The self-propelled gun was named Su 152. Stalin's "St. John's wort": what role did the legendary Soviet self-propelled gun play in the Great Patriotic War. Surveillance equipment and sights

Introduction

For re-equipment in the Red Army, a heavy artillery vehicle, moving under its own power and replacing the SU-152, having significantly better tactical and technical indicators, The ISU-152 self-propelled gun began to be supplied en masse in 1943.

Many people mistakenly believe that the ISU-152 is our answer to such an element of Hitler’s “superweapon” as the newest Tiger and Panther tanks. However, its main purpose was the destruction of enemy fortifications, that is, it was designed as an assault weapon.

Of course, the first clashes with the new Nazi tank technology only spurred work on the design and mass production of the SAU-152.

“IS” decoding: “Joseph Stalin”, i.e. The self-propelled gun is made on the basis of the IS heavy tank.

History of creation

Having launched offensive operations, the Soviet command came face to face with the problem of breaking through the enemy’s well-organized and, most importantly, fortified by German engineering and hands. As always, there was a lack of standard equipment in the form of large-caliber artillery and, in addition, they fired from closed positions, that is, “across areas,” and moved like horse-drawn or mechanically-drawn trailers. And very often in battle direct fire of a large-caliber gun was required.

To solve this problem, at the end of 1943, in an emergency, using the SU-152 and the IS-2 tank as a basis, the first copies of the “241 object” were created and tested, and immediately it went into production, receiving the name SAU-152 mm caliber. In just 4 years of production, about 3.3 thousand units were produced, including prototypes, to which the nickname “St. John’s Wort” passed from the SU-152.

ISU-122

Since there was a catastrophic shortage of barrels for the standard ML-20 cannon, in the spring of 1944 it began production of self-propelled guns ISU-122, differing from the SAU-152 only in another gun - an anti-tank 122 mm caliber, since there was an oversupply of them in the warehouses of the relevant department. And from the end of the summer of the same year, instead of a single solid-cast hull nose, a welded one made of rolled armor plates began to be installed on the self-propelled gun, and the gun’s armored mask increased the armor by 2/3 - up to 10 cm. Also, a 12.7-mm anti-aircraft machine gun was installed on the top of the turret near one of the hatches .

On a note! The ISU-122 differs from the ISU-152 only in the caliber of the gun. Due to the fact that 122 mm guns were in abundance, they were also mounted on the chassis of the Joseph Stalin tank and the ISU-122 self-propelled guns were obtained.

There is reliable evidence that the armies of Nazi Germany and its ally Finland each had one captured SAU-152 “St. John’s Wort” vehicle. By the way, in the Wehrmacht this Soviet self-propelled gun had a very remarkable name - “Dosenöffner”, which means "Can Opener".

Description

The vehicle was protected by rolled armor plates of various thicknesses with optimal armor angles of up to 30 degrees. All-round visibility was provided by a periscope and five viewing devices on the roof of the cabin, and the mechanical drive has its own retractable hatch for visibility, which, if necessary, is closed with armored glass or an armored flap.

Conning tower

Created on the chassis of the Joseph Stalin heavy tank, SAU-152 has a well-armored front wheelhouse with a mask and a howitzer-type cannon - this is a combined command and control compartment, where a crew of 5 soldiers was located, all the ammunition was located and a fuel tank was located to the left of the driver.

On the roof of the cabin there were 2 round hatches for crew members (through the left hatch of the “mechanical driver” a “Hertz panorama” was brought out for firing at a distance of more than a kilometer, and a sight for direct fire up to 1 kilometer was located on the howitzer barrel), another rectangular 2- x the hinged hatch is located at the rear at the junction of the roof and the armor plate, and the emergency hatch is located at the bottom of the tank.

There were 3 tankers to the left of the gun, and the remaining two, including the commander, were located to the right.

For your information! The crew of the ISU-152 self-propelled artillery mount consisted of 5 people: commander, driver, gunner, loader and lock.

Aft compartment

In the aft part of the self-propelled gun, separated from the wheelhouse by a bulkhead, there is a technical compartment, engine, transmission, fuel tanks and a heating device for the entire self-propelled gun. Chassis of self-propelled gun ISU-152"St. John's wort" consists of a carrier roller and 6 support rollers on each side. Torsion bar suspension. The electrical wiring is single-wire, since the second wire was the body of the self-propelled gun.

Characteristics of the self-propelled gun ISU-152 “St. John’s wort”:

• Country of origin: USSR.
• Manufacturers: Chelyabinsk (ChKZ) and Leningrad (LKZ).
• The basis is the Joseph Stalin heavy tank.
• Combat crew - 5 people (commander - officer, driver, gunner, loader and lock - privates and non-commissioned officers).
• Weight - up to 46.0 tons.
• Length with howitzer - up to 9.2 m.
• Body length - 6.8 m.
• The length of the supporting surface is 4.3 m.
• Width - up to 3.25 m.
• Height - up to 2.5 m.
• Ground clearance – up to 0.47 m.
• Engine – 4-stroke, 12-cylinder, diesel, V-shaped V2IS, power 520 l/s.
• Maximum speed, range and fuel – 35 km/h, up to 220 km, up to 0.9 tons.
• Suspension, gearbox, final drives, cooling system - independent torsion bar, mechanical, 8-speed with range, 2-speed with planetary gear, liquid with fan.
• Allowable lift and roll are 30 and 36 degrees.
• The width of the ditch and wall to be overcome is 2.5 m and 1.0 m.
• Reservation of the “mask” – 120 mm, 60 mm (moving part) and 60 mm (fixed part).
• Reservation of the hull (except for the stern) and the “forehead” of the fighting compartment is 90 mm.
• Reservation of the “cheekbones” of the combat compartment is 75 mm.
• Reservation of the stern and sides of the fighting compartment is 60 mm.
• Bottom armor – 20 mm.
• The gun is a 152.4 mm ML-20S model 1937, “six-inch”.
• Tilt angles, loading type, ammunition - “-”5 +18 degrees vertical and horizontal up to 12 degrees, separate-case, 21 shots.
• Firing range, including direct fire, rate of fire, armor penetration - up to 13.0 km, including up to 3.8 km, 2-3 rounds per minute, up to 123 mm. armor and up to 1 meter of concrete.
• Characteristics of projectiles - OFG (high-explosive fragmentation grenade) strikes with fragments within a radius of up to 40 m, if the fuse is set to fragments, and if a high-explosive can severely damage a tank and tankers without penetrating the armor, an armor-piercing shot penetrates any armor at a distance of up to 1.5 km , and when it hits a tower, it “rips off” it; a special projectile for destroying enemy fortifications pierced any wall up to one meter thick.

"St. John's wort" is extremely successful in battle combines the triune essence:

1. It was a heavy weapon for storming enemy fortifications.
2. He destroyed enemy armored vehicles in an exemplary manner.
3. It fired like a howitzer artillery gun, while moving independently.

