If in the 19th century sappers could get by with shovels, axes, saws and other hand tool, then today, in order to open the way for tanks, infantry fighting vehicles and infantry, heavy engineering vehicles are needed that can quickly make a passage in a minefield, establish a crossing, fill up an anti-tank ditch, demolish wire obstacles, and clear the road.
Do not think that the most modern tank M1 "Abrams" or T-90 have better cross than the Old Testament BT-7 or Pz.Kpfw III. But to make passages for them is required much faster. If in the 1940s the anti-tank ditch was just an annoying hindrance that could disrupt an attack, today, delaying tanks at the ditch for at least a few minutes is fraught with the fact that they will be covered with fire from helicopter gunships, precision-guided missiles and shells coming from afar, and suffer heavy losses. .
BAT-M: tracklayer
BAT - bulldozer on an artillery tractor (AT-T tractor), designed for mechanization engineering work when laying column tracks, preparing roads, clearing the area. Weight: 2.75 t; 12-cylinder diesel engine B-401 liquid cooling 305 kW (415 hp); speed: up to 35 km/h; road clearing speed: 15 km/h; speed of laying a dirt track: 5–8 km/h; crew: 2 people; equipped with a truck crane with a lifting capacity of 2 tons
Afghan finds
It is impossible to list all the equipment for overcoming obstacles that our engineering troops have at their disposal. There are dozens of samples. But it is worth talking about the most widely used ones.
The most serious obstacle for both tanks and infantry were and still remain mines. mine clearance combat vehicle (BMR) begins in the distant 1980s in Afghanistan. The main tool of this machine was the famous Soviet mine roller trawl KMT-5M and its further development KMT-7. Their predecessor, the PT-3 trawl, appeared back in the years of the Great Patriotic War and showed himself superbly already in the Battle of Kursk. Then roller trawls were hung on tanks. But at the beginning of the mine war in Afghanistan, it quickly became clear that the 40th Army had enough trawls, but with carriers, that is, tanks, things were worse. Too many of them were required everywhere.
Today, no one will say who first came up with the idea to hang trawls on BTS tank tractors (according to other sources, on captured T-54 or T-55). Whatever it was, the idea turned out to be sensible. Firstly, modern tanks were saved. Secondly, they came up with the idea to arrange a place for drivers not at the very bottom of the car, but on the roof, for which, however, it was necessary to lengthen the control levers. The crew was covered by armor plates or sometimes by a turret with a removed gun. The bottom of the car was lined plastic cans with water. The canisters kept a supply of water, never superfluous in a hot country, and served as an excellent shock absorber if the mine suddenly exploded under the bottom. Such machines perfectly trawled the routes, and if they were blown up, the crew remained intact.
The fighting qualities of these homemade products were quickly and duly appreciated by the Ministry of Defense. A task was issued to develop a machine, which was given the designation BMR. The first sample was built in Kiev, the author of the project was Lieutenant Colonel A.P. Khlestkin. Although there was nothing special to design. Everything original was available - both the tank chassis and the excellent KMT-5M trawl, created in the Chelyabinsk SKB-200 under the direction of V.I. Mikhailov. And by the end of 1980, the first BMRs manufactured at the Lvov Tank Repair Plant began to arrive in Afghanistan.
BMR-1: demining
It has reinforced armor and anti-cumulative protection of the bottom under the habitable compartment and provides minesweeping with push, pin and proximity fuses. There is space to accommodate three sappers and their equipment. Weight: (without trawl, sappers and their property): 43 t; maximum speed: 60 km/h; cruising range on the highway: 550 km; armament: 12.7 mm closed anti-aircraft machine gun mount; crane lifting capacity: 2.5 t; trawl KMT-7
The price of arrogance
Factory-made BMRs immediately found their place in the combat formations of the troops. They made it possible to drastically reduce the loss of equipment on mines, to increase the speed of movement of columns. The flow of applications grew rapidly. The car was demanded not only by tankers, but also by infantry, rear battalions. It was not difficult to get around the obstacles of the military bureaucracy, because the BIS did not belong to armored vehicles, but to engineering and were not considered regular car exclusively tank units.
The designers, taking into account the shortcomings and "childhood illnesses" of the first samples, quickly developed the BMR-2, and later the BMR-3. The latter turned out to be so successful that at the beginning of the 21st century it became possible to present the BIS on the international arms market. Moreover, there were historical grounds for this. During the Arab-Israeli wars of 1967 and 1973, Israel captured quite a lot of KMT-5 trawls from the Egyptians Soviet-made. The Israeli military quickly adapted them to their Merkavas and began to use them with great success.
