ZSU-37

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ZSU-37
ZSU-37 in the Kubinka Tank Museum (2015)

ZSU-37 in the Kubinka Tank Museum (2015)
General properties
crew 6th
length 5.25 m
width 2.75 m
height 2.18 m
Dimensions 11.5 tons
Armor and armament
Armor 6-35 mm
Main armament 1 × 37 mm anti-aircraft gun M1939
Secondary armament no
agility
drive 2 × GAZ 203 six-cylinder four-stroke petrol engine
180 hp
suspension Torsion bar
Top speed 45 km / h
Power / weight
Range 360 km

The ZSU-37 ( Russian зенитная самоходная установка ( ЗСУ-37 ) , transcription : Senitnaja Samochodnaja Ustanowka (SSU)), was a Soviet anti-aircraft tank . It was developed in 1944 and produced in small numbers. The ZSU-37 was the first self-propelled Soviet anti-aircraft system to be mass - produced on a full-track chassis.

development

During the Second World War , the Red Army did not have its own self-propelled anti-aircraft weapons. Corresponding developments in the 1930s had to be stopped unsuccessfully. Only a small number of the 76 mm Fla-Sfl 29-K on the chassis of the JaG-10 truck were produced in 1934. Attempts to develop an anti-aircraft tank during the war were also unsuccessful for the time being. The T-90 , armed with two DSchK machine guns, was initially built on the chassis of the T-60 light tank at the Gorkier Automobilwerk (GAZ) in 1942 . When the T-70 was available, its chassis was used as the basis for the T-90. The project was discontinued, however, as armament with the 37 mm anti-aircraft gun M1939 promised better performance. The chassis of the light self-propelled gun SU-76 , derived from the T-70 , ultimately formed the basis of the ZSU-37.

In 1942 a first prototype was produced in the GAZ. Components from the T-60 and T-70 were used for the chassis. The 37 mm cannon was installed in a fixed turret. The vehicle was given the designation SU-72. During testing, problems with the engine cooling were found. A possible series production in the GAZ would have required extensive technological changes in the factory, which was impossible under wartime conditions.

A version with a rotating turret, manufactured in Plant No. 38 in November 1942, was designated as SU-11. Here, too, assemblies of the T-60 and T-70 were used in the chassis. After the tests in December 1942, the vehicle was not accepted into the armament of the Red Army.

Between December 1943 and July 1944 another three prototypes were built under the designation Su-17. Construction began again at Plant No. 38, but two of the vehicles were completed at Plant No. 40. Plant No. 40 produced the Su-76M in series, while Plant No. 38 did not have all the necessary devices for the construction of anti-aircraft self-propelled guns. The first prototype was completed in December 1943, but was not tested until February 1944. The second prototype was built in the spring of 1944. It was 1.2 tons lighter and was powered by a single six-cylinder ZIS-80MF engine with an output of 98.5 hp. The construction of the tower was also changed. During testing in July 1944, however, it turned out that the power of the engine was insufficient. Therefore, in the summer of 1944, the third prototype was given the original propulsion system with two motors. The trials in November and December 1944 were successful. The third prototype was the immediate predecessor of the series vehicles.

construction

chassis

The chassis of the self-propelled gun SU-76 was used as the chassis. Instead of the 76-mm cannon, the 37-mm anti-aircraft gun was installed in the turret, which is open at the top. The welded structures of the hull and tower consisted of 6 to 35 millimeter thick armor plates. The torsion bar suspension had six rollers and three support rollers on each side, the drive wheel was in the front, the idler wheel in the back. Like the T-70, the vehicle was powered by two six-cylinder, four-stroke GAZ-203 engines with an output of 85 hp each.

The driver sat in the bathtub, the waitress in the tower. It consisted of a loading gunner, one directional gunner for side and height, one observer for speed and distance and one observer for the target course. The tower could be covered with a tarpaulin during rain and snowfall, and the full elevation range was then no longer available for the weapon.

The gradeability of the vehicle was 25 °, the fording depth 0.9 m. The ZSU-37 was able to overcome obstacles 0.67 m high and trenches 2 m wide.

Either a radio set 12RT (12РТ) or 9RM (9РМ) and an on-board intercom TPU-ZF (ТПУ-ЗФ) were installed for communication.

Armament

The 37 mm anti-aircraft gun was adopted practically unchanged. The cannon had a one-piece barrel and a barrel brake arranged below the barrel. The cartridge feed, the opening and closing of the breech, the release of the shot and the case ejection were controlled by an automatic loading machine. The aiming of the gun was done manually with a mechanical aiming drive.

The elevation range was between −5 ° and + 85 °, the lateral range was 360 °. 320 shell cartridges were carried in the vehicle, 190 of which were in loading strips of five rounds each in the turret. A spatial distance meter with a 1 m base was available for target observation .

ammunition

The ZSU-37 used the ammunition types already introduced for the 37 mm Flak M1939. For the fight against air targets, fragmentation grenades were available, against armored targets, impact projectiles were used, and from 1944 also sub-caliber impact projectiles were used. All grenades were tracer grenades .

production

The ZSU-37 was produced from 1944 to 1948. A total of 75 vehicles were manufactured at Plant No. 40 in Mytishchi .

commitment

Since only a small number of ZSU-37 could be completed before the end of the war, the ZSU-37 was no longer used during the war. At the end of 1945 a test flak department with twelve self-propelled guns was set up.

With the ZSU-37, the Red Army had a powerful vehicle at its disposal in 1945, which was comparable to corresponding designs such as the M19 , the Crusader III AA Mk I or the Flakpanzer Ostwind . Nevertheless, there were some disadvantages. Although the tower, which was open at the top, provided excellent visibility for the crew, it did not protect the crew adequately. The vehicle was light and all-terrain, but had problems following medium and heavy tanks in difficult terrain. Therefore, considerations were made to use the chassis of the medium tank T-34 . In the end, however, such projects were discarded because the use of more modern chassis and the more powerful 57 mm gun promised more development prospects. This development eventually led to the ZSU-57-2 .

See also

literature

  • Steven J. Zaloga , James Grandsen Soviet Tanks and Combat Vehicles of World War Two , Arms and Armor Press, 1984. ISBN 0-85368-606-8
  • Christian Koll: Soviet Cannon - A Comprehensive Study of Soviet Arms and Ammunition in Calibres 12.7mm to 57mm , 2009. ISBN 978-3-200-01445-9
  • Игорь Шмелёв: Попытка создания зенитных танков во время Великой Отечественной войны in Техника и вооружение , Edition 08/1998 (Russian)
  • Александр Широкорад : Отечественные полуавтоматические зенитные пушки in Техника и вооружение , edition 07/1998 (Russian)
  • М. Свирин: Самоходки Сталина. История советской САУ 1919-1994 , 2008 (Russian)

Web links

Commons : ZSU-37  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ The transcription "ZSU" of the abbreviation differs from the German transcription rules, but has become naturalized in German-language literature due to the back translation Зенит to Zenit for such vehicles from Soviet production. The German name is Flugabwehr - Selbstfahrlafette , abbreviated to Fla-Sfl.