The best Soviet self-propelled guns of the Great Patriotic War. Self-propelled guns of the Second World War History of the development of tanks of the USSR and Russia by model

The term “tank” in Ozhegov’s dictionary is explained as “an armored self-propelled combat vehicle with powerful weapons on a tracked track.” But such a definition is not a dogma; there is no unified tank standard in the world. Each manufacturing country creates and has created tanks taking into account its own needs, the characteristics of the proposed war, the manner of upcoming battles and its own production capabilities. The USSR was no exception in this regard.

History of the development of tanks of the USSR and Russia by model

History of invention

The primacy of the use of tanks belongs to the British; their use forced military leaders of all countries to reconsider the concept of warfare. The use by the French of their Renault FT17 light tank determined the classic use of tanks for solving tactical problems, and the tank itself became the embodiment of the canons of tank building.

Although the laurels of first use did not go to the Russians, the invention of the tank itself, in its classical sense, belongs to our compatriots. In 1915 V.D. Mendeleev (the son of a famous scientist) sent a project for an armored self-propelled vehicle on two tracks with artillery weapons to technical department Russian army. But for unknown reasons, things did not go beyond design work.

The idea itself of installing a steam engine on a caterpillar propulsion device was not new; it was first implemented in 1878 by Russian designer Fyodor Blinov. The invention was called: “A car with endless flights for transporting goods.” In this “car”, a track turning device was used for the first time. The invention of a caterpillar propulsion device, by the way, also belongs to the Russian staff captain D. Zagryazhsky. For which a corresponding patent was issued in 1937.

The world's first tracked combat vehicle is also Russian. In May 1915, tests of the armored vehicle D.I. took place near Riga. Porokhovshchikov called “All-terrain vehicle”. It had an armored body, one wide track and a machine gun in a rotating turret. The tests were considered very successful, but due to the approaching Germans, further tests had to be postponed, and after some time they were completely forgotten.

In the same year, 1915, tests were carried out on a machine designed by the head of the experimental laboratory of the military department, Captain Lebedenko. The 40-ton unit was an artillery carriage enlarged to gigantic proportions, driven by two Maybach engines from a downed airship. The front wheels had a diameter of 9 meters. According to the creators, a vehicle of this design should easily overcome ditches and trenches, but during testing it got stuck immediately after it started moving. Where it stood for many years until it was cut up for scrap metal.

Russia ended the First World War without its tanks. During the Civil War, tanks from other countries were used. During the battles, some of the tanks passed into the hands of the Red Army, on which the workers’ and peasants’ fighters entered the battle. In 1918, in a battle with French-Greek troops near the village of Berezovskaya, several Reno-FT tanks were captured. They were sent to Moscow to participate in the parade. Lenin’s fiery speech about the need to build our own tanks laid the foundation for Soviet tank building. We decided to release, or rather completely copy, 15 Reno-FT tanks called Tank M (small). On August 31, 1920, the first copy left the workshops of the Krasnoye Sormovo plant in Nizhny Tagil. This day is considered to be the birthday Soviet tank building.

The young state understood that tanks were very important for waging war, especially since the enemies approaching the borders were already armed with this type of military equipment. The M tank was not put into production due to its particularly expensive production price, so another option was needed. According to the idea that existed in the Red Army at that time, the tank was supposed to support the infantry during an attack, that is, the speed of the tank should not be much higher than the infantry, the weight should allow it to break through the defense line, and the weapons should successfully suppress firing points. Choosing between our own developments and proposals to copy ready-made samples, we chose the option that allowed us to organize the production of tanks in the shortest possible time - copying.

In 1925, the tank was launched into mass production, its prototype was the Fiat-3000. Although not entirely successful, the MS-1 became the tank that laid the foundation for Soviet tank building. At his production site, production itself and the coherence of the work of different departments and factories were developed.

Until the early 30s, several of their own models T-19, T-20, T-24 were developed, but due to the lack of special advantages over the T-18, and due to their high cost of production, they did not go into series.

Tanks of the 30-40s - a disease of imitation

Participation in the conflict on the Chinese Federal Railway showed the inadequacy of the first generation tanks for the dynamic development of the battle; the tanks practically did not show themselves in any way; the cavalry did the main work. A faster and more reliable car was needed.

To select the next production model, we went the beaten path and purchased samples abroad. The English Vickers Mk - 6 tons was mass-produced in our country as the T-26, and the Carden-Loyd Mk VI wedge was produced as the T-27.

The T-27, which at first was so tempting to produce due to its low cost, was not produced for long. In 1933, wedge heels were adopted for the army
amphibious tank T-37A, with weapons in a rotating turret, and in 1936 - T-38. In 1940, they created a similar amphibious T-40; the USSR did not produce more amphibious tanks until the 50s.

Another sample was purchased in the USA. Based on the model of J.W. Christie, a whole series of high-speed tanks (BT) was built; their main difference was the combination of two propellers, wheeled and tracked. To move when marching, BTs used wheels; when fighting, they used caterpillars. Such a forced measure was necessary due to the poor operational capabilities of the tracks, only 1000 km.

BT tanks, which develop quite high speeds on the roads, fully suited the changed military concept Red Army: breakthrough of the defense and through the resulting gap high-speed deployment of a deep attack. The three-turreted T-28 was developed directly for the breakthrough, the prototype of which was the English Vickers 16-ton. Another breakthrough tank was supposed to be the T-35, similar to the English five-turret heavy tank “Independent”.

During the pre-war decade, many interesting tank designs were created that did not go into production. For example, based on the T-26
self-propelled semi-closed AT-1 type (artillery tank). During the Second World War, they will again remember these cars without a cabin roof.

Tanks of the Second World War

Participation in civil war in Spain and in the battles at Khalkhin Gol showed how high the explosion hazard of a gasoline engine is and the inadequacy of bulletproof armor against the then nascent anti-tank artillery. The implementation of solutions to these problems allowed our designers, who had suffered from the disease of imitation, to create for real on the eve of the Second World War good tanks and KV.

In the first days of the war, a catastrophically large number of tanks were lost; it took time to establish production of the uncompetitive T-34 and KV at the only evacuated factories, and the front desperately needed tanks. The government decided to fill this niche with cheap and fast-to-produce light tanks T-60 and T-70. Naturally, the vulnerability of such tanks is very high, but they gave time to expand the production of Victory tanks. The Germans called them “indestructible locusts.”

In battle under the railway. Art. Prokhorovka was the first time that tanks acted as “cementers” of the defense; before that they were used exclusively as attack weapons. In principle, until today, there have been no more new ideas for the use of tanks.

Speaking about WWII tanks, one cannot fail to mention tank destroyers (SU-76, SU-122, etc.) or “self-propelled guns” as they were called by the troops. The rotating relatively small turret did not allow the use of some powerful guns and, most importantly, howitzers on tanks; for this purpose, they were installed on the bases of existing tanks without the use of turrets. Actually Soviet tank destroyers during the war, except for weapons, they were no different from their prototypes, unlike the same German ones.

Modern tanks

After the war, light, medium and heavy tanks continued to be produced, but by the end of the 50s, all major tank manufacturers concentrated on the production of the main tank. Thanks to new technologies in the production of armor, more powerful engines and weapons, the need to divide tanks into types disappeared by itself. The niche of light tanks was occupied by armored personnel carriers and infantry fighting vehicles, so the PT-76 eventually became an armored personnel carrier.

The first post-war mass tank The new model was armed with a 100 mm gun, and its modification for use in radioactive zones. This model has become the most popular among modern tanks, more than 30,000 of these machines were in service in over 30 countries.

After tanks with a 105 mm gun appeared among potential enemies, it was decided to upgrade the T-55 to a 115 mm gun. The world's first tank with a 155mm smoothbore gun was named.

The ancestor of the classic main tanks was. It fully combined the capabilities of heavy (125mm gun) and medium tanks (high mobility).

SU-122 is a medium-weight Soviet self-propelled artillery unit (SAU) of the assault gun class (with some restrictions it could also be used as a self-propelled howitzer). This vehicle became one of the first self-propelled guns developed in the USSR to be put into large-scale production.

On October 19, 1942, the State Defense Committee adopted a resolution on the need to create self-propelled artillery units. A little earlier, in the summer of 1942, the artillery plant in Sverdlovsk developed a preliminary design for a self-propelled gun. On the chassis of the T-34 tank there was a 122-mm M-30 howitzer. During the development of this model, valuable experience was gained; on its basis, it became possible to draw up detailed tactical and technical requirements for a self-propelled artillery mount.

November 30, 1942 prototype was ready. On the same day, its factory tests took place. The self-propelled gun made a 50 km run and fired 20 rounds. As a result of the tests, some corrections were made to the design of the machine. In the last days of December 1942, one of the vehicles was tested. The self-propelled artillery unit carried out a 50 km run and fired 40 rounds. There were no noticeable problems during testing. design flaws. A batch of self-propelled guns was put into service. In December 1942, the first self-propelled artillery regiments were formed - the 1433rd and 1434th. At this time, the operation to break the blockade of Leningrad began, so the self-propelled gun regiments were sent to the Volkhov Front at the end of January 1943. On February 14, 1943, self-propelled gun regiments took their first battle. In 5-6 days of battle, self-propelled artillery installations destroyed 47 enemy bunkers, suppressed 6 mortar batteries. Several ammunition depots were burned and 14 anti-tank guns were destroyed.

