The KSP-76 was a Soviet wheeled assault gun that began development in 1943. It mounted a 76 mm divisional gun M1942 (ZiS-3) gun on a lightweight chassis in an attempt to provide support for scout and airborne units. The light chassis proved unable to withstand repeated firings of the gun and the project never got beyond the prototype stage.
Description
The KSP-76 had a crew of three. It consisted of a commander/gunner, gunner/loader, and driver. The hull was divided into three parts. The gun was mounted at the front, the fighting compartment was located at the middle, and the engine was found in the rear. The fuel tank, which had a capacity of 140 liters, was placed to the left of the engine. Fifty four rounds of 76.2mm ammunition were provided.
History
Soon after the battle on the Kursk Bulge, the designers of the Gorky Automobile Plant proposed the development of a new self-propelled artillery installation. This combat vehicle, as conceived by the authors of the project, was to supplement the existing SU-76 in the troops, as well as provide greater mobility of artillery weapons.
To ensure high speed and maneuverability, it was proposed to build a new self-propelled gun not on a tracked, but on a wheeled chassis. The initiative to create a wheeled self-propelled gun with a 76-mm gun in August 1943 was made by the leading designer of the GAZ V.A. Grachev.
He was supported by the design bureau and factory management. The proposed concept interested the military, as a result of which the People’s Commissariat for Medium Machine Building and the Main Armored Directorate of the Red Army were allowed to start developing the project.
Work on a new project, which received the designation "izdeliye 68-SU", started in October 43rd. A little later, the project changed its name to GAZ-68.
Design work went pretty fast. Already in December 1943, a wooden model of a promising self-propelled guns on a wheeled chassis was assembled at the Gorky Automobile Plant. In mid-December of the 43rd, GAZ designers sent design documentation to the GBTU. After performing some improvements proposed by the Main Armored Directorate, the project was approved. The permission to build the GAZ-68 prototype was obtained on February 7, 1944. It is noteworthy that by this time another designation of self-propelled guns appeared in the documents - KSP-76 (“Wheel self-propelled gun with a 76-mm gun”).
Without waiting for the completion of the design work, the design bureau began to transfer the documentation for the new project to the car factory workshops. Thanks to this, despite the loading of the enterprise, the production of the first KSP-76 armored hull was completed in early April, and after about a month the finished machine left the assembly shop.
Significantly reduce the development time of a promising self-propelled guns helped the use of a ready-made chassis. As the basis for KSP-76, the all-wheel drive chassis of the GAZ-63 truck, (truck created before the war, but was never put into mass production), was chosen. The design of this 4x4 truck started in the spring of 1938, and two prototypes were built in March 39th. Subsequently, the Gorky Automobile Plant was engaged in testing and refining the truck, but the outbreak of war led to a slowdown or suspension of all promising projects.
The GAZ-63 project was remembered only in 1943. First, in connection with the development of a promising wheeled self-propelled guns, and later in the context of creating a new all-wheel drive truck for the needs of the army and the national economy. In the fall of the 43rd even a new prototype of the machine was built, which differed from previous prototypes in the cab and some design details. The chassis remains the same.
As conceived by V.A. Grachev and his staff, using the existing and tested machine as the basis for a new project was supposed to accelerate the development of the KSP-76, as well as facilitate the serial construction and maintenance of self-propelled guns. In addition, the wheeled chassis was supposed to provide fairly high performance when driving on roads and, in some cases, off-road. A wheeled self-propelled gun could complement existing tracked vehicles.
Since the truck was chosen as the basis for KSP-76, the designers of GAZ Yu.N. Sorochkin and A.N. Kirillov had to develop an original armored hull designed to protect the crew and machine components from bullets and shell fragments. The hull was a structure of complex shape, welded from armor panels of various thicknesses.