The Ursus C-45 and C-451 was a popular

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...

model of

tractor A tractor is an engineering vehicle specifically designed to deliver a high tractive effort (or torque) at slow speeds, for the purposes of hauling a trailer or machinery such as that used in agriculture, mining or construction. Most common ...

. It was manufactured from 1947 to 1959 by the

Ursus Factory Ursus SA (often stylized URSUS SA) is a Polish agricultural machinery manufacturer, headquartered in Lublin, Poland. The company was founded in Warsaw in 1893, and has strong historic roots regarding Polish tractor production history. It has al ...

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

, and from 1960 to 1965 by Zakłady Mechaniczne in

Gorzów Wielkopolski Gorzów Wielkopolski (; german: Landsberg an der Warthe) often abbreviated to Gorzów Wlkp. or simply Gorzów, is a city in western Poland, on the Warta river. It is the second largest city in the Lubusz Voivodeship with 120,087 inhabitants (Decemb ...

History

Production of the Ursus C-45 model began in 1946. Due to the need to begin production quickly, the Ursus company decided to copy the

Lanz Bulldog D 9506 The Lanz Bulldog D 9506 is a tractor of the HR 8 series, produced by Heinrich Lanz AG in Mannheim from 1934 to 1955, with a production stop in 1945. In total, 3817 units were produced. The tractor was sold under the brand name Ackerluft (''field-a ...

. Examples of this German model were prevalent in the formerly German parts of post-war Poland, left behind following the expulsion of Germans at the end of World War II. Apart from its proximity and prevalence, the model also was advantageously high-powered relative to its simple construction and operation. Technical documentation for the C-45 was completed in July 1946 and was carried out under the guidance of

Edward Habich Edward Jan Habich ( es, Eduardo de Habich) (31 January 1835, Warsaw – 31 October 1909, Lima, Peru) was a Polish engineer and mathematician. In 1876, he founded the National University of Engineering ( es, Universidad Nacional de Ingenier� ...

. Under the designation LB-45, Habich built the first prototype in 1947, which was presented at the Labour Day parade in Warsaw on 1 May. Full production of the tractors was launched in September, with 130 units built by the end of 1947. The C-45 had a one-cylinder,

two-stroke engine A two-stroke (or two-stroke cycle) engine is a type of internal combustion engine that completes a power cycle with two strokes (up and down movements) of the piston during one power cycle, this power cycle being completed in one revolution of t ...

, with a maximum power of 33 kW (45 hp) and a cylinder capacity of 10,300 cc. The gearbox was 3-speed and the cylinder was placed horizontally. To start the engine, it was first heated by a

blow lamp A blowtorch, also referred to as a blowlamp, is an ambient air fuel-burning gas lamp used for applying flame and heat to various applications, usually metalworking. Early blowtorches used liquid fuel, carried in a refillable reservoir attach ...

. Then, the

steering wheel A steering wheel (also called a driving wheel (UK), a hand wheel, or simply wheel) is a type of steering control in vehicles. Steering wheels are used in most modern land vehicles, including all mass-production automobiles, buses, light and ...

was removed, along with the column, and slid into one of the

flywheel A flywheel is a mechanical device which uses the conservation of angular momentum to store rotational energy; a form of kinetic energy proportional to the product of its moment of inertia and the square of its rotational speed. In particular, ass ...

s. By then turning the steering wheel, the engine was started. This process required physical strength and skill. At the beginning of its production life, the C-45 was manufactured with steel wheels. Modernising modifications were made to the tractor in later years, resulting in the improved C-451. The very first C-45, serial number 0001, worked 12,000 hours without intervening overhaul. Approximately 6,000 C-45 and C-451 tractors were exported to

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

, and

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

C-451

The C-451 was the result of modifications made to the ageing C-45 in 1954. These changes included simplified operation, a more efficient fan, surface-hardened

crankshaft A crankshaft is a mechanical component used in a piston engine to convert the reciprocating motion into rotational motion. The crankshaft is a rotating shaft containing one or more crankpins, that are driven by the pistons via the connecting ...

, headlight, hydraulic lift, and starting gasoline

fuel injection Fuel injection is the introduction of fuel in an internal combustion engine, most commonly automotive engines, by the means of an injector. This article focuses on fuel injection in reciprocating piston and Wankel rotary engines. All comp ...

. A metal frame was fixed to the windscreen, rear fenders were fitted, and a canvas cab was added. The production of the C-451 in Warsaw was completed in 1959, with a total construction of 50,000 units. From 1960 to 1965, the C-451 was manufactured by Zakłady Mechaniczne in Gorzów Wielkopolski, after the technical documentation was passed to them.

Notes

Bibliography

* Ursus Tractor C-45. Ed. K nstantyChorzewski in cooperation with J. Zagrajka and E. Zgódki. Ed. 3 am and Warsaw 1954 uzup States. Ed. Rol. and Forest * {{Cite book , last = Zielinski , first = Andrew , title = Polish Automotive Structures 1947-1960 , publisher = Publishing and Communications , location = Warsaw , year = 2006 , isbn = 978-83-206-1541-8 , pages
179–183
, url = https://archive.org/details/polskiekonstrukc0000ziel/page/179

External links

Ursus Tractors official website in Polish
Tractors Vehicles of Poland

History

C-451

See also

Notes

Bibliography

External links