Hello, dear readers of the blog "Auto-Junior". Among the labor achievements of the era of the socialist system in our country, he is one of the main creations of collective labor. And how did the legendary history of the GAZ plant begin?
On March 4, 1929, the order of the Supreme Council of National Economy of the USSR No. 498 was issued, which refers to the government's decision to build a modern car factory with an annual output of 100 thousand machines.
On April 6 of the same year, a decision was approved on the choice of the area for the construction of the future automobile plant. They became a place in the vicinity of the village of Monastyrka, near Nizhny Novgorod.
This choice was not made by chance. Even then, at the very beginning of socialist industrialization, the Nizhny Novgorod province was one of the largest industrial regions of the country. In Nizhny Novgorod and its environs, machine-building and metalworking plants were located: Krasnaya Etna, Metalist, Engine of the Revolution, Krasnoye Sormovo, a shipyard named after V.I. Ulyanov, a plant named after Vorobyov and others. And according to this, Nizhny had a fairly skilled workforce.
In addition, the Urals with its metallurgical base are close, and two rivers, at the confluence of which the Lower is located, made it possible to deliver everything necessary for the needs of the plant by inexpensive water.
To implement the plans, the construction department "Avtostroy" was created, and S. S. Dyvets was appointed head of it.
From the beginning of 1929, several delegations of specialists visited the United States, agreeing on the technical documentation for the construction of the plant and the use of American drawings for the production of two basic models.
On May 31, 1929, an agreement was signed between the Henry Ford Company ( Ford motor Company) and the Supreme Economic Council of the USSR. Under this agreement, the Soviet side was to receive technical assistance from an American company in the construction and commissioning of a new plant, the right to manufacture two models of Ford cars, namely: passenger cars Ford-A type and 1.5-ton trucks of the Ford-AA type, produced in the USA since 1927. Also, the American side was supposed to train specialists. Term technical cooperation was fixed for nine years.
Another foreign company also had a hand in the birth of the plant. Austin & Co Joint Stock Company took part in the development technical projects and working drawings of the architectural and construction part of the plant.
In August 1929, a giant construction site began to boil near Nizhny Novgorod - site preparation began, and already on May 2, 1930, a solemn ceremony of laying the first stone in the foundation of the future auto giant took place. Almost 50 thousand people were employed at this construction site. The construction was supervised by the civil engineer M. M. Tsarevsky.
At the age of twenty, M. M. Tsarevsky joined the Bolshevik Party in 1917. In 1918 he volunteered for the Red Army, served in the troops of the VK and OGPU, actively participated in the defense of the Soviet Republic. Already since 1925, M. M. Tsarevsky was the head of a number of important construction projects, where his talent as a builder and organizer was fully revealed. For special services to the state, M. M. Tsarevsky was awarded the title of Hero of Socialist Labor. He was awarded four Orders of Lenin, two Orders of the Red Banner, two Orders of the Red Banner of Labour, two Orders of the Red Star and seven medals.
Further, the main front of the industrial construction of the automobile plant was deployed. Together with the production buildings of the workshops, it was necessary to build a heat and power plant, a water intake on the Oka River, build a large residential area near the plant and lay a complex system of communications between all this.
Competently executed design work, excellent organization of work, high personal responsibility of each, have borne fruit. On the site of wastelands near a small village, a modern car factory was rapidly rising. Just a year and a half after laying the foundation, in November 1931, almost all factory buildings were ready for equipment installation.
Imagine - in just the next two months, with the help of foreign specialists, 450 machine tools and units and about 80 thousand electric drives were mounted in thirty huge buildings ... ... an amazing scale, of which engineering plants did not know yet.
But the need for cars was so high that, simultaneously with the construction of the Gorky Automobile Plant, they were assembled from imported units at, as well as at the Nizhny Novgorod plant "Gudok Oktyabrya".
Also, in parallel with the construction of the automobile plant, since 1930, large-scale work was carried out to train professional personnel at the Avtostroy training bases. The plant "Gudok Oktyabrya" mentioned above, which at that time carried out SKD ford cars, led the training of workers for the main conveyor, and at the Nizhny Novgorod Shipyard named after V.I. At the CIT courses there are tool-makers.
Thus, by December 1931, for the first shift, 11,503 workers and technical personnel were trained. Looking ahead, let's say that in 1932 another 600 qualified specialists returned from training at the factories of Moscow, Leningrad, Stalingrad, Rostov-on-Don, Kharkov.
On January 1, 1932, the automobile plant went into operation operating ...
... and on January 29, 1932, at 19:15, to the sound of a factory whistle, shouts of "Hurrah!" and applause, the first truck of the Nizhny Novgorod Automobile Plant came off. On January 31, the 25th car rolled off the assembly line. From February 28 of the same year, a schedule was set at the plant - to produce five cars daily.
The truck was equipped with an in-line four cylinder engine, with a volume of 3285 cm3 and a power of 40 hp. from Ford-A and Ford-AA vehicles. The fuel supply was carried out by gravity, the valve drive was unregulated, and the electrical system was very simple. All this simplified maintenance and did not require the driver to have special knowledge in technology.
At the same time, the "one and a half" had quite modern at that time technical solutions- aluminum pistons, electric starter, 4 step box gears, helical gears in the main gear, cardan shaft inside a rigid tube.
The first samples were produced with a wooden cabin, and only in 1934 it was replaced by an all-metal one. The car weighed only 1,750 kilograms, had a top speed of 70 km/h and consumed 19.5 liters of low-grade gasoline per 100 kilometers.
In the first 20 days, 136 "one and a half" were assembled, and on this the components and parts previously delivered to the plant ran out, but there were no new deliveries. At the end of March, the conveyor stopped. G. K. Ordzhonikidze arrived in Nizhny Novgorod to identify the reasons for the stoppage of the factory conveyor.
After his report, on April 20, 1932, the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks adopted a resolution "On the Nizhny Novgorod Automobile Plant." It emphasized that, in terms of its equipment and machinery, the plant is quite capable of fulfilling and even overfulfilling the task assigned to it, but does not fulfill it mainly due to unsatisfactory management.
The Party Committee and the entire Party organization of the plant in its shops and departments promptly launched organizational and educational work. It was aimed at a decisive struggle against marriage, at the mass production of quality machines and full development new technology. The Communists paid special attention to the latter.
Difficulties were overcome slowly. Within six months, an average of about ten cars rolled off the assembly line per shift. As a result, by June 27, 1932, only 1008 NAZ-AA cars were produced by the automobile plant ...
... until mid-1932, the plant was called the Nizhny Novgorod Automobile Plant (NAZ). The first 1.5-ton trucks that rolled off its assembly line bore the NAZ-AA brand. It remained for several more months until the city was named after the writer Maxim Gorky, after which the plant was renamed the Gorky Automobile Plant (GAZ).
In July 1932, a new director of the automobile plant was appointed. They became S. S. Dyakonov, who had previously held the post of deputy manager of the All-Union Automobile and Tractor Association (VATO). The team immediately felt that a real leader came, talented, broad-minded and well versed in production.
December 6, 1932 started GAZ-A production, a passenger car of the middle class with a five-seat four-door chaise-type body. It was quite strongly unified with the "one and a half". The cars were equipped with the same power units, front axle parts, front plumage parts, etc., which was very economically feasible at that time.
The first cars of the GAZ-A and GAZ-AA models were made according to the drawings of the Americans. But even then they had several differences from American prototypes - domestic version the clutch housing and steering gear were reinforced, the shape of the radiators was changed, and the inch thread was replaced with a metric one. Combining the use of Ford's developments with the search and implementation of their own solutions, the designers created many modifications based on the legendary "one and a half".
From the beginning of 1933, things at the car factory went much better. automakers Gorky plant already shared their technical experience with the workers of other plants, including the Moscow Automobile Plant.
In the summer of 1933, the Karakum run took place, which became a serious test of the quality of Soviet cars. The rally participants were 20 trucks and cars from the Gorky and Moscow Automobile Plants.
The motorcade passed 9500 km along the route Moscow - Gorky - Tashkent - Karakum - Khiva - Krasnovodsk - Baku - Tbilisi - Ordzhonikidze - Rostov-on-Don - Kharkov - Moscow, of which 6 thousand kilometers were on unpaved, country roads, in some places very bad roads, and 1 thousand - on loose sands.
At a meeting in GUTAP, it was noted that the run revealed not only positive traits domestic cars, but also a number weaknesses, in most of which there were flaws in related industries.
In 1933, the production of a 17-seat service bus GAZ-03-30 began, the leading designer of which was N. I. Borisov. It was produced at the car assembly plant No. 1 (since 1946 - the Gorky Bus Plant (GZA)). In fact, it was a "lorry" with a bus cabin.