In the Iraqi wars, the Americans suffered significant losses on anti-tank mines, although they carefully hide these unpleasant facts for them. More more losses they began to carry after the announcement of the victory achieved. But the Americans did not have acceptable anti-mine trawls, because they arrogantly neglected this technique in the 1950s-1970s. Attempts to return in an updated form the chain trawls of the Second World War ended in failure. The Americans had to bow to the Israelis and buy Soviet-made mine sweepers from them.
A large number of WRIs participated in the liquidation of the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. Only with their help was it possible to install remote-controlled cranes and proceed with the construction of the sarcophagus
Rollers, magnet and plows
The principle of the roller trawl, this main BIS tool, is very simple. Several heavy, durable steel wheels are suspended from two frames fixed to the armor, which roll ahead of the vehicle and, hitting a mine, cause it to explode. The strength of this design is such that the rollers can withstand up to ten explosions. Broken rollers are easy to replace. According to statistics, a vehicle can encounter no more than 1-3 mines in a minefield.
The principle is simple, but to ensure that each roller rolls on the ground independently of its neighbors and carefully rolls over any bump or hole (as the designers say, it copies the terrain), and even so that the weight of the entire structure acts on it (which is extremely important for triggering a mine), only our designer V.I.Mikhailov could. The Russian trawl practically does not miss a single mine. American and British designers failed to create satisfactory samples of the roller trawl.
The BMR, or rather the trawl suspended from this vehicle, can also deal with mines, which do not react to pressure, but to the magnetic field of the tank. Two obliquely standing cylinders above the rollers are EMT (electro-magnetic trawl). The cylinders create a magnetic field in front of the vehicle, similar to that of a tank. Mines explode in front of the trawl without damaging the vehicle.
Equipped with BMR and digging-type trawl. Two sections are located behind the rollers. Knives during the movement of the BMR burrow into the ground to a depth at which anti-tank mines are usually installed, dig out a mine and throw it aside.
Such a plow trawl is necessary, since there are mines that are triggered not by one, but by two successive clicks. These include, for example, our MVD-62 or the British No.5 Mk4. It is irrational to make a trawl with two rows of rollers, because it will be too heavy.
But, unfortunately, the plow trawl is applicable only in areas with a certain quality of soil. With rocky, rocky soils, on roads with a hard surface, the “plow” has nothing to do.
BMR-3M. clearance
IMR. Roads and trenches. Obstacle engineering vehicle - army car, designed for laying roads over rough terrain, in forests and city blockages, for extracting and backfilling pits. Weight: 37.5 t; maximum speed on the highway: 59 km / h; crew: 2 people; speed when working with bulldozer equipment: up to 12 km/h; maximum boom reach: 8.8 m; boom capacity: 2 t
Road Gnawer
However, mines are far from the only artificial obstacle capable of stopping moving troops. Anti-tank ditches, scarps and counter-scarps, gouges, barricades, barriers, blockages of trees, city ruins, finally, mine sweeping is too tough.
Back in the distant 1970s, a vehicle under the designation IMR ( engineering machine barriers). Its main task was to clear traffic routes from non-explosive obstacles, lay column tracks, clear snow from routes, equip crossings over ditches, etc. in the combat formations of the troops. And the base of the IMR was first the T-55 tank, later the T-62 and finally the T-72.
First of all, the machine was equipped with powerful universal bulldozer equipment. For example, if you need to open slopes in steep slopes, the wings of the shovel can be put in the usual straight position, as with tractor bulldozers. If it is required to clear the road from snow, debris, bushes, the wings are retracted. And then everything that interferes with the movement is pushed aside. You can turn one wing back and the other forward - this position is called grader; then all obstacles to movement will move in one direction. If in this position the shovel is also tilted, then the WRI is able to create a roadbed and at the same time dig a ditch. Get normal dirt road sickle-shaped transverse profile. It is enough to fill it with rubble or gravel, and it will turn into a finished highway. It is important to note that the crew performs all these transformations of the bulldozer equipment without leaving the vehicle. And this is very important, for example, in areas contaminated with toxic or radioactive substances.
The American analogue of the IMR M1 Grizzly never left the stage of military trials
Machines in atomic hell
WRI turned out to be the only car, capable of operating in the early days of the Chernobyl accident right next to the destroyed fourth power unit. The approaches to the reactor turned out to be littered with debris from the building and equipment. To get close to the source of destruction, it was first necessary to clear the rubble. But the levels of radiation in those days were such that even army radiometers went off scale (from 60 to 500 roentgens per hour). Near the reactor, a person could be a matter of minutes, or even seconds.
