"To the People's Commissar of Ammunition of the USSR, comrade Vannikov
Chief of the Red Army GAU, comrade Yakovlev
Deputy Chief of Armoured and Motorized Vehicles of the Red Army, comrade Korobkov
In accordance with GOKO decree #6868s issued on February 4th, 1944, the People's Commissar of Tank Production instructed the Kirov factory to study the issue of single piece ammunition for the 122 mm D-25 gun.
Dummy rounds were produced at the Kirov factory according to blueprints developed by the People's Commissariat of Armament. The ability to load the gun as well as placement of the rounds in the fighting compartment of the tank and SPG was tested.
The results of the test showed that:
- It is impossible to load the D-25 gun in the IS-2 tank with the current sized round at any angle. In many cases the gun could be loaded at a certain angle if the turret bustle is emptied of ammunition.
- The IS-2 tank can fit only 12 rounds.
- The ISU-122-2 can fit 25 rounds.
- In the ISU-122-2 SPG if the gun is aimed to the right it is impossible to use ammunition from the rack on the left of the fighting compartment and vice versa.
All performed work was recorded by a commision that included representatives of the GBTU and GAU.
The Kirov factory concludes that satisfactory use of single piece ammunition with the D-25 gun would be possible only if the complete round is no more than 1000 mm long.
People's Commissar of Tank Production, V. Malyshev"