IRON FORCES
THE GREAT DOMESTIC

Until the beginning of the 30s, the military leadership of the USSR made no serious attempts to transfer the artillery of the Red Army from horse-drawn to mechanical. Only a small number of civilian tractors were then used to tow heavy guns. It was believed that horses were capable of performing most of the tasks associated with the transportation of artillery. After 1934, the production of a whole galaxy of Soviet tracked army tractors began, which then took part in the Great Patriotic War.

"PIONEER" AND "KOMSOMOLETS"

The first, not very successful, attempt to create a military tractor was a machine called "Pioneer". Developed in 1935 by the Scientific Autotractor Institute and introduced into production in 1936, it contained a number of drawbacks that were unacceptable for the army. "Pioneer" did not have enough power and cornering stability. In addition, there was not enough room for artillery crew personnel. One of the biggest drawbacks was the lack of armor protection - both for the driver and the vital components of the tractor itself. When assembling these tractors, many components (engine, transmission, differential) from the T-37 light amphibious tank were used.

The design of the Komsomolets T-20 tractor (1936 release) has already taken into account the "childhood illnesses" inherent in the Pioneer. The cockpit, which housed the driver and the gunner (the tractor was also armed with a DT machine gun), was protected by riveted-welded armor that protected from bullets and shrapnel. The GAZ-A engine was located behind the cab, and a 4-speed gearbox in conjunction with a demultiplier from a three-axle GAZ-AAA truck, which optimized the power distribution, if necessary, allowed the tractor to move at an extremely low speed - about 2 km / h, while towing a trailer weighing 3 tons. For the convenience of production in the design of "Komsomolets" used nodes from a serial tank, in this case - from T-38. Places of artillery calculation, if necessary, were covered with a tarpaulin awning. The levers and control pedals in the cockpit were duplicated from the side of the shooter. Modifications of the Komsomolets were produced in small quantities at various factories. So the Moscow plant No. 37 named after Ordzhonikidze produced an unarmored version of this tractor with GAZ-11 and GAZ-M engines (1939), and the Gorky Automobile Plant, in addition to those listed above, also installed GAZ-22 engines on Komsomolets. Before the start of the war, the Soviet army numbered about 6,700. these tractors. A small number of "Komsomol members" (100 pieces) were used during the war as a chassis for 57-mm anti-tank guns. In total, over the years of production (1936-1941) 7780 "Komsomoltsev" were produced.

STZ-5

Larger than Komsomolets, the STZ-5 tractor was put into production at the Stalingrad Tractor Plant in 1937. Its carburetor 4-cylinder 1MA engine could run on various types of fuel, such as gasoline, kerosene, naphtha (heavier than gasoline is a refined product). When developing the tractor, the designers were given the task of unifying its components and assemblies with the STZ-3 agricultural plow tractor, which was created simultaneously with the STZ-5. In this regard, the army tractor did not have the characteristics corresponding to its purpose. The cross-country ability of STZ-5 was low, the ground clearance was small, the narrow track was more suitable for towing agricultural machinery, the small width of the tracks created high specific pressure on the ground, the ratio of engine power to vehicle weight (specific power) was also insufficient. Unlike the Komsomolets, STZ-5 had a body similar to that of trucks, which made it possible to use it not only as a tractor, but also for transporting large cargo or people. This machine was produced both in the pre-war period and during the war. A total of 9944 units were produced. At STZ-5, BM-13 multiple launch rocket launchers were installed, lightly armored NI tanks ("frightened") with machine-gun armament, light tanks with a 45-mm gun were created.

"KOMMUNAR"

From 1924 to 1931 the Kommunar tractor was produced, which was an ordinary agricultural machine, but was widely used by the Red Army during the Second World War. The production of this tractor was carried out at the Kharkov steam locomotive plant named after I. Comintern. A car with engines for operation on kerosene (power 50 hp) and gasoline (power 75 and 90 hp) was produced. "Kommunar" did not fully meet the requirements of an army tractor, since it could not carry artillery crews and had a low speed of movement, but it coped well with the tasks of towing heavy guns or evacuating damaged tanks. In total, about 2000 pieces were produced. these tractors, a small number of experimental self-propelled units SU-2, SU-5, D-10, D-14 tanks, and the D-15 chemical tank were produced on its basis.

SERIES "STALINETS"

Along with the Kommunar, civilian tractors such as the Stalinets S-60 and S-65 were used to tow heavy and medium artillery and tanks. On the S-60 (years of manufacture 1933-1937) a carburetor engine (power 60 hp) was installed, which ran on naphtha. A batch of these tractors with gas generator engines was also produced. In 1937, the S-60 was replaced by the first Soviet diesel tractor S-65 (manufactured in 1937-1941). Its engine (power 65 hp) could run both on diesel fuel and on a mixture of autol with kerosene.

In 1937 this tractor won the Grand Prix at the Paris exhibition. Since 1938, a gas generator modification of the SG-65 has also been produced. A total of 37182 S-65 and 7365 SG-65 units were manufactured.

In September 1940, the production of the Stalinets S-2 tractor, specially designed for the army, began. With the cockpit and engine shifted forward, the car looked like an STZ-5. A well-proven diesel four-cylinder four-stroke MT-17 engine was installed on the tractor. He, like the engine of the S-65 tractor, could also run on diesel fuel and a mixture of autol with kerosene. Starting the engine in cold weather was facilitated by a special low-power starting gasoline engine (20 hp). Like many army tractors, the C-2 was equipped with a winch located under the platform. Since the tractor was developed in a hurry, it contained a number of drawbacks, one of which was an unsuccessful gearbox that overloaded the engine at some speed limits, especially when towing a load. Another significant drawback was the design of the undercarriage, which took away engine power for the movement of the tractor itself. During the years of production (1940-1942), 1275 C-2 units were assembled.

"COMINTERN"

Artillery tractor "Comintern", which earned the fame of reliable and easy-to-use, began to be produced at the Kharkov steam locomotive plant in 1935. The layout of this tractor looked more like a bonneted truck - the engine was located in front, the cabin was closer to the center (it was installed converted from the ZIS-5 truck ), behind it is a cargo platform. The engine of the KIN tractor could run on any grade of gasoline and on its mixture with naphtha and kerosene. It was distinguished by its endurance and reliable starting at low temperatures, but the disadvantage was high fuel consumption. Thanks to a successful five-speed gearbox, "Comintern" could move in the speed range from 2.6 km / h to 30.5 km / h (on the highway) and retained a good supply of tractive effort in all gears. The Comintern was capable of towing all types of artillery. The volume of the issue is 1798 units.

