NR-40 was mostly produced at the ZiK (ЗиК) factory in Zlatoust, Urals. Once the Ural Volunteer Tank Corps was formed in 1943, all its soldiers and officers were supplied with a special issue of NR-40 (also known as “black knife”). The formation was later named by Germans as «Schwarzmesser Panzer-Division». The unofficial divisional anthem mentioned the nickname as well (“Дивизия черных ножей”, Black Knife Division).
