76 mm divisional gun M1939 ( USV ) The 76 - mm divisional gun M1939 ( F - 22 USV or USV ) ( Russian : 76 - мм дивизионная пушка обр . 1939 г . ( Ф - 22 УСВ or УСВ ) ) was a 76 . 2 mm cannon produced in the Soviet Union . It was adopted for Red Army service in 1939 and used extensively in World War II . The gun was designated as " divisional " - issued to batteries under the direct control of division headquarters . The F - 22 USV was an intermediate model , coming between the F - 22 , which had limited anti - aircraft capability , and the simpler and cheaper ZiS - 3 , which eventually replaced it in production and service . Description . The USV had a split - trail carriage with suspension ; metal wheels with rubber tires were borrowed from the ZiS - 5 truck . The gun featured semi - automatic vertical sliding breech block and Bofors - type cradle ; recoil mechanism consisted of hydraulic recoil buffer and hydropneumatic recuperator . Sights and elevation controls were located on different sides of the barrel . The chamber fitted the standard model 1900 cartridge , which meant that the gun could use ammunition manufactured for older 76 . 2 mm divisional and regimental guns . Development history . In 1937 , unsatisfied with both the obsolete 76 - mm divisional gun M1902 / 30 and the new , but flawed 76 mm divisional gun model 1936 ( F - 22 ) , Red Army command ( RKKA ) initiated development of a new gun . The requirements , issued in March that year , specified elevation of 45° and combat weight of no more than 1 , 500 kg . The gun was supposed to have the same ballistics as the M1902 / 30 and use the same ammunition . Three design bureaus joined the program - " Kirovskiy Plant " bureau under I . A . Makhanov , " No . 92 Plant " bureau under V . G . Grabin , and AKB - 43 ( KB AU ) under M . N . Kondakov . The " L - 12 " of Kirovskiy Plant was the first to reach ground tests ( in April – May 1938 ) , was returned for revision , tested again in August and given to the RKKA for further trials . Grabin ' s gun went through ground tests in March – April 1939 and was also given to the army . Although its designation - " F - 22 USV " or simply " USV " - suggested that the gun was only an upgrade of the F - 22 , in fact it was a completely new design . The third competing project , OKB - 43 ' s " NDP " , failed ground tests in April 1939 . RKKA tested the remaining designs from 5 June to 3 July 1939 and was generally satisfied with both of them . The USV was found to have less " childhood diseases " and was therefore recommended for production . The USV entered production in 1939 ; 140 pieces were built until the end of the year and 1 , 010 more in 1940 . In 1941 , production was stopped as the plan for divisional guns was already fulfilled . Moreover , RKKA considered transition to larger caliber divisional guns , such as the " 107 mm gun model 1940 ( M - 60 ) " . With the German invasion in 1941 , production was reopened at No . 92 and the " Barrikady " factory in Stalingrad ; it amounted to 2 , 616 pieces in 1941 and 6 , 046 in 1942 . From late summer of 1941 the gun was being gradually replaced in production by yet another of Grabin ' s design - ZiS - 3 - and by the end of 1942 the process was completed . Organization and service . RKKA . According to the organization of 1939 , each rifle division had two artillery regiment s : a light regiment with a battalion of 76 mm guns in three batteries of four guns , and two mixed battalions with one battery of 76 mm guns and two batteries of 122 mm howitzers , and a howitzer regiment of 20 75 mm guns . In June 1940 a battalion of 76 - mm guns was removed , only 8 guns remained . In March 1942 a third mixed battalion ( a battery of 76 mm and a battery of 122 mm ) was added , which brought the number of 76 mm guns to 12 . Guards rifle divisions from December 1942 had three artillery battalions ( two batteries of 76 mm guns and one battery of 122 mm howitzers each ) , totaling 24 76 - mm guns . From December 1944 they were reorganized to have an artillery brigade of three regiments , including a light regiment with 20 76 mm guns . From June 1945 , all rifle divisions were reorganized identically . Motorized divisions had two mixed battalions ( one battery of 76 mm guns , two batteries of 122 mm howitzers ) , totaling 8 76 - mm guns . Cavalry divisions until August 1941 also had 8 76 - mm guns , then their divisional artillery was removed and in summer of 1942 restored again . Rifle brigades from 1939 had 8 76 mm divisional guns ; motorized and mechanized brigades had 12 . Cavalry corps from late 1942 had artillery battalion of 12 pieces . Tank and artillery corps in late 1944 received light artillery regiment with 76 mm guns ( 24 pieces ) . The USV was also used by artillery units of the Reserve of the Main Command , namely : anti - tank artillery brigades ( 24 pieces , from 1942 - tank destroyer brigades with 16 pieces ) , by light artillery brigades ( 60 - 72 pieces ) and by breakthrough artillery divisions ( light brigade with 72 pieces , from 1944 - with 48 pieces ) . By 1 June 1941 , the Red Army possessed 1 , 070 USVs . Many were lost in combat , but some remained in service until the end of the German - Soviet War . It ' s not clear whether the gun saw combat in the earlier Winter War . Other operators . In 1941 - 42 Wehrmacht captured hundreds of USVs and adopted them as field guns , designated 7 . 62 cm F . K . 297 ( r ) . By March 1944 359 pieces were in service , including 295 in the West , 40 in Denmark and 24 in the East . Some USVs in German service were converted to anti - tank guns , designated 7 . 62 cm PaK 39 ( r ) . The modifications included rechambering for a bigger cartridge , addition of a muzzle brake , and elevation controls moved to the left side of the barrel where the sights resided . All those guns were of pre - war production , as guns produced during the war had weaker breech part . The exact number of converted pieces is unknown , ; according to some sources there were up to 300 . Anti - tank performance is also hard to determine . During trials held in 1943 a projectile from a captured gun penetrated the front armor of the KV tank ( 75 mm at 60° ) from 600 m . As an interim solution , it was decided to use the anti - tank gun for the Marder III tank destroyer . The Finns captured nine of these guns . They were designated 76 K 39 , but never take into active service . Summary . The USV was an improvement over its predecessor , the F - 22 . However it was still too big and heavy and had the same inconvenient placement of sights and elevation controls on different sides of the barrel , making the gun less effective in an anti - tank role . Those shortcomings led to its replacement by the lighter and easier to produce ZiS - 3 .