"Kharkovchanka" - The Colossal Soviet Antarctic Cruisers

Antarctica is a strange otherworldly environment and the demands placed on both the people who work there as well as the equipment they must bring with them can be exceptionally high since the early 20th century primitive motor sledges automobiles planes and tractors were all tested in various ways for helping assist Overland expeditions of the continent all too little real success perhaps most famously during the pre-world War 2 era of exploration was the grand Antarctic snore cruiser made by the Americans for the United States service expedition of 1939 this vast wildly ambitious project was touted as the answer to all Antarctic exploration a futuristic mothership that could in theory explore thousands of miles of Antarctic ice as it raced across the continent planting the American flag and mapping uncharted alias of icy wasteland perhaps most revolutionary about this design was that everything from the engine maintenance to crew accommodation was all contained within one body allowing the crews to live work and even repair the cruiser without ever having to face the sub-zero temperatures outside this design was bold and ridiculously ambitious for the time but upon arriving in Antarctica in 1939 the huge cruiser was plagued with numerous failures not least of which being the massive tread less balloon tires and an underpowered drivetrain which made it hopeless in the deep soft snows and sleek Antarctic ice unfortunately before any improvements could be made to the cruiser it along with the entire expedition was prematurely abandoned due to the outbreak of world war ii the american antarctic snow cruiser disappeared into the snow and aside from a few reappearances in the 1950s has been lost ever since you would be forgiven to think that after such a resounding failure the idea of a huge self-contained exploration vehicle like the snow cruiser would be forever tarnished in the eyes of future expeditions but this would not be the case in fact it would be the soviet union that would revisit and revolutionize this idea in the 1950s creating a series of exploration vehicles saw robust so well designed and so versatile that over 50 years later these remarkable vehicles are still operating in the cold wastelands of antarctica exploring and providing an essential lifeline to those working in some of the harshest environments anywhere on earth they are the perfect example of the unique demands of Antarctica but also of the amazing capabilities of Soviet engineering and design these vehicles are called the charkh of chancres and to understand where they came from and what makes them so long-lasting we must start at the beginning of Soviet explorations of the Antarctic following World War two and as the Cold War ever escalated numerous countries raced to re-establish a presence in Antarctica both for research but also to help bolster claims to the land itself up until the 1950s the Soviets had remained relatively uninterested in Antarctica which is somewhat ironic considering that's more than likely that members of the first Russian Antarctic expedition of 1819 were probably one of if not the first humans to ever actually spot the frozen shores of the fabled seventh continent but while the Soviets may have come around to the idea of Antarctic expeditions a bit later than some other nations they jumped into action with a bold and extensive plan to establish bases exploratory missions observation stations and Marina expeditions to coincide with the first international geophysical year of 1957 the geophysical year was a multinational effort that had been established by over a dozen countries of interests in Antarctica to help collaborate and work with each other over scientific observations and research on the continent for the Soviet Union keen not to be laughed at of any potential land grab and also eager to participate and demonstrate their prowess in the field of science it was the perfect opportunity the first Soviet Antarctic expedition set out on November 30th 1955 arriving on the Antarctic coast in early 1956 they eventually established the first Soviet Antarctic station and Observatory named Muni along the Pravda coast like most countries the Soviets didn't have specialized equipment for Antarctica and most of the vehicles they brought with them were essentially stock versions of military trucks and industrial civilian tractors that had been hastily adapted for Antarctic service well the track machine we performed well they were slow uninsulated and generally poorly suited to the extreme environments especially inland where the altitudes were higher and the temperatures were even lower what the Soviets needed to complete that ambitious plans for further explorations and establishing bases deeper into the interior of Antarctica was something faster more powerful and capable of longer range travel in November 1956 the second Soviet Antarctic expedition began with a punishing schedule of expeditions and surveying that had been set out as part of the Soviets programme for the International Geophysical Year with plans to establish two inland bases in uncharted areas of the eastern ice shelf one being on the geomagnetic South Pole itself a full 1,410 kilometres inland from journey and almost three and a half thousand metres above sea level this time however the Soviets had returned with vehicles that would prove much better suited to the conditions they had experienced in their first trip the huge att tractor a russian abbreviation of her heavy artillery tractor these vehicles were the precursor to what would eventually become the charkh of Janka the ATT is a heavy vehicle platform that was designed and built in the charkh of machine-building plant in ukraine a famous tank a machine factory that would be responsible for the majority of Antarctic vehicles of the Soviet era while the eight ETS have a bonnet and cab lifted from a more conventional zest truck it actually shares a closer heritage to what was the charcoal plants most famous product the t-54 t-55 tank one of the most widely produced tanks in history and still used in some countries to this day the ATT was simply a tank hull with the engine swap to the front rather than the back and a cab placed on top like the t45 tank it was well regarded for its reliability and simple design and the impressive pooling power meant that it served a multitude of roles in the Soviet military upon arrival the ATT's also known as product 401 s were immediately put to work in establishing