Type: Special Purpose Vehicle
Nation: Soviet Union
Period: Cold War
Location: Panzerfahrschule Heyse, Steinhöfel, Germany
The VT-55A is a Czech armoured recovery vehicle developed from the licence-built Soviet BTS-2, which itself was based on the chassis of the T-55A medium tank. It was produced from 1969 to 1983 and used by several other Warsaw Pact countries, including the German Democratic Republic.
Its main function was to tow damaged vehicles off the battlefield and to aid in their repair. For this job it was equipped with two cable winches and a hydraulic crane that could lift weights as great as three tons (e.g. an engine block or the turret of an IFV) to a height of four metres.
This particular vehicle was bought by its current owners from a scrapyard somewhere in the Czech Republic after the end of the Cold War. It was demilitarised, restored to running condition and then brought over to Germany. It can be driven by anyone who is willing to pay for it – and it is quite an experience.
I am 185 cm tall and I’ve got long limbs so I’ve had a fairly uncomfortable hunched-forward position when buttoned up. When driving head out, it was actually fine. What I found most difficult was to feel the correct engine revolutions because the machine is of course very loud and you don’t get the same response like you do when you are in your car. I had to constantly check the rev counter. And when you take your foot of the gas, you instantly stop. There’s no such thing as rolling on with engine braking, because 35 tons of metal turn into 35 tons of dead weight in a second. The pedals and gear shifter require a reasonable bit of force, but I soon got used to that. It is the weirdest feeling to climb in your car right after and switch back to the smooth and easy-to-operate pedals and gearbox.
tanks_butnothanks 