Zaloga, Steven J. SU-76 Assault Gun

Featuring full color artwork and written by an expert on tank warfare during World War II, this fascinating study describes one of the Soviet Union's most important armored vehicles during its struggle with Nazi Germany. The SU-76 assault gun was the second most widely manufactured Soviet armored fighting vehicle of World War II, out-numbered only by the legendary T-34. Inspired in part by the German Marder series of tank destroyers, Soviet designers realized that the chassis of the obsolete T-70 light tank could be adapted to a much more substantial gun if it was placed in a fixed casemate rather than in a turret. This led to the design of the SU-76, which saw its combat debut at Kursk in the summer of 1943. The SU-76 was deployed primarily as an infantry direct support weapon, becoming the infantry tank of the Red Infantry, much as the StuG III became the infantry tank of the German infantry.

This led to the design of the SU-76, which made its combat debut in Kursk in the summer of 1943. The SU-76 was mainly used as a direct support weapon for the infantry and effectively became the infantry armour of the Red Infantry, much like the Sturmgeschütz III was the infantry armour of the German soldier.