In early May 1935, a decision was made to convert the Kharkov plant to the production of caterpillar tractors. For the next anniversary of this event, we decided to briefly recall the history of the tractor caterpillar.
It would seem that a caterpillar tractor and the ancient commander Hannibal could have in common ... During the Roman campaign, the Carthaginians often found themselves behind enemy lines, overcoming swamps that seemed impassable. Hannibal is credited with the invention of the "mobile gati". The warriors walked on their own shields laid under their feet. The shields, having fulfilled their function, were gradually transferred forward. As a matter of fact, the caterpillar principle was implemented, in which the supports at the rear gradually move forward and again fit under the wheels.
But the first "caterpillar", reminiscent of the modern one, was invented, as they say, by the Frenchman d'Herman. It was an endless belt of rotating rollers, movably connected by planks at the ends. Such a cart was tested in 1713. Its main drawback was sluggishness. In addition, the trolley itself perfectly overcame even difficult off-road conditions, but the “patency” of the people or animals that set it in motion remained the same.
D'Herman's invention was ahead of its time. It is clear that all its advantages could be realized only in self-propelled carriage. It cannot be said that the idea was completely forgotten. So, in the literature there are stories about attempts to create such an "all-terrain vehicle", set in motion by means of levers threaded between the lower and upper rollers. But the absence of any reliable information about the successful (or failed) use of such a swamp makes us think that in this case we are talking about fiction, picked up by other authors. Although, it is difficult to say something with 100% certainty.
Almost simultaneously with the advent of the first railways, the idea of \u200b\u200bcreating rails that could be "carried around" arose. It was then that they remembered the endless tape of d'Herman. Exactly one hundred years later, his compatriot Dubochet for the first time demonstrates his "endless rail", a patent for which was received in 1818. In practice, we can talk about the creation of a caterpillar, very similar to the modern one. The presence of the "endless rail" and the steam engine predetermined the further direction of the creativity of dozens of inventors. John Heathcoat is widely credited as the inventor of the industrial loom. But, probably, it is to him that the honor belongs and the creation in 1837 of the world's first steam caterpillar tractor. However, the problem remained the controllability of such machines.
The first design in which it was possible to solve the control problem was the “carriage with endless rails for transporting goods along highways and country roads” of the former peasant, and later a mechanic and entrepreneur Fyodor Abramovich Blinov, a native of the village of Nikolskaya, Cherkassy volost, Volsky district, Saratov province. For each caterpillar, he used his own steam engine, controlled separately. This made it possible to change the direction of movement by adjusting the speed of each track. On September 20, 1879, the Department of Trade and Manufactories issued a patent ("privilege") for this invention. The tractor itself was built in 1877.
The principle of controlling tracked vehicles was invented, but it was not immediately possible to put it into practice. Therefore, many developments have been carried out for a long time according to the "half-track" scheme. Such was, for example, a tractor patented already in February 1893, which proposed American inventor C. H. Stratton.
All the designs described above turned out to be “stillborn” and did not find practical application. Perhaps the first successfully used caterpillar tractor was a tractor developed by the British company Richard Hornsby and Sons to deliver coal to an Alaska power plant. iron monster weighing 40 tons, it was equipped with an eighty-strong steam engine and could simultaneously transport 8 trailers weighing 12.5 tons each. About 60 tons of coal were delivered to the power plant in one trip. By the way, for the first time in practice, a prototype of a modern control mechanism was used on this tractor. The tractor worked successfully from 1910 to 1927.
But for a triumphant breakthrough “into the world”, caterpillar (and wheeled too) tractors had to wait for the appearance of a relatively reliable internal combustion engine. One of the first diesel tractors to start producing was the same Richard Hornsby and Sons. But she was not very successful in selling tractors and her main income was brought by the implementation of a patent for an improved belt mover, which was acquired by Benjamin Holt. By the way, his tractors also remained half-tracked for some time.
It was Holt who first noticed the resemblance of the "endless rail" to the caterpillar. And the company that appeared in August 1925 as a result of the merger of Holt Manufacturing Co. with the competing CL Best Tractor gaz Co. became known as the Caterpillar Tractor Company (Caterpillar is translated as "caterpillar"). By the way, in the Soviet Union, "caterpillar tractor construction" began with the S-60, an exact copy of the Caterpillar Sixty.
The first Ukrainian caterpillar tractor was SKhTZ-NATI, developed at the Kharkov Tractor Plant in close cooperation with specialists from the Scientific Automotive and Tractor Institute. For almost a decade and a half, he remained the main caterpillar tractor in the USSR.
And the updated KhTZ-181 became the pinnacle of the domestic "caterpillar tractor industry".
We are aware that dozens of interesting designs. It is impossible to embrace the immensity. Therefore, to illustrate the history of the creation of caterpillar tractors, we chose the machines that we considered the most characteristic.
The tractors of the USSR were the first machines, the release of which was given great importance. Special equipment was supplied to collective farms, whose task was to fulfill the food program. The first tractors ensured high labor productivity in agricultural work. Despite low power they did their job well. Tractor drivers in the union were revered people, were considered literate and educated.
In the early 20s of the 20th century, the Leningrad plant "Krasny Putilovets" began to produce Russian tractor. The design of the Soviet car was based on the American model, which is in high demand abroad. Therefore, Fordson is the prototype of subsequent wheeled Soviet tractors. The designers of the plant were required to improve the foreign model as soon as possible.
The car was frameless, with a transversely mounted 4-cylinder engine. Crude oil served as fuel. It weighed about 2 tons, developed a speed of up to 3 km / h. It was used mainly for agricultural work and for moving goods. This was the beginning of the mass production of wheeled tractors.
The first tractor in the USSR was produced in 1923. It was universal machine demanded by collective farms and industrial enterprises. Soviet tractors largely determined the success of the first five-year plans, whose task was to boost the national economy. All models of special equipment were used to perform a wide range of work:
- plowing fields;
- towing heavy loads at sawmills;
- in the construction of roads and buildings;
- in public utilities.
Mini tractors were produced in small batches, because their design was constantly improved.
Starting from 1923, for 6 years at the tractor plant in Kolomna, the production of Kolomnets 1 tractors was carried out. It was almost a complete analogue of the American Mogul. But Soviet designers abandoned several nodes foreign car and thereby facilitated the design of the Russian. This provided her with a higher speed.
The Kolomna model had a frame frame, was equipped with a two-stroke single-cylinder engine with a capacity of 25 liters. With. The power plant was placed vertically, the radiator cooling system was replaced by a cooling tower. A total of 500 cars of this model were produced.
In 1923, the production of Zaporozhets tractors was launched at the Krasny Progress plant. It was a lightweight model, specially designed to work with a double-furrow plow. A distinctive feature of the machine is that it was made from inexpensive and affordable materials. The engine ran on crude oil. To start, it was necessary to heat the ignition head. The car had 3 wheels - 2 front and 1 rear. The unit could reach a speed of no more than 3.6 km / h.
Dwarf
In the early 1920s, the talented Russian inventor Ya. V. Mamin developed two tractors - the Gnome and the Dwarf. Unlike foreign models, they were light and maneuverable machines, easy to assemble and repair. The design of the Karlik included an unparalleled single-cylinder engine high compression, invented by Mamin.
