Studer
He roars a little strained engine, whose strength, like the current small car. At times, when I turn on the third too early, indignantly howls the transmission. But still, for some reason, for a second, there is no doubt in its reliability and reliability, complete readiness to go to any front again - at least to the Baltic Sea, even to the Pacific Ocean.
Trying to quickly shift gears, I did not notice the ditch overgrown with grass. The "student" jumped so that the passenger almost pulled out the ceiling with the back of his head. But for this car, such a road is a training one. Even though he is an “American”!
TRICHOX AMERICA
It's no secret that seven decades ago, foreign cars differed from domestic models as much as they do today. Exceptions were extremely rare. And Studebaker-US6 is completely different from its peers - the Soviet one-and-a-half and three-ton. Those basically were also once “Americans”, but by the beginning of the war their construction was outdated by at least ten years. It is easy to understand what feelings a powerful all-wheel drive overseas truck caused among the drivers of the Red Army who were not spoiled by such a technique!
Studer
The grille helped save the headlights from being hit by branches and stones when driving over rough terrain. The grille helped save the headlights from being hit by branches and stones when driving over rough terrain.
We have similar cars appeared only after the war. The all-metal cabin of the “student” is not without reason evokes associations with Soviet trucks of the post-war era. At one time, it was considered a model of spaciousness and functionality. It’s surprisingly comfortable to sit: the steering wheel doesn’t even rest on my stomach, which is not at all tightened, and the extended legs easily find the pedals. By the way, they are surprisingly light - of course, adjusted for the class and age of the car. The steering wheel was even more surprised, the effort on which, even when the car is standing, is comparable to that which had to be applied to the steering wheel of other Soviet trucks on the go. And after all, no amplifier!
Of course, by modern standards, the dynamics of the “army man” are ridiculous. And on those - from the 1940s? Remember Kopytin from the legendary film “The meeting place cannot be changed”? “” The “student” has a triple motor! “” This, of course, is a great exaggeration: the simple and unpretentious lower-valve “six” of the Hercules company developed only 87 forces against 73 “horses” of the ZIS-5 motor. The latter was not saved even by a larger volume of 300 cubes. But it was probably very difficult to catch up with the American truck in the three-ton, and even more so on the bus created on its basis.
Studer
To the right of the gear lever - downshift levers and the front axle, as well as the handbrake. To the right of the gear lever - downshift levers and the front axle, as well as the handbrake.
There are five gears in the “student” box, with the latter increasing. A tribute to the American fashion to save, relaxedly dusting along the highway. Patency? You are welcome! All three bridges are leading (they supplied, however, a simplified version of 6 × 4), and the front one is connected through a transfer case with a lower gear. First gear, by the way, is not weak either - with a ratio of 6.06. Ground clearance - 250 mm. To prevent the machine from digging in with narrow front wheels, agile and thrifty drivers increased their width, making, like the rear, gable. The design of the hubs is quite possible.
The main drawback of the car, from the point of view of the Soviet driver, was the high compression ratio - 5.24 (the ZIS-5 engine had 4.6). Because of this, the American aggregate did not like the hellish mixes: it refused to pull, or even just start.
Studer
The wipers operated by vacuum in the intake manifold. The faster you drive, the slower the brushes move. The wipers operated by vacuum in the intake manifold. The faster you drive, the slower the brushes move.
My almost 70-year-old veteran started half a turn. By the way, the starter is triggered by pressing the clutch pedal to the floor (I found this strange decision in some other “Americans”, including post-war ones). It is clear that when changing gears, you cannot press the pedal to the end. But with some experience, getting used to this feature is not difficult.
IN WAR, AS IN WAR
Oh, how on time the "students" began to come to the USSR! The Germans had already been driven away from Moscow, but, as Konstantin Simonov wrote in The Living and the Dead, "there was still a whole war ahead." The troops sorely lacked equipment, especially transport, specially designed for military conditions. Studebaker has become a real lifesaver. A small example: it is no coincidence that this model immediately pops up in memory at the mention of the famous BM-13 guards mortars, in common language - “Katyusha”. A suitable domestic chassis, in addition to the triaxial ZIS-6, produced in scanty quantities and completely discontinued after the plant was evacuated in the fall of 1941, was not.
Studer
Another convenience is the windshield, which is ajar for ventilation. Another convenience is the windshield, which is ajar for ventilation.
Lend-Lease cars, including Studebakers, went en masse to the USSR in 1942. Huge batches of vehicles were delivered by sea convoys to Murmansk and Arkhangelsk, as well as being driven under their own power from specially organized assembly plants in Iran. By the way, if there weren’t military supplies, the name that was unusual for the Russian ear would not be associated with the overwhelming majority of the overwhelming majority of Ostap Bender’s indignant cry: “Is your father Studebaker?” Included in Russian folklore thanks to the pen of I. Ilf and E. Petrova.
Chauffeurs who went through the war roads for a long time told their sons and grandchildren stories about the reliability and endurance of allied cars. Soon, however, such stories became more mean: it was simply dangerous to praise the technique of the “probable adversary” from some point on.
The "students" were designed for a load of 2500 kg, but 3500 or even 4000 kg were often transported along front-line roads. On the highway, a three-axle truck developed about 70 km / h, spending an average of 38 liters of gasoline per 100 km. A tank with a capacity of just over 150 liters was enough for about 400 km. For combat conditions, it was a very solid run. Indeed, in war, completely different measures of time and distance than in civilian life.
Studer
SOLDIER FROM THE FRONT COME
Carefully tinted, tattered "Studebakers" in the summer of 1945 participated in the Victory Parade. Well, their less elegant brothers went to the Far East - to the last front of the Second World War. Then, Lend-Lease cars had to be handed over to suppliers at the ports where they came two or three years ago. Eyewitnesses said that soldiers and mechanics had tears in their eyes: washed, well-groomed, still quite serviceable cars right there at the port, they were let under pressure and brought back to their homeland as scrap metal.
However, many cars still remained in the USSR. After all, who will control the military losses? Brave "students" met on the roads of the country until the early 1960s. Well, then some of them fell into the good hands of history connoisseurs or, like this “student, " with whom we seem to find a common language, in the cinema.
Nothing is scary with this car. Roads, time - he does not care. After all, even though he was American, he lived such a long and difficult life in Russia that he became his own here. Not just an ally - comrade!