As the reenactments held at Stalin Line have grown in scale, it was decided to create two replicas of the famous Soviet 76 mm ZiS-3 gun, capable of firing blank rounds.
The first replica was built by converting a 57 mm ZiS-2 anti-tank gun, whose barrel had been installed in the T-34-57 tank built at Stalin Line.
As the carriage, wheels and recoil system of the ZiS-2 remained after the T-34-57 was built, our craftsmen only had to produce a replica 76 mm barrel with a breech housing the breechblock. During reenactments, a special insert will be fitted into it to fire blank rounds.
The 76 mm barrel from another gun was used in 2012 to create a 75 mm gun for the German StuG III self-propelled gun. Pipes imitating a short barrel and recoil system were subsequently welded onto the gun, and it began taking part in reenactments as a German howitzer. In 2025, it was decided to convert it into a functioning replica of the 76 mm ZiS-3 gun, and it was placed in the hangar beside an identical replica completed shortly beforehand.
This time, our craftsmen produced not only a new 76 mm barrel and breech, but also the recoil mechanism.
Both replicas of the 76 mm ZiS-3 guns were completed in autumn 2025 to mark Artillery Day and are freely accessible on the reenactment field. Visitors are welcome to take a closer look and, if they wish, have their photograph taken with them.
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