![ZIL-157 on Naissaar](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/27/ZIL-157_on_Naissaar.jpg)
The ZIL-157 is a general-purpose -ton 6×6 truck, produced at the
Lichachev plant in the Soviet Union from 1958 to 1977, when production was transferred to the
Amur
The Amur (russian: река́ Аму́р, ), or Heilong Jiang (, "Black Dragon River", ), is the world's tenth longest river, forming the border between the Russian Far East and Northeastern China ( Inner Manchuria). The Amur proper is long, ...
plant, since the Lichachev plant wanted to focus more on modern trucks, such as the
ZIL-131
The ZIL-131 is a general purpose 3.5 tonne 6x6 army truck designed in the Soviet Union by Zavod Imeni Likhacheva, ZIL. The basic model being a general cargo truck. Variants include a tractor-trailer truck, a dump truck, a fuel truck, and a 6x6 fo ...
truck. Nevertheless, production of the ZIL-157 trucks continued even after the fall of the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
, but eventually ended in 1994.
History
The ZIL-157 started being produced in 1958, based on the
ZIL-164
The ZIS-150 was a Soviet truck. In 1947 it replaced the ZIS-5 truck on the assembly line. Together with the GAZ-51 it was the main Soviet truck during the 1950s, judging by their quantity. A tractor-trailer version of the ZIS-150, the ''ZIS-120N' ...
truck, as a replacement for 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 ...
that was based on the ZIS-150 truck, which was based on the
International KR-11 trucks.
The ZIL-157 truck, like its many predecessors, was mostly intended for use by the
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, after ...
,
[>] but it was also popular with forestry companies,
[>] and was thus also used as a
log truck
A logging truck or timber lorry is a large truck used to carry logs. Some have integrated flatbeds, some are discrete tractor units, and some are configured to spread a load between the tractor unit and a dollied trailer pulled behind it. Ofte ...
, specifically the ''ZIL-157V''
semi-truck
A semi-trailer truck, also known as a semitruck, (or semi, eighteen-wheeler, big rig, tractor-trailer or, by synecdoche, a semitrailer) is the combination of a tractor unit and one or more semi-trailers to carry freight. A semi-trailer a ...
version. In 1977 the production of the truck was moved to
Novouralsk
Novouralsk (russian: Новоура́льск, lit. ''new town in the Urals'') is a closed town in Sverdlovsk Oblast, Russia, located on the eastern side of the Ural Mountains, about north of Yekaterinburg, the administrative center of the obla ...
by the
UamZ
AMUR (russian: АМУР - ЗАО Автомобили и моторы Урала, , Joint-stock company "Ural Automobiles and Motors") was a Russian company, a former manufacturer of commercial vehicles, located in Novouralsk, a closed town in Sv ...
company.
[>] The Lichachev plant likely did that move since, they wanted to focus their main production efforts, on more modern trucks on the same class, such as the
ZIL-131
The ZIL-131 is a general purpose 3.5 tonne 6x6 army truck designed in the Soviet Union by Zavod Imeni Likhacheva, ZIL. The basic model being a general cargo truck. Variants include a tractor-trailer truck, a dump truck, a fuel truck, and a 6x6 fo ...
truck.
The UamZ company continued producing the truck even after the fall of the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
until 1994.
Around 797,934 trucks were produced by the Lichachev plant and a further 160,000 in the UamZ plant.
[>] The truck was also produced in
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 ...
as the
Jiefang CA30 until 1986.
Variants
* ZIL-157 (''ЗИЛ-157'') - cargo truck, produced 1958 - 1961
[ЗИЛ-157КД // Краткий автомобильный справочник НИИАТ. 10-е изд., пер. и доп. М., "Транспорт", 1983. стр.70]
* ZIL-157E - As ZIL-157, but with no cargo platform, two fuel tanks, and no spare wheel bracket.
* ZIL-157G - As ZIL-157, but with shielded electrical equipment.
* ZIL-157K (''ЗИЛ-157К'') - cargo truck, produced 1962 - 1978.
Modernized version of ZIL-157.
:* ZIL-157KV (''ЗИЛ-157КВ'') -
tractor unit
A tractor unit (also known as a truck unit, power unit, prime mover, ten-wheeler, semi-tractor, tractor truck, semi-truck, tractor cab, truck cab, tractor rig, truck rig or big rig or simply a tractor, truck, semi or rig) is a characteristical ...
, produced 1962 - 1978.
[ЗИЛ-157КДВ // Краткий автомобильный справочник НИИАТ. 10-е изд., пер. и доп. М., "Транспорт", 1983. стр.77-78] Modernized version of ZIL-157V.
* ZIL-157KD (''ЗИЛ-157КД'') - 5-ton cargo truck, produced since 1978.
Modernized version of ZIL-157K.
:* ZIL-157KDV (''ЗИЛ-157КДВ'') -
tractor unit
A tractor unit (also known as a truck unit, power unit, prime mover, ten-wheeler, semi-tractor, tractor truck, semi-truck, tractor cab, truck cab, tractor rig, truck rig or big rig or simply a tractor, truck, semi or rig) is a characteristical ...
, produced since 1978.
Modernized version of ZIL-157KV.
* ZIL-157L - Prototype power-steering version of ZIL-157. Produced in 1958, cancelled due to front suspension and steering malfunctions.
* ZIL-157V - Tractor-trailer version. Produced 1958 - 1961.
* ZIL-165 - Prototype for ZIL-131. Produced in 1958.
* KMM (''колёсный механизированный мост КММ'') - Soviet military
bridgelayer
An armoured vehicle-launched bridge (AVLB) is a combat support vehicle, sometimes regarded as a subtype of military engineering vehicle, designed to assist militaries in rapidly deploying tanks and other armoured fighting vehicles across gap- ...
on ZIL-157 chassis
[К. Янбеков. Колесные мостоукладчики ЛКМ и КММ // журнал "Техника и вооружение", № 7, июль 2019. стр.16-21]
Operators
*
* - licensed-produced as
Jiefang CA-30
The Jiefang CA-30 is a military truck used widely by the Chinese People's Liberation Army. It is a licensed-produced Soviet ZIL-157 6x6 army truck, and looks similar to original, except that it has square fenders rather than round fenders as on ...
* -
Jiefang CA-30
The Jiefang CA-30 is a military truck used widely by the Chinese People's Liberation Army. It is a licensed-produced Soviet ZIL-157 6x6 army truck, and looks similar to original, except that it has square fenders rather than round fenders as on ...
variants from China
* - Indonesia got some Zil 157 stored in Dirgantara Mandala Museum,possibly bought in 1961
*
[9>]
*
[0>]
See also
![ZiL-157 truck in Russia](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/54/ZiL-157_truck_in_Russia.jpg)
*
Katyusha rocket launcher
The Katyusha ( rus, Катю́ша, p=kɐˈtʲuʂə, a=Ru-Катюша.ogg) is a type of rocket artillery first built and fielded by the Soviet Union in World War II. Multiple rocket launchers such as these deliver explosives to a target area ...
References
External links
Fan-Club ZIL-157English website for Russian Military TrucksShort movie about the ZIL-157, with Russian commentRussian drawings of ZIL-157*
ZiL vehicles
Military trucks of the Soviet Union
Military vehicles introduced in the 1950s
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