The NKL-26 was an armoured aerosan

Aerosan

An aerosani is a type of propeller-driven snowmobile, running on skis, used for communications, mail deliveries, medical aid, emergency recovery and border patrolling in northern Russia, as well as for recreation...

 introduced by the Soviet Union

Soviet Union

The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....

 during the Second World War, based on the earlier NKL-6 (OSGA-6). It was made of plywood and had a ten-millimetre armour plate

Vehicle armour

Military vehicles are commonly armoured to withstand the impact of shrapnel, bullets, missiles, or shells, protecting the personnel inside from enemy fire. Such vehicles include tanks, aircraft, and ships....

 on the front only, and was armed with a 7.62mm DT machine gun in a ring mount. It was powered by an M-11G

Shvetsov M-11

|-See also:-Bibliography:* Gunston, Bill. World Encyclopedia of Aero Engines. Cambridge, England. Patrick Stephens Limited, 1989. ISBN 1-85260-163-9...

aircraft engine.

Each NKL-26 was operated by two crewmen. NKL-26s were organized into battalions of 30 NKL-16s with a transport company of NKL-16s - each with three companies of 10. Each company was organized as three platoons of three vehicles, and a commanders vehicle.

Combat Aerosans often worked with ski infantry battalions, and could carry four ski troops riding outside the vehicle on its skis or towed behind.

External links

• NKL-26 Snowmobile at the Russian Battlefield