85 mm divisional gun D - 44 The 85 - mm divisional gun D - 44 ( ) was a Soviet divisional 85 - mm calibre field artillery gun used after World War II . It was designed as the replacement for the 76 mm divisional gun M1942 ( ZiS - 3 ) . The gun is no longer in front - line service with the Russian Ground Forces , although some 200 of the Chinese Type 56 variant are still in service with the Pakistan Army . Wartime service included use by communist forces during the Vietnam War and by Arab forces during their conflicts with Israel . Overview . The design of the D - 44 started in 1943 at the design bureau of No . 9 factory " Uralmash " and production began in late 1945 . Its GRAU code was 52 - P - 367 . The SD - 44 was a 1950s variant with an auxiliary propulsion unit and ammunition box for 10 rounds , with 697 issued to the airborne forces ( VDV ) from 1954 . The D - 44N was a 1960s variant with an APN 3 - 7 infra - red illumination device for night combat . China received D - 44 ' s during the Korean War and began manufacturing a copy , the Type 56 , in the early 1960s . Finally , the Polish Army has equipped some of their D - 44 guns with electrical subsystems in the early 1980s and designated them D - 44M and D - 44MN . The barrel was developed from that of the T - 34 - 85 tank and was capable of firing 20 - 25 high explosive ( HE ) , armor piercing , and high explosive antitank ( HEAT ) projectiles per minute . Subcaliber BR - 365P HVAP - T ( high velocity armor piercing - tracer ) projectiles were capable of penetrating 100mm of armor at 1000 meters at a ninety - degree obliquity , and the BR - 367P HVAP - T projectile penetrates 180mm of armor under the same conditions . The O - 365K HE round weighed 9 . 5 kg and packed 741 grams of TNT as its bursting charge , while the BK - 2M HEAT - FS ( fin stabilized ) projectile can penetrate 300mm of armor . The HEAT round for the Type 56 has a maximum range of 970 meters and will penetrate 100mm of armor at an angle of 65 degrees . The gun uses GAZ - AA tires , and is towed by a 2 . 5t truck or a Ya - 12 tractor with the average speed of 20 – 25 km / h on surfaced roads , and 11 km / h over open terrain , with a maximum towing speed over asphalt roadway of about 55 km / h . The SD - 44 ' s auxiliary propulsion unit M - 72 of 14 hp can move the gun at road speeds up to 25 km / h . The gun uses the OP - 2 - 7 sight with 5 . 5x magnification for day combat . The sight permits target acquisition at 1500 meters . Production . The D - 44 was produced from 1945 until 1953 . During the years 1948 - 1950 , over two thousand D - 44 ' s were produced per year . The D - 44 also served as the basis from which the 85 mm antitank gun D - 48 was developed and also the RPU - 14 multiple rocket launcher uses the D - 44 ' s carriage . Use by other nations . By the 1950s , the D - 44 had been exported for use by Warsaw Pact nations , with the gun remaining in service with the East German National People ' s Army until the fall of the East Germany . Besides Pakistan and East Germany , other users include ( d ) Albania , Algeria , Bulgaria , Cambodia , China ( Type 56 ) , Cuba , Egypt , Georgia , Guinea , Guinea - Bissau , Hungary , Iran , Iraq , North Korea , Laos , Mali , Morocco , Mozambique , Poland , Romania , Somalia , Sri Lanka , Sudan , Syria , and Vietnam .