In the same year on the basis car GAZ-A was created and put into production pickup GAZ-4 with an all-metal cab and a metal platform for 500 kg of cargo, developed under the guidance of designer Yu.N. Sorochkin. It was produced at the Gorky Automobile Assembly Plant. In addition, the GAZ-6 sedan was produced there in small series.
At the end of 1934, a 2-ton three-axle GAZ-AAA truck with a 6x4 wheel formula, developed with the participation of the famous designer V.A., got on the conveyor. Grachev. The main features of the GAZ-AAA were the suspension of two rear axles on four longitudinal semi-elliptical springs (instead of two balancing ones, which were used on American cars) and worm main gear for drive axles, developed at GAZ.
Later, a 1.2-ton dump truck GAZ-410 appeared with inertial mechanism body tipping. Both of these models were also created on the basis of GAZ-AA.
On April 17, 1935, the 100,000th car rolled off the assembly line of the automobile plant. They became GAZ-A in the performance of "luxury". Of course, this was a very important and solemn event for the plant staff. Thus, GAZ was the first car factory in the country to produce 100,000 cars.
So, for the first time in the USSR, with technical assistance American specialists from the Ford Motor Company, was mastered conveyor production cars.
According to an agreement with Ford Motor Company, GAZ continued to receive technical support from an American company, and the USSR received documentation for the model. Ford Model b 1933 model year. She was different closed body with a modern look and a four-cylinder engine (in contrast to the Ford Model 18 with a complex eight-cylinder engine).
However, the design team of GAZ, headed in 1933 by a talented specialist and organizer A.A. Lipgart, taking into account not only the experience gained in the production, testing and operation of the first model, but also his own point of view on the domestic car, resolutely refused to blindly copy the American model.
Since GAZ abandoned the use of an eight-cylinder engine, it was significantly modernized and boosted from 40 to 50 hp. already produced four-cylinder engine. But the main changes affected the chassis. A frame of increased strength and a new suspension design were created - on four longitudinal springs instead of two transverse ones for an analogue, spoked wheels gave way to stamped ones, with tires of increased dimension. The reasons are clear - the Ford chassis turned out to be practically unsuitable for work in the conditions of Russian roads.
The appearance of the car has also been changed. Due to the enlargement of the front part, the lengthening of the frame and wheelbase, the proportions became better, the appearance of the entire front assembly became more interesting - fenders, hood and radiator lining.
From October 1935 to October 1936, in connection with the development of a new model of the GAZ M-1 passenger car, the plant carried out repairs of existing equipment and installation of new equipment.
On March 16, 1936, the production of the first domestic model of the GAZ M-1 (Molotovets-1) passenger car, better known as the Emka, was launched. This car became the most massive pre-war Soviet passenger car model.
The development of the M-1 model raised the GAZ team to a new technical level, created the prerequisites for further creative growth of designers. In the future, the development of GAZ took place along the path of gradual and methodical improvement and modernization of the model range.
The GAZ M-1 model has a peculiar biography. Year after year, undergoing constant modernization, it faithfully served people from the late 30s to the 50s. Based on the M-1, a GAZ-415 pickup truck with a payload capacity of 400 kg was developed and since 1937 has been mass-produced. Emki was also produced with a 6-cylinder engine, which received the GAZ-11 index, but about it a little later ...
In 1937, at the branch of the Gorky Automobile Plant, the production of the GAZ-55 ambulance bus based on the "lorry" began.
By 1938, with the launch of the second stage, the car plant exceeded its design capacity, producing about 140 thousand cars, of which trucks accounted for 70-80%. Gradually, GAZ launched on its territory the production of 76% of all parts of the basic GAZ-AA series.
In January 1938, the bureau of the Gorky Regional Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks, after discussing the situation at the automobile plant, informed higher authorities that due to the lack of sheet steel, seamless pipes and chromium steels, the plant was forced to suspend the assembly of three-axle trucks and cars, and would soon have to stop and the release of "one and a half". But the situation with interruptions in the supply of metals persisted in 1939-40.
Sometimes the plant still received metal and parts in the required volume, but then another problem arose - overtime work, which caused wage overruns.
A new victory for GAZ designers was the development of a 6-cylinder GAZ-11 engine - the "six". Relatively light weight compact dimensions, efficiency and other technical characteristics, put this engine on a par with the latest developments of American engineers. This engine with a working volume of 3485 cm3 and a power of 76 hp not only improved the dynamics of domestic cars, but also opened up prospects for its use on future truck designs, as well as on light tanks and self-propelled units.
"Emka", equipped with a new engine, received the GAZ-11-73 index. The first samples of this car were ready in 1938. In addition to the power plant, the machines were also introduced whole line improvements. The front springs were lengthened, the brakes became more efficient, the instrument panel was updated, etc. On the basis of the GAZ-11-73, the GAZ-11-40 car with a phaeton body was created, but the car did not reach mass production.
But the all-wheel drive modification of "Emka" - GAZ-61, created under the leadership of V.A. Grachev, mass-produced. The car could overcome rather steep slopes - up to 38o, easily climbed steep pedestrian stairs and overcame a ford up to 720 mm deep. Experts argued that when installing special tires with developed lugs, the GAZ-61 outperformed half-tracked vehicles in terms of cross-country ability.
Also in 1938, after a slight modernization, the first-born model of the automobile plant received the GAZ-MM index. The truck began to be equipped with a 50 hp engine. and a steering gear from a GAZ M-1 passenger car. Several new vehicles were developed on the GAZ-MM chassis.
In the same year, in April, work began on all-wheel drive trucks, but the above-mentioned production, as well as some technical difficulties, made it possible to assemble only two experimental GAZ-62 and GAZ-63 vehicles with a GAZ-11 engine and different wheelbases, and also three-axle GAZ-33 and GAZ-34 with a 6x6 wheel arrangement.
In 1939, the GAZ-42 appeared - a modification of the "lorry" with a gas generator unit that worked on wood chocks. This bulky unit weighed the car by 240 kg, reduced engine power to 30 hp. and load capacity up to 1.2 tons.
At the same time, a batch of the first domestic gas-cylinder trucks GAZ-44 was released, working on compressed air up to 200 atmospheres. natural gas. The power reserve was 200-300 kilometers. Engine power was 42 hp, load capacity - 1.1 tons. In 1938-42, the GAZ-60 half-track truck with a payload capacity of 1.2 tons was produced. Its weight was 3375 kilograms and it could reach speeds of 35 km/h on the highway. Both models were based, again, on the "one and a half" platform.
In the early 1940s, an army commander's four-wheel drive vehicle GAZ-64 was created at GAZ. And the first production car was released in August 1941, almost simultaneously with the release of the famous American Willys-MA. At the same time, the GAZ-64 was superior to the American counterpart in many ways.
Not everyone knows about the developments of the Gorky Automobile Plant in the field of tank building. So, in 1936, the company produced a series of small amphibious tanks T-38, developed at the Moscow plant No. 37. However, after the delivery of 35 machines, their production was completed, and the design team began work on alternative small amphibious tank. Thus, the prototype TM ("Molotov Tank") was created, which in a number of characteristics was superior to the T-38, in a number it was inferior, and in general both of these models had extremely limited combat capability.
As a result, until the autumn of 1941, tank building at GAZ had no further development, although the enterprise had a huge potential for the production of light wheeled and tracked armored vehicles needed by the Red Army. he was in great demand.
Such is the history of the creation of GAZ. For an incomplete first ten years, he became the country's leading car factory and gave the USSR 450 thousand cars. It mastered the production of 17 models and modifications of cars and produced 68.3% of all cars produced in the USSR at that time. A great merit in this belongs to the first director of the plant, S.S. Dyakonov.
