The creators of tracked agricultural tractors. Dedicated to the 90th anniversary of the first domestic tractor engineering bureau

Abstract

90 years ago, in 1932, Design and Experimental Department (DED STP) was established at Stalingrad Tractor Plant the first specialized design department of tractor engineering in our country. During the time of existence of this department, the factory chief design engineers were V.G. Stankevich (19321938), M.M. Romanov (19381940), V.A. Kargopolov (19431949), A.K. Platonov (19491950), A.Ya. Merilov (19511957), M.A. Sharov (19581980), V.P. Shevchuk (19801996), V.Ya. Bokov (19961998), I.A. Dolgov (19982005), V.V. Kosenko (20062010). The article contains the review of main achievments, made by the department, led by each of them. Throughout these years 5 families of tracked agricultural tractors were developed at Stalingrad (Volgograd from 1961) Tractor Plant, such as STZ-NATI, DT-54, DT-75, DT-175S and VT-100, with a wide range of special modifications (transport, swamp, hillside, peat, plowing and cultivating, etc) and configurations. Short stories of the creation of these machines, their characterisics and advantages over the predcessors are given. The tractors of STP (VgTP) were used in agriculture as well as in many other areas of our countrys economy, were exported to foreign countries and deserved respect and love from tractor drivers and maintenance specialists. Overall about 4 million tractors were produced according to technical documentation, developed by design engineers of STP (VgTP) or with their direct involvement.