How a ‘crocodile’ appeared on the streets of Moscow!
The “crocodile” was a nickname for the ‘Do 56’ double-decker bus, manufactured in East Germany. Its front and hood strongly resembled this animal.
The exotic vehicle was donated to the Soviet capital in 1959 by East German leader Otto Grotewohl as a return gesture for the limousine given to him by Nikita Khrushchev. In addition to the ‘Do 56’, the Germans also donated a ‘DS-6’ double-decker bus.
The ‘Do 56’ traveled to Moscow from Berlin under its own power at an accelerated pace. It covered the distance of 1,800 km in just over 40 hours.
The bus operated in the center of the Soviet capital on a regular route until the mid-1960s. Its subsequent fate is unknown – it either ended up in a pioneer camp at the bus depot or was written off for scrap metal.
Soviet residents were not particularly enthusiastic about the double-decker buses and no other “crocodiles” ever appeared in the cities of the USSR.
