Kharkovchanka - The Soviet Antarctic Snow Cruiser

[Music] the soviet union had its own version of the antarctic snow cruiser a united states off-road vehicle but while the famous american giant died in the snows of antarctica the soviet kharkov chunk of vehicles still serves russian polar explorations on the frozen continent but what exactly is the kharkov chanca [Music] in the 1950s the soviet union along with the united states and other nations began active scientific research in antarctica the soviets took control of the eastern part of the continent in 1956 the first soviet fortress called mirny station was found there within two years the ussr established five operational stations in east antarctica the soviets faced major problems with transport vehicles because usual tractors and trucks couldn't run adequately in the harsh antarctic conditions they needed a new off-road vehicle capable of reaching the south pole which would be difficult given the two thousand seven hundred kilometer distance between it and mirny therefore soviet engineers had to design an off-road vehicle that would be able to operate in temperatures as low as -70 degrees celsius travel long distances on snow and ice and serve as a home for the scientists as a result the kharkov chanka which translates to woman from kharkiv was born the kharkov chanka was the soviet's answer to the u.s antarctic snow cruiser designed in the late 1930s this massive vehicle was a real house on wheels the cruiser was supposed to cross antarctica several times but it only made it 148 kilometers before being abandoned by the crew and lost forever the new soviet off-roader was based on the att heavy artillery tractor which was based on the t-54 tank's chassis and drive system it could drag a cargo weight of 70 tons the vehicle had impressive dimensions 8.5 meters long 3.5 meters width and 4 meters high its usual speed was 5 to 11 kilometers per hour in terms of size the vehicle can be compared with a 28 square meter modern studio apartment everything needed for the long voyage could be found inside including a control section for the driver and navigator a radio room a small kitchen a six-person bedroom a toilet a drying room and a vestibule a total of five off-roaders were built and delivered to antarctica in late 1958 the following year soviet polar explorers set off on their first voyage to the south pole on september 27th all five fully equipped karkov chunk of vehicles with trailer sleds left the mirny station and headed west on the way the convoy made stops at the soviet komsomolskaya and vostok stations the last human abodes before the final pitch the two thousand seven hundred kilometers journey especially the last 1 253 kilometers from the vostok station to the south pole was tough going huge snowstorms unknown territory and dangerous hidden crevasses that could be fatal for the vehicles participants of the expedition nikolai grishinsky and alexander dralkin recalled in their memoirs antarctica a boundless snow ocean ahead of us while behind lay two deep furrows left by our off-road vehicles they were made where no man had ever reached we thought that they connected us to our friends at the mirani station moving to the pole we didn't feel alone we were in constant radio contact with the mirani and vostok stations and we always knew what was happening on the mainland on december 26th the soviet expedition reached the south pole where they were greeted by a team of americans whose amundsen scot station was located nearby the whole journey took 89 days and after three days at the u.s base the soviet scientists were on their way back for almost 20 years kharkov chanka off-roaders served as the main transport in the antarctica for the soviets and connected their six stations on the continent in 1975 more advanced kharkov chanka two off-roaders were designed and joined the antarctic scientists they are the main off-roaders used by the russian polar expeditions today plans for a kharkov chance three appeared in the 1980s but were never realized due to the soviet fall [Music] you

Channel: Simplicitas

Views: 120,211

Keywords: Antarctica, Snow Cruiser, Antarctic Snow Cruiser, Soviet Antarctica, Extreme, Extreme vehicles, Largest Vehicles, Biggest Vehicles, Most Bizzare Vehicles, Харьковчанка, Antarctica Documentary, mirny antarctica, The Snow Cruiser, The Antarctic Snow Cruiser, Antarctic Mystery, Kharkovchanka, russian vehicles, Kharkivchanka, kharkiv, kharkiv ukraine, antarctic snow cruiser, snow cruiser, antarctica, antartic snow cruiser, antarctic exploration vehicle, polar exploration history

Id: RS2vzhX18-M

Length: 4min 50sec (290 seconds)

Published: Sun May 01 2022