WW2 Russian Soviet Red Army 76.2mm M1942 (ZiS-3) – DIVISIONAL GUN SHELL CASING – NICE!

Description

This is a NICE example of a 100% INERT WW2 Soviet Red Army 76.2mm M1942 (ZiS-3) Divisional Gun Steel Shell Casing! In addition to being used with the Field Artillery Mount, this was also used in conjunction with the SU-76 Assault Gun; the Romanian TACAM R-2 Tank Destroyer; and the KSP-76 Light Assault Car! Captured examples were used by the Wehrmacht, and named, 7.62cm Feldkanone 288(r).

The 76-mm divisional gun M1942 (ZiS-3), 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 (“factory named after Stalin”), the honorific title of Artillery Factory No. 92, which first constructed this gun.

Soviet soldiers liked the ZiS-3 for its extreme reliability, durability, and accuracy. The gun was easy to maintain and use by novice crews. The light carriage allowed the ZiS-3 to be towed by trucks, heavy jeeps, like American Lend-Lease-supplied Dodge WC-51/WC-52, simply called the ‘Dodge 3/4’-tons by Soviet troops – or even manually hauled by the crew if required.

The gun was also quite popular with the German Wehrmacht, and was introduced into German service as the 7,62-cm-Feldkanone 288(r) and factories were retooled to produce ammunition for it. Unlike its predecessors, there exists no conversion to use the grenade cartridge of the 7,5 cm Pak 40 with a larger propellant charge to improve armor penetration capabilities. This is because in case of the M1936 F-22 and the M1939 F-22 USV the increased recoil was counteracted by adding a muzzle brake, which was not possible for the ZiS-3, which already had one.

The ZiS-3 had good anti-armour capabilities. Its armour-piercing round could knock out any early German light and medium tank. The frontal armour of later tanks, like the Tiger I and later the Panther, however, were immune to the ZiS-3. A ZiS-3 battery had four guns, with three batteries making a division or battalion. Independent anti-tank regiments consisted of six batteries with no divisions. A staff battery included a fire-control section.

Made of steel this is a FANTASTIC piece of history! Recovered from the Eastern Front, it is completely inert, with some obvious wear, marks, and corrosion. There are some faint headstamp markings on the bottom. I have shown the cannon it was used on in the last images. Would make a PERFECT addition to any collection or display!