Organizational aspects

The SAU-152 fought as part of 56 regiments (according to wartime standards, these were four batteries of five self-propelled guns, plus a command tank). There were regiments of different composition, which also included ISU-122 - actually the same self-propelled guns, but due to a shortage of “six-inch” guns equipped with 122 mm guns, which fought better against enemy armored vehicles, but were worse at “destroying” enemy fortifications.

Fact!"St. John's worts" with a smaller caliber, 122 mm, were more effective against enemy armored vehicles, most likely due to the greater velocity of the projectile, which was decisive in destroying armor.

There were also individual exceptions such as the 66th Guards Nevelsk Brigade from the reserve of the main command of the 3rd regimental composition.

As a rule, “self-propelled guns,” as tankers jokingly called them, marched simultaneously with tanks in the battle formations of infantry units, destroying fortifications and destroying enemy armored vehicles and firing points. They were also used to participate in pre-attack shelling, but their elevation angle, three times smaller than that of conventional howitzers, did not allow them to fire at a number of targets.

In urban battles, temporary special assault detachments (groups) of 2-3 self-propelled guns were created from the SAU-152, with infantry platoons, snipers, and occasionally backpack flamethrowers attached to them, to defend strongholds or suppress pockets of resistance in individual houses, destroy rubble and barricades As a rule, one landmine hit in a standard house was enough to stop all resistance in it.

Advantages and disadvantages

SAU-152 a little inferior in effectiveness to specialized anti-tank self-propelled guns, therefore, armored vehicles were not used intentionally as a “fighter”, but the course of a real battle was often unpredictable and its armor-piercing projectile could only withstand the frontal armor of the fascist Ferdinands and Jagdtigers, and even then not always.

Armor-piercing St. John's wort! Most often, the ISU-152 was used in the destruction of enemy fortifications. The 152 mm caliber left no chance for any brick or concrete masonry.

Advantages:

• Universalism.
• Powerful frontal armor.
• Maintainability, without sending deep to the rear.
• Quick learning even by untrained crews.
• It is not necessary to accurately hit a target with a high-explosive projectile to defeat it, including fatally.

Flaws:

• Relatively small ammunition, which was enough for no more than 15 minutes of active combat (2/3 of it consisted of high-explosive fragmentation shells).
• Relatively long (45 minutes) loading of new ammunition.
• Due to the long turn, it is vulnerable to attack from the side and rear. We had to repel attacks from enemy armored vehicles by placing several self-propelled guns in a fan formation.
• Insufficient accuracy of the panoramic sight when shooting was carried out at a distance of more than one kilometer.
  

  In contact with

  Classmates

  Permanent publication address on our website:
  

  QR code of page address:
  

Developer: KB ChKZ
Year of commencement of work: 1942
Year of production of the first prototype: 1943
Serially produced in 1943-1944, remained in service until 1946.

The appearance of new heavy tanks Pz.VI Ausf.H “Tiger” on the Soviet-German front in September 1942 somewhat took the Soviet command by surprise. Until this point, it was believed that Germany would increase production of modified Pz.VI medium tanks, and heavy class vehicles could appear in service before 1943. The blow was also more painful because Soviet anti-tank artillery turned out to be practically powerless against the thick frontal armor of the “tiger”. The most common army guns ZiS-2 (57 mm) and ZiS-3 (76.2 mm) could successfully fight heavy tanks only at extremely close distances, not exceeding 300-500 meters, and 45 mm guns could penetrate the side “tiger” armor only at point blank range. Much better performance could have been achieved using howitzer guns of the ML-20 or M-30 type.

However, a few months before this moment (in March 1942), designers G.N. Rybin and K.N. Ilyin developed the U-18 self-propelled gun, based on the design of the KV-7 heavy assault tank. Then, abandoning the idea of ​​a multi-gun installation, the possibility of replacing it with one ML-20 howitzer was calculated. A mock-up of the U-18 was even built, but it did not receive approval from the military.

A month later, on April 18, 1942, on behalf of the head of the 2nd department of the NKTP, design engineer S.A. Ginzburg, a memo was sent to Stalin (GKO), Molotov (SNK), Fedorenko (NKO) and Goreglyad (NKTP) “ On the issue of creating a modern heavy breakthrough tank IS,” which stated the following:

“The experience of the Patriotic War has shown that one of the characteristic features of modern combat operations is the overcoming of powerful fortifications - bunkers and bunkers on the most important strategic lines.

There is no doubt that as our troops advance to the West, they will encounter fortifications that are increasingly powerful and better armed with artillery and equipped with minefields.

By what means is it possible to overcome and gnaw through these obstacles with little bloodshed and minimal consumption of metal and time?
After in-depth analysis and taking into account the resources at our disposal, I have come to the firm conviction of the need to make the following proposal.
A comprehensive solution to this problem requires a powerful artillery installation with a caliber of at least 152 mm. This installation must be protected by heavy armor and have high cross-country ability and maneuverability. Only a heavy tank armed with a 152 mm cannon and heavy armor 120-150 mm thick can satisfy such requirements.

Selection of artillery system.

a) The most suitable weapon for this tank would be the 152-mm BR-2 cannon, but the dimensions and weight of the gun are so significant that they will not allow this problem to be solved in a version that is sufficiently protected, with a maximum permissible weight for transportation of the non-demountable part of about 60 t.

In 1935, I installed and tested the BR-2 system on the SU-14 self-propelled gun weighing 48 tons with main armor up to 20 mm thick. In 1940, this self-propelled gun was additionally armored with armor up to 10 mm thick, which caused an increase in weight of over 60 tons and led to a significant loss of maneuverability and maneuverability.

Modern anti-tank weapons and armor-piercing shells (combined) already require today to protect this type of self-propelled gun a minimum armor thickness of 100 mm, with
In this case, the weight of the non-dismountable part of the self-propelled gun will be at least 100 tons, which, of course, is unacceptable.

b) Another type of artillery system suitable for solving this problem is the 152 mm ML-20 gun-howitzer. This gun is significantly inferior to the BR-2 in terms of power, but it is much more constructive for installation in terms of its dimensions. The BR-2 cannon, having an initial speed of 800 m/s, solves the problem of hitting a bunker at a distance of 400-500 m with one shot, the ML-20 cannon, having an initial speed of 610 m/s, will require a hit to solve the same problem two shells into the same crater, which will be possible when firing at a target at point-blank range at 100-200m.

To achieve the latter, it is necessary to reliably book this system so that it can come close to the target without much risk, withstanding not only anti-tank artillery fire, but also without fear of crossing even minefields. The ML-20 gun makes it possible to create a self-propelled gun of this type with sufficient security. Therefore, when choosing a system, you need to choose the ML-20 gun.

Selecting the type of self-propelled vehicle.

