Opening the bonnet was standard procedure with these ancient Zils when pumping (except perhaps in the depth of winter?).
A military design, they were never engineered for static pumping duties, and were apparently prone to overheat.
The fact that this was originally blue-grey would suggest its originally planned destiny was to be a Russian Air Force truck - but there could be another explanation...
It also seems rather commonplace in Russia for pump operators to set the pump and just leave it to run itself, rather than being ready to make any necessary adjustments as the fire fight evolves.
A military design, they were never engineered for static pumping duties, and were apparently prone to overheat.
The fact that this was originally blue-grey would suggest its originally planned destiny was to be a Russian Air Force truck - but there could be another explanation...
It also seems rather commonplace in Russia for pump operators to set the pump and just leave it to run itself, rather than being ready to make any necessary adjustments as the fire fight evolves.
Added by Rob Johnson on 31 May 2018.