There used to be many of these trucks on the road, but now only a handful survive. One MAZ-205A dump truck stands at the entrance to the Minsk Automobile Plant checkpoint, a rare relic of postwar design. Another example is showcased in the overview video, housed in the Moscow Transport Museum. The baseline model, the MAZ-200, was remarkably advanced for its time, featuring pneumatic brakes, a driver’s seat that could be adjusted for comfort, and a robust yet economical diesel engine that set new standards in heavy-duty transport.
Back then, the question of using a diesel engine was a heated debate among designers. The engine proposal drew comparisons with the earlier YAZ-200 experimental trucks built in Yaroslavl in 1944–1945, where the issue of diesel propulsion had to be defended directly before Stalin. Stalin initially preferred ZiS’s traditional petrol engine. Yet the diesel option prevailed, and the MAZ-200 truck emerged as a successful demonstration of diesel power. The MAZ-205A dump truck, one of the rarest variants to survive into modern times, also boasted distinctive features such as a power take-off shaft that powered a pump to lift the dump body. In the years that followed, finding a complete replacement for these dependable postwar workhorses proved to be a lengthy process that spanned several decades.
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Video: YouTube / Automotive Russia