Despite the light weight (up to 1.4 tons) and low power of 12 liters. s., the Dwarf had more traction power than foreign tractors, and surpassed even the American Fordson in this indicator. All this created a high demand for this model, and for 4 years the Vozrozhdenie plant produced Dwarfs 1 daily.
In 1924, the production of the Fordson-Putilovets tractor began at the Krasny Putilovets plant. The government decided to produce cars based on the American Fordson model, but adapted for Russian conditions. This reduced the time required to develop a domestic model.
Fordson-Putilovets became the basis for all wheeled special equipment. The car was equipped with four wheels, the rear of which were leading. In the front was vertical installed engine. The operator's seat was located above the rear axle.
The peculiarity of the model is that it has no frame structure. This technique was used for the first time in world engineering. In this way, several advantages have been achieved:
- lighter weight;
- maneuverability;
- savings on materials of manufacture;
- higher travel speed.
four stroke four-cylinder engine carburetor type provided power of 20 liters. With. The car was controlled by a gearbox with three gears: two forward and one reverse.
station wagon
In the early 30s of the last century, the Kirov Plant in Leningrad began production of the Universal tractor, which was powerful for those times. The machine was developed with the aim of mechanizing the sowing and processing of tilled crops. The prototype was the American Farmall. But in development Russian car the design of the foreign was so changed that the Universal is considered an independent model. And at the same time, two of its modifications were designed at once, and after a while the third and fourth:
- "U-1" - for processing high-bone row crops.
- "U-2" - for low stems.
- "U-3" - for inter-row processing.
- "U-4" - for harvesting cotton.
The characteristics of the Universal tractor made it possible to use it as a traction equipment. In the mid-30s, these machines were produced at two plants at once: Kirov and Vladimir Tractor.
T-150
The T-150, produced by the Kharkov and Minsk Tractor Plants, became the most powerful and fastest agricultural machine of the 60s of the 20th century. The leading designers and inventors of the Soviet Union were engaged in the development of this technique. They solved the problem of mass supply of modernized special equipment to replace obsolete models.
Tractor specifications:
- power - 170 l. With.;
- crankshaft speed - 2100 per minute;
- minimum turning radius - 6.5 m;
- ground clearance - 400 mm;
- pulling force - 6000 kgf.
The car was equipped with a six-cylinder petrol engine with a turbocharger SMD-60, which was launched by an electric starter. Starting in 1971, more powerful engines began to be installed on the T-150: YaMZ-236, 236NE, 238M2. Tractor transmission is hydromechanical with 2-disk clutch and pneumatic drive. The skeleton is semi-frame, the gearbox is of a mechanical type.
Crawler tractors of the USSR
Since the mid-60s of the last century, research has been actively conducted in Russia on the effectiveness of the use of wheeled tractors in agriculture.
As a result, conclusions were drawn that it is more profitable and safer to operate a track-based machine.
Unlike wheeled ones, they do not cause large soil compaction, resulting in a 25% reduction in yield. Tracked models have other advantages:
- higher permeability on loose and viscous soils;
- reduced risk of slipping;
- higher traction characteristics.
In this regard, it was decided to switch the country's largest tractor-building plants to the production of machines based on caterpillars. By the 80s of the 20th century, the collective farms and state farms of Russia were fully equipped with this type of equipment.
The technique of this type is represented by the following models.
Kommunar
Kommunar is the first model of a caterpillar tractor, which was produced by KhTZ (Kharkov Tractor Plant) from 1924 to 1931. During the Great Patriotic War this technique was used as traction for artillery pieces. In total, 3 modifications of the basic model were developed:
- G-50;
- G-75;
- Z-90.
Technical characteristics of the Kommunar tractor:
- weight - 8.5 tons;
- power - 50 l. With.;
- maximum speed - 7 km / h;
- three-speed gearbox (2 forward and 1 reverse).
Dt-54
In the 50s of the last century, the production of the first diesel caterpillar tractor D-54 was launched. Its release was carried out by the three largest factories in the country: Stalingrad, Kharkov and Altai. This powerful machine used for all types of work where endurance, cross-country ability, high tractive effort were required.
D-54 was equipped with a 5-speed mechanical box gears, developed a speed of up to 5.7 km / h, had a traction power of 2000 kgf.
Dt-75 - the most massive caterpillar tractor of the USSR
D-75 - special equipment general purpose produced in Russia since 1973. The first cars were equipped with 75 hp diesel engines. With. The tractor has a frame structure, in the original version it was equipped with a cab automotive type with height adjustable seat.
Starting from the modification of the D-75M, the height and equipment of the cabin regularly underwent changes in the direction of increasing comfort.
For operation in regions with severe climatic conditions the possibility of cold start of the engine is provided. The design of the machine allows you to attach semi-mounted equipment to it side type. This makes it possible to use the tractor as a concrete paver and loader. Thus, the range of tasks performed by special equipment has been expanded. It included drilling, road and construction works. To this day, tractors of this model are in demand by agriculture and industry, and are actively used in a variety of conditions.
Fedor Abramovich Blinov (1832-1902) The creator of the world's first caterpillar tractor, a self-taught Russian mechanic Fyodor Abramovich Blinov, was born in 1932 in the village of Nikolsky, Volsky district, Saratov province, into the family of a serf who worked in a smithy for a landowner. Fedor learned blacksmithing from his father. From him, he inherited a passion for learning. Working all the time with his father in the forge to repair various agricultural implements and equipment, Fedor gradually acquired the special knowledge necessary in agriculture. Locksmith, carpentry, blacksmithing, turning, saddlery, he knew perfectly. Fedor Blinov was very fond of reading, and his love for the book was preserved for the rest of his life. He had a fairly large library, which contained the works of various scientists. He paid special attention to agriculture and agronomy, as he thought a lot about the various machines needed in agriculture. Until the second half of the 1840s, Blinov, being a serf, lived incessantly in Nikolskoye, dreaming of freedom, the Volga, steamboats and technical knowledge.Only in connection with the great drought that had happened in the Volga region, shortage of crops and famine did he manage to get a vacation pay from the landowner.
On the Volga, Blinov had to first go to a gang of barge haulers, although he strove to get on a steamer in order to work near the machines. In 1850, he managed to become a stoker on the steamer Hercules, which belonged to one of the merchants. Soon he studied the engine of this steamer well, helped the engineer in many ways, and therefore was transferred from the stokers to the position of assistant driver, and a few years later he became known on the Volga as an experienced craftsman who could get any advice on mechanics and who could fulfill any assignment and any work on the manufacture of a particular machine or device.
Since 1855, Blinov began to work on the "Hercules" already as a machinist. By this time, he had perfectly studied not only the Hercules machines, but also a number of others. Every free minute of his was devoted to studying, studying various sciences. In winter, Blinov independently repaired the steamer, and in the remaining time he carried out various technical assignments: designing and manufacturing various machines, installing them, repairing agricultural machines; therefore, on the Volga, he was quite popular.
