The GAZ-AA is a truck produced at the Gorky Auto Plant in the Soviet Union from 1932 to 1938, and was the factory's first truck produced under the GAZ brand. Russian-speakers often refer to it as a polutorka (полуторка) - meaning "one-and-a halfer", with reference to its carrying capacity of 1.5 tonnes (1500 kilograms).
Initially, 10 Ford Model AA trucks were built at the plant, under the name NAZ (for Nizhny Novgorod Avtomobilny Zavod). Soviet engineers prepared their own mechanical blueprints for production, specifying a truck to be made with thicker steel and to have an upgraded suspension system. In 1932, the city of Nizhny Novgorod adopted its new name, Gorky - after Maxim Gorky (1868-1936) - and in 1933, the plant was renamed to Gorky Avtomobilny Zavod, and the trucks began to use the model designation GAZ-AA. By 1932, mass-production had started, with around 60 trucks built at the plant daily from knock-down kits sent by Ford.
Soon, assembly started of GAZ-A passenger vehicles, which were based on the Ford Model A and were also built from knock-down kits imported into the Soviet Union. By that time, GAZ-AA trucks comprised the majority of trucks used by the Red Army. Several modifications of the GAZ-AA trucks started getting produced, including dump trucks (410), semi-trucks (MS), fire trucks (PMG-1) and tractors (905).
By 1938, nearly 1 million of these trucks had been produced and sold. By that time a modernized variant of the GAZ-AA trucks, under the GAZ-MM index entered production, with the engine from the GAZ-M1, that boosted the vehicle's power to 50hp, with the compression ratio increased to 4.6, giving a maximum speed of 80km / h.