two inland bases required for that year setting out an overland expeditions from Muni pulling huge heavy sleds full of equipment supplies and prefabricated Hut's even with these new larger tractors however the seasons program proved to be exceptionally difficult and calm located work alongside strong hurricane force winds and blinding snow storms that could cover a land train within minutes temperatures veined wildly often dropping as low as minus 69 degrees centigrade freezing components and fuel in such conditions diesel fuel froze to the point in which it could be cut by a handsaw and fires would often have to be lit underneath the engines so they could be thought to the point in which they might start as they worked further inland they also claimed ever higher eventually passing 3000 meters above sea level where the thin air made many of the engines begin to fail due to oxygen starvation to make matters worse the ATT tractors were often getting stuck wiring in place and heavy sleds that they pulled behind them would frequently be unable to run in the soft powdery snow the ATT's showed promise however and for the third expedition that received upgrades to better help them overcome some of the challenges of Antarctic Service wider 75 centimeter tracks for better performance in the snow as well as turbochargers fitted to the engines for operating at higher altitudes it was becoming clear though that adapting or adding incremental updates to already existing vehicles wouldn't be enough the Soviets required something that had been designed specifically for the extreme climates and demands of Antarctica this was especially pertinent as the biggest and most ambitious project to date had been planned for the 4th expedition a full traversal from Nerney station all the way to the geographic South Pole a full journey of over 5,000 kilometres through some of the toughest coldest and remotest landscapes on earth therefore in 1957 the leadership of the Institute of the Arctic turned to the Soviet government with a request to create a new vehicle from scratch capable of operating in Antarctic conditions based on their experiences and what they had learned with the tractors and Overland trains so far the expedition's needed a vehicle that retained the pooling power and the capabilities of the larger upgraded ATT tractors with properly insulated accommodation for crews designed specifically for Antarctica and that could allow them to better operate in the field independently and far from assistance or help such a task could not be completed using conventional vehicle designs and as such the unusual demands would require the joint expertise or two separate industries the Soviet government had to find a capable heavy machine and tractor plan that could design and produce the vehicle platform and engines and also expert aviation plants in the same area that could assist in the design and fabrication of low weight components for the body and living accommodation it would also require high levels of insulation aimed at protecting crews from temperatures as low as minus 75 degrees centigrade once again the ukrainian city of Charak ah've provided the answer where the charkh of Transport engineering plant and the charkh of aviation factories were both located the designers and workers of both factories had a massive task on their hands design and produced this unique never-before-seen Antarctic exploration vehicle from scratch and in only three months in the words of historian dmitriy gladly writing about the development of these new Antarctic cruisers the novelty and uniqueness of the tasks assigned to the enterprise's required unusual approaches of which no one had experienced the body had to be a bus type with a reliable insulation it was necessary to equipped a working compartment a galley a control compartment a bedroom for six people and also an equipment room drying compartment and a vestibule that is a comfortable work and home complex all contained within one room the deadline was defined like anything in those days very tight only three months it was necessary to have time to complete the drawings translate them into metal and at the same time instantly make adjustments in the process the people involved in this project worked almost continuously night and day to complete the various teams of designers engineers and factories got to work the ATT platform that performs so well in previous expeditions was taken as the basis and that chassis was lengthened by two rollers bringing it to almost nine meters in length the tracks were widened once more up from 75 centimeters to now an entire meter and width to help reduce pressure on the snow an upgraded five-speed gearbox was also required to help power this heavier extended platform along with a 12 cylinder 520 horsepower diesel engine that could achieve up to 900 horsepower by way of twin turbine superchargers allowing it better performance and the higher altitudes found inland with a basic chassis established it was here that the Soviet snow crews are a project for o4c as it was later known started to take on its unique somewhat familiar Luke doing away with a separate cab like on the ATT the designers at Chartres coves aviation plant created a combined car over saloon design that housed the driver's cab crew compartment and engine bay in a single self-contained ER Allium shell insulated with eight layers of nylon wool to provide insulation from the freezing Antarctic outdoors the result was a remarkable aviation inspired design that combined with the lessons that had been learnt by the Soviets in Antarctica so far but also brought in many of the clear design elements of the original Americans new cruiser that had been experimented with in the 1930s taking cues from the American cruisers successful crew considerations the Soviets could see the clear advantage of a design that laid the crew to stay and work entirely within the confines of the machine itself and much like the failed American Cruiser decided to locate the engine bay within the accommodation shell this would allow access and maintenance to be able to take place without having to leave the cruiser and also harnessing the engine heat to provide better heating to the accommodation itself the end result was an incredible sight an eight point five meter long behemoth 3.5 meters wide and over 4 meters high up front was a four-seater cockpit containing the drivers controls engine access as well as a glass dome that could be used to take meteorological readings and positioning