"VOROSHILOVETS"

The most powerful tractor of the pre-war and war periods - "Voroshilovets" - was produced in 1939 by the Kharkov steam locomotive plant. It was equipped with a 12-cylinder V-shaped tank V-2V diesel engine (power 375 hp). The power unit could run on diesel fuel, light gas oil (an additive to diesel fuel), a mixture of engine oil with kerosene. The engine had two starting systems - from two electric starters and from a compressed air cylinder. During the war period, due to the insufficient number of V-2V engines, which were used to equip tanks, M-17T tank engines from BT-7 (400 hp) and experimental V-4 (300 hp) were installed on Voroshilovets. hp).

"Voroshilovets" could tow the heaviest artillery, and even heavy tanks. In the back, it could carry both people (up to 16 people) and cargo (up to 3 tons). The tractor was distinguished by its smooth running, good distribution of loads along the tracks and a fairly high speed, which could reach up to 42 km / h, with full load on the highway - up to 20 km / h, on a dirt road - up to 16 km / h. A total of 1123 units of Voroshilovets tractors were produced by September 1941.

I-12

With the start of the war, all tractor plants, except for Stalingrad, stopped producing artillery tractors and switched to tank products. STZ continued to produce tractors until the Germans launched an attack on the plant itself. In connection with the forced termination of production at STZ and the general shortage of tractors in the army, the Yaroslavl Automobile Plant received design documentation developed by NATI for an army tractor with a factory index I-11. It was planned to install two GAZ-MM automobile engines on the tractor, but their production was discontinued after the German aviation raids on the Gorky Automobile Plant. In this regard, it was decided to use the American diesel two-stroke engines GMC-4-71 (power 110 hp) supplied under Lend-Lease. In 1943, these machines went into production under the designation Ya-12. Later, the plant produced modifications of the Y-13 with the ZIS-5M carburetor engine, and the Y-13F with the forced ZIS-MF carburetor engine. A total of 1,666 tractors of this series were produced.

Unfortunately, for all the years of the war, the industry was not able to provide the army with a sufficient number of transport and artillery tractors. This was especially painful at the beginning of the war, when thousands of guns remained on the battlefields due to the lack of mechanized traction. This deficiency was partially covered by domestic wheeled and half-tracked trucks, civil tractors, captured vehicles, as well as cars supplied under Lend-Lease. However, this deficit was still felt until the very end of the war. In the pre-war and war periods, the design bureaus and factories did not leave time to revise the designs, and the machines were produced with multiple flaws, capricious in operation and inconvenient to maintain. And who knows, perhaps the course of the Great Patriotic War would have developed differently if the country's top and military leadership realized the need to mechanize artillery and provide the army with the necessary number of tractors of various specifications.

In March 2009, an interesting debut took place at the XIII Oldtimer-Gallery of Ilya Sorokin (Moscow, Russia): immediately after the completion of the restoration, the Stalinets S-65 arrived at the exhibition hall.

During the war years this tractor was used as an artillery tractor, but during the retreat of the Red Army in the fall of 1941, the car was thrown into a swamp. The tractor has lain in the Pskov region at a depth of seven meters to this day. In the 60s, however, there were attempts to raise it to the surface, but they were unsuccessful. It was only at the end of 2008 that the enthusiasts of the "Yevgeny Shamansky Workshop" pulled "Stalinets" out of the swamp, and it was immediately sent for restoration.

Lying in a bog environment favorable for conservation, the tractor was in relatively good condition. The restoration of this monument of the glorious heroic era consisted of a bulkhead of all units and parts, after which: the tractor started up and drove off!

At its first public display, the car attracted everyone's attention. During the whole period of the exhibition, a video monitor at the stand of "Yevgeny Shamansky's Workshop" showed filming of the process of pulling the tractor and accelerated tape of the restoration process.

Specifications "Stalinets" C-60, C-65 "Voroshilovets" "Stalinets" C-2 "Komsomolets" T-20 "Comintern" Weight, kg Lifting capacity platforms, kg Towed weight trailer, t Seats in the cockpit Length mm

Every self-respecting army always strives to have heavy weapons and armored vehicles in its composition. And preferably with the lowest purchase and maintenance costs. So the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) did not stand aside, since in terms of numbers it was hardly inferior to the partisan detachments operating in the territory of Ukraine, Poland and Belarus in 1941-1944.

At the moment, there is no documentary evidence that the UPA used captured Soviet armored vehicles. We can only assume that it did use it, because after the devastating defeats of the Red Army in the summer and autumn of 1941, thousands of tanks and armored vehicles remained on Ukrainian soil. Another thing is that the UPA was unable to maintain a huge fleet of armored vehicles. Yes, and with trained personnel, apparently, there were big problems. Nevertheless, this did not stop the Ukrainian "enthusiasts" at all, since it was not possible to fight with one small arms.

In addition to tanks, the Red Army abandoned a huge number of tractors, among which the STZ-5-NATI was far from last. During the war years, these multifunctional vehicles were used not only as tractors, but also as a base for self-propelled rocket launchers, which was especially widely practiced in 1942. The Ukrainians decided to go the other way - since there was a surplus of slow-moving tanks on the territory they captured, they decided to combine "business with pleasure." This is how one of the most unusual armored tractors of the 2nd World War appeared, for which they never came up with a name. Sometimes on internet forums it is referred to as "Armored vehicle UPA", but also the notation STZ-5-NATI \\ T-26.

The essence of the project was extremely simple. From the tracked base of the STZ-5-NATI tractor, the cab, the onboard platform and part of the equipment were removed. In the vacant space, the body of the T-26 tank of the 1939 model was installed without any elements of the chassis and fenders. The cutouts in the sides of the hull for the chassis elements were sewn up with armor plates. The tank turret, along with the 45 mm 20K cannon, remained unchanged. Presumably, the upper part of the tractor body was connected to the bottom of the tank using bolts or welding. It is not entirely clear how the control system and transmission were solved, but it must be assumed that the UPA technicians were quite able to cope with this task. The crew could consist of 3 people: driver, commander-gunner and loader.

The history of the use of the UPA armored vehicle is the subject of a separate study, since apart from fragmentary information and a single photograph of not very good quality, nothing has yet been found. According to the most widespread version, which appeared several years ago on one of the Polish websites, the situation was as follows.

