M1939 (KS-12) Russian 85mm Towed Anti-Aircraft Gun

The 85 mm air defense gun M1939 (52-K) (Russian: 85-мм зенитная пушка обр. 1939 г. (52-К)) was an 85 mm (3.3 in) Soviet anti-aircraft gun, developed under the guidance of leading Soviet designers M. N. Loginov and G. D. Dorokhin. This gun was successfully used throughout the German-Soviet War against level bombers and other high- and medium-altitude targets. In emergencies, they were utilized as powerful anti-tank weapons. The barrel of the 52-K was the basis for the family of 85-mm Soviet tank guns. After the war, some 52-Ks were refitted for peaceful purposes as anti-avalanche guns in mountainous terrain. Virtually every country behind the Iron Curtain received this gun after World War II for their air defense. In the Soviet Union itself, these guns were largely superseded by the 100 and 130 mm guns. Adopted in 1939, the 85-mm M1939, like its counterpart the 88-mm gun, was meant for air defense. Like many anti-aircraft (AA) guns of the era, it was provided with antitank ammunition in the event a tank should appear. 85-mm M1939 guns were organized into heavy anti-aircraft regiments of 16 guns. The regiments were organized into divisions of the field anti-aircraft forces.