Tanks Destroyers ??

[PR3D4TOR]

1943 wasn't exactly early. It was the third year of the Great Patriotic War and the same year the Panther was introduced.

[Zimme83]

Isu-152 was mainly a infantry support weapon but it turned out that its HE shells were effective against tanks as well. But firing 2-3 rounds per minute would not work very well in the game..

[FBKampfer]

It would actually be a pretty bad handicap at anything beyond point blank range, since a Panzer would move almost 250 yards between rounds, and you would have to correct significantly for target movement as well as corrections for initial point of aim.

Effectively, if the target is moving, you'll have to re-aim for  each round.

[PR3D4TOR]

Yes, there's a reason the Soviets used groups of several SU/ISU-152 in the TD role, all firing at the same target. So while the SU/ISU-152 was devastating when it hit something it took several vehicles to match the volume of fire of a single purpose built TD like the SU-85 and SU-100. But they used it because it was the only vehicle they had that could take out the Tiger and Panther at range (until the SU-100 showed up).

The SU-85 entered service in August 1943 and had the same 85 mm gun the T-34-85 got in 1944. So that could be a valuable addition to the game for scenario purposes. The SU-100 would be an MA favorite I think, but of little use in scenarios except very late-1944 to VE-day setups.

[save]

with Su-152 velocity of its shells, and not that great armor. I guess it would have to close in to get accuracy % on targets. Also reloading time would be thrilling in a battle against enemy tanks, and small ammo load.

Even a PZ4 or Hetzer could penetrate its armor.

[PR3D4TOR]

Not really until the PzKpfw IV Ausf. H entered service in late 1943 (after Kursk). The SU-152 had 75 mm of frontal armor, though slope angle wasn't great. The ISU-152 had increased frontal armor to 90 mm.


There's also the ISU-122. Essentially the same vehicle but with a better gun for the TD role.

[Arlo]

"The ISU-152's 90 mm of sloped frontal armor, in contrast to the SU-152's 65 mm, provided excellent frontal protection from the 75mm KwK 40 gun of the ubiquitous Panzer IV and StuG family at all but the closest ranges, while also forcing the original Tiger I, with its vaunted 88mm KwK 36 gun, to close to medium ranges in order to successfully penetrate the vehicle, negating its traditional long-range superiority and exposing more of its vulnerable flanks to the 85mm ZiS-S gun of the Soviet T-34-85."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISU-152





"The ISU-152 self-propelled gun combined three battle roles : heavy assault gun, heavy tank destroyer and heavy self-propelled artillery. The 152.4 mm gun used a number of powerful (shell and charge) ammunition. Some of these ammunition had a 43.56 kg high-explosive shell, or a 48.78 kg armour-piercing shell, or the heaviest of all, the 53-G-545 (53-Г-545) long-range concrete-piercing ammunition with a 56 kg shell. The ISU-152 was used for infantry and tank support, and attack on fortified positions in a direct fire role, for support on the battlefield in an indirect fire role, and for fight against tanks with a direct fire."

[Rich46yo]

Yeah excellent video clips on this beast. Thanks.

Great find, Arlo.  History Channel of Russia.  Probably equally accurate.

Some great video, and first time I knew that this spg was introduced so early in the war.

- oldman

[FBKampfer]

I think it's worth noting that AH tends to show a vehicle's historical weakness more than its strengths.


Even the ISU series could be engaged from the front by a Panzer IV F2 out to approximately 1400 yds.

And a Tiger I could engage out to approximately 2000.

[KrzyIvan]

If I remember right, ISU-152s were used in Desert Storm by Iraq as artillery.

That's some impressive service time.

[FBKampfer]

M4's, M18's, and M24's are still in the inventory of several nations.

[MiloMorai]

Don't know how long it has been sitting there.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d8kGJphIPFc

longer version
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZlANAC2MZ80