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ZSU-37 was a Soviet-made, light, self-propelled anti-aircraft gun (SPAAG), developed by the end of 1943 and produced at Works No. 40 in Mytishchi. It was the first Soviet series-produced tracked SPAAG. ZSU stands for Zenitnaya Samokhodnaya Ustanovka ((ロシア語:Зенитная Самоходная Установка)), meaning "anti-aircraft self-propelled mount". ==History== Soviet engineers carried out some early experiments with tracked SPAAGs before and during World War II, including a modification of the T-70 light tank, resulting in the experimental T-90 SPAAG which was armed with two 12.7 mm DShKT heavy machine guns (the prototype was built in November 1942 by GAZ). The T-70 light tank would eventually be further developed into the SU-76 light self-propelled gun chassis, which in turn was to become the base for the ZSU-37 SPAAG.〔(Советские самоходки в развитии и в бою (Soviet Self-propelled Guns in Development and Action) )〕 It was decided to use the chassis of the SU-76M in order to speed up and cheapen the production of the much needed tracked and armoured SPAAGs.〔(Зенитные танки СССР (Anti-aircraft Tanks of USSR) )〕 The ZSU-37 was produced from March 1945 to 1948, and 75 vehicles were built in total (only a few vehicles were produced before the war ended, due to temporary manufacturing technology). As a result of its late production and the almost non-appearance of the few remaining ''Luftwaffe'' aircraft in the spring of 1945, the ZSU-37 saw no service in World War II. An experimental self-propelled anti-aircraft artillery battalion equipped with 12 ZSU-37 SPAAGs was formed by the end of 1945.〔 After World War II it became clear that the low rate of fire and firepower of a single 37 mm AA gun was not effective against high-speed low altitude targets. The anti-aircraft artillery crews found it difficult to manually track fast-moving targets. SPAAGs based on a light tank chassis also had quite low manœuvrability in difficult terrain and low off-road speed and range in comparison with medium tanks and self-propelled guns (SPG)s, which the ZSU-37 was meant to protect. The two tandem engines used on the SU-76M chassis required gasoline fuel, which was sometimes a problem in tank units equipped with diesel-engined tanks. The ZSU-37 was retired from service because of the aforementioned reasons soon after series production was stopped.〔〔(Зенитная самоходная установка ЗСУ-57-2 (Self-propelled Anti-aircraft Gun ZSU-57-2) )〕 An effort was made to significantly increase the firepower by mounting the same 37 mm gun into a quad-mount on a T-34 medium tank chassis, but the vehicle never left the design stage as it was recommended by the Technical Council of the Ministry of Transport to use a newer tank chassis and the more powerful S-68 57 mm twin anti-aircraft autocannon, which was being developed at the time. The next step in Soviet tracked SPAAG technology would come with the ZSU-57-2, which was based on the T-54 medium tank chassis and was mass-produced in 1957-1960. The ZSU-37-2 ''Yenisei'' is a later, unrelated design based on the chassis of the experimental SU-100P self-propelled gun. It was armed with a twin-37 mm 500P ''Angara'' anti-aircraft autocannon. The development of completely new radar-guided SPAAG vehicles, namely the ZSU-37-2 and the ZSU-23-4 began in 1957. The promising ZSU-37-2 ''Yenisei'' competed with the ZSU-23-4 ''Shilka'' as the replacement for the ZSU-57-2 SPAAG but the planned series production of the ''Yenisei'' was rejected in 1962 in favour of the production of the ''Shilka''. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「ZSU-37」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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