At the beginning of January, the railway line from the Dvigatel Revolutsii plant had not been completed, although it should have been completed on November 15, 1929. Only an embankment has been completed along the Monastyrka-Doskino railway line, and the access railway line to the harbor is only 30% complete. The construction of two two-story houses for the administration of Metallstroy, a temporary canteen for 300 people, a fire shed, a baggage shed and a stable has been completed. Of the 32 collapsible plywood houses for 50 people, only 14 houses were assembled, and the construction of a permanent dining room for 400 people was only 5% completed. The construction of the plant was in need of experienced technicians and foremen. Due to the lack of necessary tools, the laying of railway tracks was carried out by handicraft methods. Filling and ballasting was done with frozen material, and the filling of the swamp was carried out on permafrost. The wharf was built with blunders, and the cement storage shed looked rather unkempt. Of the 24 barracks, 12 barracks were fully completed, and the rest were completed by 85%. Instead of building semi-permanent barracks, 30 plywood barracks were ordered from the Forest Syndicate and negotiations were underway to supply another 40 such barracks. In the American village, barracks were built by 60%, a canteen by 85%, offices by 100%, 6 houses for American engineers by 22%, two two-story houses for an office and a hostel were fully completed and occupied. Two wells have been dug on the main site and work on the third one is being completed. Two drilling rigs were also completed and work was being completed on two more drilling rigs, but their commissioning was delayed by the lack of transformers. Projects for water supply and electric lighting have been drawn up, and design of a large mechanical workshop has also begun. A canteen for 400 people in one shift is 65% complete, bathhouses are 40% complete, a kitchen for 150 people in one shift is completed, one stable is 60% built and the second stable is fully completed, a garage for tractors is completely ready, one cement shed for 26,000 the cistern is completely ready and the second similar shed is 50% ready, and the construction of the fire station has also begun. At the same time, the construction also experienced a number of problems: there was not enough 5.5 km of rail for laying a railway line to the station. Doskino, there were no cross saws, the lack of apartments for inviting highly qualified specialists.
By the beginning of February, the railway line to the station was not completed. Doskino, problems began in supplying the site with bricks, timber and timber, there were not enough shovels and crowbars, due to the lack of a suitable place, a shed for the production of betonites was built 20 km from the construction site of the automobile plant ready-made betonites to be loaded into wagons and delivered to the construction site by rail), there were no pipes and pumps for laying a temporary water supply system, the equipment of the dryer at the Novaya Sosna sawmill was delayed, there were not enough engineers, technicians, foremen and workers at the construction site. The place for the construction of the western settlement for workers was not finally chosen, since the previously planned site was located in a swamp and was unfavorable for malaria. By the middle of the month, the fire station and the post and telegraph office were only 25% ready, five American cottages - 45%, a two-story house for specialists - 35% (at the same time, the arrival of company representatives in the USSR was expected in March to purchase equipment for mechanization construction works), six two-story houses for Avtostroy and Metallstroy specialists - by 35%, a hostel for employees - by 60%, a bathhouse and laundries - by 50%, an outpatient clinic - by 55%, a forge - by 80%, a locksmith's workshop - by 55%, the construction of a dining room for 400 people and a passage point were being completed, and a roofing workshop was fully completed. In the eastern settlement, only one barrack of a semi-permanent type for workers was assembled, and another 8 barracks were built only by 20%, and in the western settlement, 6 barracks were also built by 20%. At the Novaya Sosna sawmill, the construction of a woodworking workshop and a heater was not started, and the dryer is 78% ready. Railway line to st. Doskino is laid by 60%, and to the harbor - by 45%. The construction also experienced social problems: often the workers came in a drunken state and hooligans, the dining room of the Central Committee was very cramped and was located in a shed, while the workers had to dine standing or sitting on the floor, and the meals were far from acceptable quality, the workers chopped good boards for fires and barrack heating.
By the beginning of March, the construction of a railway line from the Dvigatel Revolyutsii plant to the station was completed. Doskino, earthworks have been completed on the railway line from the construction site to the harbor. In the eastern settlement, 27 barracks have been completed and occupied, and the construction of another 10 barracks is nearing completion, as well as a dormitory for employees of the CRC, a canteen for 400 people in one shift, a bathhouse, a laundry, an outpatient clinic, a pharmacy, a department store and a checkpoint. In the western settlement, the construction of barracks for workers began. The electrification of the construction site is only 10% completed, the low-voltage network - 12%, water supply and sewerage - 8%, three wells have been dug and 8 wells have been drilled, which are not yet equipped with filters and pipes. At the same time, the construction experienced a need for wood, rails, cement, sand, brick, gravel and rubble stone. By the middle of the month, the railway line to the harbor was 53% complete. In the western settlement, 2 barracks for 100 people were completed and another 11 barracks were completed by 40%, a canteen for 400 people in one shift - by 50%, a department store, an outpatient clinic and a pharmacy - by 10%, a stall, premises for heating workers and a cubicle - by 35%. Arriving representatives of the Austin Company experienced problems with housing, since the cottages for them were only 62% ready. Houses for Avtostroy specialists are ready by 46%, and for Metalstroy by 27%. Drilling rigs with equipment, a temporary dormitory for firefighters, premises for post and telegraph, a roofing workshop, a temporary carpentry workshop, a smithy, two transformer booths have been fully completed, the construction of the commandant’s office has begun, and the fire station is 75% ready, the cement shed is 80% ready, a mechanical workshop, a forge for a mechanical workshop and a car park - by 95%, railway telephone communications - by 80%, a low-voltage network - by 20%, wells with equipment - by 33%, pipes for servicing regimental points have been laid by 6%. Construction experienced supply problems with bricks, slag, sand, scaffolding, rubble, gravel, cement, metal, and rails. Every day, 60 wagons with materials were received for construction, instead of the required 250 wagons.
By the beginning of April, the construction of a concrete plant and a woodworking shop began, while it became necessary to build a railway line to the concrete plant to provide it with slag, which is used in production. By the middle of the month, the construction of department stores, shops, stalls, food warehouses, bathhouses and laundries, outpatient clinics, pharmacies, bakeries, kitchen factories was completed in both settlements, and the construction of clubs and other cultural and community buildings began. Dormitories for Metalstroy specialists, firefighters and storekeepers have been completed. Works on electrification are completed by 30%, on water supply and sewerage - by 16%. The accumulation of melt water on the site and the lack of drainage channels make planning work impossible. Clean water is delivered to the site on horseback in barrels and does not fully satisfy the needs for it.
In May, the construction of the car factory itself began. On May 2, a solemn rally of many thousands took place, and a capsule with a commemorative letter was immured in the foundation of the blacksmith building No. 1: "The Nizhny Novgorod Automobile Plant under construction is one of the most important fortresses of the socialist industry ...". The entire plant was supposed to be built in 15 months, but later the period was extended to 18 months! At the beginning of the month, American specialists arrived at the construction site with a complete set of drawings and a construction project and immediately began laying roads to the site.
“Today was the day of the real start of construction work at the automobile plant in Nizhny Novgorod. All this became part of the main May Day celebrations, and trains full of people arrived from Nizhny Novgorod especially for the celebration. As far as I can tell, there were five thousand spectators” (from the memoirs of the American engineer Allen Austin, 1930).
The firm "Austin Company" handed over to Avtostroy all the necessary drawings and projects. The vast territory along the Oka River was divided into six parts: two blacksmith shops, a mechanical assembly shop, a press shop, a spring shop, a foundry shop, a wheel shop, and a residential town. On May 3, the mechanical assembly building was laid, already on May 8, the construction of the mechanical repair building began, and on May 21, the press and spring buildings. By mid-May, wells had not been fully equipped at the construction site. At the construction site there were seven tractors, fifty cars and seven American cranes, which often failed. The main vehicle for the delivery of goods was horse-drawn bridles, which numbered at different times from five hundred to a thousand. Mostly peasants worked, there was a catastrophic shortage of qualified specialists - carpenters, masons, concrete workers, plasterers, etc. In part, the shortage of personnel was replenished due to the influx of Western specialists and workers, mainly from the USA, Germany and England. Against the backdrop of the economic crisis that broke out in the West, the USSR seemed to them a new world, where the very concept of unemployment was absent.
By the beginning of June, work was completed on cleaning and draining the area of the automobile plant, digging foundation pits for the foundations of the blacksmith, mechanical assembly and press shops was completed, and work began on digging pits for the repair and forging, spring and reion-mechanical shops. On June 10, the construction of blacksmith shop No. 2 began. The work on laying the foundation of rubble stone for the blacksmith, machine-assembly and press shops was nearing completion. It was not without problems: the construction required two locomotives and 60 platforms, 45 trucks, technical staff, rails and fasteners, and there was not enough electricity. By the middle of the month, a garage for cars and trucks, a bakery, a factory-kitchen and a bathhouse. In the western settlement, a water tower, a hostel for foremen, a department store and a network of stalls have been completed, but they have not yet been equipped with water supply and sewerage. In the American village, the exterior plastering of houses was being completed and settlement was underway. An autogenous workshop, a betonite stone factory, a railway line to the harbor were also completed, and paving began. The digging of a foundation pit for the foundation of the forge has been completed. Excavation work on the mechanical repair shop has been completed. A telephone connection has been made. On June 20, the construction of a woodworking shop began.