The first major and well-known invention of Fyodor Blinov was a change in the design of the machines of the Hercules steamer. Once, while navigating on the Hercules, a shaft burst, which transmitted movement to the two driving wheels of the steamer. This shaft was driven by separate steam engines. The accident of the steamer threatened its owner with great losses, but, despite the offered premium, it was not possible to find any master capable of repairing the shaft. Fedor Blinov proposed to finally divide the broken shaft into parts so that each of the existing steam engines worked on its part of the shaft and transmitted the movement to its drive wheel, that is, so that each wheel of the steamer received independent drive and did not depend on the other wheel. Blinov was entrusted with the repair.
After a well-executed alteration of the machines, the steamer could freely turn on the spot and quickly make sharp turn when one of the wheels driving the steamer is turned off, as a result of which the steering of the steamer has become easier and more convenient.
Having received gratitude and a prize for his invention, Blinov soon after decided to return to his homeland to work independently on the creation of original designs of machines that facilitate peasant labor. In 1877 Blinov moved to Nikolskoye. By this time, he had matured the idea of a caterpillar track, which he expected to use in the future in his self-propelled gun, intended for heavy work in agriculture. Before building a caterpillar self-propelled gun, Blinov decided to test his caterpillar design in practice. As a result of this intention, his first invention appeared - the "car with endless rails". Actually, this is an ordinary cart, in which caterpillars were used instead of ordinary wheels.
Equipped with a caterpillar track, the wagon received exceptionally high operational qualities never seen before. First of all, she easily walked on impassable roads, did not sink and did not get stuck in the mud, she had an exceptionally easy move. A pair of horses could carry cargo on it that was beyond the power of ten horses when transported on ordinary wheeled carts.
The money received as a bonus for the alteration of the steamer's machines, and the savings for almost twenty-five years of work on the steamer, Blinov could not, of course, be enough to build his first machine on his own - a "car with endless rails", and Blinov is looking for a plant, enterprise or workshops that would undertake to build his "carriage", but this turned out to be a hopeless business. Not a single enterprise wanted to take risks and preferred more reliable and already familiar cases. Then he begins to look for a partner who could invest in this new business. Soon he meets the merchant Kanunnikov. Having received from him the consent to finance the work on the manufacture of the “car with endless rails” invented by him, Blinov began to develop the design of his “car”, drawing up detailed drawings for production. At the same time, Blinov performed various technical assignments that served as a source of livelihood for him.
During these years, Blinov created an original single-cylinder pump of a very successful design, which turned out to be more powerful than the two-cylinder pumps used before him; built a fast tug; manufactured various metal agricultural tools of his own design to replace obsolete wooden ones and performed various repair work. Gradually, the drawings of the “car with endless rails” were completed, but it was still necessary to secure their rights with a privilege, and this was a very difficult and unreliable business for the peasant, not promising success. To facilitate the passage of a patent application through the offices of the ministry, an application written by Blinov for this privilege is submitted on March 15, 1878 to the Department of Trade and Manufactories on behalf of the merchant Kanunnikov. On September 20, 1879, Blinov received a privilege for which he had to pay 450 rubles. Kanunnikov contributed this money for him.
A detailed description of privilege 2245 is in the “Code of Privileges” published in the journal “Notes of the Russian Technical Society” for 1879, as well as in the official publication “Code of Privileges Issued by the Department of Trade and Manufactories”, volume III-IV, published in 1880 d. Here is the privilege:
"Privilege,
issued from the Department of Trade and Manufactories in 1879 to the peasant Fyodor Blinov, for a special device wagon with endless rails, for transporting goods along highways and country roads.
The merchant Kanunnikov, on March 15, 1878, entered the Department of Trade and Manufactories with a request for the issuance of a peasant Fyodor Blinov, who lives in the Saratov province, in the Volsky district, in the village of Nikolskaya, a ten-year privilege, on a special arrangement of a wagon with endless rails, for transportation on highways and country roads, consists of an ordinary body and frame mounted on two transverse frames resting directly on suspension springs, so that axles with transverse frames can rotate; wagon wheels are made without ridges and roll along grooved endless rails. These rails are made up of two rows of iron links, of which the lower row replaces the sleepers. Each endless rail goes first on the ground, under both wheels, then bypasses two spoke blocks placed at the front and rear ends of the car, and then rests on the car wheels ...
Upon consideration of this invention in the Technical Inspection Committee of the Railway Administration and in the Council of Trade and Manufactories, the Governor of the Ministry of Finance, on the basis of 149 Art. Set Pro-mind. St. Zach. vol. XI, anticipating that the Government does not vouch either for the exact ownership of the invention by the bearer, or for the success of it, and certifying that this invention has not previously been granted to anyone else in Russia, grants the peasant Fyodor Blinov this privilege for ten years from the following number of the exclusive right, the above invention, according to the description and drawing presented, throughout the Russian Empire to use, sell, donate, bequeath and otherwise assign to another on a legal basis, but so that this invention, according to 152 Art. of the same Statute, was brought into full effect not later than during a quarter of the urgent time for which the privilege was granted, and then, within six months after this, a certificate from the local authorities was presented to the Department of Trade and Manufactories that the privilege was given into essential effect, i.e., that the privileged invention has been put into use; otherwise, the right thereof, on the basis of Article 158, is terminated. Duty money 450 rubles. made; in assurance whereof this privilege is signed by the Governor of the Ministry of Finance and approved by the seal of the Department of Trade and Manufacture. St. Petersburg, September 20, 1879.
After receiving the privilege, Blinov began to work on turning the "car with endless rails" into a caterpillar self-propelled gun. The merchant Kanunnikov had another desire, who wanted to start the production of wagons as soon as possible in order to receive profits. He was extremely negative about the idea of creating a self-propelled gun. In this regard, Blinov broke with Kanunnikov and around 1880 moved to Volsk, where he joined Pligin's cement plant as a mechanic.
Upon entering the plant, Blinov set the condition that he would be given the opportunity to build his own machines; the owner of the plant agreed to this. Having completed the construction of the car in the summer of 1880 and having tested it on various roads, Blinov decided to conduct official public tests of his “car with endless rails”.
The following message was published in the newspaper “Saratovsky Listok” dated January 14, 1881: “News. Some peasant Blinov, who serves as a mechanic at the city of Pligin, invented a machine for transporting heavy loads with rails moving under the wheels. The device is uncomplicated. Rails attached to small tiles, a special arrangement of the front and rear wheels move like a drive pulley. At the first test, it turned out that a pair of horses could freely transport on this machine up to more than four hundred pounds on an ordinary stone pavement. The machine promises enormous benefits and applications in all areas where there are large warehouses of goods. We greet Mr. Blinov and sincerely wish him complete success. On December 30, a public test of the car is scheduled. We will announce the results immediately."
When the newspaper published this report, the tests had already been carried out. They took place on December 30, 1880 in the city of Volsk and were very successful. A cart with a load of two thousand bricks and more than 30 passengers, that is, loaded up to about 9000 kg, easily moved through the streets of the city, drawn by just a couple of horses. Tests confirmed the feasibility of its design.
