Military vehicles - Poland: books - history, types and construction

Pojazdy Ludowego Wojska Polskiego

The Polish People's Army is more than 45 years of recent military history, appearing under the white and red flag with the white eagle on caps and helmets. Apart from historical and moral assessments, several million Poles served in the People's Army during its existence (1943-1989) through compulsory military service.

The daily functioning of a 200-300,000-strong army and combat training of conscripts necessitated the use of a large number of different types of vehicles, from motorbikes through cars and trucks, specialised vehicles to armoured personnel carriers, self-propelled guns and tanks.

This is what this book is about. Based on more than 1,000 archival illustrations, we have looked at the military machine park over the years.
For older readers, this may be a sentimental memory of adolescence. For the younger ones, getting to know a fragment of the recent history of Poland.
A great intellectual feast for lovers of military vehicles, and a source of inspiration for modellers. Without going into historical and moral assessments, we focused only on vehicles.
This is the first such extensive book of this type in Poland.

Text in Polish.

Wojskowy samochód osobowo-terenowy Honker

NEW

This extensive publication serves as the first comprehensive source of information on the military off-road vehicle Honker, its variants, and prototypes. It primarily focuses on its applications within the Polish Armed Forces, compiling the latest available data.

The book traces the evolution of the concept of a military off-road vehicle, directly stemming from the Tarpan vehicle, specially designed for agricultural use. Essential features such as off-road capabilities and terrain adaptability were crucial for a military off-road vehicle.
Since its adoption into the Polish Armed Forces in 1991, the Honker has been consistently procured in varying quantities annually (exact data unavailable). Currently, the Polish Armed Forces possess approximately 2800 units of the Honker.

Text in Polish.

Modernizacja samochodów ciężarowo-terenowych Star 266

The book presents one of the icons of Polish motorisation - the Star 266 all-terrain truck, and more specifically its modernisations between 2000 and 2020.
Although production and deliveries of the Star 266 to the Polish Army began in 1973, it is still one of the most widely used military trucks, especially with specialised bodies.

By 1994, the Polish Army had received 17,072 Star 266 vehicles, which were manufactured at the now defunct Starachowice Truck Factory. The vehicle was highly valued (also by numerous foreign customers) for its robust construction, simplicity of operation, high ability to overcome difficult terrain and high off-road payload.

Since 1995, its modernisation has been in preparation, which began in 2000 and is still ongoing today. Between 2002 and 2006, MAN-Star Trucks upgraded 290 Star 266s to the Star 266M version on behalf of the Polish Army.
In 2008, the companies PPH-U Auto-Star from Starachowice and Magazyn Centralny Centrum from Warsaw presented their proposals for modernising this vehicle.
However, the Polish Army chose the offer of Autobox in 2010, which presented the Star 266 M2 version. By 2020, the Polish Army had purchased more than 1,400 of these vehicles in more than a dozen versions, described in detail in the book.

Text in Polish.

Wieloosiowe pojazdy wosjkowe Jelcz 8x8 i 10x10

NEW

This booklet presents in detail the heavy military trucks from Jelcz, introduced in 2020. These trucks are equipped with robust 578- and 625-horsepower Mercedes-MTU engines. Additionally, they feature new automated ZF transmissions with a functionally optimized algorithm for gear shifting, single-tire configuration, and entirely new integral armored extended cabins.

Initially developed as part of programs for Heavy Equipment Transport (HET) and the Wisła air defense system, these vehicles have evolved into slightly different configurations since 2022, becoming integral components of the Narew short-range anti-aircraft system and a multiple rocket launcher system.

In the final chapter, the author emphasizes the imminent need to design large-capacity armored tankers for frontline fuel supply in potential conflicts involving M1 Abrams tanks.
These tanks, consuming two to three times more fuel than Leopard 2A6 tanks, highlight the necessity for such specialized vehicles in the near future.

Text in Polish.