The IMR, with its powerful armor, reduced the radiation exposure levels of the crew by a factor of ten or more. The telescopic boom with a grip-manipulator, which is equipped with the IMR, was very useful. Boom outreach - 8.8 m. With the help of a manipulator, the machine operator can grab and move objects weighing up to 2 tons as if by hand. Moreover, the accuracy of the work is such that an experienced operator can close a box of matches lying on the ground with the powerful jaws of the manipulator. Or pick up from the ground and give the person a cigarette.
At the Chernobyl IMR reactor, scattered pieces of uranium rods were collected and put into transported containers for further disposal, and the fragments of the walls were removed. With the help of WRI, it was possible to install several remotely controlled cranes around the reactor and begin the construction of the sarcophagus. Without this unique machine similar work would have to be postponed for a few months until the radiation levels decrease.
Almost all the WRIs then available in the army were sent to Chernobyl, and all of them remained there forever. During the operation of the machine, they gained so much radiation that the armor itself became radioactive. Dozens, if not hundreds, of IMRs, among many other machines, now stand on an abandoned wartime airfield near Pripyat.
The IMR turned out to be such a successful and sought-after machine by the troops that for many years they tried to improve it. Based on the experience of Afghanistan, they tried to give the IMR the ability of the BIS. For this, a KMT-7 roller trawl, a KMT-6 plow trawl, and UR-83 mine clearing charges were hung on the machine. But universalization did not benefit WRI. The roller trawl deprived the IMR of the opportunity to use bulldozer equipment and made the machine unmaneuverable. The plow trawl KMT-6 overloaded the front part of the IMR, which was already loaded with the weight of the bulldozer. Boxes of demining installations limited the ability to use the manipulator. In the end, the IMR was returned to the initial configuration.
USA
Attempts to return in an updated form the chain trawls of the Second World War ended unsuccessfully for the US Army. I had to buy Soviet-made trophy roller trawls from the Israelis, and then produce their clones
Work horse of war
WRI - great car, that's just too expensive. And heavy. A engineering troops armor is not always needed, and the manipulator is used only occasionally. Most often, only bulldozer equipment is required to pave the way for tanks, armored personnel carriers, infantry fighting vehicles, self-propelled guns, and vehicles. Yes, sometimes a truck crane to lift and move something. Engineering vehicles with such a limited set of functions, of course, exist, and they appeared much earlier than WRI. The name of the machines corresponds to their purpose - they are road-laying machines. The first such machine appeared back in the 1960s and received the designation BAT (bulldozer on an artillery tractor). The heavy tracked artillery tractor AT-T was taken as the base vehicle. The design turned out to be very successful, and it was loved by the troops.
A few years later, the car was improved. A 2-ton hydraulic crane was added to the bulldozer equipment and the new product was named BAT-M. The bulldozer turned out to be very convenient for laying column tracks (temporary roads for advancing troops), clearing roads of snow, felling trees, clearing bushes, and making exits on steep slopes. For example, in winter, BAT-M clears the road at a speed of up to 15 km/h, and in summer it paves a dirt track at a speed of 5–8 km/h. Of course, only where rifle-machine-gun and artillery fire is excluded. Nevertheless, the cab of the machine is sealed and equipped with a filter-ventilation unit. This means that BAT-M is capable of operating in areas contaminated with poisonous or radioactive substances. For example, cut and remove contaminated soil. As with the IMR, bulldozer equipment can have two-blade, grader and direct positions. But you have to manually change the position of the knives.
BAT-M fell in love with the military for one more property. The engine, located under the cab, gives enough heat, so that inside the car it is comfortable in any frost. In the late 1980s, BAT-M began to be replaced by a more advanced BAT-2 vehicle, in the cockpit of which, in addition to the crew, a sapper squad could also be placed.
The US Army still does not have vehicles similar to our BIS, IMR, or even BAT-M. The Americans had to limit themselves to mounting an almost complete analogue of our KMT-5 trawl on the M1 Abrams tank. Since 1999, the development of an analogue of the IMR called the M1 Grizzly (Breacher) began. Although the US Army field manuals indicate that the Grizzly is in service, however, this vehicle never left the stage of military testing. But Germany, having fought enough in the 20th century, took the creation of machines that allow them to “break into a neighbor’s house” with all seriousness. Back in 1968, the Bundeswehr adopted an engineering vehicle based on the Leopard 1 tank called the Pionierpanzer, approximately equal in capabilities to our IMR vehicle. And all subsequent years it was improved. Today the Bundeswehr uses modern version cars under the same name Pionierpanzer, but already based on the Leopard 2 tank
They say that Russia has always had the most powerful military equipment. So they talk not only about the machines used for combat operations, but also about the devices of a service nature. A striking example and indisputable confirmation of this is the BAT-M caterpillar overpass!
