76 mm divisional gun M1942 ( ZiS - 3 ) 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 . History . The design works of ZiS - 3 started in the end of 1940 on the Artillery Factory No . 92 under supervision of V . G . Grabin , the chief designer of medium caliber Soviet guns . There was no order for this work ; moreover , at this time the attitude toward such development programs on the part of artillery commanders , such as Marshal Kulik , the head officer of Soviet artillery , was extremely negative . So the project was run purely on the initiative of Grabin , his design bureau and the Artillery Factory No . 92 head and his deputies . None of them informed state authorities ( i . e . Marshal Kulik ) about the ZiS - 3 project . The ZiS - 3 was a combination of the light carriage from the 57 mm ZiS - 2 anti - tank gun and a powerful 76 . 2 mm barrel from the previous divisional field gun F - 22USV . In order to decrease the gun ' s recoil a muzzle brake was installed . This allowed the barrel to be mounted on a relatively light carriage without the risk of mechanical damage when firing . In comparison with the F - 22USV gun , the ZiS - 3 utilized better production technology . Many parts of the gun were cast , stamped or welded in order to reduce the amount of machine work . As a result , the amount of work required to construct a single ZiS - 3 gun was three times less than that of the F - 22USV gun . Furthermore , the cost to produce a ZiS - 3 gun was only two thirds that of an F - 22USV . After having been built , the first ZiS - 3 gun was hidden from the watchful eyes of state authorities , who continued to ignore the Red Army ' s need for light and medium field guns . The authorities ' main argument was the information that German heavy tanks carried exceptionally strong armour . In reality Germany did not have such tanks in early 1941 and this misinformation was the result of successful Nazi propaganda about the Neubaufahrzeug multi - turreted prototype tank . Marshal Kulik had believed the propaganda and sent orders to stop the production of light 45 mm anti - tank guns and 76 . 2 mm divisional field guns . The beginning of the Great Patriotic War showed that German tanks had weaker armour than was anticipated . Some were even vulnerable to large caliber DShK machine guns . Pre - war models of 76 mm divisional guns penetrated German vehicles with ease , but almost all these guns were lost in battles or captured by Germans in holding facilities . Some of them were later used against Soviet forces as different kinds of Panzerjäger self - propelled gun s . Marshal Kulik ordered that mass production of 76 . 2 mm divisional field F - 22USV guns be relaunched . Grabin and the head staff of Artillery Factory No . 92 decided to organize the mass production of ZiS - 3 guns instead of F - 22USVs . They succeeded , but ZiS - 3 was not officially tested and adopted for Red Army service . Red Army soldiers were in urgent need of these guns , the guns themselves were fine and numerous due to improved production technology , but all of them were in stock at Artillery Factory No . 92 , since the military representatives refused to receive non - official guns . After some internal struggle between Grabin ' s team and military representatives , ZiS - 3 guns were finally transferred to the Red Army under personal responsibility of Grabin and Artillery Factory No . 92 head staff . Combat experience showed the superiority of ZiS - 3 over all other types of divisional level field guns . This allowed the ZiS - 3 to be presented to a group of state authorities headed by Joseph Stalin and thus obtain all needed approval . After the demonstration was over Stalin said : " This gun is a masterpiece of artillery systems design . " There was a five - day official state test run in February 1942 . The result of this test was quite clear - ZiS - 3 was adopted by the Red Army as divisional field gun model 1942 ( full official name ) . Grabin and his team soon begun to improve on the technology used in the ZiS - 3 mass production . Artillery Factory No . 92 was equipped by conveyor assembly lines , which allowed the factory to produce ZiS - 3 in even greater numbers with a low qualification workforce but without significant quality loss . Experienced laborers and engineers worked on complicated equipment and served as brigade leaders . Some of the young men who worked on Artillery Factory No . 92 were exempt from conscription . They learned the production process well and became high quality workers and engineers . This was yet another boost for the ZiS - 3 production volume . As a result , at the end of World War II , ZiS - 3 was the most numerous Soviet Army field gun . The total number of ZiS - 3s produced exceeded 103 , 000 pieces . An attempt was made to mount the ZiS - 3 on a light assault car . The resulting KSP - 76 vehicle never made it beyond the prototype stage . After the war ZiS - 3 mass production ceased . It was replaced by the next model of divisional field gun , D - 44 , which had a larger caliber ( 85 mm ) and better anti - armour capabilities . But it weighed much more and its mobility was thus inferior to that of the ZiS - 3 . The Finns captured 12 units , and designated them 76 K 42 . Combat history . Soviet soldiers liked ZiS - 3 guns for their extreme reliability , durability , and accuracy . It was easy to maintain these guns and train novice crews with them . Light carriage allowed the ZiS - 3 to be towed by trucks and heavy jeeps ( such as the American lend - leased Dodge 3 / 4 ) or even hauled by the crew . ZiS - 3 had good anti - armour capabilities , it could knock out any German light and medium tank with its armour - piercing round . The appearance of the Tiger I and later the Panther , however , made the lives of ZiS - 3 crews much harder , for their frontal armour was immune except for some small ballistic windows . A battery of ZiS - 3 consisted of four guns , with three batteries combined into a division , or battalion . Independent anti - tank regiments consisted of six batteries with no divisions . In addition to the gun batteries there was a staff battery which included a fire control section . The ZiS - 3 saw combat service with North Korean forces during the Korean War ( 1950 - 1953 ) . ZiS - 3 in our time . In the Cold War many ZiS - 3s were transferred to different Soviet allies . From there ZiS - 3s were often resold to Third World countries . Armies of several African and Asian countries have ZiS - 3s in active service today . Moreover , these guns are still used in combat during numerous local conflicts and border skirmishes . Soviet ZiS - 3s were officially withdrawn from active service . Some of them were scrapped , some were transferred to holding facilities and others were converted to Great Patriotic War memorial signs . These memorial cannons are quite common in modern Russia and Belarus . In Russian Army some ZiS - 3s are used as decorations of buildings and gardens in artillery units quarters ; another part of survived ZiS - 3s is still operable . Sometimes ZiS - 3s are used as small salute guns or in history - dedicated military shows .