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BLG 60 bridge builder

 

Manufacturer: STAG Genthin, East Germany

 

Type: Tracked	Weight: 36 t
Produced: 1969	Size: Length 9,8 m, Height 3 m
Number built: 200	Engine: Diesel, 580 HP
Crew: 2	Speed: 50 km/h

Description

This system is mounted ont he adapted chassis of a T55, where a launching unit replaces a combat turret.

The BLG- 60 armoured bridgelayer was a joint development between the former East Germany and Poland. The bridge is launched in a similar fashion to the Csechoslovakia MT-55.  The BLG 60 and BLG 67 armoured bridgelayers were used by the East German Army and other countries.

The bridge initiating equipment is controlled by a system of hydraulic cylinders; the allocation of hydraulic oil can be controlled both manually by mechanical levers and automatically. The pressure of the liquid is provided by high-pressure piston pumps motorized by the tank engine. All mechanisms of the MT-55A used for laying and recovering of the bridge can be controlled by the crew from the inside of the tank, with hatch covers closed.[1][3] To begin the launching process, the vehicle stops short of the gap; then, the bridge swings ahead and down while its two sections open like scissors.

The MT-55A span is 18 meters long and can hold up loads up to 50 tons. Later the MT-55A was modified with gap measuring mechanism and infrared equipment for bridge laying at darkness.