GAZ66 - DPP40 Airborne pontoon system

prusaprinters

Used in the Soviet army since the early 70's. DPP40 stands for Desantniy (airborne) Pontoon Park, 40t, what is the maximum vehicle weight, the system can carry. I’m not a military expert, but my first idea, when reading about was – if airborne troops need a pontoon bridge, maybe they were dropped on the wrong side of the river? ;-) But from engineering point of view it is quite an interesting solution for the task to get a pontoon bridge that is not only operating with a light truck and transportable by airplanes, but can even be dropped with parachutes. Unfortunately, I found only a single photo of such truck on a parachute platform and the arrangement of the pontoon elements on this picture looks some different from all other photos I found. I believe it shows an earlier, even more compact design, orientated on transport in the limited profile of an Antonov AN-12 airplane. Later version, which I used for modelling, seems to be designed for the larger airplanes like AN-22 and IL-76. This would also explain, why the cab of the GAZ is more and more the standard one, instead of the special foldable airborne cab.As usually it is made in n-scale (1:160). There are different versions of the pontoon elements, with different ramps. The outboard boat engine, used to bring the pontoon element in place is made in version to show it right/left and straight position. The small transportable tank is used to fuel the outboard motor, when used and is normally place somewhere on an airbag close to the motor. There is also personal, but I didn’t paint them so far, and probably will not do it anymore - interests have shifted.Sources:https://udachnyj-enot.com.ua/desantiruemyj-pontonnyj-park-dpp-40-sssr/https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/nsdraftroom/dpp-40-air-droppable-bridge-pontoon-kit-t9059.html (English text, but no pictures)https://www.drive2.ru/b/4899916394579152291/ (with some videos)http://saper.isnet.ru/texnica-2/dpp-40.html (with the only picture on a parachute platform)