In fact, it was the world's first tracked trailer. Testing the wagon in Volsk further raised Blinov's authority as a highly skilled mechanic and designer. As a result, the city government offered him to take over the development of the project and the construction of the city water supply. This business was new for the inventor, but with his characteristic energy he took up the study of the issue, and then the water supply project. Soon a water pipe was built in the city.
Luck inspired the inventor, and he begins preparations for the production of carts of his own design. Given the impassability, Blinov believed that caterpillar vehicles would find wide application in Russia and therefore they will need to be produced in in large numbers. However, in Volsk at that time there were no opportunities for his work. In 1881, Blinov moved to Balakovo, where at first he worked in small premises adapted for workshops. In 1887, he rented an iron foundry, where he organized the production of fire pumps designed by him.
This plant was named "Blessing". This brand was subsequently on all Blinov's products.
In 1888, Ya. V. Mamin, who at that time was 15 years old, entered F. A. Blinov as a student. According to him, the Blinov plant was actually a simple workshop that had a foundry. The plant produced mainly fire pumps, which were supplied to the fire brigades of many Volga cities; repaired various agricultural machines and implements, and also produced iron agricultural implements. But all these products interested Blinov less than tracked vehicles, to which he attached extremely great importance. Dreaming of a caterpillar self-propelled gun, F. A. Blinov once told Ya. Blinov's enthusiasm also captured Mamin, who was carried away by the idea of creating a tractor for agriculture. Later, Ya. V. Mamin, a student and follower of F. A. Blinov, created the first diesel tractor and became one of the first Soviet tractor builders.
From the very first years of the plant’s operation, Blinov was engaged in the design of a self-propelled vehicle, the basis for which he served as a “car with endless rails”. In 1888-1889. Blinov started building this self-propelled gun with a steam engine, work on which took several years, and only in 1893-1895. the work was completed and Blinov tested the self-propelled gun in Balakovo.
In 1889, the Saratov zemstvo provincial exhibition opened. Blinov participated in it and received a silver medal for a fire pump of his design. This was reported in an addendum to the newspaper Saratov Diary 206, but nothing is said about Blinov's "carriage" or self-propelled gun in the reports on the exhibition. According to the memoirs of Ya. V. Mamin, the self-propelled gun at that time was still in the preparation stage.
Ya. V. Mamin was a witness to the creation of this self-propelled gun and a direct participant in its manufacture. In 1888, when he joined the inventor, Mamin was entrusted with the manufacture of parts for a self-propelled caterpillar. Blinov gave him the dimensions and indicated the shape of a particular part, and from memory, without drawings, he worked out the design so well. Pancake drawings, as a rule, kept at home.
The tractor looked like this. On a rectangular frame, consisting of two particularly strong longitudinal five-meter beams and transverse connecting beams, in the middle there was a vertical boiler 1.5 m high and 1.2-1.3 m in diameter, which was made from a flame tube of a steamer that burned down near Balakovo. The boiler was designed for a pressure of 6 atmospheres; its fuel was oil. Two low-speed steam engines were mounted on the side beams of the frame. The power of each car is 10-12 horsepower at 40 rpm. Both cars were taken from the same ship.
The self-propelled speed was about three miles per hour.
The transmission from the machines was carried out by cast iron cylindrical gears connected to the drive wheels of the caterpillar chain. The caterpillar belts consisted of plates measuring 200x200x10 mm. The caterpillar belt had hooks for the teeth of the double drive wheels of the caterpillar. The plates were interconnected by means of a flexible hinge with a metal pin.
Each caterpillar was set in motion by its own machine (similar to how it was on the Hercules steamer), and, thus, the self-propelled turn was carried out by turning off one of the steam engines, and consequently, one of the tracks. The pulling force that the self-propelled developed was 1100-1200 kilograms, which Blinov considered sufficient to pull several plows.
The control levers for steam engines were introduced into the booth located in front. Behind the boiler, in addition, an additional seat was installed for the driver who served it, maintained the appropriate pressure in it and watched the steam engines. The inconvenience of driving the tractor led to a number of misunderstandings during testing, and Blinov considered the development of new system management. The design of Blinov's caterpillar tractor, which was many years ahead of his contemporary mechanical engineering, required the manufacture of many intricate details, the creation of which was hampered by the fact that it was not possible to make steel castings. Track chain links, for example, had to be made from a whole square piece of metal by planing and drilling. Insufficient cleanliness and accuracy of processing required their long run-in. The tractor with the caterpillars raised and turned on was driven for a month. But, despite all the difficulties, Blinov built his first caterpillar tractor in the world!
Blinov had high hopes for this self-propelled gun. He believed that it facilitated the work of the peasant, that the landowners would gladly accept the self-propelled gun. But this did not happen. The landlords preferred to use the cheap labor of the peasants and did not see the need to incur any costs for the purchase of machinery.
Blinov did not stop working on improving the design of his self-propelled gun and tried to introduce it into agriculture, promoting it in every possible way and trying to show it in action.
In 1896, the All-Russian Industrial and Art Exhibition opened in Nizhny Novgorod. Blinov prepared a tractor and his other machines for her. He had high hopes for the exhibition, thinking that after it his work would finally be recognized, that he would be helped to establish mass production of self-propelled guns and that an appropriate production base would be created.
In fact, it turned out differently. Self-propelled Blinova with great difficulty got to the exhibition. He was not accepted into either the engineering pavilion or the agricultural pavilion. Blinov's pump was installed in the "Water Rescue" pavilion. A tractor was also sent there, but it was placed behind the pavilion. At the Nizhny Novgorod exhibition, Blinov called his tractor a steam locomotive for dirt roads, emphasizing its full suitability for transporting goods using special trains on dirt roads and highways. At the same time, when explaining the design of the tractor, he constantly pointed out its main purpose as a tractor for various agricultural implements.
Maxim Gorky, who visited the exhibition, wrote in his article “Fugitive Notes” that handicraftsmen, folk art at the exhibition are in a corral and huddle in back streets; he resented the dominance of foreigners at the exhibition.
Blinov demanded that the self-propelled gun be given a more convenient place for inspection. He sought to show his tractor in action to as many visitors as possible and obtained permission to do so.
The journal “Saratovskaya Zemskaya Nedelya” for 1896 32 cites the following message: “A petition was received in the name of the general commissar from a peasant of the Saratov province. F. A. Blinov, exhibiting in the construction and engineering department of the All-Russian Exhibition, a steam locomotive for dirt roads, heated by oil.
Blinov asks for permission to demonstrate his locomotive in front of the exhibition public. Blinov's locomotive is placed behind the Water Rescue Pavilion. The demonstration took place several times and was successful. This is confirmed by an eyewitness - engineer Vodoginsky, who was present at the exhibition in 1896, being a student at the Moscow Technical School. He well remembers the Blinov tractor and the inventor himself, and several times attended a demonstration of the tractor in action.
At such a huge exhibition as the exhibition of 1896, it was very difficult to receive any award, especially for a simple peasant. And yet Blinov received even two awards. He received a bronze medal for the second time for his fire pump. For the tractor, he was awarded a commendable diploma "For diligence." This reward, of course, was too small and caused the inventor to protest against undeserved indifference.
