picture 186282

SU-76i, 5th Guards Army, Steppe Front. The Soviets modified several hundred of the PzKpfw IIIs captured from the German 6th Army at Stalingrad to carry 76.2mm S-1 guns. The S-1s were shortened versions of the standard 76.2mm 1942 ZiS-3 divisional gun. The SU-76i (i for foreign) mounted the gun in a fully enclosed crew compartment, although the Panzer III’s hull machine gun was removed, and the crew had to rely on pistol ports for close defense. SU-76is fought with the Red Army until early 1944, but production was halted as the improved and cheaper-toproduce SU-76M took the field. Regiments with SU-76is fought with the Voronezh, Central, and Steppe Fronts during Zitadelle.