LAZ-695: specifications and photos. Model line of the Lviv Bus Plant

Lviv Bus Plant (LAZ) was founded in May 1945. Within ten years the enterprise produced truck cranes and automobile trailers. Then, the plant's production capacities were expanded. In 1956 the first LAZ-695 bus came off the assembly line, the photo of which is shown on the page. He headed a long list of models of subsequent issues. Each new modification improved technical parameters and became more comfortable in comparison with the previous one.

"Magirus" and "Mercedes"

As a prototype for the construction of LAZ-695, the German "Magirus" bought abroad was used. The machine was studied during the whole of 1955, the design was considered from the point of view of technological application in the assembly line in the conditions of limited capabilities of the Soviet "Automotive". In the process of preparing the LAZ-695 for the serial production of the exterior and all external data were borrowed from Magirus, and the chassis, chassis and power unit with the transmission were taken from the German Mercedes-Benz 321 bus. German cars cost the Soviet government inexpensive, because in the west, automotive equipment is written off early, changed to a new one. "Magirus," "Neoplan" and "Mercedes-Benz" were bought for a third of the price, and while all the buses were in excellent condition.

Production start

The LAZ-695 bus, whose technical characteristics were recognized as reliable enough, was produced for two years, from 1956 to 1958. Initially, the car was used on city routes, but soon it became clear that its interior did not meet the requirements of intensive passenger transportation, the cabin was uncomfortable and tight. The LAZ-695 bus Began to run on suburban routes, this time having established itself as a comfortable and fast carrier. His technical data fully met the objectives of operation. In addition, the bus with pleasure rented tourist groups, the car moved gently, the engine of the brand ZIL-124 worked almost silently. Later LAZ-695, whose technical characteristics did not need further development, served the Cosmonaut Training Center in Baikonur.

The technical requirements for the bus were somewhat specific. The astronauts had to move from one module to another, following the pre-flight training program, so the saloon was half-freed from the seats, and in their place were placed armchairs such as airplanes on which it was possible to lie.

In addition, the cabin of the bus was easily converted for emergency medical care. It was equipped with apparatus for monitoring the general state of the human body: electrocardiographs, a blood pressure monitor, equipment for the simplest blood analysis, and much more. This transport was serviced by a medical team of three people (modeled on a typical city type car).

The Soviet period

Lviv Bus Plant continued to produce the model in various modifications until 2006. The machine was constantly improved, and the demand for it was kept at a sufficiently high level. The prices for the bus during the Soviet era were constant, and it suited the consumers. Until 1991, the so-called rallies were distributed in the USSR, for which vehicles, including buses, were distributed centrally. Payment of equipment was made by bank transfer, and subsequent operation, maintenance and repair at the expense of the auto enterprise.

The planned economy of the USSR assumed a phased development of the automobile industry, and city buses were at that time first on the list for demand in the national economy. Certain hopes were placed on Lviv models. However, the car with a five-speed transmission and solid rows of seats did not fit into a dynamic mode of traffic. City buses needed a specially equipped cabin, as well as a power plant, adapted to frequent braking and stopping. Usual engine, as a rule, overheated. The height of the produced model also did not fully comply with the traffic regulations in the city.

Attempts of reconstruction

New buses coming off the assembly line of the Lviv plant, repeated the parameters of the basic model, and radical design changes were impossible. Design Bureau LAZ made several attempts to change the interior, but it was easier to create a machine "from scratch" than to change the technical characteristics of an existing model. Thus, all new buses, produced in Lviv, were directed mainly to service suburban lines. And on city routes trolley buses plied which were issued at the Lvov car factory since 1963 (on the basis of a bus body).

First modifications

In December 1957, the bus LAZ-695B was launched, an upgraded version of the previous model. First of all, a pneumatic drive was installed on the machine instead of a mechanical one (for opening doors). Side air intakes for cooling the engine located behind, have abolished. The central air intake in the form of a bell was placed on the roof. Thus, the efficiency of cooling has increased, and the dust entering the engine compartment has become much smaller. Changes also touched the exterior in the front, the space between the headlights became more modern. In the cabin, the driver's cabin partition was improved, it was lifted to the ceiling, a door appeared to enter the saloon. Serial production of this model continued until 1964. A total of 16,718 vehicles were produced.

Simultaneously with the release of the 695B version, the development of the 695E model with the new eight-cylinder ZIL-130 engine was underway. Several experienced cars were assembled in 1961, but the bus went to the series in 1963, with only 394 pieces produced. Since April, 1964 the conveyor has earned in full force and up to the end of 1969 have collected 38 415 buses 695Е from which 1346 have sent for export.

External changes in the version 695E touched the wheel arches, which acquired a rounded shape. From the bus ZIL-158, the hubs of the front and rear axles were taken together with the brake drums. The 695E was the first to use electropneumatics for door control. On the basis of version 695E bus LAZ "Tourist" was issued. This machine is ideal for long trips.

Experiments on the introduction of automatic transmission

In 1963 the LAZ plant produced another modification - 695Zh. The work was carried out in close cooperation with NAMI, namely with the research center of automatic transmissions. In the same year, the production of buses with an automatic transmission was established. However, in the next two years it was possible to collect only 40 such units of LAZ-695, after which the production of the experimental model was discontinued.