In one of the correspondence of the newspaper "Kaspiy" (187) for 1896 from Nizhny Novgorod it is reported about the "outlandish baits" of the exhibition, including the invention of F. A. Blinov. About the inventor himself and his invention, the correspondent writes: “... an exhibitor-peasant of the Saratov province. F. A. Blinov demonstrates to the public steam engine, adapted for the carriage of goods on highways and dirt roads. We had to talk to the inventor of this engine. He bitterly complained about his fate: for 16 years since he invented this engine, he even took a privilege on it, but still he could not find a capitalist who would undertake to manufacture it in a factory way. Even the existing gaps in the exposed engine, which cost him 10 thousand rubles, he undertakes to improve so much that entire trains will fly along the ground as if on rails. “But the marshals do not hear the call ...” - there are still no hunters to take the invention under their protection. Such is the fate of Russian inventors.”
A number of articles about the plight of Russian inventors were published in the newspaper "Volgar" for 1896. One of them gives the reason why it is difficult for Russian inventors to achieve recognition. “The whole trouble is,” the newspaper said, “that Russian inventors are Russian, we have no confidence in our own creative forces and abilities, there is no desire to support even an undeniably useful cause, and it’s no wonder if Russian inventions fall into the hands of the British, Americans, the French." (Newspaper "Vol-gar", 277 of October 7, 1896).
Failures with the self-propelled gun, on which so much effort, energy and money were spent, undermined Blinov's health, and he fell seriously ill: paralysis fettered his legs. However, he did not give up work on further improving the self-propelled gun, did not lose faith in his invention and still considered the self-propelled gun necessary for the people and the motherland.
Despite his illness, he studies the internal combustion engine in order to replace the steam power plant used on the tractor. I must say that at the Nizhny Novgorod exhibition in 1896, internal combustion engines of Russian inventors were demonstrated: Yakovlev, Khaidakov, and others, and, of course, Blinov had the opportunity to be convinced of their advantages over a steam power plant, especially for such a self-propelled gun that he created. Blinov developed the design of the engine, but did not finish it. His son Porfiry Blinov completed the development of drawings, received a privilege for the engine and organized the production of engines at the Blessing plant. He improves the design of the tractor caterpillar and develops a scheme for installing an internal combustion oil engine on it, develops a new tractor transmission.
Death prevented Fyodor Abramovich Blinov from completing this work. He died of paralysis on June 24, 1902 at the age of 70 and, at his request, was buried next to the plant.
F. A. Blinov instructed his son Porfiry to continue his work on the tractor, to whom he also took over the management of the Blessing plant. The plant, under the leadership of Porfiry Blinov, launched the production of internal combustion engines, but, unfortunately, Porfiry could not continue the work of his father due to financial difficulties and illness.
What happened to the first original self-propelled gun built by F. A. Blinov is unknown, and no trace of it has survived. F. A. Blinov was many years ahead of modern technology by creating the world's first caterpillar tractor. (Crawler tractors appeared abroad only in the 20th century.) The Blinov tractor created in Russia, as often happens, did not receive recognition and distribution at home, but many Russian inventors picked up and developed the ideas of the Russian nugget inventor - Fyodor Abramovich Blinov.
In 1937, the production of the first caterpillar tractor of an original domestic design began in Stalingrad. It received the name STZ-NATI, since the Stalingrad tractor plant(STZ) and the Scientific Automotive and Tractor Institute (NATI). And since this model was also produced at the Kharkov Tractor Plant, the name was transformed into SHTZ-NATI.
The first domestic tractors, such as the wheeled one, produced at the Putilov Plant, the caterpillar G-50, which was produced by the Kharkov Locomotive Plant (now the Malyshev Plant), were created on the basis of foreign models. However, they did not take into account the peculiarities of our country.
In 1929, after comparative tests of many foreign tractors, NATI specialists formulated technical requirements to domestic tractors and recorded them in the articles " Technical standards for a Russian tractor” and “On the type of tractor for Russia”. The STZ-NATI model was already developed on the basis of these requirements. This unified, agricultural and transport machine, with an elastic suspension of rollers, a metal caterpillar with cast links, a semi-closed cab, most fully met the conditions of production and operation in the Soviet Union.
With the advent of the STZ-NATI (SKHTZ-NATI) tractor in the 1930s, the transition began domestic tractor industry on their own models, the design of which took into account the peculiarities of natural conditions, production and operation of agricultural machinery in the USSR.
In May 1935, the heads of tractor factories gathered in Moscow to discuss the issue of transferring production to the production of tracked vehicles. Representatives of the Stalingrad and Kharkov enterprises said they were ready to present the first samples in two months. A kind of competition for the right to produce a new tractor began. It all depended on whose project would be more successful.
STZ sample
The Stalingrad tractor builders were sure of success - by that time they were already designing such a tractor together with NATI. The first prototype was entrusted to be tested by the assembly foreman, order bearer A. M. Levandovsky, who laid the first furrow.
In July 1935, on the experimental field of NATI, in Likhobory, STZ showed members of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the CPSU and the government three models of caterpillar tractors, KhTZ - one. Tractors pulled seven-leaf hitches from two plows. According to the terms of the competition, in order to ensure a stable plowing depth, it was necessary to use a semi-rigid suspension, but the STZ engineers, violating the requirements, used an elastic one. As a result, the Stalingrad model showed higher technical qualities, and Kharkov lost, but both the Stalingrad and Kharkov tractor plants decided to transfer to the production of a new domestic caterpillar tractor.
In the same year, samples of the new model were tested at NATI, in agricultural work. The designers of the institute and the plant worked together to eliminate the discovered shortcomings. By the middle of 1936, 25 tractors had been manufactured at STZ. In the summer, they passed interdepartmental field agricultural tests.
Compared to predecessor
At that time, at both tractor factories, in Stalingrad and Kharkov, the wheeled tractor STZ-1 (or CT3-15 / 30) was mass-produced. It is natural that new model compared with the previous one.
The caterpillar tractor had significant advantages. He had a semi-closed cabin, elastic suspension on four balancing carriages with twisted coil springs, a gear three-way gearbox. A kerosene carbureted four-cylinder water-cooled engine developed twice more power(52 hp). At the same time, SHTZ-NATI spent 25% less fuel for processing one hectare of land. The STZ-1 tractor on soft plowing processed 0.35-0.4 hectares per hour, SKhTZ-NATI - 0.8-0.9.
In addition, the caterpillar tractor could be used in a wide variety of conditions, including in places where high traffic was needed. At the same time, the new tractor required more materials and more complex machining. So, in the manufacture of STZ-1 machining 340 parts were subject, and for SHTZ-NATI - 720. In the forge shop, 104 and 220 parts were processed, respectively, in the press shop - 320 and 630.
Reconstruction of production
In 1936, STZ did not reduce the production of the wheeled model and at the same time carried out the reconstruction that was required for the production of a new tractor. First of all, new workshops were put into operation: model, press, with an area of 20 thousand square meters. m, and steel, with 16 electric furnaces and 9 molding conveyors, with an area of 55 thousand square meters. m (one of the largest in the USSR). It contained 2.5 km of conveyors and conveyors.