As a result of the fighting, tactics for using self-propelled artillery systems were developed. This tactic was followed throughout the Great Patriotic War. Self-propelled artillery units moved behind the tanks at some distance. After the self-propelled guns entered the enemy defense line broken through by tanks, the remaining enemy points there were destroyed. Thus, self-propelled artillery units cleared the way for the infantry.
During the preparations for the Battle of Kursk, the command counted on the SU-122 as an effective means against the enemy’s new heavy armored vehicles, but the real successes of self-propelled guns in this field turned out to be modest, and the losses were large. But there were also successes, even without the use of cumulative shells: ...Hauptmann von Villerbois, commander of the 10th company, was seriously wounded during this battle. His Tiger received a total of eight hits from 122 mm shells from assault guns based on the T-34 tank. One shell penetrated the side armor of the hull. The turret was hit by six shells, three of which made only small dents in the armor, the other two cracked the armor and broke off small pieces of it. The sixth shell broke off a huge piece of armor (the size of two palms), which flew into fighting compartment tank. The electrical circuit for the gun's electric trigger failed, and the surveillance devices were broken or knocked out of their mounting points. The weld seam of the tower came apart and a half-meter crack formed, which could not be repaired by the field repair team...

Serviceable or repaired SU-122s were transferred to a variety of units and divisions of the Red Army, where they fought either until they were destroyed or written off due to wear and tear of the engine, transmission units and chassis. For example, an excerpt from the “Report on the combat operations of armored and mechanized forces of the 38th Army from January 24 to 31, 1944” for the 7th Separate Guards Heavy Tank Regiment (7th OGTTP) indicates: According to the combat order of the headquarters of the 17th Corps , the remaining 5 tanks and self-propelled guns (3 KV-85 tanks and 2 SU-122) by 7.00 on January 28, 1944 took up all-round defense on the state farm named after. Telman in readiness to repel attacks by enemy tanks in the direction of Rososh, the Kommunar state farm, and the Bolshevik state farm. 50 infantrymen and 2 anti-tank guns took up defensive positions near the tanks. The enemy had a concentration of tanks south of Rososh. At 11.30 the enemy, with a force of up to 15 Pz.VI tanks and 13 medium and small tanks in the direction of Rososh and infantry from the south, launched an attack on the state farm named after. Telman.

Occupying advantageous positions, from behind the shelters of buildings and stacks, bringing enemy tanks within direct shot range, our tanks and self-propelled guns opened fire and upset battle formations enemy, knocking out 6 tanks (3 of them Tigers) and destroying up to a platoon of infantry. To eliminate the breakthrough German infantry, the KV-85 art. was allocated from the Soviet group. Lieutenant Kuleshov, who accomplished his task with fire and tracks. By 13 o'clock on the same day, German troops, not daring to attack the Soviet regiment head-on, bypassed the state farm. Thälmann and completed the encirclement of the Soviet group.
The battle of our tanks surrounded against superior enemy forces is characterized by the extreme skill and heroism of our tank crews. Tank group (3 KV-85 and 2 SU-122) under the command of the commander of the guard company Art. Lieutenant Podusta, defending the Telman state farm, simultaneously prevented German troops from transferring troops to other battle areas. The tanks often changed firing positions and conducted aimed fire at German tanks, and the SU-122, entering open positions, shot infantry mounted on transporters and moving along the road to Ilyintsy, which blocked the freedom of maneuver for German tanks and infantry, and, most importantly, contributed to exit from the encirclement of units of the 17th Rifle Corps. Until 19.30, the tanks continued to fight surrounded, although there was no longer any infantry on the state farm. The maneuver and intense fire, as well as the use of cover for firing, made it possible to suffer almost no losses (except for 2 wounded), inflicting significant damage to the enemy in manpower and equipment. During 01/28/44, 5 Tiger tanks were knocked out and destroyed, Pz.IV - 5 pieces, Pz.III - 2 pieces, armored personnel carriers - 7 pieces, anti-tank guns - 6 pieces, machine gun emplacements - 4, carts with horses - 28, infantry - up to 3 platoons. At 20.00, the tank group made a breakthrough from the encirclement and by 22.00, after a fire battle, reached the location of the Soviet troops, losing 1 SU-122 (burned out).

The self-propelled gun's ammunition consisted of 40 rounds, mostly high-explosive fragmentation. Sometimes, when it was necessary to fight enemy tanks at ranges of up to 1000 m, cumulative projectiles weighing 13.4 kg were used. Such shells could penetrate armor up to 120 mm. Self-defense of the crew was achieved by the fact that the installation was equipped with two PPSh submachine guns with 20 cartridges and 20 F-1 hand grenades.

The crew of the self-propelled guns was quite large and consisted of 5 people. The tank had a 122 mm howitzer. The gun had a horizontal guidance angle of 20′, with 10 degrees on each side. The vertical angle ranged from +25 to -3 degrees. More than 70% of the parts of the SU-122 self-propelled artillery mount were borrowed from the T-34 tank. From December 1942 to August 1942, production of the SU-122 continued at the Uralmashplant. A total of 638 self-propelled artillery units were produced. Production of the SU-122 was discontinued in August 1943 due to the transition to the production of SU-85 tank destroyers, created on the basis of the SU-122.

To this day, only one SU-122 has survived, which is exhibited at the Armored Museum in Kubinka near Moscow.

19

Self-propelled units, designated SU-5, were part of the so-called “small triplex”. This term referred to self-propelled guns of incomplete armor, created on the basis of the T-26 light tank and representing a universal self-propelled carriage, on the basis of which 3 guns could be placed: SU-5-1 - 76-mm divisional gun, SU-5-2 - 122 -mm howitzer, SU-5-3 - 152-mm divisional mortar.

The T-26 mod light tank was chosen as the base chassis for the self-propelled guns. 1933, the production of which was established in Leningrad. Due to the fact that the existing tank layout was completely unsuitable for self-propelled guns, the T-26 hull was significantly redesigned.

The control compartment, along with the controls of the self-propelled guns, the driver's seat, as well as the transmission elements remained in their place in the nose of the car. But the engine compartment had to be moved to the center of the hull, separating it from the rest of the self-propelled gun compartments with armored partitions. A standard gasoline engine from a T-26 tank with a power of 90 hp was installed in the engine compartment. The engine compartment of the SU-5 self-propelled gun was connected using a special pocket with side openings that served to exhaust cooling air. On the roof of the engine compartment there were 2 hatches for access to the spark plugs, carburetor, valves and oil filter, as well as openings with armored shutters that served as an entrance for cooling air.

The fighting compartment was located at the rear of the vehicle. Here, behind a 15-mm armor shield, there were self-propelled gun weapons and places for crew (4 people). To dampen recoil during firing, a special coulter located at the rear of the vehicle was lowered to the ground. In addition, additional side stops could be used. The chassis has not undergone any changes compared to the production T-26 tank.

All three self-propelled guns had a single chassis and differed mainly in the weapons used. The main armament of the SU-5-2 self-propelled gun was a 122-mm howitzer model 1910/30. (barrel length 12.8 caliber), which featured a modified cradle design. The initial velocity of the projectile was 335.3 m/s. Pointing angles in the vertical plane ranged from 0 to +60 degrees, horizontally - 30 degrees without rotating the installation body. When firing, the crew used a telescopic sight and a Hertz panorama. The maximum firing range was 7,680 m. The use of a piston bolt ensured a decent rate of fire at the level of 5-6 rounds per minute. Shooting was carried out from a place without the use of openers with the loader's pole lowered. The carried ammunition consisted of 4 projectiles and 6 charges. To transport ammunition to the SU-5 self-propelled gun on the battlefield, it was planned to use a special armored ammunition carrier.

Factory tests of all three triplex vehicles took place from October 1 to December 29, 1935. In total, self-propelled guns covered: SU-5-1 – 296 km, SU-5-2 – 206 km, SU-5-3 – 189 km. In addition to the vehicle's mileage, the SU-5-1 and SU-5-2 self-propelled guns fired 50 rounds each, and the SU-5-3 self-propelled gun fired 23 shots.

Based on the results of the tests carried out, the following conclusions: “SPGs are distinguished by tactical mobility, which allows them to move on and off roads, the transition to a combat position for the 76 and 122 mm SU-5 is instantaneous, for the 152 mm version it takes 2-3 minutes (since shooting involves the use of stops

According to plans in 1936, it was planned to produce a batch of 30 SU-5 self-propelled guns. Moreover, the military preferred the SU-5-2 version with a 122 mm howitzer. They abandoned the SU-5-1 in favor of the AT-1 artillery tank, and for a 152-mm mortar the SU-5-3 chassis was quite weak. The first 10 production vehicles were ready by the summer of 1936. Two of them were almost immediately sent to the 7th Mechanized Corps to undergo military trials, which lasted from June 25 to July 20, 1936 and took place in the Luga area. During testing, the vehicles covered 988 and 1014 km under their own power. respectively, firing 100 shots each.

Based on the results of military tests, it was established that the SU-5-2 self-propelled guns passed military tests. The SU-5-2 were quite mobile and durable during the campaign, possessing sufficient maneuverability and good stability when firing. The main identified shortcomings of the vehicle included: insufficient ammunition, it was proposed to increase it to 10 shells. It was also proposed to increase engine power, since the self-propelled gun was overloaded, and to strengthen the springs. It was proposed to move the muffler to another location, and equip the control compartment with a fan.

It was proposed to make changes to the design of the SU-5 self-propelled guns based on the results of military tests, and then launch their mass production, but instead, in 1937, work on the “small triplex” program was completely curtailed. Perhaps this was connected with the arrest of one of the designers P. N. Syachentov.

Already produced self-propelled guns from the first batch entered service with mechanized corps and separate brigades of the Red Army. In the summer of 1938, these vehicles even took part in hostilities against the Japanese at Lake Khasan. SU-5 operated in the area of ​​Bezymyannaya and Zaozernaya heights as part of artillery batteries from the 2nd mechanized brigade of the Special Far Eastern Army. Due to the short duration of the hostilities, which ended on August 11, 1938, the use of self-propelled guns was very limited. Despite this, the reporting documents indicated that the self-propelled guns provided significant support to the infantry and tanks.

