Soldiers from the 16. Orzyski Sapper Regiment set off to Lithuania to help in the search for the missing American crew of the M88 HERCULES vehicle. They will be accompanied by at least two WZT-3 technical support vehicles.
Another day has passed since the disappearance of the American crew of the M88A2 HERCULES technical recovery vehicle, with whom contact broke off in Podbrodzie, near the border with Belarus.
Poland has sent a task force of several dozen soldiers, including divers, rescuers and sappers, to help in the search. In the case of the latter, these will be soldiers from the 16. Orzyski Sapper Regiment, which is part of the 16. Mechanized Division.
Along with them, at least two WZT-3 technical support vehicles will arrive. Their transport was carried out on low-loader sets.
As we can see in the photos, the transport of the WZT-3 took place at night (probably from 27 to 28 March). Other vehicles of Orzysko sappers will probably also go with them in the direction of Lithuania (e.g. excavators visible behind one of the technical support vehicles).
Sending Polish soldiers with heavy equipment will be very helpful, as it will facilitate and speed up the process of getting to the American vehicle and its crew. It is possible that they will also help in pulling it out of the swamp (but for this to happen, the cooperation of both vehicles will be needed due to the weight of the American vehicle amounting to 63 tons).
WZT-3 is a Polish-made technical recovery vehicle developed on the basis of the T-72 tank (or the Yugoslavian M-84) by the Research and Development Center for Mechanical Devices from Gliwice (now OBRUM) in the 80s of the twentieth century. It is the successor to the WZT-2 used so far in the Polish Army.
The vehicle received a slewing crane. The lifting capacity is 15 tons with a boom length of 5.8 m or 13 tons with an extension of 8 meters. In addition, the vehicle is equipped with a blade, a mechanical winch with a towing capacity of 31 tons and a rope length of 200 m, as well as welding and cutting equipment.
The WZT-3 is designed to fully support vehicles with an empty weight of up to 50 tons.
The vehicle is powered by a 780 hp W-46-6 diesel engine, which allows it to reach a top speed of 60 km/h with a curb weight of 42 tonnes. For self-defense, a large-caliber WKM-B cal. 12.7 mm with an ammunition supply of 200 rounds. The crew consists of 4 people.
A modernized version of the WZT-3M was also created, which is characterized by the use of components from the PT-91 Twardy tanks. The main difference is the more powerful S-12U engine with 850 hp. The WZT-3 family vehicles are currently used by countries such as Poland, India, Ukraine and Kuwait, m.in.
Author. Jarosław Ciślak/Defence24.pl