Mechanical assembly and tool shops, as well as repair base expanded significantly. In addition, a motor-tractor laboratory was created. American and German equipment, on which the wheeled model was produced, was replenished with Soviet-made machines. Machine tools almost doubled. Accordingly, new technologies have been developed for the manufacture of many components and parts.
To complete the reconstruction, the plant was stopped for only two months. The new tractor rolled off the large assembly line at 10:25 pm on July 11, 1937.
How to complete the plan?
It was not immediately possible to establish a rhythmic release of SHTZ-NATI. The first week the main conveyor did not work. The plan had to be adjusted. In the third quarter, the plant produced 26 tractors. By the end of the year - 1006, half of the planned, at the beginning of the first quarter of 1938, 20 tractors were produced per day instead of 50.
Of course, there were objective reasons for this. Firstly, production was started before the construction and installation of equipment was completed (and its deliveries were delayed). The pressing and iron foundry shops were not fully prepared, the technological process in the mechanical ones was not debugged. Secondly, already in the fields in the first manufactured tractors SHTH-NATI, machine operators discovered design flaws. It was necessary to refine the design of some components and parts on the go.
As it often happened in Soviet times, socialist competition helped, that is, the situation was drawn out by the enthusiasm of the workers. On December 31, 1937, mechanics of the tractor shop Matyushkov, Vlasov, Krymsky and other work teams of Karpov completed the shift rate by 946%. The team made a commitment to achieve 1000% completion of the shift task and fulfilled it. The master of the heavy forge, E.V. Semenov from the brigade of N.D. Strunkov, improved the technology of stamping a bar, due to which, instead of the planned 90 bars per shift, they began to stamp 200 bars.
In October 1938, the plant overfulfilled the plan: instead of 1445 tractors, it produced 1457, instead of 1245 engines - 1308, spare parts were also produced more than the norm. In 1938, the plant assembled 9307 agricultural, 136 transport and 532 marsh machines and produced 38.8% of spare parts in excess of the plan. On November 21, 1938, the 10,000th SHTZ-NATI rolled off the assembly line.
Transport option STZ-5
In parallel with the agricultural version, SHTZ-NATI, the designers developed a transport one. It received the designation STZ-NATI-2TV, but was later better known as STZ-5. Much for its development was done by STZ engineers I.I. Drong and V.A. Kargopolov and NATI specialists A.V. Vasiliev and I.I. Trepenenkov. STZ-5 was extremely unified with SKHTZ-NATI, and both models were produced on the same conveyor.
This tractor had a traditional transport tractors layout. A double (for the driver and gun commander) closed wood-metal cabin was in front, above the engine. behind her and fuel tanks there was a cargo wooden platform with folding sides and a removable canvas top. The platform had four folding semi-soft seats for the gun crew and a place for ammunition and artillery equipment.
The frame consisted of two longitudinal channels connected by four different crossbars. The 1MA engine, four-cylinder, carbureted, with magneto ignition, was actually multi-fuel - this was especially important for army tractors. It was started on gasoline with an electric starter or crank, and after warming up to 90 ° C, it was transferred to kerosene or naphtha.
To prevent detonation and increase power, especially when working in summer with increased loads, on kerosene, into cylinders through special system water was injected into the carburetor, and from 1941 an anti-knock combustion chamber was introduced.
In the gearbox, the gear ratios were changed to increase the power range and speeds, and another (lower) gear was introduced. When driving on it at a speed of 1.9 km / h, the STZ-5 developed a thrust of 4850 kgf, that is, at the limit of adhesion of the tracks to the ground.
The undercarriage was more adapted to movement at high speeds: the caterpillar pitch was halved, the track and support rollers were rubberized. For pulling up trailers, self-pulling the tractor and towing other machines on the crankcase rear axle a vertical capstan with a cable 40 m long was installed under the platform. The cabin had opening front and side windows, as well as adjustable blinds in the front and rear.
Working with overloads
Since 1938, transport copies began to be sent to artillery units of tank and mechanized divisions. The tractor had good cross-country ability. So, he was able to overcome ditches up to 1 m deep and force fords up to 0.8 m deep. With an artillery gun on a trailer, he moved along the highway at speeds up to 14 km / h. On dirt roads, it developed a speed of up to 10 km / h.
The maximum traction force of the tractor, 4850 kgf, was sufficient to tow all the artillery pieces that were in service with the rifle divisions of the Red Army during the Second World War. When there were not enough more powerful artillery tractors, the STZ-5 was also towed by guns and trailers that were heavier than they were supposed to. But even when working with overload, the tractors usually withstood.
STZ-5 was the most massive means of mechanical traction in the Red Army. It continued to be produced until August 1942, when German troops broke into the territory of the Stalingrad Tractor Plant. A total of 9944 such tractors were produced.
In 1941, they mounted on the STZ-5 chassis rocket launchers salvo fire M-13 - "Katyusha", which was first used in the battles near Moscow. During the defense of Odessa, where there were many STZ-5 tractors, they were used as a chassis for makeshift tanks NI with thin armor and machine gun armament, usually taken from obsolete or wrecked armored vehicles. In the first war years, many tractors were captured and under the name Gepanzerter Artillerie Schlepper 601 (r) fought in the enemy army.
Altai variant
Kharkov Tractor Plant switched to the production of a new tractor in 1937. During the Great Patriotic War, KhTZ was evacuated to the city of Rubtsovsk in the Altai Territory. Started building here new plant- Altai tractor. In August 1942, the first SHTZ-NATI tractors left its workshops. They began to be designated ATZ-NATI or ASKhTZ-NATI and were produced here until 1952. Stalingrad and Kharkov plants in 1949 they switched to the production of the DT-54 tractor, which was distinguished diesel engine, closed cab and fuel tank location.
In 1922 there were no tractors in the USSR yet. Until 1917, about 1,500 tractors were purchased abroad and brought to Russia. The Civil War made adjustments to their number.
A peasant farm cannot buy a tractor. Peasants can organize a cooperative, throw in money and buy a tractor, say, for 10 yards. The daily productivity of their labor will rise sharply, but the annual productivity will remain the same. After all, the peasant will still not be able to get away from the land, therefore, there is no sense in industry from the cooperation of agriculture: there will still be no influx of workers into the city.
The ideologically unacceptable way out - to return the land to the landlords - was unacceptable not only for ideological, but also for state reasons. Yes, the landlord, having taken away the land from the peasants and bought a tractor, would have kept only one peasant out of 5, and would have driven the rest to the city. And where do they go here in the city? After all, workers must enter enterprises in strict required quantity- in the one that already built enterprises require. And they will tumble down the shaft from the landowner, because the landowner does not care whether factories have been built in the cities or not yet.
We have different Govorukhins bleating that, they say, if there had been no revolution, then Russia would have been rich and happy. Hell no! Even if there had been no World War I, by the year 1925 there would have been such a riot in Russia that the Civil War would have seemed like child's play to everyone. After all, Henry Ford already in 1922 began to produce his Fordson tractors at a rate of more than a million pieces a year and at such a cheap price that not only landowners, but also middle-class kulaks would buy them in Russia. Such a mass of hungry unemployed people would have rushed from the countryside to the cities of Russia that they would have demolished both the tsarist government and the landowners with the capitalists even more purely than the Bolsheviks did. After all, the tsar worked without a plan, he did not develop the Russian economy meaningfully, for him the course of scientific and technological progress would be absolutely unexpected. 