with no radar and little radio contact in the field navigators would often have to rely on a Sexton an chronometer to lay the route along celestial bodies the front windscreen was double glazed and lined at the heating element so that snow and ice could be melted away intruding operation now feature unheard of in most vehicles of the time from this driver's cockpit crews could then access the rear accommodation which has separated internally from the front cab by layers of insulation at 30 square meters in volume it was larger than many Soviet apartments of the time and it was split into several rooms a main working compartment contained a mass table chairs as well as bunks for up to six with the entire vehicle capable of sleeping eight after one side was a radio room and next to it an electric galley with hot plates and water boilers to the rear of the cabin was an airplane style toilet as well as equipment rooms Drang compartments and a secondary exit at the back chuck of xavie asian plants had fitted high spec lightweight components such as the cooking equipment for galleys water boilers and nine circular portholes in the accom section all parts that were commonly found in planes of the unit such as the top 11 to you 104 alongside a pair of heater is powered by the onboard generators the synthetic nylon will layered into the walls of the accommodation was aimed at reducing heat loss and each panel gap and joint was sealed with heavy-duty tapes to prevent any further heat loss should the engines fail and the crews remain stranded the crew accommodation was designed to lose heat at a rate of only one to two centigrade per day the project 404 c9 nicknamed the charkh of Chang cos are literally charcoal woman could achieve speeds up to 35 miles an hour climb slopes of up to 30 degrees and even operate and water up to the depth of the cabin floor it could tow up to 60 tons that being on top of the 35 ton weight of the vehicle itself and it was fitted with a 20 ton wench and a 100 meter cable along with the main fuel tank it contained eight auxiliary tanks under the crew compartment giving a total fuel capacity of 2.5 thousand liters and an estimated range of around one and a half thousand kilometers working night and day the designers and engineers managed to achieve the impossible after three months of work three fully loaded check of chancres rolled off the production line ready for Antarctica each had been meticulously worked over with engineers and workers at the plant being told to lick clean every component a mechanism to ensure that nothing could let down the machines and their grand journey to the South Pole sporting bright red coloring to make them even easier to spot against the white snow and ice they left the charkh of plant firsts on trucks and then by trained to the port of Kaliningrad upon arrival they were loaded onto the expedition icebreaker obey and sailed out to the Baltic Sea ready to start their long career in Antarctica it had been a long journey from the basic tractors taken from civilian service for the first expedition but there was also another giant red specter that hung above the whole project the construction design and ideas behind the charkh of chunka seemed remarkably reminiscent to the failed us cruiser built only a few decades before and launched too similar fanfare and both the irony and concern was probably not lost on the designers who no doubt white that there was no cruiser similarly built to such precarious time skills over such high expectations would suffer the same fate as their American counterpart thankfully the charkh of chanko would succeed in almost every way the US Cruiser did not but that's not to say they didn't have their problems as the Soviet cruise would soon find out and their grand expedition to the pole upon arriving in Mira knee in early 1959 the charkh of chancres were offloaded and immediately put to work the Soviets had in mind for the fourth expedition an incredibly ambitious trail for the new tractors a full traversal from Marigny station on the Pravda coast all the way to the geographic South Pole to where the new US amundsen-scott base was located and back again a full journey of over five and a half thousand kilometers spanning some of the coldest least understood areas of land on earth and operating at altitudes over three and a half thousand metres above sea level it would be a huge challenge for both the Soviet crews and their machinery but in favor 10th 1959 three new Chuck of chancres pulling trailers behind them set out for me oniy first for the newly established Vostok station which saturd the geomagnetic South Pole and would act as an intermediate point for the expedition the train eventually left for the geographic South Pole from Vostok station in December 8 1959 with the lead tractor of the South Pole train pulling out of Vostok along Meridian 106 East it was made up of 16 main and 3 tractors in total only two charkh of chancres along with one modified ATT tractor that had a built-in galley compartment on the rear between them they told four sled trailers all piled high with the supplies and tons of fuel required for the trip AG drunken was the leader of the party and wrote about the huge task ahead of them and facing it in vehicles that had only a few months ago been sitting on a production line in the Ukraine the way ahead lay through completely unexplored regions of Central Antarctica they had never been flown over by plane or waited ahead no one knew we were heading out into the unknown further and further from base from iourney and from console skaia and from Vostok it was a tough and dangerous trip and several of the shortcomings of the untested check of chancres were starting to become apparent the weight and size of the huge tractors meant that fuel consumption was incredibly heavy but the expanded her white tracks were causing much larger problems in his book Antartica AG drought can write of the issues that started appear with the huge snow cruisers by eight hundred and seventy kilometers into the trip 160 track pens were broken fuel consumption range from nine point six to 12 liters per one kilometer the average speed was a range of four point six to six kilometers per hour the main engines worked well for those pure oil cooling the temperature was kept at 95 to 100 degrees over the norm of 85 when part of the heaters turned off the temperature in the living compartment decreased from 30 to 35 degrees to minus 12 degrees centigrade by morning the problem with the tracks became so