As of June 1, 1941, the Red Army had 28 SU-5-2 self-propelled guns. Of these, only 16 vehicles were operational. No information has yet been found on the use of these self-propelled guns in the Great Patriotic War. All of them were most likely abandoned due to malfunctions or lost in the first week of fighting.

To create the conversion you needed:
3538 Zvezda 1/35 Soviet light tank T-26 mod. 1933 (body with chassis)
Cutting - brass 0.1 mm thick; sheet plastic 0.5 mm.

WILDER and MIG pigments

ARMY PAINTER washes

4

Work on the creation of the ISU-152 self-propelled guns began in June 1943 in the design bureau of pilot plant No. 100 in Chelyabinsk in connection with the final decision to replace the KV-1s heavy tank in production with the new promising IS-1 tank.
However, on the basis of the KV tank, the SU-152 heavy assault gun was produced, the need for which in the active army was extremely high (in contrast to the need for heavy KV tanks). The excellent combat qualities of the SU-152 served as the basis for the creation of its analogue based on the IS-1 tank.
During the production process, minor changes were made to the design of the ISU-152, aimed at increasing combat and operational qualities and reducing the cost of the vehicle. In the second half of 1944, a new welded hull nose made of rolled armor plates was introduced instead of one solid part, and the thickness of the gun's armored mask was increased from 60 to 100 mm. They also began installing a 12.7-mm DShK anti-aircraft heavy machine gun on the self-propelled guns and increased the capacity of the internal and external fuel tanks. The 10P radio station was replaced by an improved version 10RK.
November 6, 1943, by resolution of the State Defense Committee new self-propelled guns was adopted by the Red Army under the final name ISU-152. In the same month, serial production of the ISU-152 began at the Chelyabinsk Kirov Plant (ChKZ). In December 1943, the SU-152 and ISU-152 were still produced jointly at ChKZ, and from the next month the ISU-152 completely replaced its predecessor SU-152 on the assembly lines.
During the production process, minor changes were made to the design of the ISU-152, aimed at increasing combat and operational qualities and reducing the cost of the vehicle.
The ISU-152 as a whole successfully combined three main combat roles: a heavy assault gun, a tank destroyer and a self-propelled howitzer. However, in each of these roles, as a rule, there was another, more specialized self-propelled gun with best characteristics for its category than the ISU-152.
In addition to World War II, ISU-152s were used in the suppression of the Hungarian Uprising of 1956, where they once again confirmed their enormous destructive power. Particularly effective was the use of the ISU-152 as a powerful “anti-sniper rifle” to destroy rebel snipers hiding in residential buildings in Budapest, who inflicted significant damage on Soviet troops. Sometimes, just the presence of a self-propelled gun nearby was enough for the inhabitants of the house, in fear for their lives and property, to expel the snipers or bottle throwers who had settled there.
The main use of the ISU-152 was fire support advancing tanks and infantry. The 152.4 mm (6-inch) ML-20S howitzer gun had a powerful OF-540 high-explosive fragmentation projectile weighing 43.56 kg, loaded with 6 kg of TNT. These shells were very effective against both unsheltered infantry (with the fuze set to high explosive) and against fortifications such as pillboxes and trenches (with the fuze set to high explosive). One hit from such a projectile into an ordinary medium-sized city house was enough to destroy all life inside.
ISU-152s were especially in demand in urban battles, such as the assault on Berlin, Budapest or Königsberg. The self-propelled gun's good armor allowed it to move into direct fire range to destroy enemy firing points. For conventional towed artillery, this was mortally dangerous due to enemy machine gun and targeted sniper fire.
To reduce losses from fire from “Faustniks” (German soldiers armed with “Panzerschrecks” or “Faustpatrons”), in urban battles the ISU-152 used one or two self-propelled guns along with an infantry squad (assault group) to protect them. Typically, an assault team included a sniper (or, at a minimum, just a marksman), machine gunners, and sometimes a backpack flamethrower. The DShK heavy machine gun on the ISU-152 was an effective weapon for destroying “faustniks” hiding on the upper floors of buildings, behind rubble and barricades. Skillful interaction between the crews of self-propelled guns and the assigned infantry soldiers made it possible to achieve their goals with the least losses; otherwise, the attacking vehicles could very easily be destroyed by the Faustians.
The ISU-152 could also successfully act as a tank destroyer, although it was significantly inferior to specialized tank destroyers that were armed with anti-tank guns. In this capacity, she inherited the nickname “St. John’s Wort” from her predecessor SU-152. The BR-540 armor-piercing projectile weighing 48.9 kg with a muzzle velocity of 600 m/s was intended to destroy armored targets; a BR-540 hit in any of the projections of any Wehrmacht production tank was very destructive, the chance of surviving after it was negligible. Only the frontal armor of the Ferdinand and Jagdtiger anti-tank self-propelled guns could withstand a hit from such a projectile.

However, in addition to its advantages, the ISU-152 also had disadvantages. The largest of them was a small transportable ammunition load of 20 rounds. Moreover, loading new ammunition was a labor-intensive operation, sometimes taking more than 40 minutes. This was a consequence of the large mass of the projectiles; as a result, greater physical strength and endurance were required from the loader. The compact layout makes it possible to reduce overall size machine, which had a beneficial effect on its visibility on the battlefield. However, this same arrangement forced the placement of fuel tanks inside the fighting compartment. If they were breached, the crew had a high risk of being burned alive. However, this danger was somewhat reduced by the worse flammability of diesel fuel compared to gasoline.

To create the diorama you needed:
(Trumpeter 00413) " Soviet tank crews on vacation 1/35"
(3532 Star) “ISU-152 “St. John’s wort” 1/35”
(35105 Orient Express) 1/35 Set of tracks for IS tanks of late series
(MiniArt 36028) “Village diorama with a fountain” 1/35
Paints “ARMY PAINTER” and VAILEJO
WILDER and MIG pigments
fixation of pigments – Fixer WILDER
ARMY PAINTER washes

29

No matter how they called this car, no matter how they criticized it. However, produced in numbers second only to the T-34, the SU-76 became a reliable infantry companion in both defense and offense.

The SU-76 was created on the basis of the T-70 light tank, primarily as a mobile infantry escort vehicle. That's exactly it, and nothing else. It was the irrational use of self-propelled guns that led to large and unjustified losses at first and criticism of the self-propelled gun.

This vehicle was used as an infantry (cavalry) escort weapon, as well as an anti-tank weapon to combat enemy light and medium tanks and self-propelled guns. The SU-76M was ineffective against heavy vehicles due to weak armor protection of the hull and insufficient power of the gun.

A total of 14,280 SU-76 and SU-76M self-propelled guns were produced.

The 76.2 mm ZIS-Z cannon of the 1942 model was installed as the main weapon in the fighting compartment of the machine.

When firing direct fire, the standard sight of the ZIS-Z cannon was used, and when firing from closed firing positions, a panoramic sight was used.

The power plant consisted of two four-stroke GAZ-202 engines installed parallel along the sides of the hull. The total power of the power plant was 140 hp. (103 kW). The capacity of the fuel tanks was 320 liters, the vehicle's cruising range on the highway reached 250 km. The maximum speed on the highway was 45 km/h.

For external radio communications, it was planned to install a 9P radio station, and for internal communications, a TPU-ZR tank intercom. Light signaling (signal colored lights) was used to communicate between the commander and the driver.

As soon as they called this self-propelled gun... “Bitch”, “Columbine” and “ mass grave crew." The SU-76 is usually criticized for its weak armor and open conning tower. However, an objective comparison with similar Western models convinces that the SU-76 was not much inferior to the German “marders”.

Nevertheless, the presence of this self-propelled gun in the front ranks during the offensive was perceived with a little less enthusiasm than the work of the Katyusha, but still. Light and nimble, and the bunkers will be plugged, and the machine gun will be wound on the tracks. In a word, it’s better with Columbines than without them.

And the open wheelhouse did not allow the crew to be poisoned by powder gases. Let me remind you that the Su-76 was used precisely as an infantry support weapon. The ZiS-5 gun had a rate of fire of 15 rounds per minute, and one can only imagine the hell the self-propelled gunners had to endure when conducting suppressive fire.

Marshal of the Soviet Union K.K. Rokossovsky recalled:

“...The soldiers especially liked the SU-76 self-propelled artillery mounts. These light, mobile vehicles kept up everywhere in order to support and rescue the infantry with their fire and tracks, and the infantrymen, in turn, were ready to shield them with their chests from the fire of enemy armor-piercing fighters and faustians ... "

When used correctly, and this did not happen right away, the SU-76M showed itself well both in defense - when repelling infantry attacks and as mobile, well-protected anti-tank reserves, and in the offensive - when suppressing machine gun nests, destroying pillboxes and bunkers, as well as in the fight against counterattacking tanks.

SU-76s were sometimes used for indirect fire. The elevation angle of its gun was the maximum among all Soviet serial self-propelled guns, and the firing range could reach the limits of the ZIS-3 gun installed on it, that is, 13 km.

Low specific ground pressure allowed the self-propelled gun to move normally in swampy areas, where other types of tanks and self-propelled guns would inevitably get stuck. This circumstance played a big role positive role in the battles of 1944 in Belarus, where swamps acted as natural barriers for the advancing Soviet troops.

SU-76M could pass along hastily constructed roads along with infantry and attack the enemy where he least expected attacks from Soviet self-propelled guns.

The SU-76M also performed well in urban battles - its open control room, despite the possibility of the crew being hit by fire small arms, provided best review and allowed for very close interaction with the soldiers of infantry assault detachments.

