SPECIFICATION Gun weight, kg 785 Shell weight, kg 6.23 Bore length, cal 21.4 Muzzle velocity, m/s 500 Max. range, m 10 520 Rate of fire, shots/min 10-12 Crew, men 5

In January 1936, trials of the experimental Czech 76 mm Mountain Gun S-5 (Skoda) were carried out. Soviet specialists were very pleased with the S-5's performance, and asked the Soviet Government to buy the technology or at the very least, to buy several guns.

Skoda offered a contract for 400 guns (100 batteries) with 400,000 rounds of ammunition. Each battery cost $87,500 (US dollars) and the total price was $22,000,000 (US). The Soviets also received all the blueprints and rights to manufacture the S-5 and its ammunition.

The gun was very good, and the Red Army urgently needed mountain guns. V.Khalepsky, who was the Chief of Supply of the Red Army, announced that the contract could save the Soviets several years of hard work. However, 22 million dollars was a very high price for the USSR's economy.

After long negotiations, the USSR signed a contract with Skoda. Skoda gave all their documentation on the S-5 in exchange for the license and Soviet assistance in manufacturing the SB-2 bomber in Skoda's factories.

The "pure" S-5 was never produced in the USSR, but several projects were based on this gun. The first attempt, called "7-1", failed as it was inferior to guns of the World War One era. The second project named "7-2" was much better, but was still of insufficient quality.

After serious modernisation and improvements, this project was accepted into service as the "76 mm Mountain Gun Model 1938." In 1941, this gun also received the "E-2" index.