In December 1943, the UPA command decided to conduct an operation against the Polish formations defending the city of Kumpichev. The armored vehicle was sent into battle to support the infantry and was able to approach the Polish positions at a very close distance. The Ukrainian infantry lay under heavy small arms fire, which predetermined the further fate of the only Ukrainian "tank" - according to one version, the armored tractor had an engine out of order (which is not surprising, given the mass of the T-26 hull and turret), so the crew was forced to leave the vehicle. after removing the lock from the gun and breaking through the gas tank. An attempt to burn down the armored vehicle was unsuccessful, since during the counterattack the Poles were able to capture and extinguish it. The car was towed to the rear, but since it was in an incapacitated state, no further action was taken against it. There is a version that the "UPA armored vehicle" waited for the arrival of Soviet troops in 1944 and only then was dismantled, but most likely it does not correspond to reality.

However, there is another version. The photograph of the "UPA armored vehicle" became widely known in the mid-2000s, and the source of its appearance was never indicated anywhere. It is quite possible that it was a slow model of a tank tractor. Another version says that the only photograph is a photomontage (in other words, a fake) and no "UPA armored vehicle" has ever existed ...

Sources:
E. Prochko "Artillery tractors of the Red Army" ("Bronekollektsiya" 2002-03)
T-26 / STZ-5 and other creations of Michurin's successors

TACTICAL AND TECHNICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE BRONETRACTOR

STZ-5-NATI \\ T-26 model 1943

COMBAT WEIGHT	~ 10000 kg
CREW, pers.	3
DIMENSIONS
Length mm	~5000
Width, mm	1855
Height, mm	~3000
Clearance, mm	288
WEAPON	one 45 mm cannon 20K
AMMUNITION	~ 200 shots
AIMING DEVICES	optical sight
RESERVATION	body forehead - 15 mm side of the case - 15 mm body feed - 15 mm hull roof - 10 mm bottom - 6 mm turret forehead - 15 mm turret side - 15 mm tower feed - 15 mm tower roof - 10 mm gun mask -?
ENGINE	T-26, 4-cylinder, carburetor, air-cooled, power 97 hp
TRANSMISSION	mechanical type
CHASSIS	(on one side) 4 double track rollers interlocked in two bogies with spring cushioning, 2 support rollers, front idler and rear drive wheel, fine-link track with steel tracks 310 mm wide and 86 mm pitch
SPEED	~ 10 km \\ h
HIGHWAY RUNNING RESERVE	~ 100 km
OVERCOMING OBSTACLES
Ascent angle, degrees	?
Wall height, m	?
Ford depth, m	?
Moat width, m	?
MEANS OF COMMUNICATION	—

In the 1920s, the picture in agriculture was even worse than today. First World War I knocked him down. Then - revolution and civil war. Of course, first of all, human losses affected - the country was then an agrarian, and most of the soldiers of these wars in peacetime were ordinary farmers.

Well, secondly, the technique of that time. More precisely, its absence. Most often they plowed on horses, but it was also impossible to fight without them, and the horses left the fields for the front. In some regions (especially the southern ones), bulls and oxen were the main draft force for plows, mowers, reapers and other agricultural implements. It was not possible to fight with them (they were too slow), but in the years of famine they could be eaten.

Thus, there was nobody and nothing to plow. Even by 1917, the situation was difficult: the able-bodied male population in the countryside decreased by 47.4% compared to 1914. What can we say about the situation after the end of the civil war. By 1923, the area under crops was only slightly more than half of the area under crops in 1913.

At the cost of gigantic efforts, by 1927 it was possible to achieve the pre-war sown grain areas. However, it became clear that it was necessary to change something. In 1928 collectivization began. Since not always and not everywhere the newly-made collective farmers were eager to plow a lot and efficiently, the efficiency of the collective farms of that time was low. By that time, all decaying capitalists were plowing on tractors, and it looked more interesting than plowing on collective farmers (many of whom did not want to plow at all). True, by that time we already had our own (or almost our own) tractors.

Much earlier than collectivization, back in 1919, the Soviet government was preoccupied with finding a decent tractor. The first step was to turn to Henry Ford, who at that time was trying to shake off his Fordzones for someone. By the way, it is more correct to say “fordsan” - after all, Henry named the company Fordson (Henry Ford and Son) in honor of his beloved himself and his son Edsel.

The relationship with the Fordzons was not going well. These were rather weak machines, and the price of the Fordson-Putilovets tractor, produced at the plant of the same name, was more than two times higher than the price of a tractor produced in its homeland. True, Ford treasured this contract with the USSR very much: no one needed his tractors anymore, Fordson turned out to be unprofitable, so this cruel capitalist even betrayed his “money in advance” principles and sold his tractors to the USSR in installments.

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Over time, it became apparent that the Fordson was only slightly better than a horse, and it was very difficult to raise agriculture on it. And the state commission on tractor construction (there was such a thing then) again turned its suffering gaze to the West.

As was usually the case in the USSR, the commission selected several of the most interesting tractors and began to compare them in detail. Chose between American International 15/30, Rumely Oil Pull, German Hanomag and Swedish Avance. Among the criteria by which the leader was selected, there was one interesting one - the cost of a unit of hook power. It was counted as the ratio of hook power to the value of the tractor itself and was measured in dollars per horsepower.

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Here the leader was International (full name - International Harvester McCormick Deering 15-30), one horsepower of which cost only $ 52.90. But the most expensive according to this indicator was the German Hanomag - $ 69. In addition, the layout, ease of operation and maintenance, the cost of manufacturing and repairing a tractor, the ability to work with the largest number of agricultural implements, and adaptability to serial production were evaluated. As a result of a serious selection of applicants, International became the leader. One more question remains to be solved: where to build these tractors?

McCormick-Deering 15-30 "1930

It would be expensive to produce tractors at the Putilov factory in Leningrad and then transport them to the grain-growing regions of the country. It was decided to build a new plant, preferably somewhere closer to the existing railways, the necessary raw materials and, of course, the fields. They chose between Voronezh, Zaporozhye, Rostov-on-Don, Stalingrad, Kharkov and Chelyabinsk.

As a result, Stalingrad was chosen as the city closest to the centers of the future use of tractors. True, factories were also built in Kharkov and Chelyabinsk, but later. And in 1926 the construction of the Stalingrad Tractor Plant named after I. F.E.Dzerzhinsky. Its chief architect was Albert Kahn, owner of Albert Kahn Incorporated. Kahn is often referred to as the architect of Detroit - this person is interesting in itself.

