Foreign cars in service in the USSR (25 photos)

7 November 2016

There is an opinion that foreign cars were a rare occurrence in Soviet times. In fact, this is not so, foreign cars have always been purchased for the USSR, including in capitalist countries, both for use on the country’s roads, and for studying Western technologies, for subsequent implementation in our automobile industry. Another thing is that the volume of these purchases depended on the political course of the country.

There were foreign cars in the service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, including in units of the State Traffic Inspectorate

Mercedes-Benz traffic police patrol car in the back of W108.

In the 1920s, the issue of ensuring road safety in Moscow and Leningrad was quite acute. In 1925, the Moscow Council adopted a Resolution on the organization of the traffic control department (ORUD). By this time, a car or motorcycle was no longer a rarity on the streets of big cities, and if you take into account trams, horse-drawn carriages and bicycles, the traffic on the streets was quite busy and very chaotic.

At first, ORUD employees did not have their own transport; only at the turn of the 20-30s, they began to purchase BMW motorcycles for the police (which included ORUD). Moreover, as soon as the country began to produce its own cars and motorcycles in sufficient quantities, the purchase of foreign equipment for the needs of the police was over.

BMW R-5

Western technology in the service of ORUD reappears after the Great Patriotic War. Then the cars and motorcycles that entered the country under Lend-Lease were transferred to the People's Commissariat of Internal Affairs. However, the small staff of emergency control systems could not effectively counter the increase in the number of road accidents.

Fundamental changes in the State Traffic Inspectorate occurred at the end of the 1960s. In 1967, Valery Vitalievich Lukyanov was appointed head of the Main Directorate of the State Traffic Inspectorate of the USSR Ministry of Internal Affairs. It is with his name that the intensive development of the State Traffic Inspectorate is associated. Combat divisions of traffic police, divisions for traffic management, enterprises for the implementation of technical means of traffic control, VNIIBD of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the USSR were created, and imported equipment was purchased.

Ford Galaxie Wagon 1970

The first imported car appeared in the capital's State Traffic Inspectorate in the early 70s. There is an opinion that a huge Ford Galaxie Wagon police package model 1970 was presented to the Soviet Union by US President Richard Nixon. However, it is unlikely that Nixon chose a police patrol car for his gift - most likely, it was purchased “for testing.” Unfortunately, this car did not work for long in the capital's traffic police (according to some sources, it was destroyed in a traffic accident).

Tatra-613

Tatra-613 traffic police patrol cars, Mercedes-Benz W116 and GAZ-24 in one traffic police formation.

This version is also confirmed by the fact that, following the American police car, a batch of Mercedes-Benz patrol cars in the back of W108 was purchased. Moreover, they came to the Union in yellow color. The blue stripe and corresponding inscriptions were already applied on the ground. These cars served in the capital's State Traffic Inspectorate until the 1980 Olympics and were most often used to accompany convoys and honorary escorts.

The next batch of police Mercedes arrived in the USSR in 1976. These were more powerful and prestigious Mercedes-Benz W116, better suited for the role of escort vehicles. These cars were transferred to “Moscow” in the presence of the former Federal Chancellor of Germany Willy Brandt (at that time he was the chairman of the international association of social democratic parties - the Socialist International). This time the halo of distribution of Mercedes was not limited only to the capital, and one car each went to Leningrad and Kyiv.

Mercedes W116

Since then, the arrival of imported equipment to the State Traffic Inspectorate has become almost regular. The Mercedes-Benz was followed by the BMW E3. One of these traffic police BMWs was featured in the series “The Investigation is Conducted by Experts” (Case No. 12. “Bouquet” at the reception). Tatra-613 from Czechoslovakia, some of which ended up in the State Traffic Inspectorate. At the end of 1989, Audi models 80 and 100 were purchased in a large batch (according to some sources, at least 50 cars).

Foreign cars in service in the USSR

In the early 1980s, several Mercedes-Benz W123 and BMW 5 Series patrol cars in the E12 body appeared in Moscow. Of course, most of them settled in Moscow, but other large cities of the Soviet Union also received their share of foreign cars. Imported patrol cars have been transferred to Leningrad, Minsk and Kyiv since the mid-70s. During “perestroika”, many departments received the opportunity to purchase foreign cars for their own needs.

Mercedes W123

Mercedes-Benz W123 traffic police patrol car, purchased before the 1980 Olympics

Opel Senator cars appeared in Tbilisi, Nissan Urvan King - in Sverdlovsk, Nissan Patrol - in Barnaul, etc.

Nissan traffic police

Volvo Police of the USSR

Dodge Police of the USSR

And here we cannot help but recall a funny episode when the USSR State Traffic Inspectorate for some time had cars in the livery of the German police on duty. In the spring of 1979, a delegation of police officers from Germany arrived in Kyiv, and these were guys from Verkehrsdienst, which corresponds to our State Traffic Inspectorate. They were met in Ukraine by Lukyanov himself, who flew to Kyiv specifically for this purpose. At his instigation, at the end of the visit, the people of Kiev presented the Germans with a brand new patrol car “Lada” with a Wankel rotary piston engine. In response, the Germans promised to send a Mercedes-Benz police officer to Kyiv.

And they sent it! Mercedes-Benz W123 in the white and green livery of the German police (with all the corresponding inscriptions in German and even places for attaching German Heckler&Koch machine guns). Of course, it should have been “dressed” in the uniform of the Soviet police, but at that time some delegation from Germany again arrived in Kiev, and they decided to use the car for its escort in its “pristine” form, right with the Polizei inscriptions, to emphasize that the German the gift is used for its intended purpose.

And this was not an isolated case. In the Soviet Union, there was a practice of purchasing exhibits from international exhibitions taking place in our country. The benefits from such transactions were mutual - the participating companies did not have to organize the delivery of exhibits to their home countries, and we received the latest models of imported equipment literally “at home”. This is exactly how Mercedes-Benz W123 police station wagons were purchased for the USSR in the German police livery - white cars with green hoods and doors. They were almost immediately sent to the units of the State Traffic Inspectorate, however, this time the inscription “Police” and the coat of arms of the USSR were applied immediately.

Audi 80 traffic police cars