SU-76
Encyclopedia
The SU-76 was a Soviet
self-propelled gun
used during and after World War II
.
tank chassis. Its simple construction made it the second most produced Soviet armoured vehicle of World War II, after the T-34
tank.
Crews loved this vehicle for its simplicity, reliability, and ease of use, although it was sometimes nicknamed 'suka' (bitch), 'Suchka' (little bitch) or 'Golozhopiy Ferdinand' (bare-arsed Ferdinand
) for its layout which recalled the massive Porsche
-designed German tank hunter. One famous crewman was Rem Nikolaevich Ulanov. In his younger days he was a mechanic-driver and later a commander of a SU-76. He and some other soldiers called their SU-76 Columbina
after the female Renaissance Italian Commedia dell'Arte
personage.
Design of the SU-76 began in November 1942, when the State Defense Committee ordered the construction of infantry support self-propelled guns armed with the ZiS-3
76.2 mm gun and the M-30 122 mm howitzer. The T-70
chassis was chosen for mounting the ZiS-3 gun, and was lengthened, adding one road wheel per side, to facilitate better gun mounting.
In the rush for fast completion of the order, a quite unreliable power plant was installed in the first mass produced SU-76s. It utilized two automobile engines (GAZ-202) mounted in "parallel", each track with its own engine. It was found to be difficult for the driver to control the two engines simultaneously. Moreover, strong vibrations led to early failures of engines and transmission units. The vehicle was completely enclosed by armour. After producing 320 SU-76s, mass production was halted in order to fix the problems. Two chief designers at the GAZ
plant, N. A. Astrov and A. A. Lipgart, changed the power plant to the reliable T-70
design. The roof of the compartment was removed for better gun servicing. This modified version, called the SU-76M, began mass production in early 1943. The production halt and redesign was the reason for the introduction of the SU-76i (see later) as a temporary replacement for the SU-76.
After the pause, GAZ and two factories in Kirov
and Mytishchi produced 13,932 SU-76Ms (the larger part of the order, over 9,000 vehicles, were built solely by GAZ). Mass production of the SU-76M ceased in the second half of 1945. In contemporary accounts SU-76Ms are often referred to in texts, public radio and TV broadcasting as SU-76s with the "M" omitted, due to their ubiquity in comparison with the original SU-76s. The SU-76 was the basis for the first Soviet tracked armoured anti-aircraft vehicle, the ZSU-37
. Mass production of the ZSU-37 was continued after SU-76M production ceased. The SU-76M was withdrawn from Soviet Army service after the Second World War ended.
tank chassis.
SU-76: Based on a lengthened T-70
tank chassis, with the inferior dual-engine arrangement of earlier T-70s. Only a few were produced, and these were quickly withdrawn from front line service.
SU-76M: Main production model.
SU-76B: Featured a completely enclosed armoured crew compartment. Only a few were produced.
ZSU-37
: Self-propelled anti-aircraft gun, based on the SU-76.
The unrelated SU-76i (1943) was based on the German Panzer III
and StuG III chassis, armed with a ZiS-5
76.2 mm gun. About 1,200 of these captured vehicles, many from Stalingrad, were converted at Factory No. 38 by adding a new enclosed superstructure. They were issued to tank and self-propelled gun units starting in autumn 1943.. They were withdrawn from the front in early 1944, and used for training until the end of 1945.
The SU-76M virtually replaced infantry tanks in the close support role. Its thin armour and open top made it vulnerable to antitank weapons, grenades, and small arms. Its light weight and low ground pressure
gave it good mobility.
The SU-76M combined three main battlefield roles: light assault gun, mobile anti-tank weapon and mobile gun for indirect fire. As a light assault gun, the SU-76M had good estimation from Soviet infantrymen (in contrast with their own crews). It had more powerful weapons than any previous light tank for close support and communication between infantry and the SU-76M crew was simple due to the open crew compartment. This was extremely useful in urban combat where good teamwork between infantry and AFVs is a key to success. Although the open compartment was highly vulnerable to small arms fire and hand grenades, it very often saved the crew's lives in the case of a hit by a Panzerfaust
, whose concussion blast would mean death in an enclosed vehicle.