But we are only interested in the fact that the plant, assembled in America, was dismantled and assembled in the USSR in six months, and on June 17, 1930, the first tractor under the STZ brand rolled off the assembly line. By the way, the model was not the initially chosen International 10/20, but the slightly more powerful International 15/30. But in our country he was always known under the brand name STZ, although more often he was called simply “Stalinist” (this is an unofficial name - officially “Stalinists” were called caterpillar tractors that have nothing in common with STZ - ed.).

Three tons of simplicity

To be honest, I've never seen anything simpler and ... iron. You might think that this tractor was simply cast from a piece of cast iron, the wheels were screwed to it and sent to the field. Well, judge for yourself.

There is no frame familiar in our understanding (however, the concept of a frame, most likely, will soon sink into oblivion altogether). It is made in one piece with the transmission housing. Moreover, the entire transmission at once - both the gearbox and the rear axle. So the base of the tractor is just a crankcase. A cast front half-frame is attached to it, on which the engine rests (when started, it, of course, does not rest, but very much jerks).

The motor is a four-cylinder, overhead valve, with wet sleeves. The crankshaft is two-bearing, on ball bearings. Cast iron pistons have three compression rings and one oil scraper ring, connecting rods are forged. But the most interesting thing here is the food system.

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From the outside, it seems that the tractor has one gas tank. In fact, there are not even two, but three. The largest one - with kerosene, which, in theory, the engine should work on. The second one is slightly smaller, gasoline is poured into it, on which the engine should be started. And there is also a water tank. And this is not for the cooling system (which is really water here), but for ... preventing detonation. It (water, not detonation) was also fed to the cylinders through the Ensign RW carburetor. Naturally, there is no fuel pump here, everything flows perfectly by gravity.

Now pay attention to the pipe to the right of the driver. What is it? Not a muffler? Of course not. The muffler can is on the right side of the engine, and it is difficult to call this device a muffler: there are no nets and other trash there. There are only cast protrusions inside and that's it. This tall pipe is an air intake. The tractor is driven in places where there can be a lot of dust. And the dust in the intake reduces the resource of even such a monstrous engine, which is in the STZ. Therefore the air intake is high and equipped with a Pomona-type oil air cleaner.

If the rear axle is "stockings" bolted to the same monumental transmission housing, then the front is still a separate element. True, he is as severely merciless as everything else. Its travel is limited by two springs, but we could not “hang out” this tractor in such a way to find out if the front axle has a limit.

Ignition system - from Scintilla magneto. There is no accumulator, let alone a starter, so there is only a “crooked starter” handle to start the engine. The onboard voltage is six volts.

The cooling system, as I said, is water-based with a fan driven by a wonderful flat belt.

All other miracles of mechanization of the thirties are best viewed from the tractor driver's seat.

Death to the asphalt!

So, we get to the driver's workplace. This is easy to do: no doors need to be opened, you can easily climb up the hitch at the rear and sit on the seat. Flock, velor, leather are all for weaklings. The tractor driver is supposed to have a metal seat - however, unexpectedly comfortable, with an excellent spring-shock absorber.

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What you don't expect from an 80-year-old tractor is such a spacious workplace. Here you can swing your arms and legs without fear of breaking something. And not only because of the lack of a cab as such, but also because of the modest number of controls. And those that are, are made so firmly that it is easier to break an arm or a leg about them than the lever itself, pedal or steering wheel.

Let's say everything is clear with the steering wheel: here it is, standing right in front of me. But something is clearly missing in the legs.

Yes, there is no gas pedal. Instead, there is a manual gas sector, combined with an ignition timing adjustment knob. By wielding these hands, you can set the desired speed. And go as it goes. Let's try to sit just like that ...

So the motor is running. Sound is just a song! He is not just screaming, but somehow very musically rumble with unexpected runs and syncopations. It seems that a jazz drummer is sitting in top hats and playing something from the classic Orleans jazz. True, the vibrations are serious here: the motor suspension is absent as a class, and since it is tightly screwed to the frame (read - to the crankcase of the box on which I am sitting), everything is shaking very funny. Everything except the seat.

While the motor is tapping the “Caravan” party, we are looking at how to turn on the gear. There are three of them here: low, medium and high. You do not need to switch them while driving. Firstly, even with all the desire, this tractor will not be able to accelerate: the maximum speed in top gear is 7.4 km / h. At the lowest - 3.5 km / h. So the tractor driver only has to pre-select the speed and RPM, depending on which surface to move on, and which plow (or something else) will need to be pulled.

By the way, the tractor also has a power take-off pulley rotating at 625 rpm.

The inconstantly closed frictional single-plate clutch itself does not imply gear changes while driving. It works on / off, so the advice not to drop the clutch pedal is irrelevant here.

Engine

6.4 liters, 30 hp

Well, let's try to turn on the gear and take a ride. With a height of 180 cm, I barely manage to move the gearshift lever to the forward positions, including the lowest and highest speeds. Reverse and middle gear, which are engaged, are much easier to stick in. I wonder how people with smaller stature can ride it? But they went, and women too: that very famous tractor driver Pasha Angelina worked just at STZ.

I think there is no point in wasting the flowers of your spleen on details from the category of "large gearshift lever travel", "long travel clutch pedal" and other modern whining. All this is monstrously ugly, but no one expected an easy life.

The steering is comparatively light. True, it remained so only on the asphalt. And here you need to make a small lyrical digression.

It is clear that riding a tractor on the asphalt is like dancing a ballet in tarpaulin boots. But we had no other choice but to find a small area with deliberately killed asphalt and a small amount of mounds of rubble, sand and some kind of construction waste. The total weight of the tractor is three tons; it is a dubious pleasure to drive it into a field outside the city. But you can't ride in the city either: STZ mercilessly kills the asphalt it drives on. The front wheels are equipped with conventional annular flanges, but the rear wheels can be equipped with such lugs as on our tractor, or lug blades. Or nothing could stand, and then the tractor became a road roller. Changing these attachments is not very difficult: they are bolted to the iron wheel. And yet, with a weight of three tons, the tractor left a clear trail even on the asphalt. And we decided that it was time to try how he climbs the slides.

It seems that the wiring at MTZ is simple, but it was not possible to find a spark quickly, so the tractor had to be sent back to the tow truck. Apparently, you have to disassemble the magneto.

With the end of the spark, the test drive ended. I would like to say something good in the end, but ...

That's all

STZ-1, tracked STZ-3, well-known DT-75, T-26 tanks and even the legendary T-34. And also - many other tractors and samples of military equipment. Success? For the time being.

The plant experienced terrible destruction during the Great Patriotic War, was practically destroyed - the battles took place right on the territory of the plant - but after the war it was rebuilt.