By the beginning of July, in the building for the press shop, the installation of formwork, blockless ceilings, reinforcement and concreting of shoes for columns began. For the mechanical assembly, foundry, spring shops and the forge, the installation of formwork, concreting of column shoes and ceilings began. Digging of pits, concreting and rubble laying began at the wood-finishing, repair-mechanical and repair-forge shops. In the eastern village, work was underway on laying sewers and assembling plywood barracks. Started installation of equipment at the concrete plant. In the harbor, earthworks have been completed to deepen the bottom and a railway line has been laid to the bunkers of the gravel pits. There was an acute shortage of gravel, 1550 masons, 740 carpenters, 308 fitters, 476 concrete workers, 122 plasterers and 470 movers. There were also problems of a social nature: it was impossible to get food in the cooperative, and in canteens they were fed only salted or dried fish every day. By the middle of the month, the central concrete plant did not work, for which equipment was urgently delivered from abroad. The construction lacked gravel and 1200 masons, due to which the reinforced concrete work was only 50% completed. The canvas has been prepared and the laying of the track of the factory railway has begun. Reinforced concrete intra-plant roads were planned and staking and earthworks began along the slag-tar highway from the plant to Kanavino, and temporary cobblestone roads were paved.
By the beginning of August, the issue with the rollers was resolved, and there was also no crime for the delivery of slag, sand and tar for road construction. The concrete plant is idle due to the lack of washed gravel. The construction of the car factory experienced a shortage of lumber, iron, iron and cast iron pipes and heavy rails. There was also a lack of gravel, the extraction of which was carried out in an artisanal way.
By the beginning of October, the foundations of the workshops were completed and the metal structures of the spring, repair and mechanical, woodworking, repair and blacksmith, makhano-assembly and press shops were received, the receipt of which for construction began in August. On October 1, the construction of the foundry shop began. The installation of the metal structure of the spring shop has begun. Railway (66 km), reinforced concrete road (6 km) and slag-tar road (12 km) were built from 0.3 to 8.3%. The construction was in dire need of gravel, rails, rivets, bolts, 1,200 carpenters, 800 masons, 800 plasterers, 200 joiners, 250 concrete workers, 1,000 laborers, and 1,500 diggers.
By the beginning of November, the concreting of the main workshops and main roads was delayed due to the lack of gravel. Since July, Kommunar tractors have been idle due to a lack of spare parts. We did not manage to lay the water supply and sewerage on time due to the lack of pipes and work force. The spring and woodworking workshops stood without reinforced concrete bindings, since their manufacture had not been established. In the foundry shop, only 15% of the shoes for the installation of metal structures were concreted instead of 80%. Reinforced concrete work in the main office is only 40% completed. There was a need for cement, piomaterials, gravel, roofing felt, pipes, etc. Here is how the representative of the Austin Company, Mr. Coleman, describes the situation in his letter to Avtostroy: “No attention is paid to the delivery of materials. Much more lime, sand, gravel and rubble have been brought to the main office building than will be needed in the near future. The place that must be used for the correct placement of materials is already filled. River and mountain sand are mixed together with gravel, the forest is filled in and all together looks like a courtyard in a madhouse. Materials are constantly wasted, and no one is responsible for the normal delivery of materials and their storage. The way cement is supplied is disgraceful. At least 5% of the cement produced is wasted, and this does not bother anyone. Barrels are thrown from trucks, which immediately break, cement crumbles and disappears. I have spoken about this many times, but to no avail.”(magazine "Behind the Wheel" No. 22, 1930).
On December 25, the builders of the forge, mechanical repair and spring shops overfulfilled the program of the shock quarter. Due to the lack of metal structures, the construction of the press shop was delayed. On December 27 at 12 noon, a 7-minute meeting of builders took place, at which it was decided to work the remaining 4 days seven days a week and, if necessary, around the clock to complete necessary work on time.
Plant "Gudok Oktyabrya" in Kanavino.
1930.7.16. Construction of the Main Gateway of the Automobile Plant, now it is the Komsomolskaya Gateway
1930.7.21. Repair and mechanical shop
1930s, UKS 1
1931.01.01. Power Power is a thermal power plant, if anyone does not know
1931.10.05. Mechanical assembly shop
1931.10.05. Mechanical assembly shop, inscription on the back of the previous photo
1931 presumably. Unpacked boxes with imported equipment. Sergei Petrov Lord! Equipment begins to arrive at the plant, but the place for its receipt and storage has not been prepared. The equipment arrives without documents and without prior notification. The labels attached to the boxes indicate the buildings in which the equipment contained in them should be installed, but there is no information about who, from where and what equipment was shipped: Two issues must be resolved immediately. It was urgent to correct the situation in order to prevent a repeat of the mistake of the previous year, when the arrived equipment was scattered randomly right on the river bank and most of it was lost or stolen. Fred Coleman, Austin Engineer responsible for installing new equipment. From the book Richard Cartwright Austin - Building Utopia. At the Molotov Automobile Plant, then at the Gorky Automobile Plant, then at the GAZ Production Association, then at the GAZ OJSC in the UO (equipment management), the attitude towards the equipment arriving at the plant did not change. It was stored in the same way as shown in this photo - in the open.
Signed on the back of the previous photo. This place, indicated in the photo, is just behind the current Main entrance on the territory of the plant. On the left - press production, on the right - RMK (mechanical repair building). There, in the open air, there were boxes with imported equipment bought for gold.
1931.11.14. General form plant with water tower
Manual traction instead of mechanical
Construction of the car factory. Judging by the age, appearance and clothing of the workers in the photo, this is more likely some kind of subbotnik, and not the construction of an automobile plant. In the 1930s, dense peasants worked at the construction site, who cannot be confused with these.
The rally dedicated to the completion of the construction of the plant. November 1, 1931 On January 29, 1932, the first car came off the assembly line - the NAZ-AA truck. Since December 1932, the assembly of a medium-class passenger car GAZ-A began at the automobile plant. It is practically impossible to record the completion of the construction of the whole plant, but since a rally has been held, it means that it is so - the construction is over!
Gorky Automobile Plant. Nizhny Novgorod region, 1950s. The design and experimental department (KEO, then UKER) has always stood apart from other engineering services of the plant. The building of engineering services (KIS) housed Proekt.U - a design department that could be compared with a large design institute and UGT - the department of the chief technologist with its own design and technology departments.
It looks like a square in front of the main entrance. Fountain, large flower bed in the same places.
The first truck "Ford" of the Soviet assembly - model AA. Nizhny Novgorod. Automobile assembly plant No. 1. February 1, 1930 You give a five-year plan for 4 years in three shifts, on two machines, for one salary! Hurrah, comrades! Sergei Zhelezov. Personally, for many years I was a mechanical assembly worker at GAZ. Collected Volga GAZ 31-029, GAZ 31-02, GAZ 31-10 in various modifications and also Volga-Siber. I would collect Skoda now, but I was lucky to get laid off. Now I.P. I have an antique.
1937, main conveyor
Conveyor GAZ-51 - 1946
Conveyor - GAZ-67.
A.A. Lipgart and A.N. Kirillov near the plasticine model of the Victory, 1945
This is the main conveyor. Subassembly area for the rear axles of trucks. Then these bridges are fed to the conveyor and installed on the chassis of the car.
Sales management car warehouse.
This is the main entrance. Previously, there was a checkpoint for workers (now this place is located KIS - building of engineering services). And the cars left at the same gate as now. Behind the entrance - IShK (tool-stamp case). On the left in the distance - the Body building at the Komsomol checkpoint.
View of the Body building from the side of the plant. It is located along Avtozavodskoye Highway from Komsomolskaya Gateway to North Gateway.
Painted and assembled car body GAZ-M1.
Behind the car GAZ-12 ZiM - Body case. On the right is a three-story building, which used to house the KEO, and later and until recently, this building housed the TsSLA - a car assembly shop.
Car assembly shop.
Old freight conveyor...
Yard at the body building.
This is TsSLA - a car assembly shop. On these stands, the alignment of the wheels is adjusted.
In this picture, the assembly of painted Siber bodies in KSiOK PLA-2 is in progress.
Here, cars are defended that the OTC did not let go on sale. Cars are placed next to the conveyor and defects are eliminated. Ideally, there should be no cars here.
Press forge. These are the presses of the Novo-Kramatorsk Mechanical Plant (NKMZ). Now we will get nothing from there - Ukraine!
Car assembly shop. On the conveyor - cars GAZ-24 "Volga".
CSLA. A painted, assembled and upholstered body of the Pobeda M-20 car is installed on the conductor conveyor.
