Das Werk 3501 Soviet Aerosan RF-8/GAZ-98

The RF-8 (another designation: GAZ-98) are Soviet aerosans from World War II and the post-war period. The first copies of this vehicle appeared in 1942, and serial production began in the same year. About 2,000 vehicles of this type were built in the course of it. Either the GAZ M-1 engine with 50 HP or the M-11 engine with 110 HP (model GAZ-98K) was used as the drive. A single 7.62 mm DT machine gun was often used as armament.

An aerosan is a skid-mounted vehicle powered by an internal combustion engine, usually located at the rear of the vehicle, and using a push propeller. This design solution was used in the RF-8. This type of aerosol has been developed to operate in winter conditions as a reconnaissance vehicle. The RF-8 turned out to be a very successful design: they were characterized by great performance, high stability while moving as well as when entering bends, and were relatively reliable. Later, the GAZ-98K model was developed with an engine of even more power, which positively affected the performance. The RF-8 aerosans were used primarily for reconnaissance tasks, operations behind enemy lines and in cooperation with skiers. They were used by Soviet border guards as early as the 1950s.