When crossing deep rivers, drivers of the Nth Front successfully used a ZIS-5 truck to tow a barge. Equipped with special wheels, the truck could easily tow 12 ton barges at a speed of 4 kph (see figure).
To build wheels with wooden paddles, we usually took two wheels from a ZIS-5 truck (per tugboat) and 50x50 mm edge irons. Six pairs of metal spokes were welded onto each wheel, and bolts 0.5 cm in diameter were used to attach wooden paddles. The spokes were connected with rods 10-15 mm in diameter.
The tugboat was built as follows: a ZIS-5 truck with the truck bed and muffler removed drove up on two connected half-pontoons, with the driveshaft in between them and the channels of the frame resting on them. The frame was fastened to the pontoons, and the wheels with paddles were attached. A regular rudder was attached to the frame. A team of six could build a tugboat in 1.5 hours.
Experience showed that wide rivers, especially in open terrain without wood to build bridges, can be crossed with tugboats of this design. If the wheels are built in advance, a tugboat can be built quickly and travel to the needed location either by land or by water.
Engineer-Major M. Bolot"
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