But it turned out that hard times will come later, not even in the 1990s. The plant (no longer Stalingrad, but Volgograd) went bankrupt only in 2005. And now only a monument to Dzerzhinsky, a monument to T-34 and a checkpoint built by Albert Kahn, remain of it. The history of VGTZ ended there.

We are grateful to Retrotruck for the car provided for a test drive.

Historical series "TM"

STZ - transport

In 1932, at the Stalingrad Tractor Plant, under the leadership of the chief designer V.G. Stankevich, the development of a plow tractor of medium power began. It was immediately decided to make it a universal - agricultural, transport and tractor, like the British "Vickers-Carden-Lloyd", which our military tested in 1931. And the future tractor was supposed to be used in the army, as an artillery tractor and transport vehicle, in order to accelerate the motorization and mechanization of the Red Army.

By May 1933, this versatile tractor (with an experimental diesel engine) - "Komsomolets" - was ready. However, it came out overweight, not very reliable, the layout left much to be desired. The main thing was found out - the impossibility of combining the contradictory properties of three machines operating in such different conditions. So the idea of \u200b\u200ba universal tractor had to be abandoned.

In the summer of 1933, NATI engineers proposed making two tractors, agricultural and transport, unifying their components and assemblies as much as possible, so that one conveyor could be used for the production of both machines. In particular, in the agricultural version, it was supposed to use a 4-speed gearbox with the possibility of increasing the number of steps, 2-roller interlocked spring-balance suspension carriages, light and openwork cast tracks, a closed cabin - something that is more inherent in high-speed tracked vehicles. (This idea came in handy in the 1960s, when agriculture needed tractors with higher operating speeds.)

For the simultaneous creation of two tractors at the Stalingrad plant, a design bureau was formed, composed of 30 factory and institute workers under the general leadership of V.Ya. Slonimsky (NATI), in order to speed up the work. An especially large contribution to the manufacture of the transport STZ-NATI-2TV (better known under the factory designation STZ-5) was made by the designers I.I. Drong and V.A. Kargopolov (STZ), A.V. Vasiliev and I.I. Trepenenkov (NATI).

After testing the first two experimental series of STZ-5 at the beginning of 1935, they built a third, improved one, and on July 16, these tractors, together with agricultural STZ-Z (see "TM", Nq 7 for 1975), were demonstrated at the NATI test site to the country's top leadership headed by I.V. Stalin; all members of the Politburo rode in the back of the STZ-5. The new machine was approved, the identified shortcomings were eliminated by the next year, and both tractors began to prepare for serial production at

Stalingrad plant.

STZ-5 had a layout that has become traditional for transport tractors - in front of a two-seater metal cabin with an engine inside, between the seats. Behind it with fuel tanks was a 2-meter wooden cargo platform with folding sides, benches and a removable canvas top - to accommodate the crew, ammunition and artillery equipment. The light frame consisted of two longitudinal channels connected by four crossbars.

The diesel engine had to be abandoned - it was not possible to work it out. The 1MA engine was a typical tractor - 4-cylinder, carburetor, magneto-ignited, low-speed / and relatively heavy. But it turned out to be hardy and reliable, and therefore it was produced until 1953. It started up on gasoline with an electric starter (which was not available at STZ-Z) or with a starting handle, and after warming up to 90 degrees, it was transferred to kerosene or naphtha, that is, it was multi-fuel, which is important in military conditions. To prevent detonation and increase power, especially when operating in the summer with increased loads, on kerosene, water was injected into the cylinders through a special carburetor system, and from 1941 an anti-knock combustion chamber was introduced.

In the gearbox connected to the rear axle, the gear ratios were changed, increasing the power range to 9.8 (versus 2.1 for STZ-Z) and another reduction gear was introduced. When driving on it at a speed of 1.9 km / h, the tractor developed a traction of 4850 kgf - at the limit of the adhesion of the tracks to the ground.

The rear axle with side clutches and brakes was borrowed from STZ-3; rubberized support and support rollers and a small-link track with a half-pitch reduced by half, which were better suited for high speeds, were used in the chassis. Under the cargo platform, on the rear axle housing, a vertical capstan was mounted, which served for self-pulling, pulling trailers, as well as towing other vehicles. This simple device replaced the winch, which was considered an indispensable accessory to artillery tractors.

In the front and rear parts of the cockpit, adjustable shutters were installed, which created flow ventilation, which was especially important in the summer - from a running engine, the temperature in the metal cabin often rose to 50 degrees.

In 1938, the first 309 serial STZ-5s were produced, sending them to the artillery units of tank and mechanized divisions. They towed 76-mm regimental and divisional guns, 122- and 152-mm howitzers of the 1938 model, 76-mm anti-aircraft guns (and then 85-mm). Soon STZ-5 became the most widespread

in the Red Army.

In the summer of 1939, army tests were carried out near the town of Medved, Novgorod Region. On them, the tractor overcame ditches up to 1 m deep, forced fords up to 0.8 m, walls 0.6 m high.As part of the STZ-5 battery with a trailer, it moved along the highway at an average speed of 14 km / h and 10 km / h - along country road. They did not demanded more from him, given the "peasant origin" - a small specific power, a narrow track, selected taking into account the work of an agricultural fellow with a 4-body plow, low ground clearance, insufficiently developed track lugs, significant specific pressure. Due to the revealed longitudinal swing at high speeds, the military asked to install a fifth road roller. However, the endurance of the tractor did not cause any complaints - it successfully completed the Stalingrad - Moscow - Stalingrad runs twice.

At the beginning of the war, there was a shortage of more powerful artillery tractors, and the massive STZ-5 sometimes had to "plug the holes" by towing heavier than they were supposed to, guns and trailers. The tractors worked with overload, but withstood, rescuing the gunners from the most difficult situations.

The lack of suitable cross-country vehicles forced the installation of M-13 multiple launch rocket launchers on the STZ-5. They were first used in battles in the fall of 1941 near Moscow. At the same time, the defenders of Odessa used the STZ-5 as a chassis for homemade NI tanks, covered with light armor - boiler iron and armed with machine guns.

Despite the heavy losses of military equipment, by the fall of 1941 all factories stopped producing artillery tractors in order to increase the production of tanks. Since then, the entire burden of supplying the army with transport tracked vehicles fell on the Stalingrad tractor. Despite the fact that he also made tanks, 3146 STZ-5s were produced there from June 22 to the end of the year (they had to master the production of components themselves), and in 1942 the production reached 23-25 \u200b\u200bvehicles per day. Stalingraders produced them until August 13, when the Germans went to the vicinity of the plant.