Robotic line of the cabin welding shop at the production commercial vehicles. The workshop for assembly and welding of cabins is located on the 1st floor of the body building. Almost all the automated equipment of this workshop, except for welding robots, was designed and manufactured by the designers and workers of GAZ's own machine tool building department. Thanks to this, in a difficult period of general collapse, in the shortest possible time and at minimal cost, the production of Gazelles was mastered, which are produced on this equipment to this day.
GAZ-20 body tests for rigidity
Wooden demonstration model of the Victory, summer 1944
1955-1958 Photo by Alexander Anikin On the GAZ M-20V conductor conveyor Car assembly shop. The M-20 Pobeda car is being assembled on the conductor conveyor. Then, GAZ-21 and GAZ-24 Volga cars were assembled on the same conveyor.
Production of an exhaust die for a floor panel on a copy-milling machine at IShK. Above - a template, a wooden copy of the floor panel, below - a metal cast iron die casting, which is machined.
1952 freshly painted Pobeda being dried in an electric oven
In the photo, ZIM-12 (GAZ-12) cars. The photo is most likely from 1950.
The main assembly line for GAZ-4301 and GAZ-3307 cars.
Assembly shop No. 1. The assembly of the cab of the Gazelle is in progress.
main conveyor.
Car assembly shop - 2 (CSLA-2). It was rebuilt on the site of the demolished hydroelectric workshop, which adjoined the building of the passenger car workshop (CSLA) on the south side.
Assembly shop No. 1. Assembly of all-metal bodies.
Assembly shop No. 1. Subassembly of a hydraulic vacuum booster before installing it on a Gazelle.
Assembly shop No. 1. On floor conveyors, the painted cabins of the GAZ-3302 lorry are being assembled.
Gazelle Assembly Conveyor.
I took this photo around 1963 to send to my pen friend in England. Then it was in the spirit of the times to correspond with foreigners. I wanted to show with this photo that we in the USSR do not slurp cabbage soup with bast shoes. We know how to build modern buildings of glass and concrete. This is the first "modern" building on the automobile factory land. Vladimir Sergeev
CSLA. A GAZ-3102 executive class car is assembled on the conductor conveyor.
The picture shows a GAZ-22 Volga station wagon ambulance. Filmed inside the factory. On the left is the body building. To the right is the CSLA building.
Car assembly shop. Release of cars GAZ-21 "Volga".
1970 Car assembly shop. The end of the production of GAZ-21 Volga cars and the start of production of GAZ-24 Volga cars without stopping production.
Vladimir Sergeev Assembly shop №2. It was a workshop of high culture. Mostly women worked on the assembly. It was located on the 3rd production floor of the body building. All parts and components were delivered to the shop freight elevators. The assembly and upholstery of the bodies was carried out on floor conveyors, which moved the bodies along the covered gallery to the passenger car assembly shop.
GAZ-53 trucks are being assembled on the main conveyor.
The building of the Body building from the side of the plant. On the first floor of the Body Building there were: a large stamping shop, a medium stamping shop, a cabin assembly shop, a body assembly shop, a repair and tool shop, and a mechanical repair shop. Here, on the premises of the medium stamping workshop, there was a site for setting up large dies of the ISHK. On the second amenity floor, along the entire length of the body building, there were offices for managers, engineering services, a trade union committee, a party committee, a library and dressing rooms with showers for workers. On the second production floor there was a carcass and muffler workshop, a Red Corner and canteens. On the third floor, there was a GAZ-13 Chaika body shop and assembly shop No. 2, in which painted car bodies were assembled and upholstered. On the fourth floor of the body building there was a workshop for assembling the cabs of the GAZ-66 car. The finished GAZ-53 and GAZ-66 cabs were sent along the covered gallery on overhead conveyors to the truck assembly building, where they were painted and assembled. On the 4th floor of the body building there was also a body painting shop and a painting shop for small and medium-sized parts. The workshop for painting car bodies used to be part of the assembly shop No. 2 as a section. In 1970, a new part Body building - to the Northern entrance. This outbuilding housed equipment for welding and assembling GAZ-24 car bodies, which made it possible to switch to the production of the new Volga GAZ-24 instead of the Volga GAZ-21 without stopping production in 1970.
The GAZ-13 Seagull was not assembled on a common assembly line. Now she is standing on the stand for adjusting the camber-toe.
And until now, this feed tape exists at the factory in the same form.
CSLA. The removal of the car from the conductor conveyor and its installation on the floor conveyor was carried out by an automatic manipulator.
2014. 03. Forge
2014. 03. Forge
memorial sign
This is a forge production of a car factory. A steam hammer is installed on the stand near the hull, on which car parts were previously forged. If you go straight, 150 meters, then there will be a spring shop (in the same building) and opposite its road, to the right, to the Main entrance of the plant, past the Assembly of trucks and Gazelles, Press First and LIO.
Memorial plaque on the forge building
CSLA. Release of the thousandth car GAZ-3102 "Volga". From left to right: Kalikin V.P., Novikov F.P., Pugin N.A., Semennikov B.M., Pankov B.A. This picture was taken at the Passenger Car Assembly Shop (CSLA) on January 25, 1983. In this photo: Kalikin V.P., Novikov F.P., Pugin N.A., Semennikov B.M., Pankov B.A.
L.I. Brezhnev in assembly No. 2. Photo by N. Dobrovolsky
Solemn rally on the occasion of awarding GAZ with the Order of Lenin. 02/12/71. Photo by N. Dobrovolsky
2011.11.04 I give a finger!
2011.11.04 Doesn't come off, another one!
Photo from the book by M. N. Vdovin, A. M. Gorev "Everything for victory!"
The car is in the making
V.V. Lebedev and designer V.P. Duarte
The birth of the car
At the model of the car V.V. Lebedev
Sculptor-artist V.V. Lebedev
OJSC "GAZ" today
JSC "Gorky Automobile Plant" is an open joint stock company. For 70 years of its history, GAZ has become the center of domestic engineering. The staff of the enterprise mastered more than 100 various models and modifications of automotive technology, more than 16 million cars and trucks were manufactured. All automobile plants in the country (VAZ, KAMAZ, UAZ, ZAZ, PAZ and others) were created and equipped with the direct participation of GAZ specialists.
"GAZ" and today occupies a special place in the Russian automotive industry. Retaining the role of a universal master, the automobile plant, the only one in the country, produces both trucks and cars. Gorky Automobile remains a traditional supplier of trucks for agriculture, reliable all-wheel drive trucks for the army, as well as lorries and cars of the middle class "Volga", modifications of which were developed for operation in the most difficult climatic and road conditions. The share of JSC "GAZ" in the production of cars in Russia is: cars - 7.6%, trucks - 57%, buses - 46.4%.
Behind last years a complex of highly efficient technological processes for the production of new car models: GAZelle, Sobol, Sobol-Barguzin, Sadko, various modifications of the Volga. GAZ actively cooperates in the development new products with global companies. Currently, a number of joint projects with foreign partners have been implemented: "INGERSOLL-RAND" (production of high-quality tools), "HADEN" (creation of painting complexes), "CZ" (production of turbochargers for diesel engines), "BOSCH" (production of electrical equipment for cars ), "LEAR" (production of seats), "TUCKER" (introduction of arc welding technology). Technical capabilities complex "HADEN-2" allow painting car bodies up to 12 colors, including two-layer enamels with metal effect.
OAO "GAZ" has a certificate for the compliance of the quality system with national and international standards ISO-9002. The distribution network of the car factory is focused on meeting the needs of consumers, making it possible to purchase a car of the required modification and according to affordable price throughout Russia. The export of cars and vehicle sets to the countries of the Near and Far Abroad is actively developing.
JSC "GAZ" is implementing a program to improve the quality of its products, which includes fundamental changes in production, in the thinking of personnel, in the management system of the enterprise. Relations with suppliers are built on the basis of the objective laws of the market economy: high quality - reasonable price. This year, about $20 million will be directed to the quality improvement program. But even now, in terms of price-quality ratio, there are no competitors in Russia for GAZ cars.
Since January 2003, the production of modernized GAZelle and Sobol light trucks began. Work is underway to establish a joint venture with IVECO for the production of light commercial vehicles such as GAZelle and Sobol, medium-duty trucks and diesel engines for them, as well as joint production with ZF for the production of gearboxes for cars and trucks. JSC "GAZ" continues to work on improving the passenger car model range. Preparations are underway for the production of the modernized Volga GAZ-3110, a new class D model, the GAZ-3115 Volga, has been developed.
Over the past year, 198,135 vehicles were produced on the conveyors of the Gorky Automobile Plant: 65,648 cars, 132,487 trucks, including 32,229 minibuses. 6,604 car sets were delivered to car assembly plants. Spare parts were sold in the amount of 295,590 thousand rubles, which exceeds the output of 2001 by 53.4%. The production plan is formed strictly at the request of dealers.
