ZIS-115: the armoured limousine built for Stalin

The ZIS-115 was a Soviet-built armoured version of the ZIS-110 limousine, designed and built especially for Joseph Stalin. A total of 32 cars were manufactured between 1948 and 1949.

ZIS-115 at a glance

Based on one source (English Wikipedia).

History of the ZIS-115

The ZIS-115 was the armoured derivative of the ZIS-110 limousine, created for Joseph Stalin. Its design was based on the American 1942 Packard Super Eight, like the ZIS-110 itself. Thirty-two cars were built between 1948 and 1949.

The car weighed over four tonnes. Its windows were made of glass nearly 8 cm thick, each weighing over 200 kg, and were powered by a hydraulic system. The 6.0-litre straight-eight engine generated 140 hp (103 kW) and gave a top speed of 121 km/h.

Stalin’s travel arrangements

Stalin, wary of assassination, always rode in the rear of the car, seated between two armed bodyguards. He frequently changed the route driven from his home in Kuntsevo to the Kremlin. The ZIS-115 was also used abroad: Stalin donated one to Chairman Mao Zedong because China lacked armoured vehicles suitable for transporting high-ranking officials.

After Stalin

After Stalin’s death in 1953, the armoured ZIS limousines continued to be used for many years by successive Soviet leaders. In 1955 Nikita Khrushchev donated two of the cars to the Yugoslav president Josip Broz Tito; they are on display in the Slovenian museum at Bistra. Several ZIS-115s still exist in private collections and museums around the world, and Russian leaders continued to use the cars occasionally as late as 1994.

Design and features

• Heavy armour: the car weighed over four tonnes, with bodywork built to protect its principal passenger.
• Thick hydraulic windows: each pane was nearly 8 cm thick, weighed over 200 kg and was raised and lowered hydraulically.
• Stalin’s routine: he rode in the rear between two armed bodyguards and frequently changed his route to the Kremlin.
• Long service: the cars were used by later Soviet leaders and remained in occasional use until 1994.

ZIS-115 versions

• ZIS-115 (1948–1949): the standard armoured limousine, 32 built.
• Cars given abroad: one was donated to Mao Zedong and two were given to Josip Broz Tito in 1955.
• Museum examples: surviving cars are held in collections and museums, including the Bistra museum in Slovenia.

The ZIS-115 was the armoured version of the ZIS-110 limousine, which in turn succeeded the ZIS-101. More cars are in the ZIS collection.

Video: Тест-драйв ЗИС 115

Video on YouTube.

Sources

• ZIS-115, English Wikipedia: production, armour, engine and use