In total, he gave the army 9944 STZ-5, including 6506 from the beginning of the Great Patriotic War. However, on September 1 of that year, there were only 4,678 transport tractors in it - combat losses affected, in addition, a lot of vehicles remained behind the front line. By the way, STZ-5 were also used in the German Wehrmacht, where they were given the designation STZ-601 (g).

And in the Red Army they served until victory, then, until the 50s, they worked in the national economy together with the STZ-Z (ASKHTZ-NATI) that were still being produced.

The idea of \u200b\u200busing tractors as a base for self-propelled artillery installations in the USSR was implemented in the early 30s. Then ACS SU-2 and SU-4 were created, but things did not progress beyond the prototypes. The Germans obtained a completely different result in 1940. Taking trophy French transporters as a basisRenault UE, already in 1940, they created self-propelled guns with anti-tank guns 3.7cm Pak... It turned out, although not the most perfect car, but a massive one and with minimal production costs. A year later, in the USSR, the ZIS-30 was created in a very similar way, which became the first truly massive Soviet ACS of the war period.

Anti-tank ersatz

In the USSR, the use of artillery tractors as a base for tank destroyers began to be seriously considered in the spring of 1941. First of all, it was about the STZ-5 tractor. To improve its mobility, it was planned to install a more powerful ZIS-16 engine in the car, as well as lengthen the base to give it greater longitudinal stability. As a weapon, it was supposed to use the 57-mm anti-tank gun ZIS-2, which was just being tested, and at factory # 92, preparations were already underway for its serial production.

The Voroshilovets heavy artillery tractor was also considered as a base for a tank destroyer. In the back of this car, it was supposed to install an 85-mm anti-aircraft gun model 1939 (52-K). Both cars were planned to be partially booked.

The SPG projects were discussed on June 9, 1941. Simultaneously with the tank destroyer on the extended STZ-5 base, it was also proposed to build an anti-aircraft self-propelled unit armed with a 37-mm 61-K automatic cannon. However, this plan did not last long. During the meeting, the idea of \u200b\u200bself-propelled units based on the STZ-5 and Voroshilovets chassis was rejected due to poor booking, overloading of the chassis, as well as small ammunition and power reserve. At the same time, the following phrase was voiced at the meeting:

"We can agree that the installation of a 57-mm ZIS-4 cannon based on the STZ-5 tractor units should be regarded as a self-propelled anti-tank gun."

The outbreak of the Great Patriotic War buried the pre-war plans for self-propelled guns. Instead of working on promising self-propelled guns, it was necessary to increase the production of tanks. In addition, the curtailment of the production of tractors began so that they did not take up resources at factories where tanks were produced in parallel.

The first such victim was the light, partially armored Komsomolets tractor. According to the decree of the Council of People's Commissars (SNK) of the USSR of June 25, 1941, the plant number 37 of the People's Commissariat of Medium Machine Building (NKSM) named after. Ordzhonikidze in Moscow was ordered to stop the production of these tractors by August 1. It is worth noting that this miniature car with a motor from a GAZ AA truck was not even considered as a base for a self-propelled installation. Since 1940, the GAZ-22 artillery tractor was created to replace the Komsomolets. All the more surprising is what happened in the summer of 1941.

The initiative to develop new models of self-propelled artillery this time did not come from the Main Artillery Directorate (GAU) or the Main Armored Directorate (GABTU), but from the People's Commissar of Armaments. On July 1, 1941, the People's Commissar D.F.Ustinov issued an order on the design of self-propelled units within two weeks using a base of tractors and trucks. The creation of the self-propelled installation of the 57-mm anti-tank gun ZIS-2 was entrusted to the developers of the gun itself - the team of the factory # 92 design bureau. The work on this topic was headed by P.F.Muravyov under the general supervision of V.G. Grabin.

The choice of possible chassis for the new ACS was not rich. The STZ-5 tractor was dropped due to low speed and possible overload. There were trucks and ... a light tractor "Komsomolets". As a result, it was decided to concentrate on two platforms: GAZ AAA and Komsomolets.

A prototype of the ZIS-30 self-propelled gun, late July 1941. The machine does not yet have coulters and folding floor panels

The variant of installing the ZIS-2 on the GAZ AAA chassis, designated ZIS-31, looked more like a spare. On the one hand, the truck chassis was a more stable platform than the small artillery tractor. But, on the other hand, it potentially suffered from the same problems as STZ-5.

According to the requirements for the ACS, its cabin and engine compartment were armored, and this created an additional load on the chassis. As well as the gun itself with ammunition transported to it. The combat weight of the wheeled self-propelled guns reached 5 tons, which roughly corresponded to the weight of the BA-10 armored car. If when driving on normal roads it did not look particularly critical, on off-road the situation changed dramatically.

Initially, it was supposed to produce 3000 ZIS-30. These plans eventually had to be cut 30 times.

A completely different picture was observed with Komsomolets. The combat weight of the self-propelled unit based on its base, designated ZIS-30, was the same 5 tons, but due to the tracked chassis, the cross-country ability was higher than that of the ZIS-31. At the same time, in contrast to the wheeled self-propelled unit, the conversion of "Komsomolets" into the ZIS-30 required minimal changes to the base vehicle. Instead of crew seats, a U-shaped structure was installed, on which a gun was placed. Packages with shells were placed on the sides. According to the description of the factory # 92 design bureau, the ammunition load was 30 rounds (other sources indicate 20). The aiming angles were the same as those of the ZIS-31: 28 degrees horizontally and from -5 to +15 vertically.

To support tank brigades

The prototype ZIS-30 was ready by July 20, 1941. The explanatory note indicated that, if necessary, the 76-mm ZIS-3 cannon, a prototype which was built at about the same time, could be installed on the SPG. Already on July 21, a draft GKO decree was prepared "On the production of self-propelled units of the 57 mm anti-tank gun ZIS-2 on the Komsomolets tractor and the production of 76 mm guns Model 1939 (USV) on the carriage ZIS-2".

The scope of the plans is impressive: from August to December 1941, it was supposed to release 3,000 ZIS-30. The problem was that the wishes of Grabin and NKV did not correspond to the prevailing realities. It was impossible to find such a number of "Komsomol members", since they were removed from production on August 1 in order to free up the capacity of plant number 37 for the production of small T-30 tanks. Therefore, by the resolution of the State Defense Committee (GKO) No. 252ss of July 23, 1941, much more modest plans were approved:

“1) To oblige the NKV (People's Commissar of Armaments - Ed.) Comrade Ustinov to install the first one hundred 57 mm anti-tank guns on the Komsomolets tractor.