Finally, the SU-76M could hit with its fire all light and medium tanks and self-propelled guns of the Wehrmacht equivalent to it.

The SU-76 has become a reliable means of fire support for infantry and the same symbol of Victory, albeit not as obvious as the “thirty-fours” and “St. John’s worts”. But in terms of mass production, the SU-76 was second only to the T-34.

29

After the appearance of the latest German tanks on the battlefields, in the Soviet Union, along with other combat vehicles, drawings of the KV-14 self-propelled gun, armed with a ML-20 howitzer gun of 152 mm caliber, were hastily created. The ML-20 howitzer had an initial projectile speed of 600 m/s and, at a distance of 2000 meters, penetrated armor over 100 mm thick. The weight of the armor-piercing projectile of this weapon is 48.78 kg, and the high-explosive fragmentation projectile is 43.5 kg.

Although the KV-14 was created primarily to support infantry, it was possible to use the vehicle as a tank destroyer. The KV-14 self-propelled gun was adopted and put into production in February 1943. A unique record is that it took only 25 days to design and manufacture a prototype.

Since the recoil of the ML-20 howitzer-gun was too great, the gun had to be placed not in the turret, like the KV-2, but in a fixed wheelhouse, like the German StuG III. At the same time, the swinging part of the powerful 152-mm ML-20 gun-howitzer was installed practically unchanged into the machine frame and, together with the ammunition and the crew, was placed in a specially designed conning tower on the tank chassis. The serial gun underwent almost no design changes; only the recoil devices and the location of the gun's camshaft camshaft were slightly modified. At the same time, the frontal armor shield with a massive armor mask, in addition to protection from shells, also served as a balancing element.

The armor of the gun mantlet reached 120 mm, the frontal part of the hull - 70, and the sides - 60 mm. The rate of fire of the gun, due to the use of a piston bolt and separate loading, was only 2 rounds per minute. The gun had sector manual guidance mechanisms. The horizontal guidance angle was 12°, vertical - from -5° to +18°.

Aiming devices consisted of a panoramic sight for firing from closed positions and a telescopic ST-10 for direct fire. Direct shot range is 700 meters. The self-propelled gun was also equipped with five prismatic viewing devices in the roof of the cabin; in addition, there was a driver’s viewing window, covered with a glass block and an armored cover with a slot.

The ammunition consisted of separately loaded rounds with armor-piercing shells weighing 48.8 kg and high-explosive fragmentation shells weighing 43.5 kg. Their initial speeds were 600 and 655 m/s, respectively. At a distance of 2000 m, armor-piercing shells penetrated armor 100 mm thick. A high-explosive fragmentation shell hitting the turret of any tank, as a rule, tore it off the shoulder strap.

The new self-propelled guns were equipped with radio stations 10-RK-26, as well as an internal intercom TPU-3.

To produce self-propelled guns, they used the chassis of the KV-1S tank, which at that time was still on the assembly line. In terms of cross-country ability, the SU-152 self-propelled gun was similar to the KV-1S tank, maximum speed its speed on the highway was 43 km/h.

On February 14, 1943, the State Defense Committee accepted the KV-14 into service under the designation SU-152. Serial production of the SU-152 began on March 1, 1943 in Chelyabinsk. Gradually, the production capacity of Tankograd (ChTZ) was switched from KV-1S to SU-152. By the end of 1943, 704 vehicles were produced.

Already during mass production for the SU-152, a 12.7-mm anti-aircraft turret was designed DShK machine gun, which could be used for protection against attack from the air and against ground targets (since the installation of machine guns on self-propelled guns was not initially envisaged).

SU-152 entered service with heavy self-propelled artillery regiments of the RVGK, each of which had 12 such vehicles. The first regiment of self-propelled guns was formed in May 1943. The arrival of new self-propelled guns to the troops was greeted with great joy, since they were one of the few who could fight the German “menagerie”. Near Kursk, the SU-152 received the nickname “St. John’s Wort”, since in three weeks of fighting the regiment, which was armed with these formidable combat vehicles, destroyed 12 “Tigers” and 7 “Ferdinands”.

An armor-piercing shell hitting the Tiger's turret tore it off the tank's hull. The self-propelled regiment itself (self-propelled artillery regiment RVGK) consisted first of 12, and then in the winter of 1943-44. - from 21 SU-152. After the launch of mass production of heavy tanks of the IS series, production of the ISU-152 self-propelled gun with the same gun as the SU-152 was launched on their chassis.

35103 Orient Express 1/35 Self-propelled gun KV-14 (SU-152)
35107 Orient Express 1/35 Set of tracks of the KV-1 tank of early series
Paints “ARMY PAINTER” and VAILEJO
WILDER and MIG pigments
fixation of pigments - Fixer WILDER
ARMY PAINTER washes

29

The KV-7 is a Soviet experimental heavy self-propelled artillery unit from the first half of the Great Patriotic War, which was a continuation of the line of modifications of the Soviet heavy and super-heavy KV tanks. In the design documentation, this model of self-propelled guns was also designated as “Object 227”. In some Soviet sources, the KV-7 is designated as a heavy, turretless breakthrough tank, but by all indications, the design of the KV-7 corresponds specifically to a self-propelled artillery mount.
At the beginning of the Soviet-German War, the KV-1 and T-34 serial tanks of the Red Army, armed with 76-mm cannons, did not always cope with the enemy’s armored targets. In addition, the not very compact placement of the crew in the tanks did not allow developing the desired rate of fire. During this period, requests began to come from the front to create a tank or, preferably, an SPG that would be devoid of all of the above disadvantages. Design department The Chelyabinsk Kirov Plant (ChKZ) proposed the option of arming self-propelled guns with two 76 mm guns. In mid-November 1941, the ChKZ design bureau, under the leadership of Joseph Yakovlevich Kotin, created design documentation and began assembling a prototype, which was called the KV-7 or “Object 227.” At the end of December 1941, the first and only prototype of the KV-7 self-propelled gun was assembled, which was immediately sent for field testing. During the tests, a number of shortcomings were identified when the crew worked with a twin artillery mount, which was very typical for multi-gun tanks and self-propelled guns. However main reason the failure to accept the KV-7 into service and its failure to put it into production was not this, but the urgent need of the Red Army for T-34, KV-1 and KV-1s tanks.
The KV-7 heavy self-propelled artillery mount was configured similarly to the KV-1 tank. The armored corps was divided into three sections. The driver's seat and the machine gun shooter's position were located in the control compartment located in the nose of the vehicle. The remaining four crew members: the commander, gunner and two loaders were located in the fighting compartment, which extended to the middle part of the armored hull and the wheelhouse. The engine, its cooling systems and the main transmission components were installed in the rear of the hull in the engine and transmission compartment.
To board and disembark the self-propelled gun, the crew of 6 people used two round hatches in the wheelhouse roof, which was a significant drawback when leaving the vehicle in an emergency. The bottom hatch, equipped in the bottom of the hull, did not solve these problems, and when the self-propelled gun was hit, it was practically impossible for the driver and gunner to leave the vehicle quickly.
The armor of the KV-7 heavy self-propelled gun was developed according to a differentiated anti-ballistic principle and provided protection for the vehicle and its crew from damage from both small arms bullets and medium-sized fragments, and from medium-caliber projectiles when fired from medium distance. The armored hull of the KV-7 heavy self-propelled gun was assembled from rolled armor plates by welding them together. The armor plates, similar to the serial heavy tank KV-1, had a thickness of 75, 40, 30 and 20 millimeters, depending on the direction of the armor. In anti-missile directions (bottom and top of the frontal part and stern), the thickness of the armor plates was 75 millimeters. The stern armor plates were 70 millimeters thick at the bottom and 60 millimeters at the top. The roof and bottom of the armored hull were assembled from armor plates with a thickness of 20 to 40 millimeters, depending on the location of the reservation. All armor plates had rational angles of inclination to the vertical normal, except for the side parts, which significantly increased the armor resistance of the hull structure. The conning tower of the heavy self-propelled gun KV-7 was assembled from rolled steel armor plates, connected to each other and to the frame in almost all cases by welding. The armor plates in the frontal part of the cabin and along its sides had a thickness of 75 millimeters. It was assumed that the stern armor would be from 35 to 40 millimeters. The frontal and side armor plates of the cabin had angles of inclination to the vertical from 20 to 30 degrees. The twin gun mount was protected by a rectangular movable armor mantlet with a thickness of 100 millimeters.
When designing the KV-7 self-propelled gun, the vehicle's armament consisted of two 76.2-mm ZIS 5 rifled tank guns paired in a U-14 mount. The ammunition for both ZIS-5 guns consisted of 150 unitary loading shells, which were placed along the sides of the wheelhouse and along its rear part.
The KV-7 was supposed to use three DT machine guns of 7.62 mm caliber as auxiliary weapons. Two of them were installed respectively in the frontal armor plate of the hull (course) and the aft armor plate of the wheelhouse in ball installations. The third machine gun was stowed inside the fighting compartment and, if necessary, could be used as an anti-aircraft gun. The ammunition for the three machine guns was 2646 rounds in 42 discs. For personal protection of the self-propelled gun crew, it was supposed to be armed with two PPSh submachine guns, four TT pistols and 30 F-1 hand grenades.
The power plant in the KV-7 self-propelled guns was supposed to be a V-2K diesel four-stroke V-shaped twelve-cylinder engine, which could provide an output of 600 horsepower. It made it possible for the car to move on the highway at a maximum speed of 34 kilometers per hour.
After assembling the only prototype of the KV-7 self-propelled gun, it entered field and firing tests in April 1942. Using two 76-mm ZIS-5 cannons to fire simultaneously turned out to be not an easy task and entailed a number of problems that were insoluble at that time. In addition, during this period, the Red Army was in dire need of the KV-1, KV-1s and T-34 tanks, which were produced by the Chelyabinsk Kirov Plant (ChKZ). For these two reasons, the KV-7 self-propelled gun was never put into service, and therefore was not put into mass production.
One single produced copy of the KV-7 stood on the territory of ChKZ almost until the end of 1943, and then together with experienced tanks T-29, T-100 were dismantled for metal. However, the experience gained during the creation of the KV-7 was used in the design of other Soviet tanks and self-propelled guns. In particular, all the developments on the KV-7 were successfully used by the designers when creating the KV-14 (SU-152) self-propelled guns, which went into mass production.
And the heavy self-propelled gun KV-7 became the last model Soviet armored vehicles, where they tried to use a twin artillery mount of two guns.

