ZIS-6

The ZIS-6 was a Soviet general-purpose 6x4 army cargo truck, the three-axle version of the two-axle ZIS-5. Prototypes were made in 1932 and serial production began in 1933 at the Moscow Zavod imeni Stalina; when the factory was evacuated in October 1941 a few more were still assembled from parts in January 1942. A total of 21,239 were produced, and the truck had a payload of four tons on the highway. It was reliable and became the base for many military variants, including searchlight trucks, radio and repair stations, field workshops, troop carriers and artillery tractors, and several dozen were converted to carry the 37 mm M1939 anti-aircraft gun. It is best known as the chassis of the first Katyusha multiple rocket launcher, the BM-13 that German soldiers called Stalin's Organ, before American Studebaker trucks took over that role. After the war the all-wheel-drive ZIS-151 replaced it, and very few survive.