The M53/59 has an all-welded steel armoured hull with a front engine, crew compartment at the centre and rear mounted guns. The armour is sloped to provide protection against small arms and shrapnel without increasing weight. Armoured covers with vision slits which can be lowered in combat to provide additional protection to the driver and commander, while the two loaders seated on the back of the crew compartment have two vision slits behind the side doors. The commander also has a hemispherical plexiglass cupola for observation. The twin guns have an elevation of +85°, and a depression of −10°, except over the crew compartment where the depression is limited to +2° and the commander's cupola where there is none. A steel plate on the back of the crew compartment prevents the gun barrels from hitting the roof. The turret can fully traverse 360° degrees and the traverse, elevation, and depression hydraulic systems can be manually controlled in case of emergency. The gunner seats on the left side of the turret under the armoured cabin protection. The 30 mm twin autocannons are
gas-operated, with a maximum rate of fire of 450 to 500 rounds per barrel/minute and a practical rate of fire of 150 rounds per barrel/minute. Each gun has a 50-round magazine which are fed with 10-round clips. Each vehicle typically carries around 600 to 800 rounds. Fully loaded magazines are carried in the back of the crew compartment fastened to the floor by quick-release catches, while three spare magazines are carried on either side of the platform. Originally the guns were fitted with
muzzle brakes, but they were later observed with conical
flash hiders instead. The barrels can be quickly changed when overheated, and spare barrels were provided to the crews as part of the basic equipment. Maximum horizontal range is , maximum vertical range is , and effective anti-aircraft range is . The M53 guns can fire
armor-piercing incendiary rounds capable of penetrating of
RHA at a 0° angle at a range of and
high-explosive incendiary rounds. Stowed under the vehicle are two ramps and a winch which the crew can use to dismount the gun mount for deploying the system in the ground support role (stabilized by four jacks), and mount it back on to the vehicle. The system lacks radar guidance, and night vision equipment, which makes it only effective during the day under good weather conditions. Other drawbacks of the M53/59 are the lack of a
NBC protection system, no amphibious capabilities, and no central tire pressure regulation system. It also suffers from poor cross-country mobility, preventing effective coordination with tracked vehicles. Despite these drawbacks, the
Czechoslovak Army used the M53/59 in place of the Soviet
ZSU-57-2. ==Variants==