SU-76

SU-76M
SU-76M Self-propelled gun in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia
Type	Self-propelled gun
Place of origin	Soviet Union
Production history
Designed	1942
Produced	1942–1945
Number built	~14,000
Specifications
Weight	10,600 kg. (23,320 lbs)
Length	4.88 m (16 ft .01 in)
Width	2.73 m (8 ft 11.5)
Height	2.17 m (7 ft 1.4 in)
Crew	4
Armor	front 35 mm / side 16 mm (front 1.37 / .62 in)
Primary armament	76 mm (2.99 in) ZIS-3Sh gun
Engine	2×GAZ-203 engines 85+85 hp (63+63 kW)
Power/weight	17 hp/tonne
Suspension	torsion bar
Operational range	320 km (199 mi)
Speed	45 km/h (28 mph)

The SU-76 (Samokhodnaya Ustanovka 76) was a Soviet self-propelled gun used during World War II.

History

The SU-76 was based on a lengthened and widened version of the T-70 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 relatively thin rear armour. One famous crewman was Rem Nikolaevich Ulanov, who is a distinguished Great Patriotic War veteran. In his younger days he was a mechanic-driver and later a commander of an SU-76. He and some other soldiers called their SU-76 Columbina after female personage of Renaissance Italian Commedia dell'Arte.

The 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 it 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) in "parallel" junction. Practically, each track had its own engine and it was quite difficult for the driver to control two engines simultaneously. Moreover, the strong vibrations lead to quick failure of the engine or 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 modification, called SU-76M, began mass production in early 1943. This pause was the cause for introducing SU-76i as a temporary replacement for SU-76. After the pause, GAZ and two factories in Kirov and Mytishchi produced 13932 SU-76Ms (the larger part of the order, over 9000 vehicles, was built by GAZ solely). Mass production of SU-76M ceased in the second half of 1945. Now the SU-76Ms (due to their vast number in comparison with original design SU-76) are often referred in texts, public radio and TV broadcasting as SU-76s with the "M" omitted. 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.

Variants

OSU-76

Experimental model based on T-60 tank chassis

SU-76

Based on lengthened T-70 tank chassis, with the inferior dual-engine arrangement of earlier T-70s. Only a few were produced, and quickly withdrawn from front line service.

SU-76M

main production model

SU-76B

with 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 Pz Kpfw 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. It was issued to tank and self-propelled gun units starting in autumn 1943.^[1]

Combat history

Soviet SU-76M in Bovington tank museum, Dorset.

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 low weight and low ground pressure gave it good mobility.

The SU-76M combines 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 it was simple to communicate between infantry and the SU-76M crew 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. Low profile, 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 with involving close combat when the ZiS-3 gun was sufficient against any German armoured fighting vehicle.

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. But the power of 76.2 mm shells was not sufficient in many cases.

It should be noted that 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 wide swampy areas. With SU-76M support, Soviet soldiers and engineers could effectively destroy enemy strongpoints and push on.

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 WWII, the SU-76 was used in battle again, this time in Korea.

Surviving examples

Due to the large number of vehicles produced, many SU-76Ms have survived the post war years and as a result, most of the larger Russian military museums have examples of the SU-76M in their exhibitions. They can also be found as Great Patriotic War monuments or memorials in different Russian, Belarusian, Ukrainian and Polish cities, in addition to a nice example at the Muzeul Militar National in Bucharest, Romania.

See also

• List of Soviet tanks

Notes

References

• Zaloga, Steven J., James Grandsen (1984). Soviet Tanks and Combat Vehicles of World War Two, London: Arms and Armour Press. ISBN 0-85368-606-8.
• Dougherty, Martin J. (2008). Tanks; From World War I to the Present Day, New York: Metro Books. ISBN 1-4351-0123-4

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: SU-76

• Axis History Factbook
• SU-76 series and SU-76i at Battlefield.ru
• LemaireSoft
• OnWar
• WWII Vehicles
• Interview with SU-76 gunner