It’s a tank! It’s a train! It looks a little like both, but the Omsktransmash СПМ is actually a 60-ton fire fighting vehicle. You know, for when something like a warehouse full of explosives goes up in flames. No, really, that’s this machine’s primary mission designation.
According to a seemingly smooth Google-translation of Omsktransmash’s website, it sounds like the СПМ made its debut at the 2013 International Exhibition of Russia Arms and had some orders placed last year.
As of March 2016, the first two have been built and will be shipping out to the Russian military by the end of the month.
“СПМ is designed to extinguish fires and conduct rescue operations in the arsenals, bases and warehouses storing explosives, clearing the aisles to the fire, laying firebreaks in forest fires,” the company explains.
It’s made from parts of T-72 and T-80 tanks, with armor around the cab to protect the pilot from what the Russians eloquently describe as “adverse external factors.”
Remind me of that phrase next time I’m in an armory being consumed by conflagration.
Only three people crew the behemoth firefighting tank, which looks to be about 30 meters long. It holds 25 cubic meters of water and other extinguishing agents, which it can spray up to a 100 meters.
If that’s true, this thing must be able to generate an unbelievable amount of pressure in the water tanks. I sincerely hope that nozzle is never pointed in the wrong direction when it goes off.
And not that I’d ever wish for a disaster catastrophic enough to warrant rolling this thing into the field, but I must admit I’d love to see a video of it in action.
Hat tip to Rahul!