the Red Army command in the Mozhaisk region. August 17, 1944. Photographer: Boris Antonov.
waralbum.ru
The importance of deliveries of trucks from the United States was emphasized twice by Stalin in 1942 at meetings with the Americans. At the already mentioned meeting with Willkie, according to the minutes of the conversation, he stated that:
“... would be ready to limit US supplies to fighters, trucks, aluminum and explosives, which America has in sufficient quantities. Everything else could be thrown out."
On October 6, 1942, during a conversation with American Ambassador William Standley, the chairman of the Council of People's Commissars specified the needs of the USSR:
“He, Stalin, told Willkie that we would renounce our bids for tanks, artillery, shells, pistols, and that we could confine ourselves to supplying us with fighter planes. We are mostly short of fighters. If America could supply us with 500 fighters every month, but good fighters that could withstand battles with German fighters, like the Airacobra, then we would be ready to abandon other types of weapons (...) Then Stalin told Wilkie that we really needed trucks and, if possible, we would like to receive 10,000 trucks a month from the USA. We would be ready to receive even just the chassis. The third article is the supply of aluminum to us in the amount of 5,000 tons per month. The fourth article is the supply of 4-5 thousand tons of explosives to us. The fifth article is the supply of about 2 million tons of wheat to us. Stalin is ready to write to the president about this.”
Roosevelt responded to the request of the Soviet leadership. According to the directory of the Ministry of Foreign Trade of the USSR, from June 22, 1941 to December 31, 1945, the Soviet Union received 360,980 trucks from America, the deliveries of which were distributed over the years as follows:
|
937 units |
29,837 units |
91,620 units |
128,361 units |
110,225 units |
According to the same source, 371,431 trucks were sent under Lend-Lease, of which 354,608 units were imported into the USSR, 6,153 units were transferred to Soviet organizations in Iran, and 10,670 units were lost en route. The first batch of cars arrived from England along with Arctic convoys in December 1941, and from January 1942 cars from the USA began to arrive in the same way. But the main flow of Lend-Lease vehicles went through Iran. Through it, during the war years, 181,000 vehicles came to the USSR. The advantage of this route was that trucks moving under their own power from Iranian ports along the way delivered up to 30 thousand tons of cargo to the Soviet Union every month.
According to the report of the GAVTU KA, in total, during the Great Patriotic War, 444.7 thousand new vehicles were received to equip the units of the Red Army. Their entry into the army, which decreased in 1942, began to increase continuously from 1943, mainly due to imports, and reached the level of 162 thousand vehicles in 1944 - or an average of 13.5 thousand units per month. Soviet industry gave the army 36.6% of the total arrival of cars, or 162.6 thousand vehicles, of which 156.2 thousand units were trucks and tractors. The share of imports amounted to 63.4%, or 282.1 thousand vehicles, of which 246.2 thousand vehicles were trucks and tractors. True, other data are mentioned in the same source:
“The total supply of vehicles for the Red Army during the war years amounted to 463,000 units, of which 150,400 were domestic (32.5%) and 312,600 imported (67.5%).”
A convoy of American Lend-Lease trucks to the USSR stands on a road in Eastern Iraq.
nl.wikipedia.org
One of the weighty compliments to Lend-Lease vehicles can be considered Molotov's telegram to the Soviet ambassador in Washington dated March 6, 1943:
“American weapons and vehicles coming from the United States are used by the Red Army in both defensive and offensive operations. It is also known that the vast majority of weapons and supplies of the Red Army is domestic. (…)
Great assistance to the Red Army in increasing its maneuverability is provided by American trucks, which were used not only for the transfer of troops, but also as a means of traction for artillery pieces. The Jeeps vehicles showed themselves well as a means of traction for small-caliber guns and a means of communication for command due to their good cross-country ability.
"Studebaker"
Due to the fact that the number of different types and brands of American and British cars and their suitability for operation in the USSR were not studied, cars that were offered by foreign companies were first ordered. This resulted in up to 28 different makes and models of cars coming in from abroad.
In the future, as their operational and design qualities were revealed, the number of ordered car brands decreased.
Among the trucks, the main choice of the Soviet side fell on the 2.5-ton Studebaker (Studebaker US6), manufactured by the Studebaker Corporation. Ironically, this machine, which worked so well on the fronts of the Great Patriotic War, was the brainchild of an American company founded in the 19th century by the descendants of German emigrants.
