When it comes to Chinese military trucks, many people will think of Jiefang trucks for the first time. As a medium-sized truck, the Liberation Truck is quite useful for transporting troops and cargo, but it does not have the ability to tow heavy artillery.
In order to tow artillery and other heavy equipment, the mainland has always used heavy trucks purchased from the Soviet Union, and it was not until the 60s of the last century that domestic heavy trucks were available.
The development history of domestic heavy trucks
China's initial truck manufacturing industry was established with the help of the Soviet Union, but due to the relatively weak technological base of the mainland, heavy-duty trucks have always been a shortcoming in the development of domestic automobiles. At that time, the troops with the greatest demand for heavy trucks almost all used Soviet-made heavy trucks in order to tow heavy equipment.
Beginning in the 60s of the last century, China and the Soviet Union parted ways, and the supply of heavy vehicles to China by the Soviet Union was also interrupted. At that time, our army was in a critical period of building motorized troops and artillery units, and there was a huge demand for heavy trucks. Especially heavy guns with a caliber of more than 105 mm could not be pulled by ordinary medium trucks at all.
Considering that the mainland does not have the relevant manufacturing technology for heavy-duty trucks for the time being, the army decided to solve the problem by using the doctrine of borrowing and entrusting Premier Zhou to purchase heavy-duty trucks and related technologies suitable for use by the PLA from other countries. In 1963, Premier Zhou took the opportunity to visit many countries to visit the heavy-duty truck factory established by the French company Bellière in Morocco.
The Bellière company is a veteran French truck company, the heavy trucks they produce are well-known in the world, and the mainland has also imported some Belier heavy trucks to the PLA in the early years, and the soldiers have a good impression of this kind of French truck, and the general reaction is that it is easier to drive than Soviet-made trucks.
After a detailed evaluation of the Bellier trucks by vehicle engineers from the First Machinery Division, Continental decided to import the manufacturing technology of heavy-duty trucks from the Bellier company, spending more than $14 million to acquire the technology related to the four models and engines, as well as the introduction of truck production equipment.
The first Belier truck to achieve domestic production was the GBU15, and the domestic model was named Hongyan CQ260. Continental's truck factory did not simply copy the Belier technology, but optimized it on the basis, and two years later, the more complete Hongyan CQ261 was launched and immediately put into mass production.
At the beginning of its development, the Bélière GBU15 was tailor-made for the French army and is a serious heavy military card. The car used a 6×6 chassis and was equipped with a five-speed manual transmission, which was relatively advanced at the time. A six-cylinder diesel engine powers the GBU15 and produces a maximum of 214 hp.
As a military truck, GBU15 emphasizes reliability, so its engine can not only use diesel, but also fill gasoline, kerosene and even vegetable oil for stir-frying, which was definitely a black technology at the time. Another feature of GBU15 is that it has strong passability in complex terrain and can calmly cope with various bad road conditions.
According to the reaction of the soldiers of the transport unit at that time, the biggest difference between the Belier and the Soviet-made truck was that it was equipped with a hydraulic power assist system, and the female soldiers could easily control the steering wheel. Soviet trucks, although durable, were extremely laborious to operate, and a complete nightmare for novice drivers, so the fighters of the time preferred to drive the Belier truck.
After the GBU15 was made in China, the mainland also developed a variety of modifications based on this truck, among which the more famous is the CQ261Q/25, which is a special tractor with a maximum traction weight of 64 tons. Since 1971, the CQ261Q/25 has become the main tractor of the PLA artillery unit, and has also been used as a rocket artillery mobile platform and missile carrier, among other things.
Meritorious service in self-defense and counterattack
After the outbreak of the self-defense war against Vietnam in 1979, the CQ261Q/25 tractor followed the PLA troops to the battlefield. The roads in southern Xinjiang are rugged and muddy, and many wheeled vehicles of the People's Liberation Army are difficult to walk, but the CQ261Q/25 is like walking on the ground, showing excellent off-road performance.
Relying on the traction of the CQ261Q/25, the heavy artillery of the PLA was quickly deployed to the battlefield in Vietnam, and made great contributions to supporting the front-line troops.
According to statistics, our army invested a total of 131 CQ261 in this campaign, and these trucks brilliantly completed various transportation tasks assigned by their superiors, and made indelible contributions to the final victory of the campaign.
Many PLA automobile soldiers are deeply impressed by the passability of CQ261 in the muddy environment, especially when the rainy season comes, the entire Laoshan area is a big quagmire, not to mention the car, even if it is walking, it is also a deep foot and a shallow foot in the mud, not only slow, but also laborious.
However, the CQ261 can rely on its 6×6 turf and strong power to forge a road out of the mud. At that time, the soldiers saw the CQ261's performance in the mud, and they were very puzzled, why the Soviet-made trucks were also 6×6 design, but they were often stuck in the mud and couldn't move.
This is due to the ingenuity of the company in the design of the truck. During the research and development of the GBU15 truck, the company found through experiments that the truck was trapped many times because of the uneven distribution of the vehicle's center of gravity, so the GBU15 was designed to pursue the front and rear balance, almost achieving a 50:50 front and rear weight ratio.
CQ261 also inherits this advantage of GBU15, in the hands of experienced PLA auto soldiers, this heavy truck also played a different trick. In view of the fact that trucks can use a variety of fuels, car soldiers often use gasoline or even vegetable oil instead of expensive diesel when they are not fully loaded.
The Belier truck and its domestic models were in service in the People's Liberation Army until the 90s of the last century, and are the first generation of domestic military truck families in our army. Due to the passage of time, the name of the Belier truck has been forgotten by the world, but for the automobile soldiers and artillerymen who participated in the Sino-Vietnamese War, this truck will always be a trustworthy comrade-in-arms and a very convenient battlefield tool.