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Soviet Union's SU-76 Samokhodnaya Ustanovka⁴ (self propelled mounting)
Nicknames: Suka (bitch)¹, Golozhopil Ferdinant (naked ass Ferdinand)¹

SU-76 self propelled gun:	SU-76 self propelled gun with the First Byelorussian Front, in eastern Germany, in February, 1945.	SU-76 self propelled gun:	SU-76 self propelled gun:
SU-76 self propelled gun:	SU-76 self propelled gun:	SU-76M self propelled gun:

Design

When the Germans invaded the Soviet Union in June 1941 there were no self propelled guns in the Russian Army. The Soviets were impressed with all the self propelled guns that the Germans were using.

In 1942 the Defense Ministry decided to produced mobile artillery guns to support infantry and armored formations.¹ The Zavod Nr 38 design team were given the specifications to design a self propelled gun.¹ Initially, they were going to use the T-60 chassis to build upon.¹ This chassis was found to be too small for the gun, so it was decided to use the T-70 chassis as it was stronger.^1,6

The engine, fuel tanks, and driving positions were changed and moved to the right front. Some had rear doors and other open backs. Some had the radiators on the track covers and others in the engine compartment.

Crew

The driver was located in front of the main fighting compartment and had a passageway that connected him to the rear.²

Engines

Early models had an engine placed on each side of the vehicle.² This lead to many breakdowns as it was a complicated setup.²

Late models had 2 GAZ 203 air cooled gasoline engines mounted in a row.²

Armament

	Type	Weight	Velocity	Range	Penetration
	Type	Weight	Velocity	Range	900 m
76.2 mm ZIS-3 (1942 model)²	HE²	6.2 kg²		8,600 m²	49 - 62 mm²
	HE⁶			12,580 yards⁶
	AP⁶	14.3 lb⁶	2,172'/sec⁶

Prototype

The first prototype, the OSU-76, was built on a T-60 chassis.¹

The next prototype, the SU-12, was built on the T-70 chassis.¹ It was a joint project between the Zavod Nr 38 and Zavod Nr 92 (Gorki) teams.¹

The Main Defense Committee (GKO) accepted it for production in December 1942 and designated it the SU-76.¹

Production

SU-76: 12,600
- Production:
  - 1942: 26¹^,2
  - 1943: 1,928¹^,2
  - 1944: 7,155¹^,2
  - 1945: 3,562¹, 3,552²
SU-76i: ~200 conversions²

Variants

OSU-76¹: Prototype.¹ Built on T-60 chassis.¹ A 76.2 mm ZiS-3 gun was mounted at the rear of the hull with an armored casement box built around it.¹
SU-12¹: Prototype.¹ Built on a T-70 chassis.¹
SU-76:
SU-76M^1,2: Was designed by the design bureau of N. A. Astrov.^1,2 Used T-70M chassis. The engines were placed back together in a row.^1,2 Production started in May 1943. The front hull was redesigned.¹
SU-76i: Conversion of captured PzKpfw III.² Converted at the Tank Repair Shop in Krasnoarmaisk.²

Usage

It was used in self-propelled gun regiments in mechanized and armored corps. As of April 1943 there were self-propelled gun regiments that had 4 or 5 batteries, which contained 5 SU-76s each. In 1944 several rifle and guard rifle divisions received their own units.

At first was used as a tank destroyer but was later used as an assault gun.