To create the model you needed:
09503 Trumpeter 1/35 “Soviet self-propelled gun KV-7 mod. 1941 volume 227"
Paints “ARMY PAINTER” and VAILEJO
WILDER and MIG pigments
fixation of pigments - Fixer WILDER
ARMY PAINTER washes

29

By mid-1944, it became completely clear that the Red Army's means of combating modern German tanks were clearly insufficient. Quality reinforcement was needed armored forces. They tried to solve this issue by using a 100-mm gun with ballistics on the self-propelled gun. naval guns B-34. The preliminary design of the vehicle was presented to the People's Commissariat of the Tank Industry in December 1943, and already on December 27, 1943, the State Defense Committee decided to adopt a new medium self-propelled gun armed with a 100 mm gun. Place of production new self-propelled gun"Uralmashplant" was determined. However, it was not possible to adapt this weapon - to do this, the entire hull would have to be redone. In order to cope with the problem that had arisen, Uralmashzavod turned for help to plant No. 9, where at the end of February 1944, under the leadership of designer F. F. Petrov, the 100-mm D-10S gun, developed on the basis of a naval anti-aircraft gun, was created B-34.

The tactical and technical characteristics of the new SU-100 self-propelled gun allowed it to successfully fight modern German tanks at a distance of 1,500 meters for the Tigers and Panthers, regardless of the point of impact of the projectile. The Ferdinand self-propelled gun could be hit from a distance of 2000 meters, but only if it hit the side armor. The SU-100 had exceptional firepower for Soviet armored vehicles. Its armor-piercing projectile penetrated 125 mm at a distance of 2000 meters. vertical armor, and at a distance of up to 1000 meters it pierced most German armored vehicles almost right through.

The SU-100 self-propelled gun was designed based on the units of the T-34-85 tank and the SU-85 self-propelled gun. All main components of the tank - chassis, transmission, engine - were used unchanged. The thickness of the front armor of the wheelhouse was almost doubled (from 45 mm for the SU-85 to 75 mm for the SU-100). The increase in armor coupled with an increase in the weight of the gun led to the fact that the suspension of the front rollers was overloaded. They tried to solve the problem by increasing the diameter of the spring wire from 30 to 34 mm, but it was not possible to completely eliminate it. In total, 72% of the parts were borrowed from the T-34 medium tank, 7.5% from the SU-85 self-propelled guns, 4% from the SU-122 self-propelled guns, and 16.5% were designed anew.

The SU-100 self-propelled guns began to enter service with the troops in November 1944. Thus, brigades and regiments armed with SU-100 self-propelled guns took part in the final battles of the Great Patriotic War, as well as in the defeat of the Japanese Kwantung Army. The inclusion of these self-propelled guns into the attacking mobile groups significantly increased their striking power. However, the SU-100 self-propelled guns were not only able to attack. In March 1945, they took part in defensive battles near Lake Balaton. Here, as part of the troops of the 3rd Ukrainian Front, from March 6 to 16, they participated in repelling the counterattack of the 6th SS Panzer Army. All 3 brigades formed in December 1944, armed with the SU-100, were brought in to repel the counterattack, and separate self-propelled artillery regiments armed with the SU-85 and SU-100 self-propelled guns were also used in defense.

Without a doubt, the SU-100 self-propelled gun was the most successful and powerful Soviet anti-tank self-propelled gun during the Great Patriotic War. The SU-100 was 15 tons lighter and at the same time had comparable armor protection and better mobility compared to an identical one German tank destroyer"Jagdpanther". At the same time, a German self-propelled gun armed with an 88-mm German cannon Rak 43/3, superior to the Soviet one in terms of armor penetration and ammo capacity. The Jagdpanther gun, due to the use of a more powerful PzGr 39/43 projectile with a ballistic tip, had better armor penetration at long distances. A similar Soviet projectile, the BR-412D, was developed in the USSR only after the end of the war. Unlike the German tank destroyer, the SU-100's ammunition load did not include cumulative or sub-caliber ammunition. At the same time, the high-explosive fragmentation effect of the 100-mm projectile was naturally higher than that of the German self-propelled gun. In general, both of the best medium anti-tank self-propelled guns of World War II did not have any outstanding advantages over them, despite the fact that the possibilities of using the SU-100 were somewhat wider.

To create the model you needed:
3531 Zvezda tank destroyer SU-100 1/35
35001 MiniArt Soviet infantry on tank armor 1944 - 1945 Soviet Infantry at Rest (1944-45) 1:35
Magic Models 35032 Red army infantry insignia 1943-1945 – Shoulder straps
Paints “ARMY PAINTER” and VAILEJO
WILDER and MIG pigments
fixation of pigments - Fixer WILDER
ARMY PAINTER washes

10

With the advent of combat aviation, troops began to need anti-aircraft cover. The development of armored vehicles and corresponding changes in tactics forced engineers around the world to begin work on self-propelled anti-aircraft systems. At first, the most popular method of creating such equipment was the installation of anti-aircraft machine guns or guns on cars. However limited opportunities base chassis affected both the permissible power of the weapons and the mobility of the entire system. As a result, the creation of anti-aircraft self-propelled guns based on tank chassis began. In our country, similar projects started in the early thirties.

It was assumed that the use of a tracked chassis, borrowed from one of the existing or developed tanks, would provide the vehicle with mobility at the level of other military equipment, and the relatively large caliber of the gun will make it possible to hit targets at altitudes of up to several kilometers.

When creating a project based on the chassis of the T-28 tank, the chassis of the latter underwent some changes associated with the use of new weapons. The improvements affected the front and upper parts of the armored hull, located near the fighting compartment. All other components and assemblies, as well as body elements, remained unchanged, which was supposed to ensure comparative ease of construction and operation of the new equipment.

According to available data, the SU-8 project involved the removal of all three turrets, the roof and the upper part of the sides of the fighting compartment from the tank. Inside the fighting compartment, it was proposed to mount a circular rotation pedestal installation for the 3-K gun. In order to protect the gun crew from bullets and shell fragments, the self-propelled gun had to have an armored cabin with a frontal plate and sides. The latter, for the convenience of the artillerymen’s work, had to be tilted sideways and down. When unfolded, the sides formed a relatively large platform, facilitating maintenance of the gun and providing all-round horizontal guidance.

The maximum possible unification of the SU-8 anti-aircraft self-propelled gun and the T-28 tank ensured a relatively high level of protection for the units. The hull was to be assembled from rolled sheets with a thickness of 10 (roof) to 30 (forehead) mm, the deckhouse was made of sheets with a thickness of 10 and 13 mm. Thus, the crew of the vehicle would be reliably protected from small arms bullets and artillery shell fragments

The SU-8 was supposed to use the same power plant as the base T-28 tank: a 12-cylinder M-17T engine with 450 hp. and a manual transmission with a five-speed gearbox. The chassis of the self-propelled gun was also to be borrowed without changes. It was proposed to attach a box with chassis elements installed in it to each side of the vehicle. 12 road wheels on each side were connected by two using spring-cushioned balancers. Such carriages were connected into two bogies on each side (6 road wheels each) with a two-point suspension to the body.

It was proposed to mount a pedestal installation for the 3-K anti-aircraft gun in the fighting compartment of the self-propelled gun. The 76.2 mm caliber gun had a 55-caliber barrel. When using guidance systems developed together with the gun, the elevation angle could vary from -3° to +82°. The gun could hit targets at altitudes up to 9300 m. The maximum firing range at ground targets exceeded 14 km. An important feature of the 3-K gun was its semi-automatic loading system. When firing, the gun independently opened the bolt and ejected the spent cartridge case, and when a new projectile was fed, it closed the bolt. The artillerymen only had to fire new shells. An experienced crew could fire at a rate of up to 15-20 rounds per minute.

On the SU-8 self-propelled gun, the 3-K gun was to be used together with a pedestal installation, which was modified units of its towed carriage. A similar installation system was also used when mounting anti-aircraft guns on trucks and armored trains.
The project of an anti-aircraft self-propelled gun based on the T-28 tank generally satisfied the military and was approved. Permission was received to build and test a prototype. Due to difficulties with mastering the serial production of T-28 tanks at the Kirov plant in Leningrad, construction of the SU-8 prototype began only in the second half of 1934. During construction, some shortcomings of the new project were identified. The main one is the unacceptably high cost. In addition, complaints were caused by the difficulty of servicing the equipment.

The only prototype of the SU-8 anti-aircraft self-propelled gun was never completed. At the end of 1934 it was converted into a tank. This fate of the unfinished vehicle speaks to one of the main reasons why the SU-8 was not only not accepted for service, but was not even tested. According to available data, 41 T-28 tanks were built in 1933. In 1934, the number of tanks produced was slightly larger - 50, and in 1935 it decreased to 32. Until 1941, only 503 medium tanks of the new model were built. With such a slow production of new tanks, the start of serial construction of self-propelled guns based on them did not look like the wisest decision. The army needed both tanks and self-propelled guns, but production capabilities required choosing one or the other. As a result, the tanks were selected, and the SU-8 project was completed at the prototype construction stage.

