Takom 2058 Soviet SPAAAG ZSU-57-2

The prototype of the self-propelled anti-aircraft gun ZSU-57-2 was created in 1955. The set entered the service of the Soviet Army in the same year, and serial production ended with the production of about 2,000 vehicles by 1960. The ZSU-57-2 was powered by a single 520hp W-54 engine. The main armament of the vehicle is 2 coupled automatic automatic cannons S-68 wz.1952 caliber 57 mm. The activities carried out during World War II showed the Soviet commanders and military leaders the need to equip the Soviet armored forces with integral self-propelled anti-aircraft weapons. In the last campaigns of World War II, such a role was played by the ZSU-37 set, but after 1945 intensive work was carried out to replace it. Their fruit turned out to be the ZSU-57-2. The set used many components of the T-54 tank, but despite the relatively long development work, it was able to fight only targets up to 4000m and those flying at speeds not exceeding 1 Mach. Due to these limitations, the ZSU-57-2 was quickly replaced by the ZSU-23-4 Shilka. Despite this, the ZSU-57-2 was widely exported to the countries of the Warsaw Pact and the Arab countries of the Middle East. The ZSU-57-2 set also took part in the Suez Crisis (1956) and the conflict in Indochina.