With the chosen type of gun ML-20, the solution to the problem of creating a heavy self-propelled gun is possible in two options.
a) Compromise solution: a 152-mm ML-20 cannon is mounted on a KB tank chassis without a turret with limited horizontal aiming angles. In this case, the front armor plates must be thickened to at least 100-110 mm. In the sum of all the changes, this artillery self-propelled gun will have a weight of 50-56 tons. Thus, the resulting solution to the issue is not fundamental, and here’s why. Our modern heavy tank KV-1, by its type as a first-class combat vehicle, is inherent, like the first-born, with organic design defects (insufficient strength of individual units, low maneuverability, etc.).

The KB-1 tank itself, through modification, can be largely cured of these shortcomings, but the prospect of further use of its chassis, with its weight, will still remain limited due to non-compliance with the reliability conditions and a sharp drop in the maneuverability of the tank itself.

Considering the urgent need for this self-propelled gun, I consider it acceptable to manufacture a small series of these tanks with the ML-20 cannon, because this can be done very quickly, within 1.5-2 months.

b) A radical solution to this problem can only be a new type of heavy breakthrough tank, armed with the main ML-20 artillery system and protected by 120-130 mm armor. Based on existing experience, it is possible to guarantee the construction of this tank using V-2 diesel engines with sufficient security, maneuverability and all-round fire from a 152-mm ML-20 cannon with a combat weight of up to 100 tons and a weight of e/o non-demountable part for transportation by rail of no more than 60 tons. I am attaching the draft characteristics of this type of tank “IS”.

Weighing my personal 13-year experience as a tank designer and head of a tank design bureau, which has had a number of similar works completed over the last ten years (T-26, B-T, T-28, T-35, SU-14, SU-5 , ATZ-1, T-23, T-37 and T-50), I consider it possible to solve the problem of building a new tank with a full guarantee for quality and in the shortest possible time.

When entrusting me with this task and providing minor assistance with a full guarantee, I undertake, together with the team of designers and satellites of plant No. 174 who worked with me, to carry out the work of designing and building a small series of 5 such tanks at once by 1.IX.1942. At the same time, it may be Preparations for the subsequent release of small series of this type of tank have been completed. The clear organization of the implementation of this task will be helped to a large extent by the collective experience in carrying out the construction of the T-50 tank using high-speed methods, which this team has.
I ask you to consider accepting my proposal, because, I am sure, reflecting the tasks of the coming days, it will allow our Red Army, just like the screened T-26 tanks used at my suggestion in the Finnish campaign, to reliably gnaw through enemy fortified areas with foam of little blood and great saving time and metal.

Comrade Stalin, please allow me to personally report to you on this proposal.

Suggestion: brief tactical and technical characteristics of the IS tank.

Design engineer, military engineer 1st rank Ginzburg.”

Thus, the “progenitor” of the famous “St. John’s wort” was by no means J.Ya. Kotin, as is still commonly believed. In turn, Ginzburg’s note coincided in time with the resolutions of the plenum of the GAU Artillery Committee, which recognized the highly desirable creation of self-propelled artillery systems equipped with ZiS-3 guns, a 122-mm howitzer model 1938 and a 152.4-mm howitzer-gun model. 1937 (“the destroyer of bunkers”). By and large, it was proposed to return to the topic of heavy assault tanks, to replace the retired KV-2 and rejected KV-9, which were armed with artillery systems of similar calibers.

In addition, in the spring of 1942, the option of equipping the self-propelled gun with a 203.4 mm B-4 howitzer weighing 12,700 kg, which fired 100 kg of ammunition and was intended to destroy long-term enemy firing points, primarily concrete bunkers, was studied in detail. This modification, which received the index U-19, also remained only at the project level due to its greatly increased size and weight, according to the most rough estimates reaching up to 66 tons.

The solution to the first problem (76.2-mm self-propelled guns) was entrusted to the Ginzburg team, which by June 1942 presented a prototype of the SU-12 self-propelled gun, which later became better known under the designation SU-76. There were also no special problems with installing the 122-mm howitzer - the chassis of the T-34 tank model 1942 was chosen as the base, on which a fixed wheelhouse and the equipment necessary for the self-propelled guns were installed. But the issue with the 152.4 mm howitzer-gun remained open for another six months. To a large extent, the delay was due to the defeat of the Soviet armies at the Barvenkovsky salient and near Leningrad, which entailed huge losses in tanks and self-propelled guns. The main resources were devoted to making up for losses and for some time they forgot about high-power self-propelled guns.

The installation of a 152.4 mm gun on a tank chassis was remembered again only in the fall of 1942, when the situation in critical sectors of the front had more or less stabilized. Actually, then the specialization “dillbox destroyer” faded into the background. The primary task was to fight German heavy tanks such as Pz.V “Panther” and Pz.VI “Tiger”. As mentioned earlier, shooting at captured tanks showed the insufficient effectiveness of existing anti-tank weapons. At the same time, the Soviet side did not have artillery systems like the German PaK43 or PaK43\41 88-mm caliber, which had high power. The only way out of this situation was to increase the caliber, but this inevitably entailed a decrease in the initial velocity of the projectile and a deterioration in its armor penetration. The calculation was made that even if the shell did not penetrate the frontal armor of the same “tiger,” it would cause enormous damage to its less protected parts, or as a result of a dynamic impact, the crew of the enemy vehicle would be shell-shocked and unable to continue the battle. Similar conclusions were drawn based on the combat use of large-caliber guns, and not only on the Soviet side. However, a much bigger problem was the lack of reliable armor-piercing and cumulative shells, which appeared in sufficient quantities only at the end of the war.

In November 1942, on the initiative of the head of the GABTU, Lieutenant General Ya.N. Fedorenko and the People's Commissar of Armaments D.F. Ustinov, the development of a self-propelled artillery mount armed with an ML-20S howitzer gun began. Moreover, the chief designer of ChKZ, Zh.Ya. Kotin, was given only a few days for this. By special order of the NKTP No. 764 of November 13, 1942, a special group was created at the ChKZ Design Bureau for the development of self-propelled guns, to which designers N.V. Kurin, G.N. Rybin, K.N. Ilyin and V. were transferred for permanent work with UZTM. A. Vishnyakov, who already had experience in designing high-power self-propelled guns.
The assigned task assumed that the gun should be installed on the KV-1s chassis while maintaining the dimensions and most of the performance characteristics of this tank. Without wasting any time, Kotin flew to the Motovilikha gun factory, where a day later he managed to place one of the ML-20S howitzers for loading. At the same time, under the leadership of Deputy Chief Designer N.M. Sinev, the process of modifying the KV-1s for installing a large-caliber gun on it began.

In just a few days, the ChTZ design team, based on sketch drawings, built a plywood mock-up of the combat hull in the maximum permissible dimensions around the ML-20S, which was standing on a stand. Despite the cramped conditions in the fighting compartment, the engineers managed to find room for 20 separate-loading rounds.