The movement of Soviet troops on the highway near Berlin. In the foreground is an American-made Studebaker US6 truck, on the left is a ZIS-5, followed by a GAZ-AA. Germany, April 20, 1945. Author of the photo: Georgy Petrusov. avtotema.mediasalt.ru
Deliveries of this truck began in 1942. GAVTU KA indicates that during the year the USSR received 3.8 thousand Studebakers. In 1943, 34.8 thousand of these machines were delivered to the Soviet Union, and in 1944 - already 56.7 thousand units. According to the directory of the Ministry of Foreign Trade of the USSR, a total of 179,459 cars of this brand were shipped to the Soviet side under lend-lease: 171,635 of them were imported into the USSR, 4,334 were transferred to Soviet organizations in Iran and 3,490 were lost en route. In addition, 1,136 Studebakers were shipped for cash: 982 were brought and 154 were lost on the way.
This car served in the Red Army as a truck, a base for jet mortars and a tractor. In its post-war analysis, GAVTU KA referred to Studebaker as best car of all received brands of tractors for towing 75-mm and 122-mm artillery systems. We will not dwell on the technical characteristics, as well as the description of this machine: a lot of review papers are devoted to it. Let us turn our attention to such an aspect of the history of the "Studer" as its role in the offensive operations of the Soviet troops on the example of the Iasi-Chisinau operation.
Blow in the south
The Iasi-Chisinau operation was carried out by the troops of the 2nd and 3rd Ukrainian fronts in cooperation with the forces of the Black Sea Fleet and lasted only ten days - from August 20 to 29, 1944. Its goal was the defeat of the German army group "Southern Ukraine", covering the Balkan direction, the completion of the liberation of Moldova and the withdrawal of Romania from the war. An important role in this was played by the 6th Tank Army of Lieutenant General Andrei Kravchenko. Its tanks fought for about 600 km - from the starting position to Bucharest, inflicting heavy damage on the enemy in equipment and manpower, while defeating a number of units and formations of the German-Romanian troops. For its successes, by order of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief on September 12, 1944, it was transformed into the 6th Guards Tank Army.
On August 20, the 6th Panzer Army participated in breaking through the heavily fortified and deeply echeloned enemy defenses northwest of the city of Yassy. In the process of introducing Lieutenant General Vasily Alekseev into the breakthrough of the 5th Guards Tank Corps, the defeat of the depth of the German tactical defense was completed. Rapidly developing success and not giving the enemy the opportunity to gain a foothold on intermediate defensive lines, Kravchenko's troops overcame several mountain-wooded ridges, water obstacles and a heavily fortified area with long-term structures near Voinesti, Tivanu and north of Focsani.
Operating in difficult conditions for tank and mechanized troops, the 6th Panzer Army captured large enemy strongholds and important communications centers for 11 days: Vaslui, Vyrlad, Tekuchi, Focsani, Rymnik, Ploiesti. Having united with the troops of the 3rd Ukrainian Front at Helchiu, she closed the encirclement ring of the Iasi-Kishinev German-Romanian group, defeated the Germans on the outskirts of the capital of Romania and entered Bucharest.
The army headquarters assessed her contribution to the operation as follows:
"one. To a decisive extent, it ensured the complete encirclement and elimination of the Bessarabian enemy grouping.
2. Captured the most important oil region - PLOYESTI.
3. Forced Romania to withdraw from the fascist coalition and declare war on Germany.”
Vehicles of war
"Studers" rescue tanks
In his conclusions about the participation of the 6th Panzer Army in the Iasi-Kishinev operation, its commander noted that the rear of the army had the following vehicles:
“... army units had 244 foreign cars, military vehicles - 85 cars, ZIS - 53, GAZ - 11, foreign cars - 21. Tankers - 86, of which ZIS - 74, GAZ - 12."
The tank army, both at the beginning of the operation and during its implementation, was fully provided with ammunition, food, fuels and lubricants. But the army rear did not have enough vehicles for rapid redeployment. To fix this, the warehouse of the 6th Panzer Army threw out a "fly" for the rear services of the advancing units to receive everything they needed from it. The transfer of property between the front-line and army “flyers” was entrusted to the Studebakers.
