Inspired by similar German and French designs, Russian halftrack development started in the late 30s, resulting in the GAZ-60 and ZiS-22, Both vehicles had the same tracked running gear and were based on civilian wheeled trucks, the GAZ-AA and the ZiS-5 resp.
Production of the ZiS-22 lasted from 1938 until 1940 resulting in only 200 samples built of which a small number was used during the Russo-Finish winter war of 1939/40.
Though the ZIS-22 had an excellent cross-country ability, the caterpillars showed a fatal tendence to slide from the wheels in deeper snow. To overcome this, a modified running gear with wider tracks was developed leading to the ZiS-22M, »M« for »modernized«, and finally to the well-known ZiS-42.
In November 1941, a 57mm ZiS-2 AT gun was experimentally mounted on a partially armoured ZiS-22M chassis, but this ZiS-41 wasn't accepted for serial production.