serious that the new metre wide tracks had to be shortened back down to 75 centimetres and regular checking and maintenance of the Pens was required to ensure they didn't come loose again during the journey the huge weight of the vehicle as well as the extra strain put on the gearbox an engine from the wider tracks also led to a gearbox failure in one of the charkh of Chang cos amazingly the Soviets had the foresight to bring a spare and rather than fix it in sits you the entire gearbox was lifted from the top of the Machine and swapped out it was not an easy job however weighing over 600 kilograms the teams were forced to work in minus 55 degree temperatures for five days to get it running again despite these teething troubles of the new machines and the challenges of the land itself on the 26th of December 1959 the teams at the US a moons and Scott base were surprised to see a small smudge of black and red appearing on the bright white horizon the small Overland train made up of practically untested vehicles that had only rolled off the production line a few months previously had made it to the geographic South Pole the Soviets were welcomed with open arms and given a full tour of the new US base at the geographic South Pole raising the flag along the American stars and stripes it was an encouraging moment of cooperation amid the ongoing global cold war the Soviets even did the traditional round-the-world journey by circling a stack of empty bottles that marked the true geographic South Pole on December 29th after making a farewell turn at the pool the train set out back again for Vostok station successfully reaching it thirteen days later the South Pole trip was an amazing achievement for the Soviet expedition and despite the issues from the new vehicles had demonstrated the strength and effectiveness of the huge snow cruisers with both the vehicles and crews performing admirably over there 5,000 kilometer journey the shark of Shanker's would take place in dozens of more exploratory missions deep into the uncharted regions of the Antarctic ice shelf but also in what was undoubtedly becoming some of the most essential work of the Antarctic season the vast hauling of supplies and fuels to the numerous Soviet bases located on the Antarctic ice shelf in 1963 British glaciologist Charles swithin Bank had the rare opportunity to live and work with the Soviets in Antarctica despite the Cold War being in full swing he wrote in his book vodka on ice I was consumed with admiration for both the 35 tonne shark of chancre and also the 25 tonne att's what other vehicles I wondered could ply the route from Vostok to Maroney twice per year under extreme why there were soft snow surfaces and tractor trains hauling hundreds of tons of cargo without a load both types could cruise at speeds up to 30 kilometers per hour though driving over certain types of snow gave a very bumpy roller coaster a kind of ride as the years went on however the cruisers became increasingly relegated to non exploratory work in place of the smaller and more efficient ATT tractors a Soviet report from 1963 noted that well the charkh of Changkat exploration vehicles are intended for carrying out inland expeditions with the aim of performing various geophysical studies and other operations in most cases their users tractors trucks that is not for their intended purpose there were several issues with the charkh of chanc as much of it coming from the unusual design for the crews living inside for long periods of time they found that locating the engine be inside the body of the vehicle may have made it easier to access about leaving the cab but it made it difficult to achieve full access to the engine and often created problems with keeping it cool worst of all however the acrid diesel smoke would back up into the accommodation car coating everything and everyone with the smell of diesel and soot from the engines as they had also discovered on the South Pole trip the insulation turned out to be far less effective than designed and meant that the heaters generators and engines had to be run for longer exacerbating many of the problems as reports back to Moscow laid out the shock of shankar's while useful not been fully effective in their rule at replacing the general all-round ability of the ATT tractors by the mid-1970s the Soviet expedition began to look at the requirements of a successor to the original charkh of Janka the originals were bold designs with a focus on self sustainability and exploration with their all internal design much like the American snow cruiser however the issues with fumes the engine noise as well as access to the engine bay and problems with the gearbox as well as the shifting requirements of vehicles from exploration to the hauling of supplies to various stations made the designers rethink several elements of the new generation in December 1974 the charkh of plants once again returned to the task of creating a purpose-built exploration vehicle that would end up being the second and final generation charkh of chunka with over two decades of experience in the antarctic to no draw from the designers had a clearer idea about what worked and what didn't the biggest change of the charkh of Changkat ii was to return to a similar design style of the much more traditional ATT tractor in their time at the pole many ATT tractors had been upgraded with rear compartments and it was decided to use this as a basis for the new design combining both the advantages of the larger custom-built rack of chancres with that of the more conventional ATT's given the same extended chassis and upgraded drivetrain for better pulling power issues with the tracks and gearbox were addressed but most distinctively of all the new charcoal chanko would be fitted with a more standard front mounted engine with bonnet and cab layout allowing much easier access to the engine bay compared to the original cab over layout this also allowed better cooling and a better separation from the driver's cockpit and the accommodation bay at the rear it was here in the accommodation be that many lessons had been learned from the first generation fitting out to the charkh of aviation plant new better quality insulation was fitted to the walls as well as small touches learned from experiences in the field such as eliminating through bolts that pass through the walls and allowed bridging points from in the cold could seep into internal spaces the layout of the internal living space was altered slightly as well and perhaps the most valuable