ZiS-2 (M1941 / M1943)

History

Like other global armies in World War II, the Soviet Army eventually adopted the 57mm anti-tank gun. However, its design and development did not begin until 1940, when World War II (1939-1945) officially began with the German invasion of Poland in September 1939.

The design of the new 57mm "ZiS-2" system is attributed to V.G. Grabin, an artillery engineer working at the 92nd Artillery Factory, whose expertise also led to the adoption of the more powerful 76.2mm 1942 "ZiS-3" series gun Details elsewhere on this page.

The ZiS-2 is comparable in mission range and battlefield capability to the 1942 British Ordnance Company's QF 6 pound (57 mm) anti-tank gun, described elsewhere on this page.

Engineers agreed that the 57mm projectile, along with the most powerful Soviet tank in service at the time - the KV-1, with its 90mm thick armor - was sufficient to penetrate even at long distances. As such, the main barrel component of the new weapon will be centered on the 57mm caliber and feature an integrated recoil mechanism and mounting hardware.

In accordance with world-accepted practice, a two-wheeled split car with a small gun mantlet will serve as the transport and fire base for the system. The weapon was officially introduced in early 1941 as the "57mm Anti-Tank Gun, Type 1941", but is better known historically as the "ZiS-2".

The "ZiS" in the name is formed from the word "Zavod imeni Stalina", which means "factory (after) Stalin".

The ZiS-2 fires a 57 x 480mmR projectile at a muzzle velocity of 3,300 feet per second and has a range of 5.2 miles. A well-trained and experienced rifleman can achieve a rate of fire of 25 rounds per minute. The weapon is strictly a line-of-sight (LoS) weapon, so the crew must be able to see the target to have the best chance of success (unlike howitzers, which drop explosive shells at "soft" enemies). The weapon mount has an inherent elevation range of +25 to -5 degrees and can be rotated 56 degrees to the left or right. Loading is carried out by means of a vertical block breech system.

The entire system weighed 2,755 pounds and required a moving vehicle or "pack beast" to move the artillery over long distances. Rifle groups can fine-tune their intended firing position by moving the gun around the wheel.

On June 22, 1941, the Axis powers led by Germany invaded the Soviet Union, changing Germany's fate forever. By then, the ZiS-2 was in practical use, with about 370 in circulation. However, the 57mm projectile was recently introduced by the Soviet Armed Forces, which meant that the industry had to produce a completely unfamiliar cartridge for active combat missions. When put into combat, these projectiles were reported to be weak against medium armored personnel carriers deployed by the Germans.

This led to the reintroduction of the 45mm anti-tank gun and provided a premium for the development and production of the more powerful ZiS-3 family of guns. Production of the ZiS-2 gun ceased for the remainder of 1941, with no production in 1942.

When more guns were needed, production of the ZiS-2 guns restarted in 1943 and continued until the end of the war in 1945. During this period, a further 9,645 guns were completed, bringing total production to the series' level of 10,016 units.

The new model guns were renamed "Model 1943", although they remained largely unchanged.

Despite having anti-tank capabilities by classification, the 57mm ZiS-2 was virtually incapable of the more advanced tank designs of the German factories - namely the Panzer V "Panther" medium tank as well as the "Tiger" and "King Tiger". "Heavy type - requires at least a Soviet 76.2mm projectile to penetrate. As a result, the role of the ZiS-2 artillery declined dramatically with the end of the war in 1945, and was only the subject of the postwar years due to its compact size and ease of control Some war models were installed on existing chassis to build makeshift tank destroyers - like the ZiS-30 in 1941.

However, since Germany lost so many armored vehicles in Moscow and in battle, this particular vehicle development will The ZiS-2 artillery combined with an outdated artillery tractor chassis is fortunately limited to around 100.

The SU-57 self-propelled gun was created by simply mating a 57mm anti-tank gun with the chassis and undercarriage of an American M3 half-track. The 57mm anti-tank gun (ZiS-4 L/37) mounted on the T-34 tank gave rise to the designation "T-34/57" and was produced in limited quantities.

ZiS-2 guns captured by the Germans were converted to PaK 208(r).

Specification

Basic

Roles

Dimensions

Performance

Performance

for everyone else in our database)

Armor

Depends on the ammunition carrier.

Changes