Anybody have a photo of one of these in tow configuration? I am building an M-1943 76mm in tow mode. All the photos I've found are in firing positions or are too dark/ wrong angle to see details. I am most interested in how were the trails secured. The kit does not show any sort of latch. Each trail has a "tow ring" that overlaps the other. Was the tow hook through the ring the only thing securing them?

Wasn't the carriage on those very similar if not identical to the German 3.7cm Pak? If so, it would be logical that it had the same method.

I know the earlier ones were based on the 37mm Pak, but not sure on the carriage. As the war went on the Russians simplified everything to speed production and save material. (look at the 42-43 production T-34s . Reportedly some were not even painted.)

Timothy,
If I understood your question right, this drawing from Zis-5 Manual should give you the answer:

Traveling mode locking lever is #36.
The gun had a separate combat mode locking lever.
Hope this helps!

The trails did have a latch at their ends. Look around the interweb for walkarounds of preserved examples, there are quite a few, particularly on Russian sites.

Also, there were differences between the M1943 76mm and the M1937 and M1942 45mm gun carriages. Not everything from the earlier carriages was carried over to the regimental gun.

KL