addition was that of exhilarate generators meaning that the main vehicle engines could remain off while power and heat could still be delivered to the accommodation this second generation felt like a more refined version of the charkh of chunka perhaps less ambitious than the original but benefiting from the decades of experience that the Soviets had now picked up living and working in Antarctica once again the teams that the charkh of plants worked tirelessly and by fall 1975 three new second-generation chuck of chancres ruled off the production line much like they had in 1958 the teams no doubt felt much more confident about these new bright red tractors having heard and seen the success and longevity of their previous work and now knowing that a worthy successor was being sent to Antarctica to assist with the work out there this second generation of Chuck of women would define themselves as even more reliable comfortable and perhaps most importantly warmer than anything that had come before few vehicles could probably claim the longevity and resilience and tough conditions than that of the charkh of chancres as the years and Technology progressed methods for living and working in Antarctica changed and improved the charkh of chancres and the various ATT tractors would remain however useful and resilient as ever on overland train journeys to restock the various bases around Antarctica in the nineteen eighties budgetary issues meant that a potential third generation shark of Janka based on the MTT tractor was put on permanent hold and following the collapse of the Soviet Union and further budgetary issues the charkh of Chang has remained the main transportation system well beyond what many probably initially expected of their lifespan so with that in mind where are they now well up until only a few years ago both generations of charkh of chancres remained in operation as full front-line vehicles working amongst the remote bases of warnout the russian antarctic operations especially important are the aforementioned supply runs to inland Vostok station as well as some research and exploratory runs on the Russian Forum the polar post a user posted a series of photos showing two generations of charkh of Janka at the Russian progress station visible in the photos is a second generation charged anchor number charkh of three an original numbered 22 having been seemingly repainted and green at some point and now's sporting the Russian Federation flag shark of 22 has a rich history and has actually mentioned in the book 72 degrees below zero a biographical account of life and work in Antarctica by writer Vladimir Sanon the whole world knows of our shark of 22 it's traveled tens of thousands of kilometers along Antarctica visited the pole of an accessibility and decorated a postage stamp with its image it isn't clear what's happened to the other original chunk of chancres but it's likely as the vehicles aged and parts became scarce the others may have been cannibalized to keep the 22 running shark of 22 seems to have been the very last of the first generations to remain in regular service having taken part in regular supply runs up until 2010 a few fifty years after it first arrived on the continent in 2015 shark of 22 reappeared however now restored to original colors and parked at the progress station as a monument to this incredible series of vehicles much like the ATT monument in Vostok historical sites around Antarctica must first be registered and approved by members of the Antarctic Treaty in the Russian submission statement for the check of 22 they stated proposal on inclusion of over snow heavy tractor shark of chenkov that was first used in Antarctica from 1959 to 2010 to the list of historical sites and monuments it is noted that the tractor was the first non serial transport vehicle of the Soviet machine building produced exclusively for operations in Antarctica and was a unique historical sample of engineering technology developments made for the exploration of Antarctica the Russian Federation highlighted the historical significance of the Chuck of Changkat tractor and its commemorative and emotional value to all who visit it in Antarctica as for the second generation shark of Janka closing in on 45 years into their mission it seems that they are still being used in some capacity on land trains and for general work a similar forum post from 2015 showed three of them in storage at Vostok ready to take part in the next land train operation it seems that at least two are still fully operational and more recent photos from Vostok taken only a couple of years ago show them similarly lined up in the outdoor equipment stores the sub-zero temperatures and lack of moisture it means equipment can survive much better outside and for long periods of time in Antarctica and they are seemingly fully prepared and ready to enter service when necessary the accommodation base are often still being used as extra sleeping quarters it's indicated in this post from a worker at Vostok station that the second-generation track of chunker's may soon be reassigned to the progress station as well and have largely been replaced on overland supply trains it also seems that out of the three pictured to our operational well a third is used for parts and spares the interior still feature the gas stoves and fittings all mainly in working order and ready to enter service there's even instruction manuals still inside in Russian forums and magazines that is an admiration for these vehicles and many popular science magazines and promotional stamps and toys have been produced around the charkh of chancres in the past some do now lament however the fact that new better technology and new equipment hasn't been afforded to many of the teams in Antarctica that said while these vehicles may be loud and rough around the edges they are still incredibly capable and robust platforms able to fulfill a multitude of rules and therefore are still able to perform various useful functions in Antarctica despite their age and while parts are still relatively available upon reaching out to the Russian Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute they have stated that the charkh of chancres have been generally replaced first by the vit C as DT 30s and more lately by newer more advanced German Pistenbully 300 Polar's the charkh of chancres are in many ways the perfect summation of both the unique history of technological development in antarctica but also of the amazing capabilities of soviet engineering and design