KrAZ-255

The KrAZ-255 is a Soviet three-axle off-road truck with six-wheel drive (6 × 6), intended for extreme operations. It was manufactured at the KrAZ plant beginning from 1967.

ManufacturerKrAZ

Production1967–1994^[1]

ClassTruck

Engine14.9L YaMZ-238 V8 diesel

Quick facts Overview, Manufacturer ...

KrAZ-255B
Overview
Manufacturer	KrAZ
Production	1967–1994[1]
Body and chassis
Class	Truck
Powertrain
Engine	14.9L YaMZ-238 V8 diesel
Transmission	5-speed YaMZ-236N manual
Dimensions
Wheelbase	5,300 mm (17 ft 5 in)
Length	8,645 mm (28 ft 4.4 in)
Width	2,750 mm (9 ft 0 in)
Height	2,940 mm (9 ft 8 in)
Curb weight	11,950 kg (26,350 lb)
Chronology
Predecessor	KrAZ-214
Successor	KrAZ-260

Close

The KrAZ-255 was developed directly from its predecessor, the KrAZ-214 (produced 1956-1967). Despite being very similar at first glance (both using the same cab, flatbed as well as the suspension), there are few major differences. Firstly, the KrAZ-255 used new and much more powerful engine - the YaMZ-238 (same used in MT-LB tracked APC), replacing the previously used and sensibly weaker YaAZ-206B which was used in KrAZ-214. The KrAZ-255 also featured new and more reliable transmission, the YaMZ-236N, instead of the previously used YaAZ-204. It also featured new headlights (which were now, together with turn signals, located in their own housings mounted on the fenders) and, most notably, much wider tires (1300 x 530 x 533 in dimensions), which offered lighter ground pressure and thus, even greater off-road capabilities when compared to its predecessor.

Along with Ural, ZiL, Kamaz, GAZ and MAZ, the KrAZ once represented one of six models of cargo/towing trucks (in its basic version, the KrAZ-255B) used by the Soviet Armed Forces, as well as by many civilian organizations in the former Soviet Union (mainly by various construction plants), where it was also used as a logging truck (KrAZ-255L/L1).

Since the KrAZ-255 was the heaviest (weighing 12 tons empty) and most powerful (using a 14,900 ccm engine, producing 240 hp/180 kw) of all Soviet three-axle (6 × 6) military cargo trucks, it was most often used for towing heavier artillery pieces (such as D-74, M-46 and 2A65 howitzers or T-12 anti-tank gun) and also for towing various aircraft from their hangars to runways, or vice versa (in tractor-unit version, the KrAZ-255V).

Furthermore, it was also used as a platform for control cabin and the antennas of PRV-9/1RL19 Naklon^[2] (NATO reporting name: "Thin-Skin") and PRV-16/1RL132 Nadyozhnost^[3] (NATO reporting name: "Odd-Pair") Soviet height-finding radars, as well as for various engineer duties in specially-designed versions (such as PMP collapsible ferryboat intended to be used as a pontoon bridge and TMM-3^[4] mobile bridgelayer), which are still being used today by various military forces across the globe.

The KrAZ-255 ultimately evolved into a new model as its successor in 1979, the KrAZ-260, whose only difference was a new design of cab and the interiors. Despite that however, the KrAZ-260 did not replace it in production, but was actually produced alongside it up until 1994, when both were finally discontinued in favour to KrAZ-6322 (a modernized model of KrAZ-260).