Having examined the project, the NKTP concluded that installing a large-caliber gun on the chassis of the KV-1s tank was quite advisable, but then it was decided to design the self-propelled guns through a competition. Three self-propelled gun projects were presented for discussion on January 2, 1943.

The Uralmash version, brought to Chelyabinsk by chief designer F.F. Petrov, retained all the tank components on the proposed chassis, but provided for the modernization of the gun itself, which required additional time. The second project, proposed by L.S. Troyanov, kept the artillery system unchanged, but required lengthening the hull, taken from the serial KV-1S heavy tank.

According to the third project, put forward by Zh.Ya. Kotin already at the time of discussion, the swinging part of the 152-mm ML-20 howitzer gun was installed practically unchanged in a frame and, together with ammunition and the crew, was placed in a specially designed conning tower on the KV tank chassis. The design of the artillery system has undergone virtually no changes, with the exception of minor modifications to the recoil devices and the location of the gun trunnions. This technique made it possible to reduce the recoil force when fired and shorten the length of the cradle, on which a reinforced clip with trunnions was installed. At the same time, the armor shield, in addition to protection from shells, also served as a balancing element.

The selection committee chose Kotin's option, not taking into account the objections of F.F. Petrov, who insisted on modifying the weapon. The arguments of the “artillerymen” were more than weighty - first of all, it was necessary to increase the initial velocity of the projectile, which was only 600 m/s, to modernize the recoil devices and, in general, to make the ML-20S more acceptable for installation on a tank chassis. At the same time, D.F. Ustinov and V.A. Malyshev, who insisted on the speedy establishment of a heavy self-propelled gun, refused to take these factors into account, which did not prevent them from obliging Petrov to make every effort to install the ML-20S. All this led to several major miscalculations in the design of the self-propelled guns, originally designated as KV-14.

The self-propelled gun, with the exception of the new conning tower, was not very different from the serial KV-1s. The chassis of the self-propelled gun consisted of 6 double road wheels on each side with torsion bar suspension, 3 support rollers, a front guide wheel and a rear drive wheel. The track tension mechanism was screw-type and for each track it consisted of 86-90 single-ridge tracks with a width of 608 mm and a pitch of 160 mm.

The KV-14 was equipped with a four-stroke V-shaped 12-cylinder diesel engine V-2K with a power of 600 hp. Engine starting was ensured by two SMT-4628 starters with a power of 6 hp. each or compressed air from two tanks with a capacity of 5 liters in the fighting compartment of the vehicle. The self-propelled guns had a dense layout, in which the main fuel tanks with a volume of 600 and 615 liters were located in both the combat and engine compartments.

The armored body of the self-propelled gun was welded from rolled armor plates with thicknesses of 75, 60, 30 and 20 mm, and the vertical frontal plates of the conning tower had rational angles of inclination. The gun was mounted in a frame-type installation to the right of the center line of the vehicle. The ML-20S recoil devices were protected by a fixed cast armor casing and a movable cast spherical armor mask. The crew entered and exited through a rectangular double-leaf hatch at the junction of the roof and rear sheets of the armored cabin and through a round hatch to the right of the gun. The round hatch to the left of the gun was not intended for the crew to get in and out; it was required to bring the panoramic sight extension out. The hull also had a bottom hatch for emergency escape by the crew of the self-propelled gun and a number of small hatches for loading ammunition, access to the necks of the fuel tanks, and other components and assemblies of the vehicle.

The transmission of the self-propelled gun was mechanical and consisted of the following components: a multi-disc dry friction clutch “steel on ferodo”, a 4-speed gearbox with a range multiplier (8 forward gears and 2 reverse), two multi-disc onboard clutches with “steel on steel” friction and two onboard planetary gears gearbox

The crew of the SU-14 consisted of 5 people. To the left of the gun was the driver (in front), then the gunner, and behind – the loader. The vehicle commander and the castle commander were located to the right of the gun.

The self-propelled gun's armament consisted only of the ML-20S howitzer gun, which differed from the conventional ML-20 only in the barrel length reduced to 32 calibers. The gun had vertical aiming angles from -5° to +18°, and the horizontal aiming sector was 12°. The height of the firing line was 1.8 m, the direct shot range was 800-900 m at a target 2.5-3 m high, the direct fire range was 3.8 km, the longest firing range was 13 km. The shot was fired using an electric or manual mechanical trigger. The arsenal of ML-20S shells turned out to be significantly smaller: the gun could only fire armor-piercing sharp-headed tracer shells BR-240 weighing 48.8 kg and an initial speed of 600 m/s (or blunt-headed BR-240B with similar indicators) and high-explosive fragmentation shells -540 weighing 43.56 kg and an initial speed of 655 m/s when fully charged. In addition, G-545 concrete-piercing shells could be included in the ammunition load. Light small arms were supposed to include a 12.7 mm anti-aircraft machine gun mounted on a turret on the commander's hatch, but it was not installed on production vehicles.

The means of monitoring the environment on the KV-14 were quite varied. Three prismatic viewing devices with protective armor covers were installed on the roof of the fighting compartment; two more such devices were installed on the left round hatch and the top flap of the rectangular double-leaf hatch. The vehicle commander's workplace was equipped with a PTK-4 periscope. During combat, the driver-mechanic conducted observation through a viewing device with a triplex mounted in a plug hatch to the left of the gun, which was protected by an armored flap. For firing, the SU-152 was equipped with two gun sights - a telescopic ST-10 for direct fire at a distance of up to 900 meters and a Hertz panorama for firing from closed positions.

Communication equipment included a 9P radio station (later replaced by the newer 10P and 10RK-26), as well as a TPU-4-Bis intercom for 4 subscribers.

According to the submission of the GAU RKKA, the State Defense Committee, by resolution No. 2692 of January 4, 1943, ordered plant No. 100 NKTP and plant No. 172 NKV to develop and manufacture, on the basis of the KV-1 C heavy tank, a prototype installation armed with a 152-mm cannon within 25 days. howitzer model 1937. However, the development of working drawings began on January 3, 1943, even before the official approval of the project by Zh.Ya. Kotin. At the same time, the entire leading staff of designers was transferred to a barracks position. For 10 days they were in the design bureau and did not go home. Drawings were sent directly from the drawing boards to the workshops.

Since Kotin was simultaneously appointed responsible for establishing the production of the SU-122 in Sverdlovsk at ChKZ, he appeared for the purpose of inspection only several times a week, entrusting the main work to the Chelyabinsk Design Bureau (by order of Ustinov, the right to make appropriate changes to the design of the KV-14, without the consent of KB, given to engineer K.N. Ilyin). This made it possible to make all the necessary changes in the shortest possible time, and already on January 24, 1943, the first prototype of the KV-14, which by that time had received the designation “Object 236”, was completely assembled.

Testing of the KV-14 began at a test site near Chelyabinsk the very next day. In terms of weight-dimensional characteristics and armor, the self-propelled gun completely satisfied the customer. The gunners also liked that the KV-14 fully retained the capabilities of the firing modes, which were identical to the conventional ML-20 howitzer, but otherwise the self-propelled gun was not so successful.

