Chernobyl disaster: the most interesting and unusual transport of the liquidators

Anna Tkach

AutoPortal editorial team

7,464 views 2 min read

The Chernobyl nuclear power plant accident forced the mobilization of hundreds and even thousands of various vehicles. Of course, most of them were quite ordinary cars and trucks, but specialized equipment was also used to eliminate the man-made disaster.

For the 35th anniversary of the Chernobyl tragedy, we have selected the most unusual vehicles used in Chernobyl. Some of the machines were truly innovative for their time. Now some of them can be seen in museums and at vehicle dumps in the Exclusion Zone.

BTS-4

BTS-4 is an army tractor based on the old T-44 tank, capable of towing up to 30 tons. It was developed at the 5th Design and Technology Bureau in Kyiv.

GPM-54

The firefighting tank was created in Lviv on the basis of the T-54. In Chernobyl, the GPM-54 was actively used to extinguish fires, and even now it is sometimes used to fight forest fires.

VTS Ladoga

Ladoga is an army command and staff vehicle on the T-80 tank chassis. For 1986, it was a fairly new machine, and it was used for radiation reconnaissance.

BAT-M

The BAT-M tracklayer was used as a bulldozer directly near the destroyed fourth power unit, because its cab is sealed.

IMR-2

The IMR-2 engineering vehicle is built on the T-72 chassis and is also protected from radioactive radiation, so it was very useful in Chernobyl. It has a blade and a crane for clearing debris. Also, specifically for the most dangerous areas of the ChNPP, a radio-controlled version of the IMR-2, the Object 032, was built.

Komatsu D-355W

Help in eliminating the accident even came from Japan – unmanned Komatsu bulldozers were delivered to Chernobyl. They also worked in places with the highest radiation levels, and sometimes the equipment could not withstand it.

Lunokhod STR-1

The unmanned STR-1 was indeed designed for a flight to the Moon, but the accident at the ChNPP forced a change of plans. The lunar rover was used to clear the roof of the power unit, because due to high radiation it was deadly dangerous for people to work there.