built during a time when the world is consumed in a military and nuclear arms race these vehicles best represented the unusual spirit of peace and cooperation in antarctica where people of all nations were coming together to explore and study something that transcended international politics the vehicles themselves however are descended from weapons of war and only the incredible engineering of platforms such as the t54 tank and the cutting-edge Soviet aviation technology of the time could make such vehicles possible in the end it was vladimir sun and who best summed up the charkh of Janka in 72 degrees below zero and support the insurance policy of the polar explorer charkh of shankha tractors will stall fail but shark of chanko remains it will shelter everyone save them and bring it home only she is capable of such the cruiser of the white desert thank you very much for watching my video on the shark of shankha the of Xiang can I've probably mispronounced it 100 million times over the course of the video if you are Russian if you are a Ukrainian if you speak those languages if you have any respect for either the English language or just the pronunciation of words and I am very very sorry because there I have probably slaughtered the pronunciation of so much well of course this video I did try and turns out I'm just nobody good at pronouncing stuff which is ironic considering my vocation and my hobbies but anyway really fun project I had an absolute blast making this and definitely one of the most rewarding kind of video projects I have made and it's a very difficult one to get into the sources are end this are quite niche and a lot of what I have are printouts from old magazines and things like that and blogs and forums and webpages that I had to use Google Translate kind of parse and understand and but being able to get piece together the story of the shark of Jacques has been great that's the important thing though is it's piecing together the stuff there are loads of references dozens of blogs and photos and various things that I've referenced over the course of this video it might not all be in fully correct I will always say that about anything and you should probably go and research this stuff yourself if you are interested and if you do again speak these languages and you feel like I've missed anything you know don't hesitate to get in touch especially about the more kind of a recent stuff I am insured exactly what has happened to a lot of these things and I would love to get in say of somebody who works out in Antarctica I had reached out to a few people and but I've only been working on this for about three weeks now and some of them just haven't got back in contact with me some folks that did get back in contact with the Russian Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute and I think their name is designed so that I cannot pronounce really nice guys they gave me a whole bunch of information a whole bunch of references and sources and so shout it to them they are really really good books I mentioned this book vodka on ice Charles swithin Bank really great he actually sadly passed away I think in 2014 really great insight though into the sort of real gulf of differences between the the Soviets and a sort of Natal especially don't enough talk to cut back then it is full of really high-quality photos and it's just a really great insight into everything that was happening down there doing that really fascinating period of time another book that really good is this and this is Soviet geographical explorations and discoveries very descriptive title it has everything goes up to 1976 so just before the second generation of sharpish anchors and the maps that are in here are amazing some of them I've actually referenced in the video itself and it is South Pole north pole it is West Africa it is you know South America and China all that kind of stuff really really fascinating the the Soviets and geographical Sciences were really really fascinating and the discovery they made as well back then we're really amazing to now one final thing I'm actually currently drawing the shark of shang-chi if you don't know why I do aren't in my spare time and then I've been drawing this quite fun schematic of the shark of shank and you can actually buy that if you go to my RedBubble site and allows you to upload artwork you can then apply that or buy that on um posters t-shirts clocks you probably can't get on a clock don't know you know you can go ahead and see yourself there but it's great fun I love drawing these things it's a slightly more stylized cartoony version of the shark of shankha but I'd like to do one on the Antarctic snow cruiser as well and I think finally you know the Antarctic snow cruiser I think hangs over this project and I think this video book ends my first video on the Antarctic snow cruiser quite nicely because you know the two are inextricably linked and there is nothing like these things these giant and kind of independent exploration vehicles and you can see the the clear design elements that were brought over from the American snow cruiser and to the first generation shark of zhanka and one thing that does make me laugh you know not to be too mean to the American steel cruiser but one of the things that really did not work on the shark of chancre was this unibody design and you know the diesel fumes were getting everywhere it was hard to get engine access overheating all this stuff where did this unibody design come from the american snow cruiser it seems the curse of the american snow cruiser just follows you absolutely everywhere so so yeah really good fun one thing I'd recommend if you're on YouTube right now as I'm sure you are and there is okay that's not the video there that's some guys and there is a video an amazing movie called seventy-six degrees below zero it is the movie adaption of the book by Vladimir Sun and I referenced it is so good it's filmed out there it's in Russian and that's the problem I can't understand a word of what they're saying and it's on YouTube but I really rubbish quality if you have that film if you somehow have a DVD or a tape please send it to me please get in contact I've watched it so many times and I absolutely love it and but yeah thank you very much for watching guys again love making these videos it's really fun that there is an audience of people who are also interested in these things as well and I am gonna keep you any longer so thank you very much for watching and in yeah see you next time bye bye