The unreliable operation of the overloaded transmission still caused a lot of criticism. The fighting compartment, which had greatly reduced dimensions, was clearly cramped for a crew of 5 people. The ammunition load of 20 shells was rightly considered insufficient, but the biggest inconvenience was the maintenance of the ML-20S gun and its separate loading.

However, the ballistic characteristics of the gun turned out to be impressive. If you believe the official data, then during direct fire fire tests, 50-kg blanks were fired (which were supposed to simulate a shot from a high-explosive fragmentation projectile) at a plywood shield measuring 2x2 meters from a distance of 500, 800, 1000 and 1200 meters. All the shells hit the target exactly. Aiming in this case was carried out using a conventional optical sight. During further tests, shooting was carried out at a captured Pz.IV tank - after the next shot, the shell hit the turret and knocked it off its shoulder strap. The test cycle was completed on February 7, after which the self-propelled gun was adopted by the Red Army under the designation SU-152.

Production of the SU-152 continued until November 1943, inclusive, until the KV-1s was replaced on the production line by the more advanced IS-1 heavy tank. and then the IS-2, which had an identical chassis. A total of 671 self-propelled guns were built, of which 666 entered service with the troops. Name "St. John's wort" The SU-152 became a favorite even before the start of its combat use - the propaganda of the new self-propelled gun and the effectiveness of its 152-mm gun did its job.

By the end of March, ChKZ managed to assemble the first batch of 35 vehicles, which were immediately sent to the heavy self-propelled artillery regiments (tsap), which were supposed to have 12 SU-152 and one KV-1s command tank. The command did not dare to throw untrained crews of heavy self-propelled guns into battle, so the SU-152s reached the front only at the beginning of the Battle of Kursk. Official sources claim that as of July 5, 1943, the 2nd Army of the Central Front had only two regiments with heavy self-propelled guns (the 1540th and 1541st fully equipped tsap), which took an active part in the battles with the Germans , However, this is not the case.

Contrary to popular belief, the use of the SU-152 during the Battle of Kursk was very limited, since only the 1529th TsAP, operationally subordinate to the 7th Guards Army, but actually part of the RKG of the Voronezh Front, was advanced directly to the front line. As of July 1, 1943, it consisted of 12 SU-152 and 1 KV-1s command tank - this composition did not change over the next two weeks, with the exception of the period from July 7 to July 9, when one self-propelled gun was under current repair. The command tried not to introduce heavy self-propelled guns into battle unless absolutely necessary, depriving tank and infantry units of mobile artillery support. Such extreme frugality soon bore its bitter fruits - during July 7, 1529, the 1529th TsAP was involved in artillery support for the defending troops on the agricultural line Polyana - Batratskaya Dacha - Soloviev Farm. The further actions of the self-propelled gunners were reflected in operational report No. 39, transmitted by the regiment headquarters at the end of July 8th.

“...During the day, the regiment fired: 07/8/1943 at 16.00 at a battery of assault guns on the southern outskirts of the Polyana storage farm.” 7 self-propelled guns were knocked out and burned and 2 bunkers were destroyed, 12 HE grenades were consumed. At 17.00, enemy tanks (up to 10 units) entered the grader road 2 km southwest of the farm “Batratskaya Dacha”. Direct fire from the SU-152 of the 3rd battery set fire to 2 tanks and knocked out 2 tanks, one of them T-6. Consumption of 15 HE grenades. At 18.00, the commander of the 7th Guards A, Lieutenant General Shumilov, visited the 3rd battery and thanked the crews for their excellent shooting at tanks. At 19.00, a column of vehicles and carts with infantry was fired upon on the road south of the Polyana farm; 2 cars and 6 carts with infantry were destroyed. Up to a company of infantry was scattered and partially destroyed. Consumption of 6 HE grenades.”

From the description of the combat operations of the crews of the 1529th glanders, it is clearly seen that the SU-152 fully justified the name “St. John’s wort” given to them even before the Battle of Kursk. Without introducing the vehicles into direct combat with enemy tanks and self-propelled guns, the regiment command achieved good results even when using only high-explosive fragmentation (HE) grenades, which had little effectiveness when firing at heavily armored targets, such as the Pz.VI “Tiger”. However, it is possible that the regiment simply did not receive other ammunition.

Then, during the offensive planned for the morning of July 9, which was supposed to be carried out by the 25th Guards Rifles, the strike group consisted of only 36 tanks (another 18 were in mobile reserve) and only 4 self-propelled guns, among which there was only one SU-122. The remaining self-propelled guns were destroyed during previous battles or were under repair. We could not find any mention of the use of the SU-152 in this operation.
There was no SU-152 during the famous battle of Prokhorovka, since the order to allocate a regiment of heavy self-propelled guns to strengthen the strike force of the 5th Tank Army was received only on June 12, when, after a series of local battles, both sides suffered heavy losses and temporarily went on the defensive . SU-152 appeared on this section of the front much later, when the Germans began a systematic retreat.

At the same time, the crew under the command of Major Sankovsky was able to achieve impressive results, knocking out 10 enemy tanks in the July battles, thus showing the best result among self-propelled guns.

However, even during such a short period of combat operation, the self-propelled guns fully developed a number of shortcomings that were a consequence of their simplified design. Due to their large mass, the SU-152 had low mobility and required more careful maintenance than the SU-76 and SU-122. Moreover, in an effort to make the SU-152 as technologically advanced and easy to manufacture as possible, Kotin did not take into account such a factor as the convenience of the crew. In addition to the fact that the conning tower was overly cramped, there was no normal ventilation in it. Because of this, after just a few minutes of battle, tankers began to get tired, which affected the effectiveness of their actions. A lot of complaints were caused by the lack of machine gun armament, which precluded the fight against enemy infantry. The DShK turret machine gun provided for in the project was not installed at the enterprise, so the self-propelled guns were supplemented with machine gun armament already at the front. Subsequently, most of these problems were solved with the new self-propelled gun ISU-152, but in the summer and autumn of 1943 the artillerymen had no choice.

Two months later, SU-152 self-propelled guns distinguished themselves during the liberation of right-bank Ukraine, although there were still very few vehicles of this type. The 1540th Tsap, previously introduced into the 19th Tank Corps, was used to repel the German counteroffensive in the 70th Army's combat zone. For example, during one of the counterattacks, a group of 15 Pz.IV and 6 Pz.VI “Tiger” began to approach the Soviet position. The SU-152s, urgently advanced to the front edge of the front, opened fire from a distance of 2000 meters, knocking out three German tanks without their own losses. Among the destroyed tanks there was one “tiger”, which once again convinced the Soviet command of the effectiveness of the SU-152 weapons.

