True to Type

James Kinnear examines the history of the Soviet AT-T Heavy Artillery Tractor

The BAT and later BAT-1 were engineer tractors based on the AT-T chassis, and used for clearing roads and building emplacements
The MDK series of high speed trenching vehicles was also based on the AT-T chassis
The later BAT-M mounted a small crane in the rear cargo area, with hydraulic lift provided for the front mounted dozer blade
The BTM was a high-speed trenching vehicle based on the AT-T chassis. There were several variants, including the BTM-3 designed for use in hard or frozen ground.

The Soviet AT-T heavy artillery tractor is one of those Soviet Army vehicles that just looks exactly like a Soviet Army vehicle should! The AT-T is impressive for its sheer scale alone, and was an immensely powerful artillery tractor when in service. It was also an interesting Cold War vehicle in that it was based on an earlier World War Two-era design, yet during its long service life the vehicle was used to tow everything from the 152mm Br-2 and 203mm B-4 tracked howitzers dating back to the early 1930s, to the intercontinental ballistic missiles deployed by the Soviet Union during the 1960s.

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