Channel: Calum

Views: 2,748,780

Rating: 4.891645 out of 5

Keywords: Antarctica, Snow Cruiser, Antarctic Snow Cruiser, Soviet Antarctica, Extreme, Extreme vehicles, Largest Vehicles, Biggest Vehicles, Most Bizzare Vehicles, off-road vehicles, mad max vehicles, Харьковчанка, Antarctica Documentary, Vostok, mirny antarctica, The Snow Cruiser, The Antarctic Snow Cruiser, Antarctic Mystery, Abandoned, Lost Vehicles, Exploration, What happened to the Antarctic Snow Cruiser, Kharkovchanka, russian vehicles

Id: f6R-h06IsJw

Length: 36min 49sec (2209 seconds)

Published: Sat Jun 27 2020

Reddit Comments

[u/gordonfroman]

Say what you will about Russians but they make some really awesome vehicles

[u/NitroXSC]

Nicely produced video, it was a joy to watch.

I think this is one of the best examples of iterative design and maybe a user-focused design.

[u/madladhadsaddad]

I wasn't expecting to watch a 40 minute video on Artic Tractor design, but it was a really great and we'll put together video, should possibly post over in r/documentaries aswell.

[u/Renacidos]

This vehicle is so cool it made me feel like a kid

[u/On_a_Cajun]

Love the “oof” at 4:07

[u/poland626]

And they say theres nothing in Antarctica. I don't believe it

[u/Michael199494]

I'm not over compensating...

[u/maninthebox911]

Check out that Eminem sample at 2:36

[u/TheDongerNeedsFood]

Very interesting