Even this seemingly casual car reflects the Russian spirit. Approaching this apparatus, you are involuntarily amazed at its huge size, and looking closer, you marvel at its absurdity. It seems that there are caterpillars - that means a tank, but then you see the upper part of the car, reminiscent of trucks from old Soviet films. Tracklayer "BAT-M" - exemplary sample Soviet constructivism!
It looks majestic and strong not only from the outside. With its technical characteristics, it is in no way inferior to a powerful tank.
Characteristics of the tracklayer
Created specifically for global ideas and undertakings, an assistant in cleaning and construction on a gigantic scale, the BAT-M track-laying vehicle, with its mass of 275 centners, i.e. 27.5 tons, is equipped with a large (if such a comparison) fuel tank (maximum capacity of 0.9 tons), which ensures the performance of our "beast" up to 15 hours. And this is only a small part of the information about him.
"BAT-M", specifications which is more reminiscent of a tank than a tractor, very powerful. Just think: 305 Horse power, and thanks to a sealed cabin and a filter, the machine can work in conditions of contamination and in clouds of a wide variety of poisonous gases! This allows you to use the tracklayer in almost any conditions.
"BAT-M" technical characteristics are very impressive. This design also includes a huge bucket (if you can call it that), capable of working in 3 main positions, namely: bulldozer, twin blade and grader. In all operating modes, the bucket has a different width - 5 meters, 4.5 m and It would seem that that's all, that's enough. But no, you can adjust not only certain positions of the bucket, but also its height, that is, it can be raised and lowered, and this is an important “option”. Moreover, BAT-M has at its disposal a powerful one capable of lifting no less than 2 tons! The crane itself is regulated from a remote control, which allows one person not only to concentrate on operating the unit, but also to perform some other feasible duties. In general, it can be noted that BAT-M is a real find for those who love versatile and powerful equipment.
From the release of the "beast" to our time
If we recall the beginning of the production of these monsters, and it was 1966, then we can compare BAT-M with Nikola Tesla, saying that the car was ahead of its time, and even then it was not needed as much as it is now. If we now consider the market that they offer us modern manufacturers machines of this kind, then none of them will be able to compete with BAT-M in terms of functionality, not to mention the prices for such products, although irreplaceable, but quite rare.
Reliable old "BAT-M"
Remembering the year of production, one can call these cars pensioners, dinosaurs, relics of the past, but in contrast, only one, but very subtle, argument can be made. What can we talk about if more than 50 years since the beginning of the production of this equipment, a machine has not been invented that is more convenient to use?
Is it up to date?
The BAT-M model is still relevant today. You can talk a lot about her merits with technical side as equipment, but do not forget about its advantages as a means of operation: a spacious cabin, where two adults can comfortably sit, and due to the location of the engine under the cabin, the problem of heating the cabin in cold winter is easily solved.
From the people who closely dealt with this unusual car(and these are maintenance personnel and operating drivers), you can get surprisingly unanimous reviews. BAT-M, whose work did not leave anyone dissatisfied, receives only good ratings from consumers.
Benefits of a road builder
"BAT-M" is an engineering vehicle that belongs to the class of road vehicles. Usually, with its help, trenches, ditches, funnels are filled up, paths are laid, roads are cleared from the debris of buildings or pits are dug. The designers chose the AT-T tractor as the basis for such a track-laying machine. This machine is capable of moving at speeds up to 35 km / h, and its advantage is the reliable sealing of the cab. In order to carry out the installation of the working body in a grader, bulldozer or two-blade position, it is necessary to carry out work using a hydraulic drive. Thanks to the crane equipment, this machine has a powerful lifting capacity, and it can be controlled using a remote control.
Advantages of buying "BAT-M"
With the help of a powerful winch, the machine can pull out of the mud not only other, third-party equipment, but also itself, and this is a big plus in the direction of buying this equipment. The next device in this line ("BT-2") is more bulky and less agile, so it is "BAT-M" that is considered more convenient to use. The caterpillar track also belongs to the obvious pluses: thanks to this, the tracklayer can drive almost everywhere, and due to the width of the tracks, it does not fall "under the ground" in unsteady areas. The car is very reliable, strong and trouble-free in any conditions. "BAT-2" differs from it in the presence of a sapper department, and this model is semi-armored. "BAT-M" is more agile, not so long and less bulky.
