Special means: the amphibious of the firefighters, as it is done and as a work

Floods continue to be a frequent phenomenon in our country. The Firefightersarmed, as well as of great courage, also of special equipment designed to save lives and secure the most serious scenarios. One of these, perhaps the most interesting and curious to see in action, is the amphibious: a vehicle that has the appearance of a boat but equipped with wheels, which can operate on earth but also surf the water. This special vehicle has been an ally of the National Corps since the 1950s, while the current model, more modern and protagonist of the article, was presented in 1980. Both were produced by Iveco Defense Vehiclesdivision of Iveco for the civil protection means, based in Bolzano.

Amphibian VVF: how it is done

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The amphibian truck, so officially called is basically a boat in all respects, equipped with a hull, cassone and bridge, which however also has 4 driving wheels and which can reach a speed on the ground of 100 km/h. The model taken into consideration for this article is the Fiat 6640 gand moves thanks to a 6 -cylinder diesel engine in line for a displacement of 5.5 liters, a power of 192 HP and a torque of 490 Nm. For navigation, however, the vehicle has a SPJ 32 hydrogen With a maximum push of 650 kg to the stall. Everything is mounted inside the hull, together with 4 immersed 12 V batteries each. The passenger compartment can accommodate two people, driver and passenger, while the load compartment has two side benches that can accommodate 10 people for a maximum of 500 kg of load. These are used by both the firefighters and to host people rescued during a flood.

From the engine to a hydrogen

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The key element in the functioning of the amphibian vehicles is the coupling between the thermal engine and the hydrogen via the strength. The thermal engine, as in any vehicle, generates mechanical energy that is transmitted to the gearbox. From here, a part of the power can be taken through the force, a system that allows you to feed external devices without interrupting the transmission to the wheels. In this case, the force of force transfers energy to a hydrogenthat is, a turbine that sucks water from under the hull and expels it at high speed to generate push. The system is designed to alternate or combine the traction on the wheels with the hydrodynamic one, depending on the operating conditions.

From earth to water: how to drive

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You can’t expect to guide such a means of being easy. In addition to including all the complexities of driving a heavy vehicle used for rescue, the pilot must also be a skilled skipper. Once the vehicle has started on the ground, the driver will have to use a particular gear selector: although the gearbox is automatic, it has a lever that allows you to choose between 4 ranges of gears to be grafted on the basis of the soil faced. The vehicle is equipped with a total traction command associated with reduced gears to be able to face the most insidious and difficult soils. The most fascinating passage, however, can only be entry into water. In order to move on to navigation, the vehicle must be able to enter the water at a very low speed: when you are almost at the point where the wheels lose contact with the bottom, the driver must insert the strength of the hydrogen to the almost stationary vehicle. Once the wheels are raised, the hydrogen comes into play, whose direction will be set by another, smaller steering wheel, located to the right of the driver. The jet is 360º adjustable And the vehicle can reach a speed in water of about 11 km/h.