During the Kyiv offensive operation, the 52nd Tank Brigade of the 16th Tank Corps received the 1835th TsAP for reinforcement. By the morning of November 7, 1943, separate units of the brigade, including SU-152, captured the city of Fastov and switched to defensive actions. Although only three self-propelled guns and one KV-1s regiment remained in service for two days, they held the defense at a dominant height, repelling several attacks, which involved not only tanks and infantry, but also 20-mm anti-aircraft guns. Having lost the only KV, the self-propelled guns destroyed two German tanks and self-propelled guns, four guns and up to a company of soldiers. By the end of the battle, the SU-152 knocked out and burned 16 enemy tanks, after which the Germans were forced to stop their fruitless attacks and retreat back.

At the end of 1943, the 40th TsAP, equipped with only nine SU-152s, operated as part of the 28th Army of the 4th Ukrainian Front. In the period from November 20 to 25, the regiment, together with the 34th Guards TPP (20 KV-85 tanks), fought heavy battles in the area of ​​​​the village of Ekaterinovka. On the very first day, the “self-propelled guns” lost six vehicles, which were hit by enemy artillery fire and blown up by mines, but together with tanks and infantry they managed to occupy the first lines of German trenches. The next day, the enemy launched a counterattack, using ten Pz.IV Ausf.H tanks, but having lost five vehicles and not reaching the intended target, he was forced to go on the defensive again. On the morning of November 23, Soviet troops again went on the offensive and broke through the German defenses to a depth of 5 km. The success of the operation was overshadowed by the loss of three KV-85s, one of which burned out. Subsequently, until November 28, only the 40th TsAP fought in this sector of the front, which was withdrawn to the rear after the loss of all self-propelled guns, most of which could not be restored.

No less fierce battles broke out during the liberation of Crimea. Attached to the 19th Tank Corps as a reinforcement, the 1452nd TsAP was armed with 11 KV-85, 5 KV-1s, 6 SU-152 and 3 SU-76. The presence of such a large number of tanks in the “self-propelled” unit was due to their powerful weapons - the 85-mm D-5T cannon mounted on the KV-85 quite successfully hit all types of targets, including heavy tanks and field fortifications. On April 8, 1944, a tank regiment, including 11 KV-85, 5 KV-1s and SU-152, was transferred to the command of the 3rd Guards Rifle Division - with these forces, the Soviet infantry went on the offensive in the area of ​​​​the Turkish Wall with the aim of capturing p Armyansk. Almost immediately the tanks ran into a minefield not indicated on the map; they managed to make a passage through it after 3 hours. The German defense was broken through, but during the battle the regiment lost 13 tanks and 2 self-propelled guns (hit by artillery), while destroying 11 bunkers, 5 anti-tank guns and up to 200 enemy soldiers. Then, until April 10, the 1542nd TsAP was under repair, and the next day a combined tank-self-propelled group consisting of 3 KV-85, 2 SU-152 and 2 SU-76, with the support of infantry from the 3rd State Duma, went on the offensive in the Ishuni region. Without accurate intelligence information about the enemy’s defensive structures, the tankers found themselves in front of an 8-meter anti-tank ditch and camouflaged pit traps, into which several vehicles fell. Stuck tanks and self-propelled guns were immediately covered with artillery fire, which led to unjustified losses.

Self-propelled guns from the 1824th TsAP that fought nearby took part in the liberation of Bakhchisarai and Simferopol in March-April 1944, and subsequently the only surviving SU-152 and KV-85 took part in the battles for Sevastopol and on May 9 were the first to break into the city.

Throughout 1943-1944, self-propelled guns actively participated in battles in the Baltic states and on the Karelian Isthmus, where the 1539th TsAP actively fought along with the newer ISU-152. During this period, part of the self-propelled guns was transferred to the heavy breakthrough tank regiments, where they temporarily replaced the old KV-1, KV-85 and Churchill tanks that had failed.

Self-propelled guns SU-152 were officially withdrawn from service only after the end of the war. The overall assessment of the self-propelled guns was positive, but a number of significant shortcomings prevented the full use of the combat potential of the self-propelled gun. In an effort to make the SU-152 as technologically advanced and easy to manufacture as possible, Kotin did not take into account such a factor as the convenience of the crew. In addition to the fact that the conning tower was overly cramped, there was no normal ventilation in it. Because of this, after just a few minutes of battle, tankers began to get tired, which affected the effectiveness of their actions. A lot of complaints were caused by the lack of machine gun armament, which precluded the fight against enemy infantry. The DShK turret machine gun provided for in the project was not installed at the enterprise, so the self-propelled guns were supplemented with machine gun armament already at the front. And yet, the SU-152 turned out to be a powerful anti-tank weapon, which certainly played a positive role in the battles of 1943-1944.

Sources:
“SU-152 is the founder of the “Zveroboev” clan” I. Moshchansky M-Hobbi, No. 2(24)\2000
“Heavy self-propelled guns of the Red Army”, M. Baryatinsky, Armored Collection No. 2\2006
“KV-85” Kolomiets M., Moshchansky I. M-Hobbi, No. 5\1999
M. Svirin “Stalin’s self-propelled guns. History of Soviet self-propelled guns 1919-1945". Moscow. Yauza\EXMO. 2008
"Soviet heavy self-propelled artillery mounts 1941-1945." Solyankin A. G., Pavlov M. V., Pavlov I. V., Zheltov I. G., Eksprint, 2005
Dishmodels: SU-152. "St. John's wort"
VIF: Photos of captured Soviet equipment

TACTICAL AND TECHNICAL DATA OF A HEAVY SELF-PROPELLED UNIT
SU-152 model 1943

COMBAT WEIGHT	45500 kg
CREW, people	5
DIMENSIONS
Length, mm	8950 (with gun)
Width, mm	3250
Height, mm	2450
Ground clearance, mm	440
WEAPONS	one 152.4 mm ML-20S howitzer gun and one 12.7 mm DShK machine gun/td>
AMMUNITION	20 shots and 250 rounds
AIMING DEVICES	telescopic sight - TOD-6 periscope sight - PT-6 commander's panorama - PT-1
RESERVATION	turret forehead - 60 mm hull side - 60 mm hull rear - 60 mm cutting edge - 75 mm side and stern of the cabin - 60 mm gun mask - 60-65 mm bottom - 20-30 mm body roof - 30 mm cabin roof - 20 mm
ENGINE	V-2K, V-shaped 12-cylinder diesel liquid cooled with a power of 600 hp.
TRANSMISSION	mechanical type with an onboard planetary gearbox, multi-disc dry friction clutches and a 4-speed gearbox with a range multiplier (8+2)
CHASSIS	(per side) 6 double main rollers, 3 support rollers, front drive and rear idler wheels, large-link caterpillar track made of steel tracks
SPEED	42 km/h on the highway ? km/h on ground
POWER RESERVE	330 km by highway
OBSTACLES TO OVERCOME
Elevation angle, degrees.	36
Wall height, m	1,20
Ford depth, m	0,90
Ditch width, m	2,50
MEANS OF COMMUNICATION	radio station R-9 (R10 or 10RK-26) and intercom TPU-4bis

First of all, it is necessary to point out some of the discrepancies floating around the WEB.
1. ISU – 152, did not participate in the Battle of Kursk.
The Battle of Kursk took place from July 5, 1943 to August 23, 1943.
Only on November 6, 1943, by decree of the State Defense Committee, a new self-propelled gun was adopted by the Red Army under the final name ISU-152. It was in November that serial production of the ISU-152 began at the Kirov plant in the city of Chelyabinsk.

