ZiS-12, 3-ton, 4x2, Z-15-4A Searchlight Carrier
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In 1934, the engineers of the Moscow ZiS plant decided to lengthen the chassis of the well-known ZiS-5 truck to enable the installation of a fire fighter body.
The resulting vehicles, subsequently known as the ZiS-11, soon emerged to the ZiS-12 with a significantly larger cargo body compared to the ZiS-5.
The Army instantly recognized its capacities and required a lower cargo body to enable the installation of the 1500mm Z-15-4A searchlight as well as the ZT-3 and ZT-4 sound locators which were both supposed to maintain their own wheel carriage in order to be unloaded and moved separately.
In fact, quite a number of the 4,800 ZiS-12 totally produced were equipped in this manner, and towards war's end a ZiS-12 variant carrying the new 25mm AA twin gun 94-K appeard as well.
The ZiS-12 searlight carrier was of course primarily used in its original AA role but for one day fulfilled a somehow strange purpose.
On April 16, 1945, long before dawn, no less than 142 searchlights of Marshal Shukov's 1st Belorussian Front illuminated the Oder banks in order to blind the opponents against the forthcoming attack, the well-known and bloody »Berlin Operation«.
The spectacle was later described as most impressive although the resulting effect was largely decreased by the dense spring fog so typical for the oder lowlands.