2) To oblige the NKSM (People's Commissar of Medium Machine Building - Ed.) Comrade Malyshev to submit to the plant No. 92 NKV 100 pcs. tractors Komsomolets before 08/10/1941.

3) To oblige the NKV t. Ustinov from 10.8 to release 57 mm anti-tank guns on the trailer, using the GAZ-61 as a tractor.

4) To oblige comrade Malyshev from 10.8 to supply the plant No. 92 NKV with GAZ-61 vehicles, in an amount that ensures the production of 57 mm anti-tank guns.

5) With regard to the production of 57 mm anti-tank guns and divisional 76 mm guns at Plant No. 92, stay with the previous decision.

6) The proposal of the Gorky Regional Committee and Plant No. 92 to install 57 mm cannons on a GAZ-AAA car should not be accepted. "

As you can see, the same document at the same time finally determined the GAZ-61-416 car as the main tractor for the ZIS-2. As for the ZIS-30 self-propelled guns, the situation with the release of even hundreds of such vehicles was not the easiest. The production of a prototype did not mean at all that the car would go into production immediately. The GAU of the Red Army quite reasonably considered that it was necessary to conduct field tests. The test program was approved on August 10, 1941, and the tests themselves took place on the tenth of the month.

Taking into account the test results, some changes were made to the design of the machine. Most notable was the appearance of the openers that dropped when firing. This partially compensated for the longitudinal swing of the ZIS-30 during firing, which was inevitable given the short length of the Komsomolets. Also, folding floor panels appeared, which simplified the work of the calculation in the firing position.

Serial ZIS-30. The folded-down floor panels, on which the crew stood in battle, are clearly visible

Where big problems were associated with the organization of mass production of the ZIS-30. In addition to the fact that the release of the ZIS-2 guns slightly did not keep up with the established pace, big problems surfaced directly with the basic tractors. By September 1941, factory # 37 was no longer making them, so they had to go to extreme measures and withdraw the Komsomols from the units.

All this led to the fact that the first ZIS-30s began to leave factory # 92 only in mid-September 1941. Finally, the production of a batch of 100 SPGs was completed in early October 1941. Nevertheless, it was this vehicle that became the first truly mass-produced light SPG of the Red Army during the war period. By the way, all ZIS-30s left the factory in three-color camouflage.

Machine in firing position, openers tilted

The vast majority of the ZIS-30 went to tank brigades. The list of formations that received light SPGs looks like this:

However, the list of parts where the ZIS-30 got to is not limited to this. The main problem with the study of the combat use of this vehicle is that SPGs at that time belonged to the department of the GAU KA. Therefore, the "tankers" (GABTU) did not have much attention to their combat use. Even in correspondence, they are often referred to either as simply anti-tank guns or as "Komsomol members".

It is worth noting that the prevailing opinion about the use of these self-propelled guns by the Red Army only in the fall-winter of 1941, to put it mildly, does not correspond to reality. ZIS-30 are occasionally found in documents in the summer and autumn of 1942. For example, two such self-propelled guns at that time were in the units of the 20th army. And some cars survived until 1944.

Padded ZIS-30 launcher, October-November 1941. Three-color camouflage visible

The report of the Southern Front, drawn up in early April 1942, speaks volumes about the combat qualities and assessment of the ZIS-30 in the troops. It was prepared following the use of the ZIS-30 in the motorized rifle battalion of the 4th Guards Tank Brigade (formerly 132nd Tank Brigade). As the positive qualities of the vehicle, this document indicated good sights, a long range of destruction of enemy tanks, reaching 2-2.5 kilometers, as well as high maneuverability. The vehicle was easily camouflaged, and the presence of a gun shield reduced the likelihood of hitting the crew by fragments of enemy shells.

A typical example of the combat use of the ZIS-30 was the repulsion of an enemy attack on March 17, 1942. One ZIS-30, firing 13 shots, knocked out 3 German tanks at a distance of 2 kilometers, the rest turned back. These vehicles were also used in the offensive, accompanying Soviet tanks. In this case, the goal for them was not only enemy tanks, but also firing points.

ZIS-30 during the Battle of Moscow, December 1941. The photo is clearly staged as the coulters and floor panels are not folded back.

At the same time, there were claims to the car. The main problem of the ZIS-2 gun was its recoil devices. As for the tracked base, here, quite expectedly, the engine was criticized. In off-road conditions, especially snowy, its power was often not enough. In addition, among the shortcomings indicated and very weak booking. The last phrase from the report speaks eloquently about the wishes of the military: "It would be advisable to install the gun on the T-60 chassis."

Coincidentally, just by the time the Southern Front report was drawn up, GAU and GABTU were preparing requirements for a light SPG using T-60 units.

Local Initiatives

The ZIS-30 was by no means the only Soviet self-propelled unit on the chassis of an artillery tractor, although it went into production alone. Most of the rest of them were developed by various design bureaus in a proactive manner, but some were the result of the very order for NKV, which led to the creation of the ZIS-30.

A-46 tank destroyer based on the A-42 tractor chassis, reconstruction by Alexander Kalashnik, Omsk

These self-propelled units include the development of plant # 183. According to Ustinov's order of July 1, 1941, the development of an ACS with an 85-mm 52-K anti-aircraft gun was assigned to plant # 8. In fact, the work on this machine was carried out by the collective of plant No. 183.

On August 27, 1941, a technical meeting was held here, at which SPG projects were discussed. Among them were an 85-mm self-propelled gun based on the T-34, which was designed since 1940 (later it turned into the U-20 project), an 85-mm self-propelled gun based on the A-42 tractor, designated A-46, as well as two self-propelled units based on the Voroshilovets heavy artillery tractor. The participants of the meeting did not even consider the ACS project based on the T-34. As for the A-46 project, which was initially a higher priority, it quickly fell into oblivion, since the A-42 tractor never went into production.

The participants of the meeting had a completely different opinion about the SPG, which was being developed on the basis of Voroshilovets. Initially, it was about installing an 85-mm 52-K anti-aircraft gun on this tractor, but at the same time another machine was developed at plant No. Unfortunately, only a textual description of it has survived, but it is also impressive. The vehicle with a combat weight of 23 tons was supposed to have armor with a thickness of 30 mm at the front and 20 mm at the sides. As a weapon, it was supposed to be equipped with either a 76-mm F-34 cannon or a 57-mm ZIS-4 cannon, paired with a DT machine gun. The installation was supposed to be a turret, with a circular rotation. The height of the line of fire was 2300 mm, that is, not much more than that of the T-34. By the time of discussion, the self-propelled unit was manufactured in the form of a model, and its working drawings were also prepared.

