Korean War: North Korean KPA ZIS-2 anti-tank gun

October 25, 2019

Lend your Korean People’s Army some extra firepower to drive back the forces of the UN, the ZiS-2 is a powerful anti-tank gun.

The 57mm ZiS-2 was a rapid-firing semi-automatic gun and could shoot up to 25 rounds a minute. This weapon was used by the KPA to give the troops more hitting power against the UN aggressors.

Development of the weapon began in 1940 by the Soviets, and what became known as the ZiS-2 entered production in June 1941. The production run was not especially long, ceasing in December of that year. Supposedly the gun was powerful enough that the shells penetrated the armour of light German tanks and punched right through the opposite side without causing much internal damage. The Soviet’s thereafter shifted to the ZiS-3. However, by the end of the war, with the emergence of the extremely heavily armoured Tiger I and Panther German tanks, the ZiS-2 reentered production. Almost 10,000 weapons were produced during the War. Their effectiveness against these heavy German tanks was still questionable, however.

The ZiS-2 was one of many anti-tank weapons used by the KPA, left over from the Red Army.