The ZIS-5 () was a 4x2 Soviet truck produced by Moscow ZIS factory from 1932 to 1948 (first one made at the end of 1930).

Development

In 1931, Moscow Avtomobilnoe Moskovskoe Obshchestvo (AMO, Russian Автомобильное Московское Общество (АМО) — Moscow Automotive Enterprise) truck plant was re-equipped and expanded with the help of the American A.J. Brandt Co., and began to produce a new truck with designation of AMO-2. The AMO-2 was intended as a replacement of the previous

AMO-F-15 The AMO-F-15 was a light truck based on the Italian Fiat 15Ter made at the AMO-plant in Moscow in the Soviet Union from the mid-1920s. It was the first Soviet truck to be produced in the first series, with a total of more than 6,000 units made ...

, the first Soviet truck ever built (it was a copy of the Italian

Fiat F-15 The Fiat Tipo 15 is a light military truck produced by Fiat Veicoli Industriali. Introduced in 1911, the Tipo 15 was used by the Royal Italian Army in the Italo-Turkish War and in the First World War. It was also produced in the Soviet Union a ...

). However, the AMO-2 was not an original development but instead was based on the Autocar Dispatch SD truck,9> after a license agreement with the

Autocar Company The Autocar Company is an American specialist manufacturer of severe-duty, Class 7 and Class 8 vocational trucks, with its headquarters in Birmingham, Alabama. Started in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in October 1897 as a manufacturer of early Br ...

. Some time later, the AMO-2 was modernized and improved, being renamed the AMO-3. In 1933 AMO was rebuilt again and renamed into Factory No. 2 Zavod Imeni Stalina (or Plant of Stalin's name, abbreviated in ZIS or ZiS). The ZIS-5 is based on the Autocar Model CA which was produced under license (though two references state it was based on the AMO-3).

Production

Serial production of the new truck started on October 1, 1933. The truck was an instant success and, which together with the

GAZ-AA The GAZ-AA is a truck produced at the GAZ, Gorky Auto Plant in the Soviet Union from 1932 to 1938, and was the factory's first truck produced under the ''GAZ'' brand. Russian-speakers often refer to it as a ''polutorka'' () - meaning "one-and-a ha ...

, became the main Soviet truck of the 1930s through the 1950s. It also evolved into the workhorse of the Soviet Armed Forces 104,200 trucks were in use by the Red Army as of 20 June, 1941. Facing the German invasion, in the autumn of 1941 the production line at Moscow plant was stopped. Some 12,800 pieces of equipment were moved to

Ulyanovsk Ulyanovsk,, , known as Simbirsk until 1924, is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Ulyanovsk Oblast, Russia, located on the Volga River east of Moscow. Ulyanovsk has been the only Russian UNESCO Ci ...

(on the

Volga The Volga (, ) is the longest river in Europe and the longest endorheic basin river in the world. Situated in Russia, it flows through Central Russia to Southern Russia and into the Caspian Sea. The Volga has a length of , and a catchment ...

), to

Miass Miass (, ) is a city in Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia, located west of Chelyabinsk, on the eastern slope of the Southern Ural Mountains, on the bank of the river Miass. Population: Name The name Miass is taken from the Bashkirs (), the indige ...

(in the

Chelyabinsk Chelyabinsk; , is the administrative center and largest types of inhabited localities in Russia, city of Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia. It is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, seventh-largest city in Russia, with a population ...

region of the

Urals The Ural Mountains ( ),; , ; , or simply the Urals, are a mountain range in Eurasia that runs north–south mostly through Russia, from the coast of the Arctic Ocean to the river Ural (river), Ural and northwestern Kazakhstan.