Minutes of the technical meeting at the plant # 183. So far, this is all that is known about the turret ACS based on the Voroshilovets artillery tractor

This project was approved, and the 76 mm F-34 cannon was approved for it. The first 25 self-propelled units were supposed to be produced in October-November 1941, in excess of the Voroshilovtsy plan. It was assumed that the first sample will go for testing, after which the necessary changes will be made to the serial ACS. In addition, even the further development of the self-propelled gun was planned with the installation of an 85-mm cannon in it. This work was to be carried out jointly with the plant No. 8 with the deadline for the completion of the preliminary design by September 15, 1941.

At the beginning of September, an order was issued from the GAU KA to urgently manufacture a prototype machine with an F-34. However, by the middle of the month, the plant # 183 was not at all up to the ACS based on Voroshilovets. The final point in the fate of the machine was put by the deputy people's commissar of the tank industry, I.I. Nosenko, who announced at the end of September that in view of the evacuation of the plant, the release of twenty-five self-propelled guns was impossible.

SU S2, Chelyabinsk, October 1941

At the same time, in the fall of 1941, work on a self-propelled unit was initiated at ChTZ, based on the Stalinets S-2 tractor. In terms of characteristics and purpose, it approximately corresponded to STZ-5, but at the same time it turned out to be twice as heavy. The fate of this tractor was not the most successful: against its background, even the STZ-5, to which the troops had enough claims, looked more advantageous.

Front view of SU S2 raises a number of questions about engine maintenance

Realizing perfectly well that in its current form, the "Stalinets S-2" is not suitable as a base for an ACS, at ChTZ they developed an elongated chassis, in which only the drive wheel and support rollers remained from the C-2 chassis. The suspension became torsion bar, and sloths from the KV-1, slightly reduced in diameter, were used as road wheels and sloths. The designers have perched a welded hull on the chassis, and the location of the seats in the cockpit has been preserved. A crew member in the passenger seat was given a DT machine gun as a load.

The main armament of the self-propelled guns was a 122-mm howitzer M-30, which was located in the rear of the hull. The howitzer was placed on the chassis along with a gun shield. A fighting compartment was organized in the back, spacious enough to accommodate the crew of the gun and ammunition.

It is clearly visible how bulky the car turned out

In October 1941, the vehicle, designated SU S2, underwent factory tests. On this, however, her story ended. The army needed not an ersatz self-propelled gun with vague prospects, but a KV-1. In the fall of 1941, ChTZ was the only manufacturer of heavy tanks. For the sake of the KV-1, the ChTZ-65 and S-2 tractors were discontinued.

Nevertheless, the engineers of SKB-2 of the Kirov plant, evacuated from Leningrad, continued to work on various projects. For example, the designer NF Shashmurin designed the Zloba Narodnaya two-seat tankette with a combat weight of 2.5 tons, armor thickness of 20-25 mm and a power plant in the form of two starting engines from the S-65 tractor. SKB-2 also designed the "Raid Vehicle", which was a lightweight tank based on the T-34, which had an estimated speed of 70 km / h and an increased cruising range. These projects also went to the trash can.

152-mm self-propelled guns 152-SG on the chassis of the Komintern artillery tractor, early April 1942

The projects of self-propelled units, which were designed by the engineers of Plant No. 592 E. V. Sinilshchikov and S. G. Pererushev, turned out to be much more elaborate. In the course of work on the 122-SG (SG-122) self-propelled gun, they also developed artillery mounts on other chassis.

The most powerful among them was the 152-SG self-propelled gun (152-mm self-propelled howitzer), developed on the basis of the Comintern artillery tractor. The car received an armored hull open from above, which had rational angles of inclination of the sheets. The thickness of her armor was 15 mm, and, according to calculations, at a distance of 200 meters, it was not pierced by the DShK bullet. An ACS variant with an armor thickness of 30 mm was also being worked out. However, for a vehicle whose main task was to fire from closed positions, bulletproof armor was quite enough.

It was supposed to use a 152-mm howitzer arr. 1909/30 as a weapon for it. Combat weight 152-SG was estimated at 18.5 tons, and the crew consisted of 5 people. This vehicle did not advance further than the draft design, since the Cominterns were already in short supply, and the model 1909/30 howitzers. were in short supply.

Light self-propelled unit 45-SP

The 45-SP tank destroyer (45-mm self-propelled gun), which was based on the STZ-5 chassis, had a similar fate. Unlike the KhTZ-16 armored vehicle, the 45-SP gun was shifted to the side, and the fighting compartment was made half-open. The thickness of its frontal armor plates was 20 mm, while they were also located at rational angles of inclination. The combat weight of the vehicle was estimated at 8.5 tons, and the maximum speed was 20-30 km / h. Such optimistic estimates look very doubtful, since the KhTZ-16 with the same mass had a maximum speed of less than 20 km / h and at the same time its engine was overheating. Another armored vehicle of the GABTU KA was not required, especially since it was in April 1942 that the production of the T-70 with exactly the same 45-mm gun was launched.

Tank destroyer developed by A.S.Shitov and P.K.Gedyk, UZTM, June 1942

One of the last projects of Soviet self-propelled guns on a tractor base was created in the summer of 1942. It was called simply and succinctly, "Tank Destroyer", and it was designed by the engineers of UZTM A.S. Shitov and P.K. Gedyk. The project, dated June 29, 1942, was based on a heavily modified base of the Stalinets S-2 artillery tractor. Some structural elements of the tank destroyer, in particular the installation of weapons, were made obviously based on similar elements of the BGS-5 assault ACS (the progenitor of the SU-32), where the ZIS-5 gun was installed in cast armor on a special pin.

The tank destroyer was distinguished by a very small height - only 1800 mm. Its crew consisted of three people: a driver-mechanic, a gunner-commander, and a loader. Unlike other Sverdlovsk self-propelled guns of that period, this project had a closed wheelhouse. However, the representatives of the GABTU KA were not impressed by it. Not only were the much more advanced SU-31 and SU-32 already being tested at that time, but the necessary production base was also missing for the Tank Destroyer. The Stalinist S-2 has not been produced since November 1941, and its successor, the S-10, never went into production.

Sources and Literature:

• Materials of TsAMO RF.
• Materials of the RGASPI.
• Materials from the author's archive.