Korean War: North Korean KPA ZIS-3 Divisional Gun

The Korean People’s Army utilised the ZiS-3 divisional gun; an extremely versatile weapon. Now you can field it in your games of Bolt Action Korea!

An abandoned North Korean ZiS-3 on a hill overlooking Incheon harbour – mid-September 1950.

The ZiS-3 was a Soviet-made 76mm used during the Great Patriotic War. Zis stood for Zavod imeni Stalina (factory named after Stalin), named after the honorific title of the first factory to manufacture the weapon. The weapon was popular with Soviet troops for its lightweight carriage, accuracy and reliability. It was highly capable against light and medium armour, though struggled to cope with some of the heavier German armour introduced in the later war.

In Korea

The ZiS-3 was a truly multi-purpose weapon and was used as artillery and as an anti-tank gun by the Korean People’s Army. Mounted on a similar carriage as the M1942 76mm Divisional gun, the ZiS-3 clearly has a shorter tube for close-in fighting and anti-tank support. In Bolt Action we count the ZiS-3 as both an anti-tank gun and a howitzer to reflect its remarkable versatility.