Russians transport artillery on trucks since the US dry regime era

Sep 19, 2023

MOSCOW, RUSSIA — Russia is taking us back in time. Time before the start of World War II. Time, shortly before the last American states to repeal the dry regime. An interesting video shared by Russian citizens on the network causes a wave of ridicule.

The video recorded the transportation of BM-13 Katyusha multiple rocket launcher, towed artillery gun and trucks, other transport trucks. The most interesting thing in the video is one of the artillery pieces leading the column. It is towed by a Soviet ZIS-6 truck.

ZIS-6 was designed in the early 1930s. Actively participated in the Second World War. This truck was produced from 1933 to 1941. To give you an idea of how paradoxical it all seems, let's say that the production of the truck began three years before North Carolina lifted the dry regime in the state and ended when Kansas, Oklahoma and Mississippi had not yet lifted their dry state status.

The old ZIS-6 trucks lead the column in the shared video. Further back, however, you can see a little younger than ZIS-6 models of trucks, but not so much. It is a ZIS-151 or ZIL-157 from the 1940s or 1950s. By the way, the first multiple rocket launcher of the Soviet Union – BM-13 Katyusha is also based on the ZIS-6 truck, but in the video it is integrated on the ZIS-151 or ZIL-157 chassis.

According to the author who shared the video, it is possible that the first truck is a ZIS-5 model. I.e. an older version than ZIS-6, but at first glance and for those unfamiliar with the history of these trucks. Because both the 5 Series and 6 Series were produced at the same time, only the 5 Series continued to be produced to an impressive 1 million units long after the 6 Series rolled off the production line.

The Katyusha is a type of rocket artillery first created and introduced by the Soviet Union in World War II. Multiple rocket launchers like these deliver explosives to a target area more intensively than conventional artillery, but with lower accuracy and require longer reload times.

They are fragile compared to artillery guns, but they are cheap, easy to manufacture and can be used on almost any chassis. World War II Katyushas, the first self-propelled artillery mass-produced by the Soviet Union, were usually mounted on ordinary trucks.

The video was shared today, March 26th. It is not clear when it was recorded, as the author did not share the recording date. From the captured footage and without a professional assessment, it is not clear whether these weapons systems are traveling to the front in Ukraine, or are being transported from one point in Russia to another point in Russia.

BulgarianMilitary.com recalls that videos showing the transportation of rather outdated Russian tanks, such as T-64 and T-55, have been circulating on the Internet for the past few hours. They are transported by train sets. In this regard, if we assume that the tanks are going to the front in Ukraine, we can assume the same for the platforms transported by the ZIS trucks.

It should be noted that Ukraine also uses obsolete tanks. There are reports that the Ukrainian armed forces have taken the T-64As and T-64Bs out of mothballs. The webpage Oryx has documented the losses of the Ukrainian Armed Forces regarding these tanks.

***

Follow us everywhere and at any time. BulgarianMilitary.com has responsive design and you can open the page from any computer, mobile devices or web browsers. For more up-to-date news, follow our Google News, YouTube, Reddit, LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook pages. Subscribe to our Newsletter and read our stories in News360App in AppStore or GooglePlay or in FeedlyApp in AppStore or GooglePlay. Our standards: Manifesto & ethical princliples.