And look how intelligently the Bolsheviks acted! They first developed industry in the cities, i.e. created jobs, and only then began to increase labor productivity in agriculture, filling jobs in the city with freed peasants.
But in 1922 there were no tractors in the USSR yet. Until 1917, about 1,500 tractors were purchased abroad and brought to Russia. the civil war made adjustments to their number.
In that memorable 1922, the party leadership of the Zaporozhye province contacted the authorities of the Krasny Progress plant, the largest industrial enterprise in the Kichkassky district of Zaporozhye, and set the task: the country needed tractors. A lot of. It is necessary to establish production in the shortest possible time. 
And now we must make a reservation: the old, pre-revolutionary technical intelligentsia is no longer in the management of the plant. She was not at the factory at all. Revolutions and civil wars are not in vain... Some of the "former" ended up in the execution cellar, someone emigrated out of harm's way, someone was brought to the other end of the country by a bloody civil war... In general, not a single old-time engineer.
However, tractors are needed! Go and work! Report results weekly!
The hard workers scratched their heads. And they cautiously asked: what is it, a tractor? What does it look like and what is it for?
Well, yes ... Tractors were not produced in tsarist Russia in such quantities as to be known to everyone and everyone - single, prototypes. There was enough horse stock... And a few units were bought abroad - none of those units reached Kichkass.
Zavodik (not so long ago called " Southern plant Society A. Kopp”) after the military devastation, he was just breathing, thanks to the New Economic Policy - and so far he has not produced anything more complicated than cases for kerosene lamps and beds for sewing machines. And then there's the tractor...
The party leadership in matters of tractor construction was more savvy - they at least saw a tractor. Once. A glimpse. In the newsreel. Explained as best they could, with words and gestures.
Understandably, the hard workers left. Let's do it.
Project, drawings, calculations? Oh, leave it ... We, as Leskovsky Lefty used to say, do not need small scopes, our eyes have been shot ...
The technical managers of the Kichkas plant, engineers G. Rempel and A. Unger, with the support of the Zaporozhye Gubmetal, began to build the first original tractor. It was built without any drawings, according to sketches sketched in pencil, from random materials, and even parts of other machines that were at hand.
And they did! Without drawings and small scopes!
Two weeks before the appointed time, a tractor stood in the factory yard, which received the proud name "Zaporozhets". A prototype is a concept, as they say today.
The view of the concept was the most fantastic. And it was no less fantastically arranged ... Although it had nothing to do with steampunk: the engine was still not steam, it was internal combustion. But the miracle machine did not fit into diesel punk either, the comrade did not tell anything about the brainchild of Rudolf Diesel to the Zaporizhzhya left-handers. And then they would do...
As you know, internal combustion engines are divided into two classes: carburetor and diesel. The steel heart of the Zaporozhets did not belong to either category. How so? And like this. Know-how. Unique development. The prototype was a broken single-cylinder Triumph engine, which had rusted in the factory yard for ten years and lost many parts. The Kichkassians did not reinvent what they had lost, simplifying the design to the limit. 
Not diesel - there the air-fuel mixture ignites itself, from compression, but here external ignition took place (how exactly is a separate song). But not a carburetor either - the carburetor, as such, was completely absent. And there was no fuel pump - fuel flowed by gravity from a highly located tank, and mixed with air right in the cylinder.
What exactly is the fuel? But try to guess.
Kerosene? Past…
Diesel fuel, colloquially diesel fuel? And what is it, left-handers who have never heard of Rudolf Diesel would ask.
Fuel oil? Not that, but already warmer ...
Who said: AI-92? Deuce!
"Zaporozhets" worked on oil. On raw. No cracking, no cleaning - what flows from the well goes into the tank. Cheap and cheerful.
Can you tell me about the cabin design? I won't. There was no cabin. Cabin, by by and large, excess, no one has yet melted from the rain. A hard metal seat in the open air, carried far back, the tractor driver sat on it like a bird on a perch - nothing, you can work. Not a single pedal - no gas, no clutch, no brakes - the steering wheel, and that's it.
However, riveting a mechanical freak, knowing nothing about technical disciplines, is only the beginning. But try to make your brainchild earn money - go, swim, fly. 
So, IT WORKS! IT drove quite cheerfully - and drove, and drove, and drove, and drove ... Because it could not stop. There is no hint of a gearbox and a clutch - the engine shaft is tightly connected to the wheels, or rather, with one driving rear wheel, the Zaporozhets was three-wheeled. If you want to stop, turn off the fuel valve and turn off the engine, there are no other standard methods. But it will be oh so difficult to start ... But it’s convenient - refueling on the go, and tractor-shifters replace each other on the go, since the speed is always the same - a little less than four kilometers per hour. That is why the seat is moved back, beyond the limits of the tractor, so that, when changing, it does not accidentally fall under the wheel. And no downtime. The ever-plowing tractor - from one field to another, third, fourth, and then it's time to change the plow to a harrow, then to a seeder ... Almost a perpetual motion machine.
How to start if it suddenly stalls? Yes, it's not easy ... There is no starter with a battery, of course; there is no electrics at all (headlights are based on kerosene lamps). But the crank will not have to be turned immediately. The ignition of the mixture in it occurred from the ignition head, which was heated to a heat for 15-20 minutes before starting the engine. The moment of ignition was regulated by the supply of water to the cylinder, the engine was cooled with water. Due to low efficiency and leaks, 1.5 poods of black oil and 5 buckets of water were used to plow one tithe.
The gearbox, closed in a dense metal case, protected the gears from dirt and dust. Instead of ball bearings and babbitt inserts, bronze bushings were used. In case of wear, they could be made in any workshop. Power from the engine to the wheels is transmitted through friction clutch with rawhide lining. The tractor moved only at one speed - 3.6 km / h. True, within certain limits, it nevertheless changed by affecting the pendulum regulator of a change in the number of revolutions.
Fantastic… A blaster forged by feudal gunsmiths. A glider that fluttered out of the walls of the carriage workshop.
But among them was a genius - there, at the Kichkas plant ... A genius whose name we will never know ...
Because geniuses have - among other things - two features: incredible, downright mystical intuition and no less mystical luck ...
Daedalus and his flight... Myth or an echo of a real event? A primitive glider or hang glider could well have been built in the Middle Ages, and even earlier, in antiquity, the material base allowed. And they built, and jumped from cliffs and bell towers, and broke their legs, and crashed to death ... Lilienthal successfully flew - having no idea about aerodynamics and many other disciplines necessary for flight. intuition and luck. Genius…
There was also a genius at Krasny Progress, otherwise the Zaporozhets would not have rolled out of the factory yard. Wouldn't even move from the spot.