The management of JSC "GAZ" is taking measures to increase the motivation of the workers of the plant. More than 70 thousand people work at the plant. Currently, the average salary of employees is 5174 rubles. OJSC "GAZ" is a city-forming enterprise. The well-being of Nizhny Novgorod residents largely depends on how GAZ operates. The car plant's share in engineering industry cities is 75.3%, regions - 48.4%. The automobile plant is the largest taxpayer.
"Beginning" (1929-1941)
The history of the open joint-stock company "GAZ" (formerly "Gorky Automobile Plant") dates back to 1929. March 4, 1929 A decision was made by the Supreme Council of National Economy of the USSR and an order was signed on the construction of an automobile plant. April 6, 1929 a decision was approved on the choice of the area for the construction of the future automobile plant - near the city of Nizhny Novgorod.
May 31, 1929 The Supreme Council of National Economy of the USSR and the American company "Ford Motor Company" entered into an agreement on technical assistance in organizing and setting up mass production of Ford-A type cars and Ford-AA type trucks. Technological and structural design was carried out in America mainly by domestic engineers in close cooperation with the Ford Motor Company. The architectural and construction project was developed by "Austin & K".
May 2, 1930 near Nizhny Novgorod, the first stone was laid in the foundation of the future automobile plant. Thanks to a successful project, skillful management, personal responsibility of each participant, the plant was built in 18 months. January 1, 1932 the car factory went into operation. January 29, 1932 the first car came off the assembly line - a GAZ-AA truck.
Since December 1932 the assembly of a GAZ-A middle-class passenger car began at the automobile plant.
The first cars of the GAZ-A and GAZ-AA models were manufactured according to the drawings of the American company Ford. Despite this, they were already somewhat different from the American prototypes: for the Russian version, the clutch housing and steering gear were reinforced. Combining the use of Ford's developments with the search and implementation of their own solutions, the designers created many modifications based on the "one and a half". In 1933, the GAZ-03-30 service bus appeared. At the end of 1934, a three-axle truck GAZ-AAA got on the conveyor. Later, the GAZ-410 dump truck appeared. And in 1937, the production of the GAZ-55 ambulance bus began at the branch of the Gorky Automobile Plant. Also in those years, the gas-generating truck GAZ-42 was created. On the basis of the GAZ-A car, a GAZ-4 pickup truck was created with an all-metal cab and a metal platform for 500 kg of cargo. GAZ-4 pickups began to roll off the assembly line in 1933. An important date in the biography of the plant was the day of April 17, 1935, when the 100,000th car rolled off the assembly line. It was a passenger car GAZ-A. So, in the 30s, for the first time in the USSR, with the technical assistance of American specialists from the Ford Motor Company, a conveyor belt was mastered. mass production cars.
A new milestone in the history of the plant was the creation and development of the M-1 passenger car. The mass movement for mastering technology and raising labor productivity made it possible in the shortest possible time to prepare for the production of new cars. Under an agreement signed with Ford, this car, like the GAZ-A, was also assigned its own Ford prototype. However, the design team of GAZ, headed in 1933 by a talented specialist and organizer A.A. Lipgart, taking into account not only the experience gained in the production and operation of the first model, but also his own point of view on the domestic car, resolutely refused to copy the American model. So, instead of installing a V-8 engine from the American counterpart, it was boosted from 40 to 50 hp. and the already produced four-cylinder was significantly modernized. But the main changes affected the chassis: a frame of increased strength and a new suspension design were created (on four springs instead of two transverse springs for an analogue); spoked wheels gave way to stamped disk wheels with oversized tires. The reasons are clear: the Ford chassis turned out to be virtually unsuitable for work on Russian roads.
As a result, GAZ-M1, like all subsequent models of GAZ passenger cars, turned out to be hardy, durable, unpretentious. The appearance of the car was also changed: due to the enlargement of the front part and the lengthening of the frame and wheelbase, the proportions became better, the appearance of the entire front assembly - the wings of the hood and the radiator lining - became more interesting. Thus, the design team of the plant, by creating the GAZ-M1 car, not only passed a major test, but also laid the foundations for the GAZ design school. In 1937, the M-1 car adequately represented the USSR at the World Industrial Exhibition in Paris.
The GAZ-M1 model has a peculiar biography. Year after year, being modernized in detail, it faithfully served people from the late 30s to the 50s, including the war. Based on the M-1, a GAZ-415 pickup truck with a payload capacity of 400 kg was developed and mass-produced. Emki was also produced with a 6-cylinder engine, which received the GAZ-11 index. This engine has a displacement of 3485 cc. and a power of 76 hp. not only allowed to improve the dynamics, but also opened up prospects for its use on future designs of trucks, and during the war years - on light tanks and self-propelled guns.
A passenger car with a new engine received the GAZ-11-73 index. Its first samples were ready in 1938. In addition to the power plant, a number of improvements were introduced on the cars: elongated front springs, more efficient brakes, a new instrument panel, etc. On the basis of the GAZ-11-73, the GAZ-11-40 car with a phaeton body was created, to begin mass production of which war interfered. But the all-wheel drive modification of the GAZ-61, created by V.A. Grachev, mass-produced. The car could overcome slopes with a steepness of 38`, easily climbed a steep pedestrian staircase, overcame a ford with a depth of 720 mm. Experts argued that when installing special tires with developed lugs, the GAZ-61 outperformed half-tracked vehicles in terms of cross-country ability.
By the end of the 1930s, GAZ became the country's leading automobile plant and gave the USSR 450,000 cars. He mastered the production of 17 models and modifications of cars and produced 68.3% of all cars produced in the USSR. A great merit in this belongs to the first director of the plant, S.S. Dyakonov (1898-1938)
"GAZ during the war" (1941-1945)
The Great Patriotic War required the reorientation of the plant to the production of military equipment. Factory designers and technologists quickly developed and prepared new vehicles for production: all-terrain vehicles GAZ-64 and GAZ-67, armored vehicles BA-64, BA-64B, tanks: T-60, T- 70. Along with trucks, the plant launched the production of self-propelled guns, ammunition and various military equipment.
A.A. proved to be outstanding designers - innovators in the creation of military equipment. Lipgart, N.A. Astrov, V.A. Dedkov, V.A. Grachev, A.M. Krieger, L.V. Kostkin, Yu.N. Sorochkin, V.K. Rubtsov.
"Everything for the front, everything for victory" - so, sparing no effort, the car factory workers worked in the rear. Fulfilling the tasks of the front, people did not leave the shops for days. The front-line brigades of V.F. worked selflessly during the war years. Shubin, A. Kharlamov, V. Tikhomirov and others. The names of the initiators of the production of A.Kh. Busygina, I.I. Kardashina, A.S. Kuzmina, V.F. Shubina, A.A. Lipgart, I.K. Loskutova, A.N. Somova, A.D. Proskurin are inscribed in the history of the Great Patriotic War.
The devastating raids of enemy aircraft in the summer of 1943 did not break the car factory. Under the leadership of the plant director I.K. Loskutov (1900 - 1982) in a hundred days and nights they restored 50 buildings and structures, repaired 9 thousand pieces of equipment.
During the years of World War II, GAZ produced:
- cars - 176221 pcs.
- tanks - about 12,000 pcs.
- self-propelled units - more than 9000 pcs.
- mortars - 24,000 pcs.
- automobile motors - 232000 pcs.
- shells for the rocket launcher "Katyusha" - 30,000 pcs.
More than 40 million kilometers were driven by Gaz "lorries" on the "road of life" in 1941 alone. More than half a million people were evacuated, more than 271,000 tons of food and fodder, 32,000 tons of ammunition and weapons, 35,000 tons of fuels and lubricants, 23,000 tons of coal - in total 361,000 tons of various cargoes. The government highly appreciated the work of car factory workers during the war years, awarding the plant with the Orders of Lenin, the Red Banner and the Order of the Patriotic War, I degree.
"New Frontiers" (1945-1970)
The war had not yet ended when the Gorky Automobile Plant began to create new models of trucks and cars, which in the first post-war years changed almost the entire model range of the plant. Such a speed of renewal was worth a truly gigantic effort to re-equip production. It is worth saying that in just a year 4036 units of equipment were remounted and remounted.