	SU-76	SU-76 1943²	SU-76 1944¹	SU-76M
Crew	4^1,4,6	4²	4¹	4^1,3
Physical Characteristics
Weight	22,491 lb, 23,810 lb⁴ 10,800 kg⁴ 11.2 tons⁵, 12.3 tons⁶	11.2 tons²	11,200 kg¹ 11.02 tons¹	10,200 kg³ 10 tons^1,3
Length w/gun	16' 0.1"⁴, 16.2'⁶, 16' 8.5" 4.88 m⁴, 5 m⁵		5 m¹ 16' 5"¹	16' 5"³ 5 m^1,3
Length w/o gun
Height	7', 7.1'⁶, 7' 1.4"⁴ 2.17 m⁴, 2.2 m⁵	2.2 m²	2.2 m¹ 7' 3"¹	6' 11"³ 2.1 m^1,3
Width	8.9'⁶, 8' 11.5"⁴, 9' 1.75" 2.73 m⁴, 2.74 m⁵	2.74 m²	2.74 m¹ 9'¹	8' 10"³ 2.7 m¹
Width over tracks
Ground clearance	12.5"⁶	0.3 m²
Ground contact length	130"⁶
Ground pressure	8.1 psi⁶ 0.57 kp/cm² ²
Turret ring diameter
Armament
Main	76.2 mm ZiS-3 M1942-43¹ 76.2 mm⁴ 76 mm ZIS-3Sh⁵ 76.2 mm Model 42/43, L/41.5⁶	76 mm ZIS-3 M1942²		76.2 mm ZiS-3 L/41³
Secondary
MG	7.62 mm MG⁴
Side arms		7.62 mm PPSch-41 machine pistol²
Quantity
Main	62⁶	60^1,2		60^1,2
Secondary
MG
Side arms
Armor Thickness (mm)	10-35³ Front: 1"@50°⁶, 35⁵ Side: 16⁵
Hull Front, Upper		35²		35¹
Hull Front, Lower		26-35²
Hull Sides, Upper		15²		16¹
Hull Sides, Lower		10-16²
Hull Rear		10-16²		16¹
Hull Top		10²		0-10¹
Hull Bottom		10²		10¹
Superstructure Front	0.4" - 0.6"⁶	35²
Superstructure Sides		15²
Superstructure Rear		15²
Superstructure Top		open²
Engine (Make / Model)	2: GAZ⁴ 2: GAZ 203^1,2,3	2: GAZ-203²
Bore / stroke		4 stroke²
Cooling	Water⁶
Cylinders	2x6⁶	2 x I-6²
Capacity
Net HP	70⁴ each⁶ 140⁵	2 x 85@3,600 rpm²
Power to weight ratio		15.2 HP/ton²
Compression ratio
Transmission (Type)	Constant mesh⁶ 4 forward, 1 reverse⁶
Steering	Clutch brake⁶
Steering ratio
Starter	Electric⁶
Electrical system
Ignition
Fuel (Type)	Gasoline^4,6
Octane
Quantity	116 gallons⁶	400-420 liters²		420 liters¹ 92 gallons¹
Road consumption	2.4 mpg⁶
Cross country consumption	1.6 mpg⁶
Performance
Traverse	32°⁶
Max speed	28 mph^4,6 44 kph⁵, 45 kph⁴	45 kph²	44 kph¹ 27 mph¹	28 mph³ 45 kph³
Cross country speed
Road radius	199 miles, 280 miles^4,6 450 km⁴	250 km²	265 km¹ 165 miles¹	320 km^1,3 199 miles^1,3
Cross country radius	185 miles⁶			190 km¹ 118 miles¹
Turning radius
Elevation limits	-3° to +25°⁶
Fording depth	2' 11"^4,6 0.89 m⁴	0.9 m²
Trench crossing	6.5'⁶	1.6-2 m²
Vertical obstacle	26"⁶	0.65 m²
Climbing ability	25° (47%) slope⁶	24°²
Suspension (Type)	Torsion bar⁶
Wheels each side	6⁶
Return rollers each side	3⁶
Tracks (Type)	Dry pin⁶
Length
Width	11.75"⁶
Diameter
Number of links	89⁶
Pitch	4.5"⁶
Tire tread
Track centers/tread	7.9'⁶

Sources:

Russian Tanks of World War II Stalin's Armored Might, by Tim Bean & Will Fowler, 2002
Russian Tanks and Armored Vehicles 1917-1945, by Wolfgang Fleischer, 1999
The Encyclopedia of Tanks and Armored Fighting Vehicles - The Comprehensive Guide to Over 900 Armored Fighting Vehicles From 1915 to the Present Day, General Editor: Christopher F. Foss, 2002
The Encyclopedia of Weapons of World War II, Chris Bishop, 1998
Jane's World War II Tanks and Fighting Vehicles The Complete Guide, Leland Ness, 2002
Tank Data, Aberdeen Proving Grounds Series, 1968?