The 76-mm Divisional Gun M1942 (ZiS-3) was a Russian 76.2-mm field gun which was extensively used by the Soviet Army during World War II. It was also issued with armor-piercing shells, which could penetrate 64-mm-thick steel plate at 1,000 m. This artillery piece had been developed from the 76-mm Divisional Gun M1939 (USV), an earlier model, which had not been quite successful as the ZiS-3. Due to its anti-tank capabilities, the M1942 was also used in the Soviet T-34 medium tank and, after the war, in the PT-76 amphibious tank. This artillery piece, along with its carriage, was designed and massively built by the VR Grabin Design Bureau in Artillery Arsenal No 2 in Gorky.
As a result to the improvement made to its M1939 (USV) predecessor, it became an outstanding field and anti-tank gun, which was produced in vast numbers, with production totaling more than 100,000 guns built by the end of 1945. As mass production of the M1942 ZiS-3 was stopped after the war, it would be replaced by the 85 mm D-44 Divisional Field Gun. The D-44 had better anti-armor capabilities, but inferior mobility due to its increased weight. The 76-mm Divisional Gun M1942 would be also used by North Korean forces during the Korean War (1950–1953). It was also fielded by the People's Armed Forces for the Liberation of Angola (FAPLA) during the Angolan Civil War and the South African Border War.
Technical Characteristics
The 76-mm Divisional Gun M1942 was fitted with a semi-automatic vertical sliding-wedge breech and a hydro-pneumatic recoil system. It featured a rifled barrel lining, with 32 grooves. It fired 6.3-kg high explosive and 6.2-kg fragmentation shells. It also fired shaped charge and hardened-tip rigid anti-tank ammunition. Towed by truck, the gun was mounted on a Bofors-type cradle set up on a split-trail carriage, with suspension. The carriage was equipped with metal wheels with rubber tires. Sights and elevation controls were located on different sides of the barrel. The chamber was able to lodge the standard model 1900 cartridge, which meant that the gun could use ammunition manufactured for older 76.2 mm divisional and regimental guns.
Specifications
Type: field gun with anti-tank capabilities.
Caliber: 76.2-mm (3-inch)
Weight (gun and breech): 620 kg (1,366-lb)
Total Weight in Action: 1,200 kg (2,646-lb)
Barrel Length: 2.98 m (117.45 inches)
Barrel Rifling: 32 grooves, right hand
Recoil System: hydro-pneumatic
Breech Type: vertical sliding wedge
Carriage: split-trail
Elevation: -5° to +37°
Traverse: 27° right and left of zero
Muzzle Velocity: 680 m/s
Maximum Range: 13.29 km (12,152 yards)
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| Above, the Soviet 76-mm M1942 gun. |
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| Three 76-mm ZiS guns in an open museum in Belarus. |
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