The SU-76M was effective against any medium or light German tank. It could also knock out the Panther tank with a flank shot, but the ZiS-3
gun was not sufficient against Tiger tanks
. Soviet manuals for SU-76M crews usually instructed the gunner to aim for the tracks or gun barrel against Tigers. To improve the SU-76M's anti-armour capabilities, armour-piercing composite rigid (APCR) and hollow charge projectiles were introduced. This gave the SU-76M a better chance against heavily armoured German vehicles. A low profile, a low noise signature and good mobility were other advantages of the SU-76M. This was ideal for organizing ambushes and sudden flank or rear strikes in close combat, where the ZiS-3 gun was sufficient against most German armoured fighting vehicles.
The maximum elevation angle of the ZiS-3 was the greatest amongst all other Soviet self-propelled guns. The maximum indirect fire distance was nearly 17 km. SU-76Ms were sometimes used as light artillery vehicles (like the German Wespe
) for bombardments and indirect fire support. However the power of the 76.2 mm shells was not sufficient in many cases.
The SU-76M was the single Soviet vehicle able to operate in swamps with minimal support from engineers. During the Belarus
liberation campaign in 1944 it was extremely useful for organizing sneak attacks through swamps; bypassing heavy German defenses on firmer ground. Usually only lightly armed infantry could pass through large swampy areas. With SU-76M support, Soviet soldiers and engineers could effectively destroy enemy strongpoints and continue to advance.
The SU-76M had a large number of ammunition types. They included armour-piercing (usual, with ballistic nose and subcaliber hyper-velocity), hollow charge, high explosive, fragmentation, shrapnel and incendiary projectiles. This made the SU-76M a true multi-purpose light armoured fighting vehicle.
After World War II, the SU-76 was used by Communist forces in the Korean War
.
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
self-propelled gun
Self-propelled gun
A self-propelled gun is form of self-propelled artillery, and in modern use is usually used to refer to artillery pieces such as howitzers....
used during and after World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
History
The SU-76 was based on a lengthened and widened version of the T-70T-70
The T-70 was a light tank used by the Red Army during World War II, replacing both the T-60 scout tank for reconnaissance and the T-50 light infantry tank for infantry support. The T-80 light tank was a more advanced version of the T-70 with a two-man turret—it was only produced in very small...
tank chassis. Its simple construction made it the second most produced Soviet armoured vehicle of World War II, after the T-34
T-34
The T-34 was a Soviet medium tank produced from 1940 to 1958. Although its armour and armament were surpassed by later tanks of the era, it has been often credited as the most effective, efficient and influential design of World War II...
tank.
Crews loved this vehicle for its simplicity, reliability, and ease of use, although it was sometimes nicknamed 'suka' (bitch), 'Suchka' (little bitch) or 'Golozhopiy Ferdinand' (bare-arsed Ferdinand
Elefant
The Elefant was a "schwerer Panzerjäger" of the German Wehrmacht used in small numbers in World War II. It was built in 1943 under the name Ferdinand, after its designer Ferdinand Porsche. In 1944, after modification of the existing vehicles, they were renamed Elefant...
) for its layout which recalled the massive Porsche
Porsche
Porsche Automobil Holding SE, usually shortened to Porsche SE a Societas Europaea or European Public Company, is a German based holding company with investments in the automotive industry....
-designed German tank hunter. One famous crewman was Rem Nikolaevich Ulanov. In his younger days he was a mechanic-driver and later a commander of a SU-76. He and some other soldiers called their SU-76 Columbina
Columbina
Columbine is a fictional character in the Commedia dell'Arte. She is Harlequin's mistress, a comic servant playing the tricky slave type, and wife of Pierrot...
after the female Renaissance Italian Commedia dell'Arte
Commedia dell'arte
Commedia dell'arte is a form of theatre characterized by masked "types" which began in Italy in the 16th century, and was responsible for the advent of the actress and improvised performances based on sketches or scenarios. The closest translation of the name is "comedy of craft"; it is shortened...
personage.
Design of the SU-76 began in November 1942, when the State Defense Committee ordered the construction of infantry support self-propelled guns armed with the ZiS-3
ZiS-3
The 76-mm divisional gun M1942 was a Soviet 76.2 mm divisional field gun used during World War II. ZiS was a factory designation and stood for Zavod imeni Stalina , the honorific title of Artillery Factory No...
