Vulcan Scale Models 56010 Soviet Artillery Tractor STZ-5

The STZ-5 is a Soviet, tracked artillery and transport tractor from the interwar period and World War II. The first copies of this vehicle appeared in the late 1930s, and serial production continued in 1937-1942. In total, around 9,900 tractors of this type were built. The drive was provided by a single 4-cylinder engine 1MA with 52 HP.

Work on the STZ-5 began in 1933, based on the British Vickers Carden-Lloyd light tank and the American International Harvester TA-40 tractors. In the course of design works, efforts were made to unify the vehicle dedicated to the Red Army, as well as the agricultural tractor, which led to the success and introduction of almost the same STZ-NATI-2 and STZ-5 vehicles. In the Soviet armed forces, the STZ-5 was used primarily as an artillery tractor for towing 76.2 mm, 122 mm and 152 mm caliber cannons and field howitzers, as well as 76.2 and 85 mm anti-tank guns. A BM-13 Katyusha unguided missile launcher was installed on a small number of tractors of this type. Vehicles of this type fought especially during Operation Barbarossa (1941), during which they suffered relatively large losses.