In November 1933, the design department of self-propelled artillery of plant No. 185 received the task of designing an anti-aircraft self-propelled gun on the chassis of the T-26 tank. Even preliminary estimates showed that the chassis needed to be lengthened. But nevertheless, until February 1934, the GAU (Main Artillery Directorate) and the UMM (Department of Mechanization and Motorization) did not agree with alterations to the chassis of the T-26 tank.

In May 1934, the project was generally approved, but the assignment was adjusted for the use of the gun in combat formations of troops against enemy tanks. In June 1934, the plant's tank design bureau began work on the design and manufacture of an extended T-26 chassis for self-propelled artillery.

The layout of the anti-aircraft self-propelled guns was carried out by L. Troyanov under the general supervision of P.N. Syachintova. The vehicle was an open self-propelled unit, built with extensive use of components and assemblies of the T-26 tank, from which the engine, main clutch, driveshaft joints, gearbox, side clutches, brakes and final drives were borrowed. The body was riveted from 6-8 mm armor steel sheets. It was wider and longer compared to the T-26. For the necessary rigidity, it was reinforced with three transverse partitions, between which there were folding crew seats. On the roof of the hull, additionally reinforced with angles, the pedestal of a 76-mm ZK anti-aircraft gun was bolted.
One road wheel (on each side), sprung by a coil spring, was added to the T-26 chassis. To reduce the load on the suspension when firing, a special hydraulic switch was installed on each side, which unloaded the springs and transferred the load directly to the road wheels.
Folding sides made of 6-mm armor were attached to the sides of the vehicle on hinges, protecting the crew from fire during the march. Before firing, the sides were folded back and held in place by special stops. The mass of the self-propelled unit, designated SU-6, in combat position was 11.1 tons, the maximum speed on the highway reached 28 km/h, and the range was 130 km. In addition to the 76.2 mm anti-aircraft gun, the vehicle's armament was supplemented by two 7.62 mm DT machine guns installed in the front and rear sides in ball mounts.

During factory tests of the SU-6, which took place from September 12 to October 11, 1935, the vehicle covered 180 km and fired 50 shots. The commission’s conclusions noted the following: “Based on the tests carried out, it can be considered that the sample is fully prepared for field testing. No defects or damage were found, except for the destruction of one road wheel.”

On October 13, 1935, the SU-6 arrived at NIAP. The tests were difficult weather conditions, the SU-6 experienced frequent breakdowns of the material part, and therefore the testing process dragged on until December. During their course, the self-propelled gun broke down many times. In total, the SU-6 covered 750 km (up to 900 km in total) and fired 416 rounds. The accuracy of fire at the beginning of the tests was satisfactory, but at the end it was unsatisfactory, both with the springs on and off. Therefore, the commission came to the conclusion that turning off the springs does not affect accuracy, and this mechanism should be excluded. In addition, the report on the results of field tests noted low engine power and ineffective cooling (the engine overheated after 15-25 kilometers of running over rough terrain), unsatisfactory strength of the road wheels and suspension springs, as well as low stability of the entire system when overcoming obstacles, “jumping "and "bounces" of the installation, disrupting aiming, rocking of the platform. There was not enough space on the combat platform for remote tube installers. The commission concluded that the machine was completely unsuitable for use in mechanical connections.

After the unsuccessful completion of the SU-6 tests and the decision to develop a 37-mm assault rifle designed by B.S. at Plant No. 8. The hospital situation has changed. On March 13, 1936, government decree No. 0K-58ss was issued, according to which the four already laid down SU-6s were to be handed over for training purposes with a 76-mm anti-aircraft gun mod. 1931, and the ten SU-6s being produced were to receive a 37-mm anti-aircraft gun. But, despite the plan to ship 10 B. Shpitalny assault rifles to plant No. 185 by October 1, plant No. 8 did not deliver a single one by the end of the year. In addition, P.N. Syachintov was arrested, and all work on the SU-6, as well as on other anti-aircraft self-propelled guns on a tank chassis, was stopped in January 1937. From now on, responsibilities military air defense was to be carried out by quadruple anti-aircraft machine gun mounts (ZPU) in the bodies of GAZ-AAA trucks.

AT-1 (Artillery Tank-1) - according to the classification of tanks in the mid-1930s, it belonged to the class of specially created tanks; according to the modern classification, it would be considered an anti-tank self-propelled artillery mount manufactured in 1935. Work on the creation of an artillery support tank based on the T-26, which received the official designation AT-1, began at plant No. 185 named after. Kirov in 1934. It was assumed that the created tank would replace the T-26-4, serial production which Soviet industry never managed to establish. The main weapon of the AT-1 was the 76.2 mm PS-3 cannon, designed by P. Syachentov.

This artillery system was designed as a special tank gun, which was equipped with panoramic and telescopic sights and a foot trigger. The power of the PS-3 gun was superior to the 76.2-mm gun mod. 1927, which was installed on T-26-4 tanks. By the spring of 1935, 2 prototypes of this machine were produced.

The AT-1 self-propelled gun belonged to the class of closed self-propelled units. The fighting compartment was located in the middle part of the vehicle in a protected armored room. The main armament of the self-propelled gun was the 76.2 mm PS-3 cannon, which was mounted on a rotating swivel on a pin stand. Additional armament was a 7.62 mm DT machine gun, which was mounted in a ball mount to the right of the gun. Additionally, the AT-1 could be armed with a second DT machine gun, which could be used by the crew for self-defense. To install it, there were special embrasures in the stern and sides of the armored cabin, covered with armored flaps. The crew of the self-propelled gun consisted of 3 people: a driver, who was located in the control compartment on the right in the direction of movement of the vehicle, an observer (aka loader), who was located in the fighting compartment to the right of the gun, and an artilleryman, who was located to the left of him. There were hatches in the roof of the cabin for boarding and disembarking the self-propelled gun crew.

The PS-3 cannon could send an armor-piercing projectile at a speed of 520 m/s, had panoramic and telescopic sights, a foot trigger, and could be used both for direct fire and from closed positions. Vertical guidance angles ranged from -5 to +45 degrees, horizontal guidance - 40 degrees (in both directions) without rotating the self-propelled gun hull. The ammunition included 40 cannon rounds and 1,827 machine gun rounds (29 discs).

The armor protection of the self-propelled gun was bulletproof and included rolled armor plates with a thickness of 6, 8 and 15 mm. The armored shell was made from sheets 6 and 15 mm thick. The connection of the armored parts of the hull was ensured by rivets. The side and rear armor plates of the wheelhouse were made hinged to allow removal of powder gases when firing at half their height. In this case, the gap is 0.3 mm. between the folding flaps and the body of the self-propelled gun did not provide the crew of the vehicle with protection from being hit by lead spray from bullets.

The capacity of the fuel tanks of the AT-1 installation was 182 liters, this fuel supply was enough to cover 140 km. when driving on the highway.

The first copy of the AT-1 self-propelled gun was handed over for testing in April 1935. In terms of its driving characteristics, it was no different from the serial T-26 tank. Fire tests have shown that the rate of fire of the gun without aiming correction reaches 12-15 rounds per minute at longest range firing at a distance of 10.5 km, instead of the required 8 km. Firing while moving was generally successful. At the same time, shortcomings of the vehicle were also identified, which did not allow the AT-1 to be transferred for military testing. Based on the results of tests of the AT-1 self-propelled gun, satisfactory operation of the gun was noted, but due to a number of parameters (for example, the inconvenient position of the rotating mechanism, the location of the ammunition, etc.) the self-propelled gun was not allowed for military testing.

In 1937, the leading designer of self-propelled units of plant No. 185, P. Syachentov, was declared an “enemy of the people” and repressed. This circumstance caused the cessation of work on many projects that he supervised. Among these projects was the AT-1 self-propelled gun, although by that time the Izhora plant had already managed to produce 8 armored hulls, and plant No. 174 began assembling the first vehicles.

To summarize, we can say that the AT-1 was the first self-propelled artillery unit in the USSR. For that time when the military was still keen on machine-gun wedges or tanks armed with 37-mm cannons, the AT-1 self-propelled gun could rightly be considered a very powerful weapon.

DSCN1625 pigment fixation - Fixer WILDER
ARMY PAINTER washes

In connection with the appearance of tanks with increasingly powerful armor from the enemy, it was decided to create a self-propelled artillery unit based on the T-34 tank, more powerful than the SU-85. In 1944, such a unit was put into service under the name "SU-100". To create it, the engine, transmission, chassis and many components of the T-34-85 tank were used. The armament consisted of a 100-mm D-10S cannon installed in the conning tower of the same design as the SU-85 conning tower. The only difference was the installation on the SU-100 on the right, in front, of a commander’s cupola with battlefield observation devices. The choice of gun to arm the self-propelled gun turned out to be very successful: it perfectly combined rate of fire, high initial projectile speed, range and accuracy. It was perfect for fighting enemy tanks: its armor-piercing projectile penetrated 160 mm thick armor from a distance of 1000 meters. After the war, this gun was installed on new T-54 tanks.
Just like on the SU-85, the SU-100 was equipped with tank and artillery panoramic sights, a 9R or 9RS radio station and a TPU-3-BisF tank intercom. The SU-100 self-propelled gun was produced from 1944 to 1947; during the Great Patriotic War, 2,495 units of this type were produced.

Self-propelled artillery units

Self-propelled gun ZIS-30

Lightweight anti-tank self-propelled gun open type. Created on an emergency basis at plant No. 92 (Gorky) using the rotating part of a 57-mm cannon and a semi-armored T-20 Komsomolets artillery tractor; It was mass-produced there from September 21 to October 15, 1941. 101 units produced.

