Artillery Factory No. 92 began designing the ZiS-3 at the end of 1940. The ZiS-3 combined the light carriage from the 57 mm
ZiS-2 anti-tank gun and the powerful 76.2 mm barrel from the
F-22USV, the previous divisional field gun. The addition of a
muzzle brake reduced recoil and prevented damage to the light carriage upon firing. Producing a ZiS-3 cost only a third of the time and two-thirds of the money of a F-22USV by making greater use of casting, stamping and welding.
V. G. Grabin, the chief designer of
Soviet medium caliber guns, initiated the gun's development without state approval, and the prototype was hidden from the state. Marshal
Grigory Kulik, commander of Soviet artillery, had ordered a halt to the production of light 45 mm anti-tank guns and 76.2 mm divisional field guns in the belief that they were inadequate; the Soviets overestimated the armour protection of the latest
German heavy tanks from propaganda about the
Neubaufahrzeug multi-turreted prototype tank. The beginning of the
Great Patriotic War revealed that the pre-war 76 mm guns overmatched German armour; in some cases even 12.7 mm
DShK machine guns were adequate. Most of the 76 mm guns were lost early in the war; some captured examples armed German Panzerjäger
self-propelled guns. Marshal Kulik ordered the F-22USV back into production. At Artillery Factory No. 92, Grabin put the ZiS-3 into mass production in December 1941. The factory's ZiS-3 stockpile grew and went unused as the
Red Army refused to accept the guns without the usual acceptance trials. Grabin convinced the army to issue the guns for impromptu testing at the front, where it proved superior to existing divisional field guns. A subsequent demonstration impressed
Joseph Stalin, who praised the weapon as "a masterpiece of artillery systems design." The ZiS-3 underwent an official five-day acceptance trial in February 1942, and was then accepted into service as divisional field gun model 1942 (full official name). Grabin worked to increase production at Artillery Factory No. 92. Conveyor assembly lines admitted the use of low-skilled labour without significant quality loss. Experienced laborers and engineers worked on complicated equipment and served as brigade leaders; they were replaced on the production line by young factory workers who were exempt from conscription, producing a new generation of skilled labourers and engineers. More than 103,000 ZiS-3s were produced by the end of the war, making it the most numerous Soviet field gun during the war. Mass production of the ZiS-3 ceased after the war. It was replaced by the 85 mm
D-44 divisional field gun. The D-44 had better anti-armour capabilities, but inferior mobility due to its increased weight. The Finns captured 12 units, and designated them
76 K 42.
Derivatives At least one ZiS-3 was produced at the
Reșița Works in
Reșița,
Romania, during 1943. This Romanian-produced copy was tested against several Romanian-designed prototypes as well as some foreign models, until eventually one of the Romanian prototypes was selected for serial production as the
75 mm Reșița M1943. This gun had incorporated a number of features from the ZiS-3. At least 375 75 mm Reșița M1943 guns were produced by Romania, including three prototypes; the gun was later mounted on the
Mareșal tank destroyer.
Self-propelled mounts The
SU-76 was an assault gun mounting the ZiS-3 on the chassis of a
T-70 light tank. More than 14,000 were produced between 1942 and 1945. The Romanian
TACAM R-2 tank destroyer was a
R-2 tank converted to mount the ZiS-3 in a three-sided fighting compartment. The
KSP-76 was a wartime light assault car mounting the ZiS-3; it did not advance beyond the prototype stage. == Ammunition data ==