Zawrat (also known as PZInż. 153) was a Polish bus brand produced by the
Państwowe Zakłady Inżynieryjne (PZInż) holding between 1936 and 1937 for the city of
Warsaw
Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...
. Only 18 buses were completed before the series was cancelled. The last Zawrat bus remained in service in Warsaw until 1949.
The bus was based on a license-built chassis of the Saurer 3CT1D bus designed by Swiss
Saurer
Adolph Saurer AG was a Swiss manufacturer of embroidery and textile machines, trucks and buses under the Saurer and Berna (beginning in 1929) brand names. Based in Arbon, Switzerland, the firm was active between 1903 and 1982. Their vehicles were ...
company and a six-cylinder Saurer BLD engine, also license-built in Poland. The license for the chassis was bought in 1932 and initially 70 Saurer 3CT1D buses were completed entirely of Swiss-made parts. Until 1934 additional 43 chassis were completed, partially of parts produced in Poland. Some of those were finished with bus bodies, others were converted to 5-tonne lorries for the
Polish Army
The Land Forces () are the Army, land forces of the Polish Armed Forces. They currently contain some 110,000 active personnel and form many components of the European Union and NATO deployments around the world. Poland's recorded military histor ...
.
In 1936 the PZInż designed a new all-metal body for the Saurer 3CT1D and named the new bus "Zawrat" after the pass in
Tatra Mountains. The bus had two doors and seats for 50 passengers. In line with other buses of pre-war construction, the rear doors were used for entry to the vehicle. However, unlike all previous wooden-built buses used or tested in Warsaw (such as
Büssing
Büssing AG was a German bus and truck manufacturer, established in 1903 by Heinrich Büssing (1843–1929) in Braunschweig. It quickly evolved to one of the largest European producers, whose utility vehicles with the Brunswick Lion emblem were w ...
650 TU,
Somua SIX or
Chevrolet
Chevrolet ( ) is an American automobile division of the manufacturer General Motors (GM). In North America, Chevrolet produces and sells a wide range of vehicles, from subcompact automobiles to medium-duty commercial trucks. Due to the promi ...
EFD FS 183) the Zawrat had a completely closed passenger cabin, without an open platform at the rear.
The first 12 buses were delivered to Warsaw in 1936 and on 13 July 1936 the first new "T" line started to operate them. By the end of the next year 6 additional buses were delivered, which allowed for creation or extension of five new bus lines.
While spacious, the type proved cumbersome to operate. The chassis proved too rigid, making turning in the narrow streets of downtown Warsaw a difficult task. Also the diesel engine proved too loud. Because of that already in 1938 the Zawrat buses were relegated to suburban service, where their disadvantages were less of a problem.
During World War II most of Warsaw's Zawrat buses were mobilised by the army and eventually destroyed. Some bodies of Zawrat still in Warsaw were converted in 1943 to makeshift tramway cars as the Germans stole much of the fleet of
Warsaw Tramways
The Warsaw tram network is a The figure given in the source is of single track in passenger service. It is assumed that the length of all routes (nearly all of them being double track) is about half that figure. tram system serving a thir ...
. The last surviving Zawrat (body number 53) was returned to service after the war and served in the ruined city until 1949.
PZInz Zawrat
PZInz Zawrat