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ZiS-30 Light self-propelled gun

The idea of using tractors as a base for self-propelled artillery installations in the USSR came to fruition in the early 1930s. Then the self-propelled guns SU-2 and SU-4 were created, but things did not advance beyond the prototypes. The Germans obtained a completely different result in 1940. Based on the captured French Renault UE transporters , they already in 1940 created self-propelled guns with 3.7 cm Pak anti-tank guns . It turned out, although not the most perfect car, but it was massive and with minimal production costs. A year later, the ZIS-30 was created in a very similar way in the USSR, which became the first truly massive Soviet self-propelled guns.

With the outbreak of World War II, the leadership of the Red Army faced the task of equipping the army with self-propelled anti-aircraft and anti-tank guns. In the prewar years, in the USSR, various design bureaus carried out work on the creation of self-propelled artillery. A number of works reached small-scale production, but they did not create a fully combat-ready installation. It was this state of affairs that made the People’s Commissar of Arms Vannikov sign an order on July 1, 1941, according to which factory No. 4 was tasked with developing and manufacturing a 37 mm anti-aircraft gun on a self-propelled chassis, factory No. 8 was developing and manufacturing an 85 mm anti-aircraft gun on a self-propelled chassis and the plant number 92 in the city of Gorky (Nizhny Novgorod) to develop and manufacture a 57-mm anti-tank gun on a self-propelled chassis.

The order also provided for widespread use in self-propelled guns mastered by industry and adopted by the Red Army vehicles, tractors, and tractors. Self-propelled gun projects were to be submitted no later than July 15, 1941.

To accomplish this task, a special group of developers was created at Plant No. 92. Project Manager was appointed PF Ants . In an extremely short time, self-propelled guns were not just designed, but also made in metal. Moreover, the development team proposed not one, but two self-propelled projects. At the end of July, two self-propelled guns — ZIS-30 and ZIS-31 — came out of the shops of plant No. 92.

ZIS-30 was a light anti-tank self-propelled guns of an open type. The base was the T-20 Komsomolets artillery tractor, in the rear of the hull of which the rotating part of the 57-mm ZIS-2 gun with a standard shield was installed. For greater stability during shooting, the machine was equipped with folding coulters. On the roof of the cabin mounted bracket mounting gun in a marching way. The rest of the base machine T-20 remained unchanged. ZIS-31 was the same gun ZIS-2 but mounted on an armored three-axle truck GAZ-AAA.

In July-August, both versions were tested, during which it turned out that the ZIS-31 had a higher accuracy when firing than the ZIS-30, due to the fact that the installation on the truck turned out to be more stable when firing than the ZIS-30. The ZIS-30, being a unit with a caterpillar mover, had a higher cross-country ability than its wheeled competitor. It was this circumstance that played a decisive role in the adoption of the Red Army ZIS-30 self-propelled guns. By order of Vannikov, Plant No. 92 was to begin serial production of the ZIS-30 from September 1, 1941.

However, due to the fact that the Moscow Tractor Plant No. 37 was the only manufacturer of T-20s, which in August stopped producing tractors and switched to the production of tanks, the Komsomol members had to be assembled in military units and, in addition to installing the guns, they also had to repair machines that were often delivered to factory with advanced. As a result, the production of the ZIS-30 began only on September 21 and continued until October 15, 1941. During this period, the plant manufactured 101 vehicles with a ZIS-2 cannon (including an experimental vehicle) and one unit with a 45 mm cannon. Further production of installations, due to the absence of Komsomol members, was stopped and never resumed.

Self-propelled guns ZIS-30 began to enter the army at the end of September 1941. They were equipped with anti-tank batteries of 20 tank brigades of the Western and South-Western fronts. In the very first battles, the “57-mm anti-tank gun” (this is what this self-propelled gun was called, the ZIS-30 designation was unknown in the army) worked well. This was primarily due to the fact that in 1941 the 57-mm ZIS-2 gun penetrated the armor of all types of Wehrmacht armored vehicles. And the mobility of the installation made it possible to easily change the firing position.

On the other hand, in the course of intensive use, self-propelled guns revealed a number of shortcomings, such as poor stability, congestion of the undercarriage, low power reserve, and small ammunition. The main problem with the study of the combat use of this machine is that self-propelled guns belonged to the GAU KA department at that time. Therefore, “tankers” (GABTU) did not have much attention to their combat use. Even in correspondence, they are often referred to either as simply anti-tank guns, or as “Komsomol members”.

It was originally supposed to release 3,000 ZIS-30. These plans eventually had to be cut down 30 times. By the summer of 1942, practically no ZIS-30 self-propelled guns remained in the troops. Some of the cars were lost in the battles, and some were out of order for technical reasons. Some survived until 1944. Today, not a single ZIS-30 machine has been preserved.