The Russian armed forces traditionally pay great attention to waterfowl technology. Wheeled and tracked armored personnel carriers, infantry fighting vehicles, paratroopers, some models of self-propelled artillery installations, etc. received the ability to independently force water obstacles.
If we talk about cars, then we can recall the two-axle all-wheel drive MAV, aka GAZ-46, created in the early 50s based on the experience of the Great Patriotic War.
As the name implies, it was developed at the Gorky Automobile Plant using the units of the famous "goat" GAZ-69.
GAZ-46 has been produced since 1953. The amphibian weighed only 1270 kg and could carry half a ton of cargo. It housed five servicemen.
The engine power is 55 hp. The maximum speed on the highway is 90 km / h, on the water - 9 km / h. At one gas station, it was possible to make a 500 km march .
The Forty-sixth enjoyed a certain popularity and was supplied to countries friendly to the Soviet Union.
A kind of continuation of the MAV concept was supposed to be a much more advanced UAZ-3907 Jaguar, the development of which began in the second half of the 70s. The first prototypes were prepared for testing in early 1980.
Curb weight -1250 kg, full -1900 kg. Load capacity - 660 kg. The mass of the towed trailer is 750 kg. Capacity - from 7 to 11 people. Engine power - 77 hp. During mass production, it was planned to install a more powerful power unit. The maximum speed on the highway was 105 km / h, when overcoming water obstacles - 9 km / h.
It was assumed that the Jaguar, after successful testing and adoption into service, would be operated in many branches of the armed forces, including special forces and border guards. During the tests themselves, the car sailed along the Volga from Ulyanovsk to Astrakhan and back.
However, in the early 90s, the financing of the armed forces declined sharply, and purchases of military equipment practically stopped. Therefore, amphibious UAZs remained only in the form of prototypes, one of which can be seen in the Patriot military-patriotic park of culture and recreation of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation near Moscow
Alexey Moiseev