GSP heavy amphibious ferry

The GSP (Gusenichniy Samokhodniy Parom, "tracked self-propelled ferry") was introduced in 1959 and became the standard heavy amphibious ferry of the Warsaw Pact armies. The Egyptian Army used GSPs during the crossing of the Suez Canal in October 1973.

Design

A complete ferry consists of two tracked units, a left and a right, which are 'handed' and cannot be swapped. They drive into the water separately and are then joined together. Each carries a pontoon that rides upside down on top of the vehicle on land and is swung through 180 degrees into the floating position once the pair is linked. Retractable trackways allow vehicles to drive on and off from either side, and the assembled ferry can carry up to 52 tonnes; according to US reports a tank on board could even fire its main gun in favourable conditions.

The running gear resembles that of the PT-76 amphibious tank family, with seven roadwheels, a front idler, a rear drive sprocket and no return rollers. The hull is lightweight welded steel filled with plastic foam, both for extra buoyancy and to reduce vulnerability to fire. A trim vane is raised at the front before entering the water (early units lacked it), and each unit is driven afloat by two propellers in separate tunnels under the hull.

Replacement

In Russian service the GSP was replaced by the PMM-2 amphibious bridging and ferry vehicle, which has fold-out floats and a single-unit capacity of about 42.5 tonnes, but the GSP remained in use with a number of other countries.