76.2 mm gun and the M-30 122 mm howitzer. The T-70
T-70
The T-70 was a light tank used by the Red Army during World War II, replacing both the T-60 scout tank for reconnaissance and the T-50 light infantry tank for infantry support. The T-80 light tank was a more advanced version of the T-70 with a two-man turret—it was only produced in very small...
chassis was chosen for mounting the ZiS-3 gun, and was lengthened, adding one road wheel per side, to facilitate better gun mounting.
In the rush for fast completion of the order, a quite unreliable power plant was installed in the first mass produced SU-76s. It utilized two automobile engines (GAZ-202) mounted in "parallel", each track with its own engine. It was found to be difficult for the driver to control the two engines simultaneously. Moreover, strong vibrations led to early failures of engines and transmission units. The vehicle was completely enclosed by armour. After producing 320 SU-76s, mass production was halted in order to fix the problems. Two chief designers at the GAZ
GAZ
GAZ or Gorkovsky Avtomobilny Zavod , translated as Gorky Automobile Plant , started in 1932 as NAZ, a cooperation between Ford and the Soviet Union. It is one of the largest companies in the Russian automotive industry....
plant, N. A. Astrov and A. A. Lipgart, changed the power plant to the reliable T-70
T-70
The T-70 was a light tank used by the Red Army during World War II, replacing both the T-60 scout tank for reconnaissance and the T-50 light infantry tank for infantry support. The T-80 light tank was a more advanced version of the T-70 with a two-man turret—it was only produced in very small...
design. The roof of the compartment was removed for better gun servicing. This modified version, called the SU-76M, began mass production in early 1943. The production halt and redesign was the reason for the introduction of the SU-76i (see later) as a temporary replacement for the SU-76.
After the pause, GAZ and two factories in Kirov
Kirov, Kirov Oblast
Kirov , formerly known as Vyatka and Khlynov, is a city in northeastern European Russia, on the Vyatka River, and the administrative center of Kirov Oblast. Population: -History:...
and Mytishchi produced 13,932 SU-76Ms (the larger part of the order, over 9,000 vehicles, were built solely by GAZ). Mass production of the SU-76M ceased in the second half of 1945. In contemporary accounts SU-76Ms are often referred to in texts, public radio and TV broadcasting as SU-76s with the "M" omitted, due to their ubiquity in comparison with the original SU-76s. The SU-76 was the basis for the first Soviet tracked armoured anti-aircraft vehicle, the ZSU-37
ZSU-37
ZSU-37 was a Soviet-made, light, self-propelled anti-aircraft gun , developed by the end of 1943 and produced at Works No. 40 in Mytishchi. It was the first Soviet series-produced tracked SPAAG...
. Mass production of the ZSU-37 was continued after SU-76M production ceased. The SU-76M was withdrawn from Soviet Army service after the Second World War ended.
Variants
OSU-76: Experimental model based on the T-60T-60
The T-60 scout tank was a light tank produced by the Soviet Union from 1941 to 1942. In this time over 6,292 were built. The tank was designed to replace the obsolete T-38 amphibious scout tank.-Design:...
tank chassis.
SU-76: Based on a lengthened T-70
T-70
The T-70 was a light tank used by the Red Army during World War II, replacing both the T-60 scout tank for reconnaissance and the T-50 light infantry tank for infantry support. The T-80 light tank was a more advanced version of the T-70 with a two-man turret—it was only produced in very small...
tank chassis, with the inferior dual-engine arrangement of earlier T-70s. Only a few were produced, and these were quickly withdrawn from front line service.
SU-76M: Main production model.
SU-76B: Featured a completely enclosed armoured crew compartment. Only a few were produced.
ZSU-37
ZSU-37
ZSU-37 was a Soviet-made, light, self-propelled anti-aircraft gun , developed by the end of 1943 and produced at Works No. 40 in Mytishchi. It was the first Soviet series-produced tracked SPAAG...
: Self-propelled anti-aircraft gun, based on the SU-76.
The unrelated SU-76i (1943) was based on the German Panzer III
Panzer III
Panzer III was the common name of a medium tank that was developed in the 1930s by Germany and was used extensively in World War II. The official German designation was Panzerkampfwagen III translating as "armoured battle vehicle". It was intended to fight other armoured fighting vehicles and...
and StuG III chassis, armed with a ZiS-5
ZIS-5
ZiS-5 may refer to:* F-34 tank gun, used on the T-34 tank* ZiS-5 , produced at Zavod imeni Stalina; see also ZiS-6...