T-34-85 tanks and US6 Studebaker trucks with 76 mm ZIS-Z guns in tow before the attack. 1944
They also showed themselves well in supplying the advancing tank units. Kravchenko believed that the rear of the corps was lagging behind the rapidly moving formations, which is why they could not provide for their troops. But the commanders of tank brigades spoke positively about the work of their rear in their reports. Assuming command of the 22nd Guards Tank Brigade after the death of its commander, Guards Lieutenant Colonel Dmitry Nagirnyak, Guards Colonel Fyodor Zhilin noted the following:
"The work of the rear of the brigade: despite the 40% provision with transport and a deep raid, parts of the brigade had no cases of a break in the supply of ammunition and fuel and lubricants."
The commander of the 20th Guards Tank Brigade of the Guard, Colonel Stepan Shutov, wrote in a report:
“It should be noted the impeccable work of our rear. In view of the fact that the pace of advance of our tanks was unprecedentedly rapid (50-60 kilometers per day), there was a threat of stretching our communications. However, the rear of the brigade and battalions managed to ensure the timely delivery of fuel and ammunition. As a rule, the rear moved immediately behind the battle formations, were always aware of the combat situation and knew the requests and needs of the units.
A group of servicemen at the unfurled banner of the 5th Guards Stalingrad Tank Corps. Under the banner stands Major General of Tank Troops Andrey Grigoryevich Kravchenko, who commanded the corps from September 18, 1942 to January 24, 1944, the future commander of the 6th Tank Army.
waralbum.ru
Another side of the contribution of the "Studers" to the success of the offensive was their use as artillery tractors. Drawing conclusions about the reasons for the successful actions of the 6th Panzer Army in the Iasi-Chisinau operation, Lieutenant General Kravchenko noted:
“The offensive of artillery, together with tank units ahead of the infantry and with a separation from it, is new in the tactics of mechanized artillery, which has fully justified itself.
Artillery and mortars attached to the Studobakers on trailers, interacting with the tanks and infantry troops, helped pave the way for the tanks and ensured their action in the depths of the defense. (...) In battle, groups justified themselves - as part of motorized infantry, tanks and artillery to capture forests and heights.
It is curious to note that at that time Kravchenko's army could be called "semi-brand". In addition to the fact that imported vehicles dominated its fleet, one of the two tank corps of the army was equipped with British and American tanks, having only one T-34 in its composition.
Summing up the story about the Studebaker, I would like to turn again to the aforementioned report of the GAVTU KA, in which it concluded about the importance of American cars for the USSR in the war with Germany:
“High-tonnage off-road vehicles (Studebaker, Jimsey, etc.), Dodge 3/4 tons and Willis played a big role in the Patriotic War as artillery tractors, replacing to a large extent tractors and horse-drawn traction. Willis, in addition, served as a reliable means of communication, command and control of troops and units.
This reliable technique helped the Red Army become more mobile in offensive operations, master new tactics and successfully apply them in battles. If Soviet trucks allowed the USSR not to lose the war, then American cars helped win it. The Studebaker really became the Victory car.
Sources and literature:
- TsAMO. Fund 38. Inventory 11584. File 396.
- TsAMO, Fund 339, Inventory 5179, Case 19.
- TsAMO, Fund 339, Inventory 5179, File 73.
- TsAMO, Fund 339, Inventory 5179, File 80.
- TsAMO, Fund 3097, Inventory 1, Case 2.
- Report on War Aid Furnished by the United States to the USSR, Foreign Economic Section, Office of Foreign Liquidation, Deptartmet of State, 28 Nov 1945.
- Soviet-British relations during the Great Patriotic War, 1941-1945: Documents and materials. In 2 volumes - V.1. 1941–1943 / Foreign Ministry affairs of the USSR. - M.: Politizdat, 1983.
- Soviet-American relations during the Great Patriotic War, 1941-1945: Documents and materials. In 2 vols. - Vol. 1. 1941–1943 / Foreign Ministry. affairs of the USSR. - M.: Politizdat, 1984.
- Foreign trade of the USSR for the period from 22-VI - 1941 to 31-XII - 1945 / Ministry of Foreign Trade of the USSR, Accounting and Economic Department. Statistical handbook. - M., 1946.
- Jones, R. Lend-Lease. Roads to Russia. US military supplies for the USSR in World War II / R. Jones. - M.: Centerpolygraph, 2015.
- http://tankfront.ru
- https://eugend.livejournal.com
- https://pamyat-naroda.ru
- https://www.drive2.ru