kharkovchanka

The Kharkovchanka chain at the Zhongshan station (2014)

The Kharkovchanka (russian Харьковчанка, the Kharkovin, plural Kharkovchanki) was a chain vehicle serving the Soviet scientific expeditions in the Antarctic as a means of transport

The Kharkovchans were designed by the Kharkov Engineering Department of Mechanical Engineering ChBKM (ХБКМ) A. A. Morozov, and have been built at the Kharkov Malychev factory since 1958.

The basis of the design was the heavy-duty AT-T tractors, which in turn used many parts of the T-54 tank. There were seats for at least six expedition participants in the cab with the navigation devices. The cabin was divided into several sections, including a common room, the radio cabin, galley and toilet. In order to be able to carry out repairs without having to leave the vehicle, the engine could be reached through a hatch. A Kharkovchanka weighed 20 tons, could carry up to 5 tons of cargo on board and pull sleds with a load of 40 tons. Since September 1975 the development Kharkovchanka-2 was built. One of the most important differences was the external cabin. Technical specificationsChange source Weblinks Edit sourcetext Single-level Edit source text

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