The ZIS-485, army designation BAV (Russian, БАВ, большой автомобиль водоплавающий - ''bolshoi avtomobil vodoplavayushchiy'', ''big floating vehicle''), is a

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

amphibious transport, a copy of the WWII American

DUKW The DUKW (colloquially known as Duck) is a six-wheel-drive amphibious modification of the -ton CCKW trucks used by the U.S. military during World War II and the Korean War. Designed by a partnership under military auspices of Sparkman & Step ...

. During World War II, the Soviets received 586 DUKW-353 amphibious trucks under the Lend-Lease Act.Prochko, Yevgeniy. ''«Bolshoi avtomobil vodoplavayushchiy»''. „Tekhnika i Vooruzheniye”. 03/2009. p. 15-22 (in Russian) The design was regarded as successful, so it was decided to build a similar domestic vehicle. Due to lack of own experience, the DUKW was copied, although with improvements enhancing its capability. The prototype was built in 1949 in ZIS subsidiary DAZ in

Dnepropetrovsk Dnipro, previously called Dnipropetrovsk from 1926 until May 2016, is Ukraine's fourth-largest city, with about one million inhabitants. It is located in the eastern part of Ukraine, southeast of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on the Dnieper Rive ...

, but a production started at ZIS factory, as ZIS-485. Introduced in 1952,Hogg & Weeks, p.308, "BAV-485". it was intended to complement the

GAZ-46 The GAZ-46, army designation MAV (Russian, малый автомобиль водоплавающий, ''small floating car''), is a Soviet-made light four-wheel drive amphibious military vehicle that entered service in the 1950s and has been use ...

4x4 amphibious reconnaissance vehicle, but using the

ZIS-151 The ZIS-151 (russian: ЗИС-151) was a general-purpose truck produced by the Soviet car manufacturer Automotive Factory No. 2 ''Zavod imeni Stalina'' in 1948–1958. In 1956, the factory was renamed to ''Zavod imeni Likhacheva'', and new tru ...

6x6 truck (also used in the

BTR-152 The BTR-152 is a six-wheeled Soviet Union, Soviet armored personnel carrier (БТР, from Бронетранспортер/''BTR (vehicle), Bronetransporter'', literally "armored transporter"), built on the chassis and drive train of a ZIS-151 uti ...

) as its basis. Similar in size to the DUKW, which it resembles, the BAV has a rear tail gate making loading and unloading easier, rather than all cargo being loaded over the side by crane. Also a platform was enlarged by 1/3, to 10.44 m². Initially based on ZIS-151 truck, after the introduction of the improved ZIL-157 the vehicle was modernized using its components now bearing the designation ZIL-485A (army designation was BAV-A). Its production started in 1958, but it ceased in ZIL factory in 1959, after manufacturing 2005 ZIS/ZIL-485.Prochko, Yevgeniy. ''«Bolshoi avtomobil vodoplavayushchiy»''. „Tekhnika i Vooruzheniye”. 04/2009. p. 16-22 (in Russian) It was planned to move the production to BAZ works in

Bryansk Bryansk ( rus, Брянск, p=brʲansk) is a city and the administrative center of Bryansk Oblast, Russia, situated on the River Desna, southwest of Moscow. Population: Geography Urban layout The location of the settlement was originally ass ...

, but only 24 vehicles were completed there by 1962. The cargo body is open, but a canvas cover is available. Propulsion in water is by means of propeller. BAVs were used in service by

Warsaw Pact The Warsaw Pact (WP) or Treaty of Warsaw, formally the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance, was a collective defense treaty signed in Warsaw, Poland, between the Soviet Union and seven other Eastern Bloc socialist republic ...

Armies and in the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...

up to the 1980s.Hogg & Weeks, p.309, "BAV-485". In use by the Soviet Union and its allies and client states the BAV was gradually replaced by the much larger tracked PTS amphibious vehicles.

Specification

*Rear axle clearance: *Ground clearance: *Front track: *Rear track: *Turning radius: *Maximum speed (loaded, highway): *Tyres: 8¼x20 in (21x102 cm) *Fuel tank capacity: 2x *Fuel consumption: 6.7 mpg *Top speed: 60 km/h (37 mph) (road)
10 km/h (6.2 mph) (water) *Range: 480 km (298 mi)

Notes

{{reflist

Sources

*Fitzsimons, Bernard, ed. ''The Illustrated Encyclopedia of 20th Century Weapons & Warfare'' (London: Phoebus, 1978), Volume 5, p. 476-7, "BTR". *Hogg, Ian V., and Weeks, John. ''The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Military Vehicles''. London: Hamblyn Publishing Group Limited, 1980, p. 308-9, "BAV-485". *Prochko, Yevgeniy. ''«Bolshoi avtomobil vodoplavayushchiy»''. „Tekhnika i Vooruzheniye”. 03/2009. p. 15-22 (in Russian). *Prochko, Yevgeniy. ''«Bolshoi avtomobil vodoplavayushchiy»''. „Tekhnika i Vooruzheniye”. 04/2009. p. 16-22 (in Russian).
AMW - Agencja Mienia Wojskowego
Wheeled amphibious vehicles Military vehicles of the Soviet Union Military vehicles introduced in the 1950s

Specification

See also

Notes

Sources