MAZ-537

     Notes: A member of the MAZ-535 family of heavy trucks, the MAZ-537 comes in several variants and entered production in 1958.  Though long out of production, the MAZ-537 is still used by Russia and some members of the former Warsaw Pact as well as several former Soviet client states in various parts of the world.  The MAZ-537’s towing ability is less than impressive, considering the size of the beast, but it is a robust design able to take a lot of punishment, and easily capable of off-road driving.  The MAZ-537 has an 8x8 suspension, power steering with the front two axles being steerable, a heater for the cab, and an engine pre-heater.  The cab is all-steel with a hatch on the right side of the roof. This truck is powered by a 525-horsepower D12A-525 tank diesel engine, coupled with a manual transmission.  The steering and brakes are power assisted.

     Variants include MAZ-537D, which has an additional 10kW generator to the rear of the cab to aid in the use of recovery equipment and power winches or other equipment which may be on the trailer (this is used primarily as a missile support system); the MAZ-537E, which has the same additional generator, as well as a 15-ton recovery winch behind the cab (this may be led out to the front or rear); and the MAZ-537G, which does not have the generator, but does have the winch.  The MAZ-537M is powered by a more modern YAMZ 240NM-1B engine developing 500 horsepower and is equipped with a winch. The MAZ-537V has a reduced towing capacity, but is compatible with a larger number of semi-trailers as well as several heavy artillery pieces and missile launchers used by Russian and Soviet forces; this variant also has a number of small improvements in the truck, which, amongst other things, places the fifth wheel 34.5 centimeters further back on the frame of the MAZ-537V. (There is also a MAZ-537A, which is a conventional cargo truck instead of a semi-tractor, and a MAZ-537K, which is a cargo truck with a materiel handling crane; these will not be covered here due lack of information.)