The first in a series of new products was the GAZ-51 truck. Their mass production began in January 1946. This car went down in history as an impeccably reliable, rational, economical. He lasted on the assembly line for 29 years and, despite his venerable age, is still found on the roads. GAZ-51 for that time was a very advanced and perfect design. Its creators, with a slight increase in weight compared to its predecessor, managed to increase the carrying capacity by more than one and a half times and the turnaround time by half. reinforced frame and the undercarriage components had a considerable margin of safety and could be operated with large overloads. 70 hp six-cylinder engine allowed to develop a speed of 70 km / h. For three decades, the car has been repeatedly upgraded. Initially, due to the acute shortage of steel sheet in the post-war years, the machines had a cabin of mixed wood-metal construction with wooden footboards. Later, the cabins became all-metal. In subsequent years, the car has undergone a number of changes, which are reflected in the model index - GAZ-51A. The design of the car turned out to be so successful that its production was deployed in Poland, China, and the DPRK. GAZ-51 served as the basis for numerous models and modifications: cars off-road GAZ-63, GAZ-651 buses (later PAZ-651 and PAZ-653), GAZ-93 dump truck, GAZ-51P truck tractor and a number of other vehicles.
The second was the GAZ M-20 car, the famous Pobeda. The first batch was assembled in June 1946. This car was destined to become not just a milestone, but to write a bright page in the history of not only domestic, but also the world automotive industry. GAZ M-20 became famous primarily due to the original body shape, which created a very low aerodynamic drag, only 0.34. Machine design has unlocked new trend in the then automotive fashion, picked up in the next 2-3 years by many global automakers. "Victory" became the first Soviet car with load-bearing body and the first in the world stock car with a body of "wingless" form. The car was also distinguished by an independent suspension of the front wheels, hydraulic drive brakes, front hinged doors, V-shaped windshield. In a comfortable cabin with a heater, 5 people were freely accommodated. It is worth noting that to ensure additional comfort, all "Victory" were equipped with radios.
Along with the base model with a sedan body, since 1949 a modification with a convertible body has been produced. In accordance with the development of the taxi service in the country, more than 37 thousand cars of the "taxi" modification were manufactured. In total, over 235 thousand GAZ M-20 vehicles rolled off the assembly line in twelve and a half years. On its basis, the all-wheel drive model GAZ-72 was also produced.
"Victory" received good reviews abroad. It was exported not only to the countries of the Eastern Bloc, but also to some Western European countries. Under the Soviet license, GAZ M-20 under the brand name "Warsaw" was produced in Poland at the FSO plant for 23 years.
In 1948, a team of designers led by A.A. Lipgart and N.A. Yushmanov, on a government assignment, began designing a new passenger car big class, which received the index GAZ-12 "ZIM". The first industrial batch was released already in 1950. The car had a number of technical solutions that were progressive for that time and were distinguished by a high level of comfort: heated rear seats, a three-band radio, a turn signal switch with automatic reset. The car with the forced GAZ-51 engine was the most powerful (95 hp) and the fastest (up to 125 km/h) in model range. In addition to the GAZ-12 with a closed six-seat sedan-type body, a modification with a cabriolet body was developed, as well as the GAZ-12B ambulance, which was mass-produced.
The GAZ-69 SUV in 1953 replaced its predecessor GAZ-67. The most unified with the then produced "gas" cars, a simple, durable and very hardy machine was successfully operated both in our country and abroad.
"Volga" GAZ-21, which entered the assembly line at the end of 1956, is a special, classic car for us. For many people, "twenty-first" has become a symbol of an entire era. Advanced for its time, it still has a lot of fans. In recent years, there has even been a certain increase in interest in this model. Fashionable "hot rods" based on the "twenty-first", and conveyor cars catch the eye on the streets, once again confirming that the "Volga" is one of the most durable and durable cars. By the way, she behaved perfectly in the role of "taxi". The design of the GAZ-21, unusual for its time, also turned out to be extremely successful. Designers N.I. Borisov, V.S. Solovyov, A.M. Nevzorov, G.V. Evart, P.K. Lapshin, M.S. Mokeev and others found a successful compromise between the European and American schools of design.
The new power unit with a wedge-shaped combustion chamber developed power up to 70 hp. The maximum speed of the car was 130 km / h. At new car compared to the "Victory" was significantly improved dynamics. The acceleration time to 100 km / h was reduced by 11 seconds and amounted to 34 seconds, which was not bad at that time. GAZ-21 was modernized several times both externally and structurally, adding new modifications to the production program along the way. Since 1962, they began to produce GAZ-22 with a station wagon body, as well as an ambulance. The Volga was also produced in a luxury version for export.
In 1959, it was time for a new flagship of the company. They became the seven-seat "Seagull" GAZ-13. The design of the car was inspired by samples of American manufacturers, then trendsetters in automotive fashion. And with regard to the design, "The Seagull" was of undoubted interest due to a number of technical innovations. It was equipped with a 195 hp V-shaped eight-cylinder engine, a four-chamber carburetor, power steering, and a hydromechanical gearbox. Gearshift control was push-button, and the radio antenna extended automatically. Body equipment included: power windows, washer windshield, an all-wave radio with automatic tuning, fog lights, etc. Along with the basic model, which had a sedan body, GAZ-13A limousines and GAZ-13B convertibles were produced in small batches.
Noting the achievements of constructors and designers, the Volga GAZ-21, Chaika GAZ-13 and GAZ-52 cars at the World Exhibition in Brussels (1958) were awarded the highest award - the Grand Prix.
In March 1958, I.I. was appointed director of the plant. Kiselev (born 1917), who headed GAZ for 25 years. Under his leadership, powerful specialized plants were created, which made it possible to transform the Gorky Automobile Plant into the largest production association. The 60s - a period of updating the range of trucks. The GAZ-52, GAZ-53A, GAZ-66 models and their modifications formed the family of the third generation of GAZ trucks. For them, all powertrains were newly developed, including powerful V-8 engines. The carrying capacity of the GAZ-53A vehicle has increased to 4 tons. At the same time, its durability has significantly increased.
About the car GAZ-66 it is worth mentioning especially. Created under the leadership of A.D. Prosvirnin, he lived on the assembly line for more than a quarter of a century, but, despite this, the car met the strict requirements for it for a very long time. GAZ-66 could easily carry two tons of cargo and tow a trailer total weight two tons. By changing the tire pressure and including one of eight gears, the driver easily coped with off-road. On dry hard ground, the GAZ-66 overcame slopes up to 37 degrees, and on loose sandy - 22 degrees. The car had a number of innovations, such as: a hypoid final drive, an all-metal cargo platform, a cab that leans forward, a power steering, a windshield washer, etc. Due to its outstanding performance, the GAZ-66 quickly won recognition from drivers. At the state level, such recognition was marked with the Quality Mark.
In the same years, the development of the Volga GAZ-24 car was carried out, which was put into mass production in 1970. The new "Volga" was characterized by improved dynamic qualities, a more spacious and comfortable interior, a roomy trunk, structural safety and ease of operation. "Twenty-fourth" was distinguished by the severity of forms, simplicity, grandeur and has always been the embodiment of quality, dignity and prestige. The high strength of the body and chassis of the GAZ-24 made this car indispensable for working as a "taxi". With a 98-horsepower engine, the GAZ-24 developed speeds up to 140 km / h, accelerated from standstill to 100 km / h in 23 seconds (against 34 seconds for the GAZ-21). "A ticket to life" was given to the first GAZ-24 cars by A.D. Prosvirnin, N.A. Yushmanov, N.G. Mozokhin, V.I. Borisov, G.V. Ewart and many others. International awards have become a high recognition of these cars: gold medals for International exhibitions in Plovdiv (1969) and Leipzig (1970). Within 2-3 years after the GAZ-24 was put into production, in addition to the GAZ-24-01 taxis, a cargo-passenger version and an ambulance were mastered.
The end of the 1970s was marked by the release of the third generation of large class passenger cars. "Seagull" GAZ-14 was created under the leadership of A.D. Prosvirnin with the participation of N.A. Yushmanova, V.N. Nosakova, S.V. Volkova, Yu.I. Dokukin and many other designers. The beautiful seven-seater executive car was famous for the high technical level and comfort of American highway "dreadnoughts". The GAZ-14 was equipped with a V-shaped 8-cylinder 220-horsepower engine, which made it possible to reach speeds of up to 175 km / h. Among limousines (a partition was installed in the cabin of some GAZ-14s) Gorky car was the lightest and most compact. With a number of other innovations, the "Seagull" GAZ-14 was a real testing ground for the introduction of new designs, materials and technologies for subsequent mass-produced GAZ models.
