How sick Soviet leaders were transported – Russia today Posting in CHAT: Russia Huge black station wagons based on Soviet-era government vehicles were sometimes seen on the streets of the capital. But they were not written about in any reference book, and few people knew what kind of machines they were... In the early 1970s, the health of General Secretary Leonid Brezhnev began to deteriorate. But he had to appear in public and travel a lot. What was needed was not only doctors, but also medical equipment that would always be at hand, and preferably an ambulance comparable in characteristics to the government transporter ZIL-114. And it was equipped with a 7-liter V8 engine producing 300 hp. C. The maximum speed of the limousine was 200 km/h. At that time it was not a joke at all. Of course, the order for the production of an unusual medical car was taken over by ZIL itself. And in 1974, the first ZIL-114A appeared - a huge station wagon based on the 114 model. Of course, the car was not painted in a bright medical color and the traditional red cross was not applied to the body. Like all government cars, the first aid station was black. The ZIL-114A ambulance was for the automobile passage of the General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee Leonid Brezhnev. Soon a second similar ZIL-114EA car was built with shielded electrical equipment, as is already the case on most limousines. The cars differed in roof height, but inside they were almost the same. In addition to the driver, four doctors could travel with a bedridden patient - a whole team. The car contained a defibrillator, a cardioscope and a pacemaker, oxygen and nitrogen cylinders. The second version of the ZIL-114EA ambulance van, the plant built several similar vehicles under the name ZIL-41042 and then on the basis of vehicles of the following generations: from ZIL-4104 to ZIL-41047. These cars differed not only in design, but also in their engines: now with a volume of 7.7 liters and a power of 315 hp. S. ZIL-41042 based on the ZIL-41045 limousine. The last ambulance ZIL-41042 was assembled in 1988. Later cars, by the way, differed in layout from earlier ones in that the interior was easily transformed into a pickup truck. One can only guess what such a van might be needed for. Is this really a hearse? The latest version of the sanitary ZIL-41041 based on the ZIL-41047. In the mid-1970s, a similar order was received by the RAF in Riga. For the 4th Chief Director of the USSR Ministry of Health, serving the leaders of the USSR and other Soviet and party bodies. Only the Riga plant had to make nannies for managers of a lower rank than members of the Politburo - on the basis of the Chaika GAZ-13. The Gorky plant managed to be “thrown out” of the gloomy, completely unattractive order, but the RAF could not. In addition, the Riga plant was famous for its highly qualified model makers who were able to perform complex body work. Sanitary GAZ-13S “Chaika” made in Riga Orders for the production of GAZ-13S in Riga were carried out by a special automobile bureau that dealt with all non-standard vehicles, such as electric cars. And a few years later, this bureau created a dozen and a half special modifications of the RAF-2203 for the 1980 Olympics. The finished “Chaikas” were driven under their own power to Riga and turned into stations there. V8 engine with a volume of 5.53 liters and a power of 195 hp. s., a three-speed automatic transmission and all elements of the chassis remained standard. Therefore, no additional tests were carried out in Riga. The spare wheel, like in the Volga GAZ-22B and 22D, in the Chaika stood vertically behind the left rear door. The cars were filled with medical equipment already in Moscow. Sanitary “Seagulls” were made according to individual one-time orders, several pieces at a time. In total, about several dozen cars were produced. And in 1983, the first order for two similar vehicles based on the new Chaika GAZ-14 was received in Riga. These cars even received a separate index GAZ-RAF-3920. By order, the cars were painted white, and the length of the subframes was made not 2100 mm, as before, but 2300 mm. It later became known that two white nurses were built for Cuban leader Fidel Castro, and not black, like all the other secret nurses. These cars were also equipped with air conditioning, and climate tests were carried out at the Volzhsky Automobile Plant. Subsequently, several more GAZ-RAF-3920 were manufactured in the standard black color, like all similar cars for the 4th Main Directorate of the USSR Ministry. . healthcare. But even earlier, the Royal Air Force received a very unusual order. GAZ-RAF-3920 for Cuba Fidel Castro's nurses were white and with stretchers stretched out. The task came to Riga, along with two GAZ-13S stations imported from Moscow, to convert these cars into vans. Also with air conditioning. The vehicles were intended for Vietnam to carry out a particularly important mission there: in the event of war with China, the van was supposed to deliver the body of Ho Chi Minh from the mausoleum in Hanoi to a secret mountain vault. The body of the founder of socialist Vietnam and its first president lay, like Lenin’s body in Moscow, in a mausoleum. Naturally, at strictly maintained temperatures. Therefore, the temperature in the Chaika van had to be constantly kept at 160 C. The second Chaika van, naturally, was a spare one. The side windows of the GAZ-13S were removed, protecting valuable cargo from prying eyes. At first, the Soviet authorities set Riga residents the task of using Soviet air conditioners, but they refused to work properly. As a result, Toshiba air conditioners were delivered to Chaika in Vietnam. a GAZ-13S van, manufactured to a special order of the Vietnamese government. Both vehicles were sent to Vietnam, and RAF specialists also went there, handing over the vehicles to the customer, supervising the construction of a special garage, and even participating in exercises. The car, however, of course, without the corpse of the founder of socialist Vietnam, but under the protection of an armored personnel carrier and at night we successfully reached that very secret mountain warehouse. After this, Soviet specialists were awarded medals and sent home to the Union. It is unknown whether these cars are alive now. And of those black, once almost secret ZIL and Chaika ambulance vans that were made for the leaders of the Soviet Union, several cars are kept in private collections. Sometimes rare cars even appear at exhibitions. Source link Source link