Serial modification: a 57-mm cannon is installed behind a standard shield in the rear part of the tractor body. For greater stability when firing, the vehicle was equipped with folding coulters. A gun mounting bracket was installed on the roof of the cabin in a traveling manner. Otherwise, the base car remains unchanged.

Self-propelled guns ZIS-30 began to enter service at the end of September 1941. They equipped anti-tank batteries 20 tank brigades Western and Southwestern fronts. Despite all its shortcomings (poor stability, overloaded chassis, short range, etc.), the ZIS-30, thanks to the presence of a powerful artillery system, fought quite successfully against enemy tanks. However, by the summer of 1942 there were practically no such vehicles left in the army.

Self-propelled gun ZIS-30

TACTICAL AND TECHNICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF SAU ZIS-30

COMBAT WEIGHT, t: 3.96.

CREW, people: 5.

OVERALL DIMENSIONS, mm: length - 3900, width - 1850, height (in the cabin) - 1580, ground clearance - 300.

ARMAMENT: 1 ZIS-2 cannon model 1941, 57 mm caliber, 1 DT machine gun model 1929, 7.62 mm caliber.

AMMUNITION: 756 machine gun rounds.

RESERVATION, mm: 7...10.

ENGINE: GAZ M-1, 4-cylinder, carburetor, in-line, liquid cooling; power 50 hp (36.8 kW) at 2800 rpm, displacement 3280 cm?.

TRANSMISSION: single-disc main dry friction clutch, 4-speed gearbox, range, final drive, final clutches, final drives.

CHASSIS: four rubber-coated support rollers on board, interlocked in pairs into two balancing bogies, two support rollers, a guide wheel, a front drive wheel (lantern engagement); suspension on semi-elliptical leaf springs; each caterpillar has 79 tracks with a width of 200 mm.

SPEED MAX., km/h; 47.

POWER RESERVE, km: 150.

OBSTACLES TO OVERCOME: angle of ascent, degrees - 3Q, ditch width, m -1.4, wall height, m ​​-0.47, ford depth, m -0.6.

COMMUNICATIONS: no.

Self-propelled gun SU-76

Light infantry escort self-propelled guns, created on the basis of the T-70 tank using the ZIS-Z field divisional gun. The most massive Soviet self-propelled gun of the Second World War. Serial production was carried out by plants No. 38 (Kirov), No. 40 (Mytishchi) and GAZ. From December 1942 to June 1945, 14,292 units were manufactured.

Serial modifications:

SU-76 (SU-12) - above the rear part of the hull, which is elongated compared to the base tank, there is a fixed armored cabin closed at the top. A ZIS-Z cannon is mounted in the embrasure of the front deckhouse. The power plant consisted of two engines connected to the power transmission in parallel. The units of the latter were also parallelized and connected at the level of the main gears. The driver was located in the bow of the vehicle, and the three-man gun crew was located in the wheelhouse. Combat weight 11.2 tons. Dimensions 5000x2740x2200 mm. 360 units produced.

SU-76M (SU-15) - armored cabin open at the top and partially at the rear. The power plant and transmission are borrowed from the T-70M tank. The layout and chassis remained unchanged. 13,932 units produced.

The first batch of SU-76 self-propelled guns (25 units) was manufactured by January 1, 1943 and sent to the self-propelled artillery training center. At the end of January, the first two self-propelled artillery regiments of a mixed organization - the 1433rd and 1434th were sent to the Volkhov Front to participate in breaking the siege of Leningrad. In March 1943, two more regiments were formed - the 1485th and 1487th, which took part in the battles on the Western Front.

According to the 1943 staff, the light self-propelled artillery regiment had 21 SU-76M self-propelled guns. At the end of 1944 and the beginning of 1945, 70 SU-76M self-propelled artillery divisions (16 self-propelled guns each) were formed for rifle divisions. In the first half of 1944, the formation of light self-propelled artillery brigades of the RVGK began (60 SU-76M and 5 T-70).

By the end of the war, the Red Army had 119 light self-propelled artillery regiments and 7 light self-propelled artillery brigades.

The SU-76M self-propelled guns took part in hostilities until the end of the Great Patriotic War, and then in the war with Japan. 130 self-propelled guns were transferred to the Polish Army.

In the post-war period, the SU-76M was in service with the Soviet Army until the early 50s, and in the armies of a number of countries even longer. They took part in the Korean War as part of the North Korean army.

Self-propelled gun SU-76M

TACTICAL AND TECHNICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF SAU SU-76M

COMBAT WEIGHT, t: 10.5.

CREW, people: 4.

OVERALL DIMENSIONS, mm: length - 4966, width - 2715, height -2100, ground clearance -300.

WEAPONS; 1 ZIS-Z gun mod. 1942 caliber 76 mm.

AMMUNITION: 60 rounds.

AIMING DEVICES: Hertz panorama.

RESERVATION, mm: front of the hull and deckhouse - 25...35, side - 10...15, stern - 10, roof and bottom -10.

ENGINE and TRANSMISSION: like the T-70M tank.

CHASSIS: six support rubber rollers on board, three support rollers, front drive wheel

th arrangement with a removable gear rim (lantern engagement), a guide wheel similar in design to a support roller; individual torsion bar suspension; each caterpillar has 93 tracks 300 mm wide, track pitch 111 mm.

MAX SPEED, km/h: 45.

POWER RESERVE, km: 250.

OBSTACLES TO OVERCOME: angle of ascent, degrees - 28, ditch width, m -1.6, wall height, m ​​- 0.6, ford depth, m - 0.9.

COMMUNICATIONS: radio station 12RT-3 or 9R, intercom TPU-3.

Anti-aircraft self-propelled gun ZSU-37

Created on the basis of the SU-76M self-propelled gun. Produced at plant No. 40 (Mytishchi) in 1945 and 1946. 75 units produced.

Serial modification:

the hull, power plant and chassis are borrowed from the SU-76M. A 37-mm automatic anti-aircraft gun is installed in a fixed armored cabin open at the top in the rear part of the hull.

The ZSU-37 did not take part in the fighting of the Second World War. First demonstrated at a military parade in Moscow on November 7, 1946. Due to a number of technical shortcomings, it was quickly withdrawn from production and service.

ZSU-37

TACTICAL AND TECHNICAL CHARACTERISTICS ZSU-37

COMBAT WEIGHT, t: 11.5.

CREW, people: 6.

OVERALL DIMENSIONS, mm: length - 5250, width - 2745, height - 2180, ground clearance - 300.

WEAPONS: 1 automatic anti-aircraft gun mod. 1939 caliber 37 mm.

AMMUNITION: 320 rounds.

AIMING DEVICES: collimator - 2.

RESERVATION, mm: front of the hull and deckhouse - 25...35, side - 15, stern - 10...15, roof and bottom - 6...10.

ENGINE, TRANSMISSION and CHASSIS: like the SU-76M.

MAX. SPEED, km/h: 45.

POWER RESERVE, km: 360.

OBSTACLES TO OVERCOME: ascent angle, degrees. -24, ditch width, m - 2, wall height, m ​​- 0.6, ford depth, m - 0.9. COMMUNICATIONS: radio station 12RT-3, intercom TPU-ZF.

Self-propelled gun SU-122 (U-35)

Self-propelled infantry support unit. Created on the basis of the T-34 medium tank using the 122 mm M-30 howitzer. Adopted into service by decree of the State Defense Committee of December 2, 1942. Serially produced at UZTM (Sverdlovsk). From December 1942 to August 1943, 638 units were manufactured.

Serial modification:

chassis and hull of the base tank. The 122-mm divisional howitzer is installed in the front part of the hull on a pedestal in a low-profile, fully enclosed armored cabin. Horizontal firing angle 2(U), vertical from -U to +25°. All crew members, including the driver, were located in the wheelhouse.

The first SU-122 self-propelled guns entered service with the 1433rd and 1434th self-propelled artillery regiments along with the SU-76. The baptism of fire took place on February 14, 1943 during a private operation of the 54th Army of the Volkhov Front in the Smerdyn area.

In April 1943, the formation of self-propelled artillery regiments of homogeneous composition began. They had 16 SU-122s, which continued to be used to escort infantry and tanks until the beginning of 1944. However, this application was not effective enough due to the low initial speed of the projectile - 515 m/s and, consequently, the low flatness of its trajectory.

SU-122

TACTICAL AND TECHNICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF SAU SU-122

COMBAT WEIGHT, t: 30.9.

CREW, people: 5.

OVERALL DIMENSIONS, mm: length - 6950, width - 3000, height -2235, ground clearance -400.

ARMAMENT: 1 howitzer M-30 model 1938, 122 mm caliber.

AMMUNITION: 40 rounds.

AIMING DEVICES: panoramic sight.

RESERVATION, mm: forehead, side, hull rear - 45, roof and bottom - 20.

ENGINE, TRANSMISSION and CHASSIS: like the base tank.

MAX. SPEED, km/h: 55.

POWER RESERVE, km: 300.

OBSTACLES TO OVERCOME: ascent angle, degrees. - 35, ditch width, m - 2.5, wall height, m ​​- 0.73, ford depth, m - 1.3.

COMMUNICATIONS: radio station 9P or 10RK, intercom TPU-Z-bisF.

Self-propelled gun SU-85

The first Soviet full-fledged anti-tank self-propelled gun, intended to combat the new German heavy tanks. Created on the basis of the T-34 tank and SU-122 self-propelled guns. Adopted by the Red Army by GKO decree No. 3892 of August 7, 1943. During serial production from August 1943 to October 1944, 2644 units were manufactured at UZTM.

