In a desperate attempt to compensate the huge human losses of summer of 1941, the Peoples Committee of Leningrad decided to raise militia units (»LANO«) fed by workers of the local industry plants.
In order to provide them with minimal armour support, the local Izhorsky metal plant mounted all kinds of guns onto GAZ and ZiS trucks to which were fitted 6-10mm armour plates.
Aside from 20mm AA and heavy machine guns, Izhorsky plant used the common 45mm Model 1937 together with a Degtyarev front mg as armament and called the resulting vehicle »Medium Armoured Car IZ«.
The first of roughly 100 samples built in total were delivered still in July 1941 and sent to the LANO armour brigades which were already fighting the German and Finnish threat approching Lenin's town from all sides.
However, all but a few were lost until September, some captured and used by Finnish troops until Spring 1942, and the last remaining IZ were seen during the Leningrad blocade breakthrough in January 1943.