"Reconstruction" (70s, 80s)
In the 60-70s, a large-scale reconstruction of the plant was carried out. It began with the refurbishment of foundries. The buildings of gray and ductile iron were expanded, new equipment was installed, foundry No. 6 was created - the country's first precision investment casting shop (1962), an automatic mold casting line was launched, also the first in the country. New factories were built: stamps and molds (1967), gearboxes (1968), truck axles (1972). On August 24, 1971, the production association "AvtoGAZ" was formed on the basis of the branch plants and production facilities of the head enterprise. In 1973, it was renamed into PA "GAZ", which included 11 plants. For the successful development of the production of new trucks and cars for the national economy in 1971, the automobile plant was awarded the Order of Lenin.
Reconstruction and technical re-equipment, begun in the 1960s and 1970s, developed especially intensively in the 1980s. Reconstruction of the 80s - the largest in the history of the plant. Only under the project of the first phase of the expansion of the automobile plant, it is planned to build new production buildings with an area of 700 thousand square meters, among which only productive capacity cases of diesel power units - 250 thousand sq.m. The construction of this facility began in 1984, and ended with the launch of an automobile engine plant in 1993. Dieselization of trucks - the main direction technical policy businesses in the 1980s. In 1984, the first GAZ-4301 truck with an air-cooled diesel engine was assembled. Subsequently, the designers created a nine-ton dump truck GAZ-6008. For the first time, a diesel power unit developed by the specialists of the automobile plant was used on these cars.
In parallel with the release of the GAZ-24 model, mass production of the Volga GAZ-3102 began. It differed from its predecessor by a new front and rear solution, which gave the car greater solidity. The interior design was new dashboard. On the "thirty-first" installed more comfortable seats with headrests. The brake system has also been improved. It is interesting that on the first batches of GAZ-3102 cars, an engine with prechamber-torch ignition was installed. Due to its exclusivity, for several years the "thirty-first" was used only by state and party structures as a company car.
For private owners, since 1985, GAZ has been producing a modernized version of the "twenty-fourth", a car with the GAZ-24-10 index. It featured a more powerful engine, improved suspension, an electronic non-contact ignition system, and 205 mm tires. External differences were an updated grille and a more modern interior.
In the second half of the 80s, on a government assignment, the development of a new representative passenger car GAZ-3105 began, which later became small-scale.
In 1980, for a great contribution to the development of the automotive industry and international trade, the GAZ team was awarded the prestigious Golden Mercury International Prize. In March 1981, the 10 millionth car rolled off the assembly line of the plant, and in December 1995, the 15 millionth with the GAZ brand. In November 1992, the Gorky Automobile Plant was transformed into an open joint-stock company. N.A. was elected President of GAZ JSC. Pugin.
The history of the open joint stock company "GAZ" (formerly "Gorky Automobile Plant") dates back to 1929. March 4, 1929 A decision was made by the Supreme Council of National Economy of the USSR and an order was signed on the construction of an automobile plant. April 6, 1929 a decision was approved on the choice of the area for the construction of the future car plant - near the city of Nizhny Novgorod.
What cars were produced by the GAZ plant?
GAZ-A
GAZ-A is a middle-class passenger car with an open 5-seat 4-door chaise-type body. Licensed copy car Ford-A, equipment and documentation for the production of which were purchased Soviet government in the USA in 1929 from the Ford Motor Company.
The first Soviet passenger car of mass conveyor assembly. Produced from 1932 to 1936 at the Gorky Automobile Plant and from 1933 to 1935 at the Moscow KIM plant. The first two cars were assembled on December 8, 1932. A total of 41,917 cars were produced
M-1 ("Emka") - a Soviet passenger car, mass-produced at the Gorky Automobile Plant from 1936 to 1943.
During the Great Patriotic War, individual copies were assembled at the plant from the available parts.
The car became one of the symbols of its era, played a significant role in the war years, as it was one of the most common car models in the country and was used very widely.
A total of 62,888 copies were made.
"Victory" - a cult Soviet passenger car, mass-produced at the Gorky Automobile Plant in 1946-1958. The factory index of the model is M-20.
The first Soviet passenger car with a load-bearing body and one of the first in the world to be mass-produced with a fully pontoon-type body - without protruding wings and their rudiments, steps and headlights.
On June 28, 1946, the serial production of Pobeda cars began. A total of 235,999 cars were produced, including 14,222 convertibles and 37,492 taxis.
ZIM (until 1957), GAZ-12 - Soviet six-seater six-window long-wheelbase large sedan, mass-produced at the Gorky Automobile Plant (Molotov Plant) from 1949 to 1959 (some modifications - until 1960.)
ZIM is the first representative model of the Gorky Automobile Plant. The predecessor of the "Seagull" GAZ-13. It was mainly used as a service car ("personal car"), intended for the Soviet, party and government nomenclature - at the level of minister, secretary of the regional committee and chairman of the regional executive committee and above, in some cases it was also sold for personal use.
In total, from 1949 to 1959, 21,527 copies of the ZIM / GAZ-12 of all modifications were produced.
GAZ-21 "Volga" - a Soviet middle-class passenger car, mass-produced at the Gorky Automobile Plant from 1956 (1957) to 1970. The factory model index is originally GAZ-M-21, later (since 1965) - GAZ-21. A total of 639478 copies of all modifications were produced.
GAZ-13 "Chaika" is a Soviet representative (representative) passenger car of a large class, produced in a small series at the Gorky Automobile Plant from 1959 to 1981.
A total of 3,189 cars of this model were manufactured.
GAZ-14
GAZ-14 "Chaika" - a Soviet representative passenger car of a large class, hand-assembled at the Gorky Automobile Plant from 1977 to 1988.
In total, about 1120 cars of this model were manufactured.
GAZ-22
GAZ-22 "Volga" is a Soviet passenger car of the middle class with a station wagon-type passenger-and-freight body. Serially produced from 1962 to 1970 at the GAZ plant in the city of Gorky. It was equipped with a five-door monocoque body with a 5-7-seat convertible interior. base car- GAZ-21R sedan of the third series. GAZ-22 (early releases - GAZ-M-22) was designated as a cargo-passenger separate model(thus, the "GAZ-21 station wagon" did not exist). The GAZ-22 had various modifications, and the GAZ-22B ambulance and (by other factories and workshops) the GAZ-22A van were also produced on its basis.
GAZ-22 is one of the first crossovers in the world.
GAZ-24 "Volga" - soviet car middle class, mass-produced at the Gorky Automobile Plant from 1970 to 1985
GAZ-24-10 "Volga" - a passenger car of the middle class, manufactured by the Gorky Automobile Plant. In essence, the GAZ-24-10 is a palliative version of the GAZ-24 modernization based on a more deep modernization GAZ-3102, the deployment of large-scale production of which was artificially blocked at the level of the sectoral ministry. It was produced from the end of 1985 until the spring of 1992, when it was replaced by the GAZ-31029 model, which was a variant of the GAZ-3102 adapted for mass production.
Since the release of the car coincided with many transformations in the country (the era of perestroika), it went down in history as the first Volga available to a wider range of people, including for private purchase (unlike GAZ-24 and even more so GAZ-3102) . But at the same time, it retained a relatively high build quality (when compared with the successors of the GAZ-31029 and even the GAZ-3110).
GAZ-3102 "Volga" - a Soviet passenger car of a large class, mass-produced from April 1982 to 2008 by the Gorky Automobile Plant. Developed on the basis of the GAZ-24 Volga car, the GAZ-3102 was supposed to be its successor.
However, for a number of political and economic reasons, this project was produced in small batches (about three thousand cars a year), instead of mass production, exclusively as an official car by the Soviet mid-level nomenclature. These were positions that had not yet been assigned the exclusive GAZ-14 Chaika limousine, but the status required separation from the general flow. These were deputy ministers, directors of large trusts and enterprises, heads of famous theaters, generals, prominent academic laureates, editors of publications, directors, etc.
GAZ-31105 "Volga" - Russian passenger car, mass-produced on the assembly line from 2004 to 2009 at the Gorky Automobile Plant.
In fact, the "105th" is an improved version of the GAZ-3110. Improvements include: pivotless front wheel suspension, anti-roll bar rear wheels, as well as an improved gearbox. The appearance of the car has also been modernized: instead of angular headlights, drop-shaped headlights have been installed, the radiator grille, front fenders, hood and front bumper have been replaced.
In 2005-2007 under the order, a version of the "business class" GAZ-311055 was produced with a wheelbase extended by 300 mm and doors extended by 150 mm.
GAZ-3105 "Volga" - a passenger car of a large (E) class with increased level comfort, produced from 1992 to 1996 at the facilities of the Gorky Automobile Plant.
Volga Siber (Volga Siber) is a Russian mid-size sedan produced from 2008 to 2010.
Introduced Russian company GAZ Group at the Interauto-2007 exhibition in Moscow on August 29, 2007 as GAZ Siber. Further tradename model was changed to Volga Siber.