), and also to

Shadrinsk Shadrinsk () is a town in Kurgan Oblast, Russia, located on the left bank of the Iset River ( Ob's basin) northwest of Kurgan. Population: History Shadrinsk was founded in 1662 as an agricultural and trade settlement. Shadrinsk hosted th ...

and

. Production at Ulyanovsk UAZZIS lasted from February 1942 to 1944. UralZIS at Ulyanovsk installed radiators with their own label and production there ran from July 1944 to 1955, well after the war. ZiS-5B in Gomel

At the end of 1941 war shortages of raw materials forced change to the construction of the ZIS-5. All changes were focused on simplifying manufacture and using less raw materials: the round, stamped fenders were replaced with flat, bent ones, cabs and foot boards were now made from wood, brakes were removed from front wheels, and the rear body had the tailgate swinging only. Sometimes the right headlight was also removed, while bumpers were omitted from these versions. The simplified model, designated ZIS-5V, was produced from May 1942 in

, and later also in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

and

. Overall production of all models tallied about 1 million units (all plants), with ZIS alone producing 532,311 examples. During the War years about 83,000 ZIS-5 of both versions were produced. The Moscow ZIS plant restarted production of the ZIS-5V in April 1942. Near the end of 1947 the new ZIS-120 engine was complete, but the truck (the

ZIS-150 The ZIS-150 is a Soviet truck. In 1947 it replaced the ZIS-5 truck on the assembly line. Together with the GAZ-51, it was the main Soviet truck during the 1950s, judging by their quantity. A tractor-trailer version of the ZIS-150, the ''ZIS-120N' ...

) was not, so these engines were placed in ZIS-5V chassis, where they were named the ZIS-50. 13,701 ZIS-50s were produced in 1947 and 1948. The Moscow plant discontinued ZIS-5V & ZIS-50 trucks on 30 April, 1948, in favor of the ZIS-150 replacement. In 1956 UralZIS modified the ZIS-5 with a new engine, carburetor, steering mechanism, 12V electrical system, and oval fenders. This new model received the designation of UralZIS-355 or ZIS-355. The Miass plant continued to produce the ZIS-5V until 1958.

Utilization

During the war the ZIS-5 was used on all fronts, where it was greatly appreciated for its remarkably simple and reliable construction. Apart from cargo duties, the ZIS-5 was used as a light artillery tractor and for troop transportation (25 soldiers could sit in five benches placed in the rear body). ZIS-5 served also as base for many special trucks like refuellers, field workshops, ambulances, portee guns, and AA platforms. After the

, the ZIS-5 was the 2nd most used Red Army truck of 1933-1943 period. The intensive growth of Lend Lease trucks shipping in 1943-1944 did not affect the first line use of the "Tryohtonka" (as soldiers called the ZIS-5 for its 3-ton payload), while the GAZ-AA got somewhat phased out to secondary roles. ZIS-5 trucks were used on the "

Road of Life The Road of Life () was the set of ice road transport routes across Lake Ladoga to Leningrad during the Second World War. They were the only Soviet winter surface routes into the city while it was besieged by the German Army Group North und ...

", the only supply line to the besieged city of

Leningrad Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

, on the frozen surface of

Ladoga Lake Lake Ladoga is a freshwater lake located in the Republic of Karelia and Leningrad Oblast in northwestern Russia, in the vicinity of Saint Petersburg. It is the largest lake located entirely in Europe, the second largest lake in Russia after Lake ...

. The remains of one was recovered from the bottom of the lake in 2024 and is to be exhibited in the Battle of Leningrad Museum.

IZ armored car

The ZIS-5 was used as the basis for improvised armored cars made by the Izshorsky plant in 1941 under the designation "IZ". The initial order of 20 vehicles were equipped with a

45 mm anti-tank gun M1937 (53-K) The 45 mm anti-tank gun model 1937 (factory designation 53-K, GRAU index 52-P-243-PP-1), nicknamed the Sorokapyatka (from Russian сорокапятка, or "little forty-five"), was a light quick-firing anti-tank gun used in the first stage ...