76.2 mm gun. About 1,200 of these captured vehicles, many from Stalingrad, were converted at Factory No. 38 by adding a new enclosed superstructure. They were issued to tank and self-propelled gun units starting in autumn 1943.. They were withdrawn from the front in early 1944, and used for training until the end of 1945.
Combat history
Ground pressure
Ground pressure is the pressure exerted on the ground by the tires or tracks of a motorized vehicle, and is one measure of its potential mobility, especially over soft ground. Ground pressure is measured in pascals which corresponds to the EES unit of pounds per square inch...
gave it good mobility.
The SU-76M combined three main battlefield roles: light assault gun, mobile anti-tank weapon and mobile gun for indirect fire. As a light assault gun, the SU-76M had good estimation from Soviet infantrymen (in contrast with their own crews). It had more powerful weapons than any previous light tank for close support and communication between infantry and the SU-76M crew was simple due to the open crew compartment. This was extremely useful in urban combat where good teamwork between infantry and AFVs is a key to success. Although the open compartment was highly vulnerable to small arms fire and hand grenades, it very often saved the crew's lives in the case of a hit by a Panzerfaust
Panzerfaust
The Panzerfaust was an inexpensive, recoilless German anti-tank weapon of World War II. It consisted of a small, disposable preloaded launch tube firing a high explosive anti-tank warhead, operated by a single soldier...
, whose concussion blast would mean death in an enclosed vehicle.
The SU-76M was effective against any medium or light German tank. It could also knock out the Panther tank with a flank shot, but the ZiS-3
ZiS-3
The 76-mm divisional gun M1942 was a Soviet 76.2 mm divisional field gun used during World War II. ZiS was a factory designation and stood for Zavod imeni Stalina , the honorific title of Artillery Factory No...
gun was not sufficient against Tiger tanks
Tiger I
Tiger I is the common name of a German heavy tank developed in 1942 and used in World War II. The final official German designation was Panzerkampfwagen Tiger Ausf. E, often shortened to Tiger. It was an answer to the unexpectedly formidable Soviet armour encountered in the initial months of...
. Soviet manuals for SU-76M crews usually instructed the gunner to aim for the tracks or gun barrel against Tigers. To improve the SU-76M's anti-armour capabilities, armour-piercing composite rigid (APCR) and hollow charge projectiles were introduced. This gave the SU-76M a better chance against heavily armoured German vehicles. A low profile, a low noise signature and good mobility were other advantages of the SU-76M. This was ideal for organizing ambushes and sudden flank or rear strikes in close combat, where the ZiS-3 gun was sufficient against most German armoured fighting vehicles.
The maximum elevation angle of the ZiS-3 was the greatest amongst all other Soviet self-propelled guns. The maximum indirect fire distance was nearly 17 km. SU-76Ms were sometimes used as light artillery vehicles (like the German Wespe
Wespe
The SdKfz 124 Wespe , also known as Leichte Feldhaubitze 18 auf Fahrgestell Panzerkampfwagen II , was a German self-propelled artillery vehicle developed and used during the Second World War...
) for bombardments and indirect fire support. However the power of the 76.2 mm shells was not sufficient in many cases.
The SU-76M was the single Soviet vehicle able to operate in swamps with minimal support from engineers. During the Belarus
Belarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
liberation campaign in 1944 it was extremely useful for organizing sneak attacks through swamps; bypassing heavy German defenses on firmer ground. Usually only lightly armed infantry could pass through large swampy areas. With SU-76M support, Soviet soldiers and engineers could effectively destroy enemy strongpoints and continue to advance.
The SU-76M had a large number of ammunition types. They included armour-piercing (usual, with ballistic nose and subcaliber hyper-velocity), hollow charge, high explosive, fragmentation, shrapnel and incendiary projectiles. This made the SU-76M a true multi-purpose light armoured fighting vehicle.
After World War II, the SU-76 was used by Communist forces in the Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
.
Surviving examples
Due to the large number of vehicles produced, many SU-76Ms have survived the post-war years, and most of the larger Russian military museums have examples of the SU-76M in their exhibitions. They can also be found at the German-Soviet War monuments or memorials in different Russian, Belarusian, Ukrainian and Polish cities; there is a nice example at the Muzeul Militar National in Bucharest, Romania.External links
- Axis History Factbook
- series and SU-76i at Battlefield.ru
- LemaireSoft
- OnWar
- WWII Vehicles
- Interview with SU-76 gunner