- Yes
- No
History
History
Works on the Promet date back to around 1978 possibly even before that, as the first description and pictures were published in a Polish album published for members of the University of Warsaw on the occasion of the exhibition of military equipment produced by the Polish industry in 1978. It was an anti air that was supposed to be able tackle common air threats at it time.
The constructional works on the vehicle began in 1979, where 4 prototypes were made, during testing the 23mm’s proved not satisfactory, to ensure the system’s adequate effectiveness, and two 30 mm 2A42 cannons were purchased from the USSR to build a prototype and conduct fire tests.
Eventually during the “24th Meeting of the MWTR (Military Wissenschaftlich-technischen Rat)” held in November 1981 in Leipzig GDR. It was announced that work on the Promet-2 had been discontinued and the project was closed due to the lack of the interest from the Armed Forces’ side.
Reasearching the vehicle
I’d like to include an additional section documenting the journey of discovering this vehicle and the path we took while researching it.
Our first introduction to the Promet came from an article written by T. Szulc in NTW 2-3 1994
Translate text: In 1978, the decision was made to create a series of combat vehicles based on the MTLB. One of these was to be a barrel anti-aircraft system, jointly built by Huta Stalowa Wola and Zakłady Mechaniczne in Tarnów. A lightweight, open-top turret housing two 23 mm anti-air cannons was designed for it. A vehicle with this configuration, called PROMET, was subjected to field trials in 1979 and found to have unsatisfactory accuracy in some firing modes. A solution to these shortcomings was sought, and simultaneously the vehicle concept was developed. A design for a new turret with a radar detection and tracking system (developed at RAD-WAR in Warsaw) was developed, and two 30 mm cannons were imported from the USSR. Such a vehicle was intended to surpass even the Szyłka in firepower. Unfortunately, the fate of Promet-2 was affected by the unsatisfactory load-bearing capacity of the MTLB and the work was stopped in 1980."
Based on the description mentioning twin 23 mm guns mounted on an MT-LB chassis, this was how we envisioned what the vehicle might have looked like:
In the mean time we took up researching another modified MT-LB chassis peaked our interest, in 2006 on the “modelwork” forum a user had posted pictures of a MT-LB which seemed seemed to have a platform/turret ring mounted in the rear.
After some asking around on the internet, a internet user approached the Bydgoszcz Land Forces Museum on facebook and asked what this chassis was intended for, to which they revealed that it was actually a carrier for twin 23 mm anti-aircraft gun’s.
Translated version of the messageFor a while we were stuck without any new information. But eventually after SkylinerPL made an online appeal for more information about the project on another forum. We came in contact with, Mr. Witold who reached out kindly providing a unpublished photograph of the Promet in 2025. The image originated from a special publication documenting a reunion of graduates from the Mechanical Technical School in Stalowa Wola. It was donated by a employee of WITU.
This was a completely different configuration from what we expected, but it matched the MT-LB chassis that was discovered a couple years prior.
But we still lacked basic information on the vehicle for a while, until in 2026 when Mr. Witold generously provided scans from a Polish album published for members of the University of Warsaw to accompany a 1978 exhibition showcasing military equipment produced by the Polish defence industry. published for members of the University of Warsaw on the occasion of the exhibition of military equipment produced by the Polish industry - 1978.
We finally got access to better sources on this vehicle that will help make the implementation of the Promet into the game much more easier.
Research into the Promet is still ongoing, and we continue to search for additional information. We are especially grateful to Mr. Witold for his continued assistance and willingness to share valuable archival material, without his help most of this vehicle’s history would have remained unknown.
Summarised Characterisitcs
Details
- Crew (3)
- Driver, gunner, commander
- 2x 23 mm AZP-23
- Ammo:
- 23x152 z pociskiem BZT
- 23x152 z pociskiem OFZT
- Elevation: -?/+?°
- Fire rate: 400rds/m
- Combat weight: 12.3t
- Engine:JaMZ 238WM (240 hp)
- Max speed:60 km/h
Armament
Details
- Horizontal rotation speed: ??? rad/s
- Vertical rotation speed: ??? rad/s
- 2 x 23mm 2a7
- Elevation: -?° to +?°
- Fire rate: 400 rds/m
- Ammo capacity: Ready racked ??? rds
- Total ammunition capacity: 1200 rounds
- Ammo feeding: Single Feed?
Ammunition
23x152 z pociskiem BZT
- Type of bullet: API
- Projectile weight: 191.6 ± 2.9 g
- Cartridge weight: ~ 450 g
- Average bullet velocity: V0 = 970 ± 15 m/ s
- Power charge Mass: ~ 77 g (1188.29 gr)
23x152 z pociskiem OFZT
- Bullet weight: 188.5g
- Cartridge weight: 450g
- Bullet velocity: 970m/s
- Tracer burning time: Minimum of 5,4 seconds
Mobility
Details
- Engine: JaMZ 238WM (240 hp)
- Transmission: Mechanical
- Gears: 6 forward, 1 reverse
- Top Speed: 60km/h
- Weight: 12.3 tons (lighter than the Krak?)
- Supension: Torsion Bar
Armour
Details
- Chassis was welded from 4 to 9 mm thick armor plates
- Unknown turret protection
Other
Details
- Crew (3) : Driver, Commander, Gunner (possibly more)
- Length: 6,4 m
- Width: 2.8 m
- Height: ???
