During the Great Patriotic War, 45-millimeter caliber projectiles were used for anti-tank guns of the 1937 model (53-K). As of June 22, 1941, the Red Army had more than 16,000 of these guns in service. The gun was designed to fight against enemy tanks, self-propelled and armored vehicles. For the 1930s–1940s its armor penetration was sufficient for effective combat: from 500 meters it penetrated 43-millimeter armor. This made it possible to fight military vehicles protected by bulletproof armor.

The wedge-type breech mechanism of this gun was equipped with a semi-automatic mechanism. From 1942, the 45-caliber gun underwent several improvements. By that time, the production of the 53-K had been discontinued, replaced by a more powerful M-42 model. Its positive qualities were high mobility and ease of camouflage. This allowed the new guns to be used not only by the regular army, but even by partisans. The head of the shell on display has the shape of a cone. It is hollow inside, with carving at the edge. In the lower part of the exhibit there is a groove with a ribbed base in a circular pattern, and above it, there are numbers embossed on one side: “33”, “43”. To date, the meaning of the numbers has not been established as they do not coincide with the nomenclature of the ammunition.

The production of 45-millimeter shells was organized at several enterprises in the country, including Yaroslavl. Such a task was assigned to the Yaroslavl Brake Plant (now Yaroslavl Radio Plant). During the war years, the enterprise not only produced military products, but also provided the country with specialized items for railway transport. Also, during the Great Patriotic War the plant organized production of fuses, incendiary and anti-tank bombs and midsections of rocket shells for “Katyusha”. In 1943, the enterprise was awarded a high award — the Red Banner of the State Defense Committee, which the plant’s workforce retained for the next two years of the war.