In 1942, the demand for mobile direct artillery support of the infantry was still unanswered in the Red Army.
However, the solution should have been obvious to the Russians from the first day of Barbarossa, in form of the German »Sturmgeschuetz« (assault gun). So, all that was needed were mass-produced chassis and hulls carrying a turretless gun.
As the T-60/T-70 light tanks were becoming obsolete and the new ZiS-3 gun had proven versatile and effective, both parts were combined at Gorkiy Auto Zavod (»GAZ«) yielding an armoured vehicle surpassed only by the T-34 in terms of production numbers.
While the first version, the SU-12, still had a fully armoured hull, the standard production »M« series reduced weight by leaving the fighting compartment top and rear open. This was not to the pleasure of the crews facing fierce climate conditions and a German infantry well skilled in throwing hand grenades. So it comes to no surprise that the SU-76 soon received the unfavourable nickname »Suka« meaning bitch.