The development of automatic transmission was later useful for city buses, the brand LiAZ, manufactured in the city of Likino-Dulyovo, Moscow region.

Modernization of existing models

The creation of new modifications to the buses of the Lviv Automobile Plant continued, and in 1969 LAZ-695M came off the assembly line. The machine was different from the previous models with windows of modern shape and style. Glasses were built into the window opening without intermediate aluminum frames. The company's air intake on the roof was abolished, instead of it vertical slots appeared on the sides of the engine compartment. Since 1973, the upgraded wheel disks of light configuration have been installed on the bus. Changes affected the exhaust system - two mufflers combined into one. The body of the bus became shorter by 100 mm, and the curb weight increased.

The serial production of the LAZ-695M continued for seven years, and during this time, more than 52,000 buses were produced, 164 of which were exported.

"Patriarch" in the family of LAZ with thirty years of experience

The next modification of the basic model was a bus with the index 695N, which was distinguished by wide windshields and a top visor, fully unified front and rear doors, as well as a new instrument panel with a more compact speedometer and sensors. The prototypes were introduced in 1969, but in serial production this model only went in 1976. The bus was issued for thirty years, until 2006.

The later versions of 695H differ from earlier versions of lighting equipment, headlights, turn signals, stop signals and other lighting devices. The model was equipped with a large hatch in the front part of the body, in case of military mobilization, the buses were to be used as ambulances. In parallel with the 695H version, a small number of 695R buses were produced, featuring increased comfort, softer seats and silent double doors.

Gas version

In 1985, the Lviv Bus Plant produced a modification of LAZ-695NG, which operated on natural gas. Metal cylinders, withstand pressures of up to 200 atmospheres, were placed in a row on the roof, at the rear. The gas entered the reduction gear, then mixed with air and sucked into the engine as a mixture. Buses under the 695NG index gained popularity in the 1990s, when a fuel crisis erupted on the territory of the former USSR. The lack of fuel affected the plant LAZ. Ukraine as a whole also felt a shortage of fuel, so many transport enterprises in the country transferred their buses to gas, which was much cheaper than gasoline.

LAZ and Chernobyl

In the spring of 1986, after the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, in the shops of the Lviv Automobile Plant, a special bus LAZ-692 was created urgently in the number of several dozen copies. The machine was used to evacuate people from the contamination zone and deliver specialists there. The bus was protected by lead sheets around the perimeter, two-thirds of the windows were also covered with lead. In the roof were made specials for access to purified air. Subsequently, all machines involved in the elimination of the accident at nuclear power plants were disposed of, as they were unsuitable for operation under normal conditions due to radiation contamination.

Diesel engines

In 1993, at the Lviv Automobile Plant, as an experiment, they tried to install a D-6112 diesel engine from the energy-saturated caterpillar tractor T-150 on the LAZ-695 bus. The results were generally good, but a more suitable engine, working on solar oil, was recognized SMD-2307 (Kharkov plant "Hammer and Sickle"). Nevertheless, the experiments continued, and in 1995, the LAZ-695D bus, equipped with a diesel engine D-245 of the Minsk Motor Plant, was launched into mass production.

Dneprovsky factory

A year later the project was radically redesigned, and as a result, the version 695D11 appeared, which was called "Tanya".

The modification was produced in small series until 2002, and from 2003 the assembly of buses was transferred to the plant in Dneprodzerzhinsk. The production could not be immediately set up in a new location, since the technological processes at the two profile, at first glance, production differed significantly. The large-sized bodies of LAZ buses did not always fit into the welding assemblies of the Dnieper, and this created certain difficulties. There was even a slight increase in the cost of LAZ buses that were going to Dneprodzerzhinsk, although the quality of assembly was in most cases perfect. As a result, the balance of price and quality was leveled, and the production of cars began to gain momentum.

The search for a universal solution

The design bureau of the Lviv Automobile Plant was looking for variants of new developments. During the entire production period at the Lviv Bus Plant several attempts have been made to create LAZs universal that could be operated both in the city and on international routes. However, the specifics of passenger transportation did not allow this. In long-haul flights people need comfort and a special soothing atmosphere in the cabin of the bus. On urban routes, passengers enter and exit, for a day a car is visited by several hundred people. Therefore, two opposite operating modes could not be brought together, and the plant continued to produce several modifications simultaneously.

LAZ today

Currently, on the roads of the former Soviet Union, you can find buses of the Lviv plant of almost all modifications. A good repair base throughout the production period, since 1955, has allowed many machines to be kept in good condition. Some LAZ models are obsolete and are used as auxiliary transport in various industries.

Many of the dismantled bodies are abandoned - with the engines removed and the chassis running out of order. This is the cost of the automotive industry of the Soviet period, when the buses in the auto-farms were written off, and their further fate was of no interest to anyone. The market economy dictates its own rules, decommissioned cars are increasingly falling into the hands of private owners and receive a second life. And since the resource of automotive equipment produced in the USSR was quite long, this "second life" can also be long.

Lviv Bus Plant is experiencing bad times today, the main conveyor was stopped in 2013, many subsidiaries and related companies are being bankrupt. The results will depend on the existence of CJSC LAZ. Prospects for a successful resolution of a difficult situation are rather pessimistic. The stability of the political situation in Ukraine is of great importance for the successful resuscitation of enterprises, but this stability is not there.