For reference , in our city of St. Petersburg (Leningrad), in 1945, ISU-152 was also built at the plant of the same name. In total, from November 1943 to May 1945, 1885 ISU-152 units.

2. SU-152 actually took part in the battle of Kursk. At one of the sites. According to information, there were only 24 units, according to some sources there were even six units in the third line of defense.
Gun rate of fire: 1-2 rounds per minute. The ammunition load could include almost all 152-mm cannon and howitzer shells, but in practice only a limited subset of them was used, but more on that later.
However, there are no clear grounds to evaluate the nickname “St. John’s wort” specifically for the SU-152 and specifically in the battle on the Kursk Bulge.


The main participants in the battle were SU-76 and SU-122. They were in the first line, covering our tanks. However, due to the effective destruction of the heavy Tiger tank and the medium Panther tank only from a distance of up to 1000 meters, the SU-85 was unlikely to be awarded the title of St. John's Wort.

Most likely, it was the SU-152 that was given this title in view of raising the morale of these self-propelled guns, which were still quite new to the front. The Pz.Kpfw.-IV Ausf.H with on-board anti-cumulative shields also looked new. They were often mistaken for “Tigers” in view of not only their numerical strength, but also the unusual appearance that they were given for the decisive battle, in order to somehow protect their inferior characteristics to Soviet tanks.

3. Another passionate opinion, that soldiers and tank crews of the Red Army experienced attacks of “Tiger Fear” and other tank phobias. In reality, everything is not so emotional and much more prosaic. Those of you who served in the Armed Forces will understand me. The Tiger tank was no secret, and its second appearance in the Battle of Kursk in mass numbers (according to various sources, from 100-140 units) could not intimidate the entire group of the Red Army. This is fantasy, uncontrollable antics of someone’s brain, or simply echoes of Goebbels’ propaganda. After the defeat at Kursk, the Nazi military machine began to retreat, so the Tiger tank was always a single or small enemy, and by the standards of the Eastern Front, the actual number of these tanks was minuscule.

Let's try to be realistic.
In the summer of 1941, the T-34 appeared on the battlefield, which could not be penetrated by the main 37 mm anti-tank and Pak 35/36 guns, but this did not cause any tank phobias among the Wehrmacht or German tankers. The tactics simply changed. The same is fair to say about the heavy KV-1, which had already seen combat in the Finnish War.
Here you involuntarily ask yourself a question. Didn’t the allies of Nazi Germany, the Finns, before the invasion of Soviet Russia whisper to the Germans about the presence of the same KV? And the Germans, as if for the first time, dragged their useless guns and tanks into battle, knowing full well that this iron was not their help, but a mass grave? The Nazi generals were somehow not at all interested in what the Russians were doing to break through the line of Carl Gustav Emil Mannerheim.
The joint stay in the captured city of Brest by the Red Army and the allied Wehrmacht did not draw the attention of the Wehrmacht generals to the armament of the Red Army. And it’s true... There were a lot of strange things at the beginning of the war.

All of the above means that fear of tanks itself has existed since the First World War, with the appearance of the English monsters. As a property of the instinct of self-preservation, in front of the tank, this property was transformed into another. Either you destroy this piece of iron or it destroys you. This is why any mention of tank fear seems logical, regardless of the type or name of the tank. And it is in no way connected with the KV-1, T-5, Pz.VIH, or T-34. And tank fear is overcome by the most ordinary combat experience.

4. Now let’s turn to the next gem of the Internet, but this time in relation to the ISU-152. The pearl goes like this: “The slang name for ISU-152 is “St. John’s wort.” In the Wehrmacht they called it a “can opener.”
When the Tiger tank appeared at the front, Wehrmacht soldiers called the turret of this tank “Tin Can.” There are similarities. And here you don’t have to be a purebred Aryan to not see the obvious similarities. However, can you imagine a Soviet soldier or a soldier of any army in the world who would allow himself to call an enemy weapon destroying his colleagues, compatriots and equipment in such a cynical manner? Of course, this is a story that came to someone’s mind after drawing an association between a closed tin can and an opener.

So what exactly from the self-propelled guns was “St. John’s wort” for the German tankers? In fact, any self-propelled gun and SU-152 and subsequently ISU-152, which suddenly opened fire from an ambush, could receive such a respectful nickname.

From memories
“Volley-gone! Volley-gone!” This was painted in our wheelhouse with white paint. In general, it took us about forty minutes to disguise ourselves. If there's something suitable, we'll disguise it. When there was more time, we dug in the middle of the skating rinks. Masking is required! After the shot, they backed up and sometimes made a U-turn, changing position.

The other crews and I divided our positions into squares for self-propelled guns to withdraw. Almost a chess board. Each crew knew where their place would be after the fire.
The distance between cars is 150-200 meters. Here's a square for you! Dance in this square. Our shell was very smoky. What's outside, what's inside. You will also charge your blind man's buff. Bang and it fell. Of course, we got used to it. We're fine, but what about the German?

In good weather the visibility is brilliant. It was as if after a salvo we immediately opened up, after each shot, and our camouflage lost its meaning. And he received a parcel from us. And he doesn’t want a second one.
The Germans were not indifferent to our brother. They recognized us by the salvo and tried in every possible way to disable us...”

From memories
“We were always provided with a very detailed description of enemy equipment. Leaflets with diagrams and instructions. The Bolsheviks always had enough self-propelled guns. They actively used them when advancing with tank formations, after leaving self-propelled guns and artillery in the positions they occupied. Then, having regrouped, there was an operational pause and they went on the attack again.

By the end of 1944, our divisions and battalions existed only on headquarters maps. Essentially, these were only units of combat-ready equipment from different periods of the Eastern Company. Captured equipment was also available. The rest is junk beyond repair. Even combat-ready equipment caused headaches due to lack of fuel. Our crews, left without combat vehicles, became replacement tank grenadiers. Infantry!
We reorganized into small detachments. The best thing that could be done was a detachment of the next formation. One “Tiger”, at best, in an unimportant case – “Panther”. They include 2-3 Pz-III units and two platoons of grenadiers.

The Russians guarded their artillery in large numbers. Armed to the teeth, with ample capabilities: fuel, manpower, ammunition, weapons technology, and even American and English, they became careless and self-confident. What destroyed our armies in Russia during the battles of the beginning of '42. Now these strong capabilities have become their Achilles heel.