, 3-10mm of armor, and a

Degtyaryov machine gun The Degtyaryov machine gun ( literally: "Degtyaryov's infantry machine gun") or DP-27/DP-28 is a light machine gun firing the 7.62×54mmR cartridge that was primarily used by the Soviet Union, with service trials starting in 1927, followed by ge ...

. The engine compartment was sealed with two armored intakes over the front grill. Suspensions remained unchanged despite the increased weight from the gun and armor, but this did not seem to hamper the truck's performance. It was decided that the design was successful enough to warrant around 80 more vehicles being built after the initial order for 20 had been completed. Not all of these carried the 45mm gun, some carried quad-

Maxim gun The Maxim gun is a Recoil operation, recoil-operated machine gun invented in 1884 by Hiram Maxim, Hiram Stevens Maxim. It was the first automatic firearm, fully automatic machine gun in the world. The Maxim gun has been called "the weapon most ...

s, and others were left unarmed to function more as

Armoured personnel carrier An armoured personnel carrier (APC) is a broad type of armoured military vehicle designed to transport personnel and equipment in combat zones. Since World War I, APCs have become a very common piece of military equipment around the world. Acc ...

s. The first of the cars was delivered to the Leningrad People’s Militia on 15 July, 1941. One car was captured by the

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the German Army (1935–1945), ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmac ...

. A few were captured by the

Finnish Army The Finnish Army ( , ) is the army, land forces branch of the Finnish Defence Forces. The Finnish Army is divided into six branches: infantry (which includes armoured units), field artillery, anti-aircraft artillery, Combat engineering, engineer ...

and used through early 1942. The last operational cars were seen around

in January 1943.

Export

ZIS-5 was the first Soviet motor vehicle to be exported. With over 1 million ZIS-5 trucks made overall, the USSR had ample opportunity to offer it for sale abroad. A batch of 100 trucks were sold to Turkey in 1934; other quantities were subsequently purchased by Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran,

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

, China, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Mongolia, and Romania. Export versions featured a nickeled radiator and a bumper with two strips of nickel. Some trophy vehicles were used by Finns who had captured them during the

Winter War The Winter War was a war between the Soviet Union and Finland. It began with a Soviet invasion of Finland on 30 November 1939, three months after the outbreak of World War II, and ended three and a half months later with the Moscow Peac ...

of 1939–40, and by Germans after the invasion of the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

in June 1941 until Germany's surrender in 1945.

Variants

*ZIS-5: Standard production version. Produced 1934–1941 and 1942–1947. *ZIS-5E: Modernized, 3 ton version of ZIS-5, prototype for ZIS-15. *ZIS-5V: Simplified version. Produced 1942–1947. *

ZIS-6 The ZIS-6 () is a Soviet general-purpose 6×4 army cargo truck, a three-axle version of the ZIS-5 two-axle truck. Prototypes were made in 1932 and serial production started in 1933. In October 1941 the Moscow Zavod imeni Stalina factorywas eva ...

: Three-axle version. Produced 1934–1941. *ZIS-8:

Bus A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a motor vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van, but fewer than the average rail transport. It is most commonly used ...

version based on ZIS-11. Produced 1934–1938. *ZIS-10: Tractor-unit version. Produced 1938–1941. *ZIS-11: Long wheelbase version (for fire fighting vehicles). Produced 1934–1936. *ZIS-12: Long wheelbase version (for special purpose). Produced 1934–1938. **ZIS-12 (94-KM): Variant with two 25 mm autocannons for anti-aircraft duties, with a couple hundred produced 1944–1945. *ZIS-13: Gas generator version, based on ZIS-14. Produced 1936–1939. *ZIS-14: Long wheelbase version (for special purpose). Produced in 1934. *ZIS-15: Prototype replacement for ZIS-5. Produced in 1937. *ZIS-16: Bus version. Produced 1938–1941. **ZIS-16C: Ambulance version based on ZIS-16. Produced 1939–1941. *ZIS-17: Prototype bus version based on ZIS-15. Produced in 1939. *ZIS-18: Gas producer version (similar to ZIS-13, except based on the ZIS-5). *ZIS-19: Dump truck version. Produced 1939–1946. *ZIS-20: Prototype dump truck version. *ZIS-21: Gas generator version (with wood gas unit NATI-G14). Produced 1939–1941. *ZIS-22:

Halftrack A half-track is a civilian or military vehicle with wheels at the front for steering and continuous tracks at the back to propel the vehicle and carry most of the load. A half-track combines the soft-ground traction of a tank with the handling ...

version. Produced 1940–1941. **ZIS-22M Prototype improvement of ZIS-22. Produced in 1941. *ZIS-23: Three-axle version of ZIS-15. *ZIS-24: Four-wheel-drive version of ZIS-15. *ZIS-25: Gas generator version of ZIS-15. *ZIS-26: Tractor unit version of ZIS-15. *ZIS-28: Engine testbed based on ZIS-15. *ZIS-30: Compressed gas version. Produced 1940–1941. *ZIS-31: Gas generator version (similar to ZIS-21, except with charcoal unit NATI-G23). *ZIS-32: Four-wheel-drive version. Produced in 1941. *ZIS-33: Halftrack version. Produced in 1940. *ZIS-34: 6x4 version. Produced 1940–1941. *ZIS-35: Modernized version of ZIS-33. *ZIS-36: Prototype 6x6 version. Produced in 1941. *ZIS-41: Gas producer version. Produced 1940–1944. *ZIS-42: Halftrack version. Produced 1942–1944. **ZIS-42M: Modernized ZIS-42. **ZIS-43: Armed version of ZIS-42, boasting a 61-k 37 mm anti-aircraft autocannon. *ZIS-44: Ambulance version based on ZIS-5V. *ZIS-50: ZIS-5 with ZIS-150 engine. Produced 1947–1948. *ZIS-S1: Dump truck version. Produced 1947–1949. *LET: Experimental electric vehicle, based on ZIS-5. Produced in 1935. *ZIS-LTA: Prototype halftrack logging truck, based on ZIS-5. Produced in 1949. *ZIS-MF: 100 h.p. version. Produced in 1943.http://www.ihist.uran.ru/files/P_yankov_Ural_skaya_trekhtonka_.pdf

Specification

* 4x2, 2-axle 3-ton cargo truck * Overall production: about 1 million * Engine: carburetor, 73 hp(*)/2300rpm 6-cyl. SV, 5557 cc, water-cooled 250 nm torque(from Jan. 1944 - 76 hp/2400rpm, from early 1950s - 85 hp) * Bore/Stroke: 101.6/114.3 mm * Length: (with bumper) *Height: *Width: *Wheelbase: *Transmission: 4 speed unsynchronized synchronizers, 2 range transfer case *Weight: (unloaded) *Maximal speed: (from early 1950s - ) *Tyres: 34x7 or 9,00x20 (post-war) inches, admittable change for 36x8. *Fuel consumption: 34.0 L/100 km (*) People who investigated ZIS-5 state that the real power of the engine was less than claimed in official documents and equal to 67-68 hp (rated

horsepower Horsepower (hp) is a unit of measurement of power, or the rate at which work is done, usually in reference to the output of engines or motors. There are many different standards and types of horsepower. Two common definitions used today are t ...

is not the same as

brake horsepower Horsepower (hp) is a unit of measurement of power, or the rate at which work is done, usually in reference to the output of engines or motors. There are many different standards and types of horsepower. Two common definitions used today are th ...

References

External links

* Henkofhollan

* Autogaller

* ZiS-5 at website Engines of the Red Army in World War I

* ZiS-5V at website Engines of the Red Army in World War I

* Autocar Dispatch Model SA on trucksplanet websit

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zis-5 (Truck) ZiL vehicles Trucks of the Soviet Union World War II vehicles of the Soviet Union