Even an illiterate peasant could easily master the work on such a simple machine as the Zaporozhets and take care of it like a “mechanical horse”. The test report of the prototype (summer 1922) stated: “A tractor with a 12-horsepower engine, consuming about two pounds of black oil per tithe, with a plowing depth of up to four inches, freely removed a layer of land of 65 square inches. The tractor could plow 1.5-3 acres of land per day (depending on the depth of plowing)
And a new party order arrived: we are launching a series!
This is also a fantasy... What kind of strange devices have not been created over the centuries by human imagination. However - on paper, in the drawings. IN best case- a couple of prototypes. But to tens, hundreds... It doesn't happen. Fantastic.
But they launched! And they riveted several hundred in three years!
Moreover, they did not go bankrupt, despite all the voluntarism of the undertaking! Products regularly found sales, demand even exceeded supply - after all, "Red Progress" became an all-Union monopoly. And agricultural artels, and partnerships for the joint cultivation of the land, and rural communes (there were no collective farms yet) wanted to acquire miracle equipment. And even wealthy peasants, in other words, kulaks, naively hoped that the Bukharin call “Get rich!” applies to them too, and entered the queue for the purchase of the coveted tractor.
"Zaporozhets" decided to improve and provide its production with drawings and models. 10 modernized tractors were built. The sample arrived at the Krasny Progress plant in Tokmak on September 29, 1923. Here it was intended to master it mass production. Almost 90 miles from the village of Kichkas, the Zaporozhets made its way on its own without the slightest breakdown. On the way, for the peasants, the plowing of the land by a “mechanical horse” was demonstrated several times ...
“Competitions of the Zaporozhets of the first release and the Holt caterpillar tractor of the Obukhov Plant on the fields of the Petrovsky Agricultural Academy in the fall of 1923 were held in favor of the domestic first-born. For plowing a tithe of land at a depth of four inches, Zaporozhets spent an average of about 30 kg of oil. Tractor "Holt" - 36 kg of kerosene. For the original design of the tractor in relation to the conditions of the USSR, with good assembly, performance and traction, State Plant No. 14 was awarded an Honorary Diploma of the 1st degree.
The demand for the tractor brand "Zaporozhets" was great. It especially increased after the tests carried out together with the American Fordson in the spring of 1925. Plowing the tithe of the land "Zaporozhets", which already had 16 liters. s., finished 25 minutes early. In this case, the oil consumption was 17.6 kg. "Fordzod" burned 36 kg of kerosene. In all respects, the pet of Krasny Progress looked better than its foreign colleague. The maximum program was supposed to bring the production of "Zaporozhets" to 300 units per year by 1924-1925. However, the course of further events was not in favor of Zaporozhets. direction won mass production. By this time, the horizons of the first five-year plan had already cleared up, the country faced grandiose tasks, large enterprises were needed. 
On the tractor "Zaporozhets" No. 107, for example, the tractor driver and mechanic M. I. Roskot from the Chernihiv region worked continuously from 1924 to 1958. During the years of Nazi occupation, he dismantled the tractor, safely hid the components and parts. After release. "Zaporozhets" came to the aid of the devastated land.
I do not think that the purchase of anyone disappointed. First, there was nothing to compare with. Secondly, it was only a little more difficult to deal with the Zaporozhets than with a sledgehammer: a half-hour pre-sale briefing - and rudders until there was enough oil. Finally, exceptional reliability - in the absence of service shops and spare parts stores, quality is very important. And the breakdowns that did happen could be eliminated by any rural blacksmith. The current motorists, morally and financially exhausted by a car service, can well imagine what it is like to drive a car, where there is SIMPLY NOTHING to break. Dream…
And here is the situation: preparations for collectivization and industrialization are underway in the country, the State Planning Commission is drafting plans for the first five-year plan. The mechanization of agriculture is not forgotten, including priorities. Negotiations are underway with the leaders of the American tractor industry: with Ford and Caterpillar companies, prototypes have been purchased - technical specialists (real, high-level) are carefully studying them, conducting field tests, figuring out which machines to buy for the Krasnoputilovsky plant in Leningrad . Everything is detailed, everything is according to plan.
And here is the news from the remote province, from the shabby Muhosransk: and we are already making tractors with might and main! And we sell all over the country!
Technical specialists and responsible comrades involved in the case from the Tractor Commission of the Supreme Council of National Economy, to put it mildly, were surprised. At first they did not believe, but the news was confirmed. They sent a messenger to Krasny Progress: come on, comrades, progressive innovators, what have you invented here? Maybe, well, they, blood-sucking capitalists, will manage with our own strength and technical ideas?
So here he is, a tractor, rolling around the yard! The messenger fell into a slight stupor, did not believe: THIS three-wheeled tractor is a tractor ?! Tractor. Plow, sow, reap. Will you buy? No, we would like a package of technical documentation for study ... Ash? What's the package? Why does he need us? We do everything according to the first sample, the sizes - here they are, measure, write down ...
(In fact, the series was modeled not according to the first model, but according to the second one. The first one was solemnly sent as a gift to Ilyich, in Gorki.)
The light stupor of the messenger was replaced by a deep shock ...
Believe it or not: no project documentation after two years of production it was NOT! There was not even a minimum set of drawings!
The archives preserved a written request from the Krasnoputilovites, who did not believe the messenger. (Yes, and how to believe in such a thing?! I drank it down in the provinces in a black way, not otherwise ...) Send, they say, comrades, drawings for study. And the proud answer of "Red Progress": we do not need drawings with small scopes, our eyes are shot ...
In the same autumn, when the Moscow exhibition was held, another Zaporozhets tractor, built in Kichkas, was presented at the first All-Persian Agricultural Exhibition in Tehran.
The Soviet Union willingly took part in it, having received an invitation from the local government. Already in Tehran, the worker Kartavtsev, at the request of the visitors of the exhibition, started the engine of the Zaporozhets, sat down at the control levers and demonstrated the operation of the tractor near the pavilion. One day he went out into the field. After plowing, the delight of those present was indescribable. The local peasants were especially interested in the tractor. They followed him like children, tightly surrounding the "wonder machine" with a living ring.
So "Zaporozhets" became the first agricultural machine that appeared on the fields of Persia. He, as well as some other Soviet exhibits, were awarded gold medals, certificates of honor, and diplomas. Domestic industry received solid orders. For the young Land of Soviets, this, of course, was extremely important both from an economic and political point of view.
What happened next? Then - the five-year plan, the end of the NEP and the relatively free market: the release of "Zaporozhets" was curtailed by a strong-willed decision by the authorities. There are no plans, so there is nothing here ...
Then there were newly built or redesigned tractor giants - the Stalingrad Plant, Chelyabinsk, Kharkov ... There was a galaxy of domestic, original tractors that outdid their Western counterparts. And the hardworking “Zaporozhets” puffed on their crude oil until the war itself, and in some places even after it - why break if there is nothing to break? – but in the end they all fell into the smelter.
The legend remains. Several hundred cars are a drop in the ocean for a huge country. Few people saw the first Soviet tractor with their own eyes, few people worked on it. And stories about an ever-plowing tractor with tractor drivers changing on the go were passed from mouth to mouth, acquiring the most fantastic details ...