Strategic Missile Forces. BAT and barley.BAT is a large artillery tractor.
In our regiment of the Strategic Missile Forces, the combat support battery had a BAT. Or rather, two BATs, but one engine for two. And this thing itself is such a hefty tractor on a tank chassis. Our BAT had a huge wedge-shaped knife. If my memory serves me right school lessons NVP, for clearing passages, in the zone of continuous destruction of a nuclear explosion.
And in our regiment there was a soldier's canteen, where they fed us ... In general, they fed us. At that time, they fed mainly barley with combined fat, and we did not like it. Then we liked it, but it was too late. And then a kitchen outfit had to take a lot of uneaten barley to the household yard, where specially trained soldiers raised pigs and cows, apparently in case of a complete cessation of food supplies. To carry the waste, steel stretchers were welded, into which, according to sensations, at least 100 kilos fit. Now the picture - you and your partner, steamed up in a tattered replacement uniform, soaking wet, must drag this stretcher with steel handles along a snowy path into the forest 300 meters to the household yard. And overboard -20 then -30. All in all, rare bird reached the middle. Usually this porridge fell out in the winter in the snow right behind the dining room. And by spring, a sickly hill grew from frozen barley. Above the dining room. And one day this miracle was seen by the commander of the regiment, Colonel Shevskiy.
And one Uzbek said well about him: "When other officers shout - you understand - it is supposed to shout and he shouts. And Shevskiy does not just shout ... he puts his soul into it!"
And then Shevsky saw this mountain of pearl barley, sparkling in the sun. My muse is powerless to describe his cry. The elastic impulses of the mat shook our formation. Soldiers with crowbars were thrown into battle. But the crowbars merrily bounced off the crystal mountain. The frost gave the oatmeal the strength of civil concrete. He was immediately (half a day to revive) driven from the BAT fleet to destroy the mountain. BAT roared and smoked like a dragon. But oatmeal turned out to be cooler than a nuclear explosion. So we lost the last BAT. The mountain melted only in summer.
And our pigs, not receiving barley, grew lean and predatory, with long muzzles, like crocodiles. Once, on a winter trip, we were given a dry ration, in which there was a piece of lard from our farm yard. Good thing he was small. Soldiers were not supposed to have knives, AKSU does not have a bayonet-knife, it was impossible to bite off this piece. It resembled in texture car protector. Not even cycling. Okay, small. I sucked it for half an hour and swallowed it. (vulgarities - to the garden).
PS:
Surprises often awaited our regimental commander in the soldiers' canteen. Either one cook boiled his overcoat in tea, wanting to give it a frivolous shade, then another cook stole a ticket from a soldier from the dining room outfit and remade it for himself, with fake marks about service in Afghanistan (it was in 1985) apparently to raise his authority in the citizenry. But one incident left our commander speechless for a moment. At the entrance, he ran into a spirit (who had served less than six months), who came with a bucket, for food for the soldiers serving in the household yard. Everything would be fine, but the soldier had a long black bushy beard.
Hi all! It will be about tracklayer BAT-M (product 405mu) developed on the basis Artillery tractor AT-T (product 401).
Images of the machine, specifications and more can be found on our website, and I wanted to tell you about the machine from the point of view of a leading specialist in the repair of engineering equipment.
My acquaintance with the car happened at the beginning of military service in the Far East in the 90s. Then, as a young lieutenant, traveling on business trips, in one of the motorized rifle units I saw for the first time BAT-M. At that time, the purpose of this machine was still unclear, but it was terribly interesting why it had so much equipment on it (dump, crane, winch). I served in the Railway Troops and we had nothing like that.
Years have passed and now, on the basis of our enterprise, we again met with this miracle machine, which came to us for repair. The car had to be studied from scratch, from its purpose to the last screw. At first it was not easy the new kind equipment, repair requirements, experience with this equipment. But it turned out that, with her formidable appearance, she is relatively simple compared to her modern counterpart. BAT-2 (Object 454) which I encountered at the enterprise at the beginning of my career and only then with BAT-M. And therefore it was something to compare and not in the picture.