Serial modifications:

SU-85 (SU-85-11) is identical in design, layout and armor to the SU-122. The main difference is in the armament - instead of a 122-mm howitzer, an 85-mm cannon with the ballistics of a 52K anti-aircraft gun model 1939 is installed. The design and location of the commander's cupola has been changed. 2329 units produced.

SU-85M-SU-85 with SU-100 hull. 315 units produced.

The SU-85's baptism of fire took place in the fall of 1943 during the fighting in Left Bank Ukraine and for the liberation of Kyiv. The SU-85 was mainly used to escort T-34 tanks. In addition, self-propelled artillery regiments that were part of some anti-tank destroyer brigades were armed with them. The SU-85 was capable of fighting German Tiger and Panther tanks at a distance of 600 - 800 m.

SU-85 took part in combat operations until the end of the war.

In addition to the Red Army, vehicles of this type entered service with the Polish Army (70 units) and the Czechoslovak Corps (2 units). In Poland, SU-85s were used until the end of the 50s, some of them were converted into ARVs.

SU-85M

TACTICAL AND TECHNICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF SAU SU-85

COMBAT WEIGHT, t: 29.6.

CREW, people: 4.

OVERALL DIMENSIONS, mm: length - 8130, width - 3000, height -2300, ground clearance -400.

ARMAMENT: 1 cannon D-5-S85 or D-5-S85A model 1943, 85 mm caliber.

AMMUNITION: 48 rounds.

AIMING DEVICES: telescopic sight 10T-15 or TSh-15, panoramic sight.

RESERVATION, mm: forehead, sides of the rear hull - 45, roof, bottom - 20,

MAX. SPEED, km/h: 55.

POWER RESERVE, km: 300.

OBSTACLES TO OVERCOME: angle of ascent, degrees -35, ditch width, m - 2.5, wall height, m ​​- 0.73, ford depth, m - 1.3.

Self-propelled gun SU-100 (object 138)

The most heavily armed medium anti-tank self-propelled gun of the Second World War. Developed on the basis of the T-34-85 tank and SU-85 self-propelled guns. Adopted by GKO Decree No. 6131 of July 3, 1944. From September 1944 to the third quarter of 1945, UZTM produced 2,495 units.

Serial modification:

its design and layout are generally identical to the SU-85. A 100-mm cannon with the ballistics of the B-34 naval gun was installed. A new commander's cupola was introduced, the thickness of the frontal armor was increased, the ventilation of the fighting compartment was improved, and the suspension of the front road wheels was strengthened.

SU-100s were used by the Red Army in the battles of the autumn-winter campaign of 1944 and at the final stage of the war in 1945. In terms of firepower, the SU-100 was superior to the best anti-tank self-propelled gun of the Wehrmacht, the Jagdpanther, and was capable of hitting heavy enemy tanks at a distance of up to 2000 m.

SU-100s were used on a fairly large scale in repelling the German counter-offensive near the island. Balaton (Hungary) in March 1945. In other sectors of the front, the use of the SU-100 was limited.

Production of the SU-100 in the USSR continued until 1947

(total 2693 units produced). In the 50s, under Soviet license, these self-propelled guns were produced in Czechoslovakia.

In the post-war period, the SU-100 was in service with the Soviet Army (until the end of the 70s), the armies of the Warsaw Pact countries, as well as many countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America. They were used in combat operations in the Middle East, Angola, etc.

SU-100

TACTICAL AND TECHNICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF SAU SU-100

COMBAT WEIGHT, t: 31.6.

CREW, people: 4.

OVERALL DIMENSIONS, mm: length - 9450, width - 3000, height -2245, ground clearance -400.

ARMAMENT: 1 D-10S gun model 1944, 100 mm caliber.

AMMUNITION: 33 rounds.

AIMING DEVICES: telescopic sight TSh-19, Hertz panorama.

RESERVATION, mm: hull front - 75, side and stern - 45, roof and bottom - 20.

ENGINE, TRANSMISSION and CHASSIS: same as the base tank.

MAX. SPEED, km/h: 48.3.

POWER RESERVE km: 310.

OBSTACLES TO OVERCOME: ascent angle, degrees. - 35, ditch width, m-2.5, wall height - 0.73, ford depth, m -1.3.

COMMUNICATIONS: radio station ERM or 9RS, intercom TPU-Z-bisF.

Self-propelled gun SU-152 (KV-14, object 236)

The first heavy self-propelled gun of the Red Army. Created on the basis heavy tank KV-1s using the swinging part of a 152-mm hull howitzer-gun. Developed at plant No. 100 (Chelyabinsk). Adopted by the State Defense Committee decree of February 14, 1943. Serial production was carried out at ChKZ. From February to December 1943, 671 units were manufactured.

Serial modification: The chassis and hull of the base tank remained unchanged. In the front part of the hull there is a closed, stationary, box-shaped wheelhouse, in the front of which a gun is installed.

In July 1943, heavy self-propelled guns took part in the battles on the Kursk Bulge and became an unpleasant surprise for the Germans. An armor-piercing projectile weighing 48.8 kg with an initial speed of 600 m/s and even a fragmentation projectile weighing 43.5 kg with an initial speed of 655 m/s hitting the turret of a German Tiger tank tore it off the tank’s hull. As a result, these self-propelled guns, created as “pillbox destroyers,” were often used as anti-tank guns.

In 1943, the heavy self-propelled artillery regiment of the RVGK had 12 SU-152 installations.

SU-152

TACTICAL AND TECHNICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF SAU SU-152

COMBAT WEIGHT, t: 45.5.

CREW, people: 5.

OVERALL DIMENSIONS, mm: length -8950, width -3250, height - 2450, ground clearance - 440.

ARMAMENT: 1 howitzer-cannon ML-20S model 1937, 152 mm caliber.

AMMUNITION: 20 shots.

AIMING DEVICES: ST-10 telescopic sight, panoramic sight.

RESERVATION, mm: hull front - 60...70, side and stern - 60, roof and bottom - 30.

ENGINE, TRANSMISSION and CHASSIS: same as the base tank.

MAX. SPEED, km/h: 43.

COURSE RESERVE, km: 330

OBSTACLES TO OVERCOME: ascent angle, degrees. -36, ditch width, m -2.5, wall height, m ​​-1.2, ford depth, m -0.9.

COMMUNICATIONS: radio station YUR or 10RK, intercom TPU-ZR.

Self-propelled unit ISU-

Designed to replace the SU-152 due to the discontinuation of the KV-1s tank. In general, it is similar in design and armament, but the base of the IS heavy tank is used. Serially produced at ChKZ and LKZ. From November 1943 to the third quarter of 1945, 4635 units were manufactured.

Serial modifications:

ISU-152 (object 241) - the chassis of the base tank has undergone virtually no changes. An armored cabin is mounted in the front part of the hull, with an ML-20S howitzer gun installed in the front plate. Compared to the SU-152, the sight, rotating mechanism and some other parts have been improved. Armor protection has been enhanced.

ISU-122 (object 242) - similar in design to ISU-152. Armed with a 122-mm hull gun A-19 mod. 1931/37 with piston valve. The cradle and recoil devices of the A-19 gun are the same as those of howitzer guns ML-20, which allowed the manufacturer to use the barrel of any of these calibers. Dimensions 9850x3070x2480 mm. Ammunition 30 rounds.

ISU-122S (ISU-122-2, object 249) - 122 mm D-25S cannon mod. 1943 with wedge shutter. Dimensions 9950x3070x2480 mm.

ISU-152

ISU self-propelled guns entered service with heavy self-propelled artillery regiments of the RVGK (21 installations, 8 each) and were used to fight tanks and destroy enemy fortifications. By the end of the war, 53 such regiments were formed. In March 1945, a heavy self-propelled artillery brigade (65 ISU-122) was formed.

Heavy self-propelled guns were used especially effectively during the assault on Konigsberg and Berlin.

The Polish Army received from the USSR 10 ISU-152 and 22 ISU-122.

After the Second World War, heavy self-propelled guns, mainly ISU-152, were repeatedly modernized and operated in the Soviet Army until the mid-60s. In addition to the USSR and Poland, they were in service with the Egyptian army and took part in the Arab-Israeli wars of 1967 and 1973.

In the post-war period, a significant number of tractors, ARVs and launchers tactical and operational-tactical missiles.

ISU-122

ISU-122S

TACTICAL AND TECHNICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF SAU ISU-152

COMBAT WEIGHT, t: 46.

CREW, people: 5.

OVERALL DIMENSIONS, mm: length - 9050, width -3070, height - 2480, ground clearance - 470.

ARMAMENT: 1 ML-20S howitzer gun model 1937, 122 mm caliber, 1 DShK model 1938 machine gun, 12.7 mm caliber (on an anti-aircraft machine on some vehicles),

AMMUNITION: 20 shots, 250 rounds.

AIMING DEVICES: telescopic sight ST-10, Hertz panorama.

RESERVATION, mm: front and side of the hull - 90, stern - 60, roof and bottom - 20...30.

ENGINE, TRANSMISSION and CHASSIS: same as the base tank.

MAX. SPEED, km/h: 35.

POWER RESERVE, km: 220.

OBSTACLES TO OVERCOME: ascent angle, degrees. - 36, ditch width, m - 2.5, wall height, m ​​- 1, ford depth, m - 1.3.

COMMUNICATIONS: radio station YUR or 10RK, intercom TPH-4-bisF.

SELF-PROPELLED ARTILLERY UNITS Alexander Shirokorad Drawings by Valery Lobachevsky As on the Russian field, Between Orel and Kursk, Beyond the mighty Dnieper, By the gray Carpathians And “Panthers” and “Tigers” Of all stripes, calibers Self-propelled guns were beaten In combat battles. Ya. Shvedov In this