One of the advantages BAT-M that it has a conventional mechanical transmission. The drive from the engine is carried out through main clutch(401.07Сб-А) (multi-disc metal on metal) which was amazing how this is possible. However, it works and reliably - with respect to the developers! Then the drive goes to the gearbox (401.08Sb-1A) and planetary turning mechanisms (401.09.2Sb and 401.09.3Sb), thanks to which the machine makes turns with a slowdown of 1.42 times or a U-turn due to blocking the PMP with a stop tape. Adjustment of control drives is carried out using a ruler and a metalwork tool. What can you say about the next generation of cars BAT-2 with hydraulic control, which require special equipment and equipment for diagnostics and repair and, of course, trained specialists.
BAT-M- a car of the past, but relevant to this day. Interest in the car is shown by organizations and enterprises based on speed characteristics machine and its performance:
The productivity of laying a column track through shrubs and small forests is 4-8 km / h;
The performance of laying the path in the snow - 8-10 km / h
The simplicity of the design is also captivating, a warm cabin due to the airflow of the cooling radiator and the engine, which is located under the cabin, crane installation(P1000-00-00) in 2 volumes. and a reach of 5.4m, which serves itself when assembling (disassembling) the working equipment, a winch (401.18.1Sb-4) with a force of 20 tons, which, in addition to the main functions, helps in transferring the working body to the transport position.
The hydraulic system of the working body is controlled by electric switches on the control levers of the machine - convenient and easy.
On the basis of our enterprise, there were many such machines under repair. Their condition was different - mangled, incomplete, covered with rust and moss.
The whole team of the repair team had to make every effort to bring the car to the required condition, and then, together with the customer, feel a sense of delight from the state of the car.
Usage tracklayer BAT-M in the liquidation of the consequences of the radiation disaster at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant is due to the unique technical characteristics of this special equipment.
Equipped with a pressurized cabin, which allowed the crew to work in conditions of radiation and chemical contamination of the area, the BAT-M was widely used for earthworks directly near the destroyed power unit.
Based on artillery tractor(AT-T) and equipped with a working body, which is installed in a grader, bulldozer and two-blade position, BAT-M was used to remove the top layer of soil heavily contaminated with radionuclides at the Chernobyl industrial site. The working body of the BAT-M is equipped with a ski, which made it possible to carry out the removal of soil to a given thickness required by the operator. IN transport position the working body is thrown onto the roof, which allows you to remove the load on the front of the machine and thereby increase the cross-country ability. Possessing high traffic with a weight of 27 tons, BAT-M can be used for work on rough terrain, making passages in small forests and bushes, backfilling ditches and trenches, excerpts of pits.
BAT-M can also be used in different conditions terrain - on snow, in wetlands, as well as on soils with a slight texture(sands and sandy loams).
In addition, BAT-M is equipped with a winch and a crane (with a lifting capacity of 2 tons), which makes it possible to involve a track builder to clear the rubble of buildings and structures in zones of military conflicts or in places of man-made accidents.
The use of BAT in the aftermath of the Chernobyl disaster
During the liquidation of the consequences of the Chernobyl accident, BAT-M was used to carry out mechanized (operational) work to decontaminate the territories adjacent to the destroyed nuclear reactor.
In order to understand in what monstrous radiation conditions the liquidators had to work, we suggest that you familiarize yourself with the exposure dose rate map near the destroyed Chernobyl reactor. Radiation data are presented for the beginning and middle of summer 1986.
Map of the MED in 1986 near the 4th block of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant
Levels of exposure dose rate (R/h) on the territory of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant for the period of the initial stage of construction of the Shelter. The values circled in yellow are DER at 1 meter from the ground as of June 10, 1986. Figures not circled are MED as of July 22, 1986.
At first (May-June) after the accident, there was an urgent need to reduce the radiation dose rate in the territories adjacent to the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. BAT-M was used to remove the topsoil and bury it in trenches and ditches.
This special equipment also carried out work to eliminate heavily polluted buildings and structures in the villages of the exclusion zone - Kopachi and Chistogalovka.
One of the most important works in the exclusion zone, which were carried out with the use of BAT, is the elimination and burial of a dead forest that died from lethal doses of radiation, called the Red Forest.
Photos of BAT while working in the exclusion zone and at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant
Photo of BAT-M track builder at work on the industrial site of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. Near ABK-1 (administrative building) of the nuclear power plant.
BAT in equipment burial grounds in the Chernobyl zone
During the work, the BAT-M was heavily contaminated with radionuclides and sent to special equipment burial grounds. One of the burial grounds of equipment is located near the abandoned locality Rassokha. The photo shows modern views BAT-M left in the zone forever.