The Pz-III, light and maneuverable, quickly bypassed their artillery on the flanks, while the “Tiger” came forward, tickling their nerves. Such desperate attacks did not always end in a good shake-up for the enemies.

One high-explosive shell fired from a Russian self-propelled gun from 500 meters, with any hit, could disable the Pz-III without penetration. The crew suffered concussion, broken bones, and internal bleeding. The equipment of the tanks failed, the hull, and the turret became warped. Rarely, but sometimes the tank simply burst into flames. I remember after the battle, we inspected our tank.

During the battle, one of the howitzer shells ricocheted across the gun mantlet, creating a through crack in it that covered half a sheet. The gun was not hit, otherwise we would have lost our “Tiger”…”.

Now it is becoming clearly clear how correct the decision was made by the Soviet command in placing its bet on the ISU-152.

WEAPON:
The main weapon of the ISU-152 is a 152-mm howitzer-cannon ML-20S mod. 1937/43 (GAU index - 52-PS-544S). The gun was mounted in a frame on the front armor plate of the wheelhouse and had vertical aiming angles from 03 to +20°, the horizontal aiming sector was 10°. The height of the firing line was 1.8 m; direct shot range - 800-900 m, at a target height of 2.5-3 m, direct fire range - 3800 m, longest firing range - 6200 m.

The shot was fired using an electric or manual mechanical trigger. The gun's ammunition load was 21 rounds of separate loading.


AMMUNITION TYPE:
1. Armor-piercing tracer sharp-headed projectile 53-BR-540 weighing 48.8 kg, initial speed 600 m/s;

2. High-explosive fragmentation cannon projectile 53-OF-540 weighing 43.56 kg, initial speed 655 m/s when fully charged.

3. Instead of 53-BR-540 armor-piercing tracer shells, blunt-headed armor-piercing tracer shells with a 53-BR-540B ballistic tip could be used (from the beginning of 1945).

4. To destroy reinforced concrete bunkers, a concrete-piercing cannon shell 53-G-545 could be introduced into the ammunition load. The range of propellant charges was also significantly reduced - it included a special charge 54-Zh-545B for an armor-piercing projectile and a full charge 54-ZhN-545 for a high-explosive fragmentation projectile.

Of course, the appearance of the ISU-152, replacing the no less excellent SU-152, was not, as some on the Internet “put it,” the panache of Stalin. This was a transition to a new combat level. The ISU was created on the promising platform of the Joseph Stalin tank, which replaced the Klim Voroshilov tank base.

Even during the Winter War, it became obvious that deeply echeloned enemy fortifications needed to be quickly and effectively suppressed. Conventional tanks coped with this task, but the losses were quite large and, as seditious as it may sound, they were expensive from an economic point of view. For an extensive offensive operation, where the enemy in each sector during retreat goes into long-term defense, powerful, well-protected self-propelled guns were needed.
Moreover. Easy to mass produce and reliable on long marches. In addition, the ISU-152 was in no hurry to go into production, as the designers were busy “polishing” the project.


Like any new type of weapon, the ISU-152 had to comply with the changes that had occurred, including in the tank theater of military operations. One important reason is the capture of the new heavy German Tiger tank, which was stuck in the mud.
He was captured in January '43 near St. Petersburg (Leningrad).
In the photo, you can see the towing of this New Year's gift to our engineers. "Tiger" is dragged by its mustache along Leningradsky Prospekt. For a tugboat (based on the KV-1) this is a difficult case.

However, there was one rather serious miscalculation made during the release of the ISU-152, which resulted in the death of many soldiers defending the self-propelled guns on the march.


From memories, Fyodor Martynovich Veresov. Rank - Corporal. Position - Loading self-propelled gun - ISU-152, 390th Guards Heavy Self-Propelled Artillery Regiment, 1st Ukrainian Front.
“My most terrible memories are of those people who accompanied our self-propelled guns. Everyone has seen dashing guys in the movies sitting on armor, music playing, a red flag flying. That’s how it was, looking from the outside. Only we know what really happened.

It was like that. You don’t have time to take a smoke break, remember the peaceful times, and just get to know the guys who are accompanying you from village A to village B. By the evening, the whole crew, with a grinding noise, scrapes pieces of meat from these guys from the armor. It was... A piece of flesh stuck together in a lump with a cloth with a photograph of his mother, small children... It was terribly painful for me to see all this. Our armor rusted not from rain, but from blood. I will never forget this. Never. These people were our second armor. Afterwards, of course, even special teams appeared that dealt with this. It was necessary to somehow support us morally, not just with alcohol infusion.

By the end of 44, the German had gone mad. They themselves had already lost relatives under British bombs. Many of them didn't care. Few people gave up during the battle. Sometimes they simply committed suicide. We didn't see them as people, they saw us. Such continuous continuous merciless destruction of each other, as in the Stone Age. They threw everything that burned or exploded into our self-propelled gun. They planted mines right under the tracks. And they knew that either they wouldn’t make it, or they would even die in an explosion. But magnetic mines especially annoyed us. This is the most dangerous thing that could harm the car or kill us. That's why those guys were on our armor.
It was also extremely dangerous in urban battles. The task is simple. Suppress machine gun nests and camouflaged guns. They were firing at houses, even if there was no one there. Everyone remembers from Stalingrad that the Germans were killed there because of their own stupidity. They destroyed the city and reduced the effects of their equipment to zero. Well, we also turned out to be no weaker in hindsight. They repeated their stupidity. The lucky thing is that cities in Europe are no match for ours. They have tiny cities.
Once our rollers jammed. The commander got out, and lo and behold, there were telegraph wires and a bicycle. The engine roars, there is smoke, the tracks clack-clack. And then we hear the commander. - Leave the car! He screamed so loudly that he shouted over everything. And from above we hit the armor, such a dull sound, boom and boom again. What did the Fritz throw at us from the roof of the house? Only a quarter of a quarter was left of the house, where were they hiding? It doesn't matter anymore. I don’t remember how I jumped out of our self-propelled gun. It's like being in a fog. He ran to the commander's cry. And our self-propelled gun trembled three times. She swayed, and then everything flew up from her. Ammunition scattered our car along the street. Well, the ammunition was insignificant. Five left. Just like in the movie, it all happened in slow motion. A piece of this three-story house collapsed dustily on top of the flames. I'm lucky. Only his neck was cut with brick chips, his ears were bleeding, but the mechanic got a piece of iron in his shoulder. Large, it stuck out. We got it from the general then. He should have shot at our armor and the Nazis... There were many such cases in cities with our equipment. The commanders came to their senses and gave the crews machine gunners and even snipers, but the most dangerous places in cities are not even houses and their basements. Sewerage. Mines under the city! The Germans, like toadstools, will appear out of the hatch, seemingly out of nowhere, throw grenades and come back again, yurk...”

Fyodor Martynovich correctly noted: “The commanders came to their senses...”.


Indeed, only from the beginning of 1945, the crew (ISU-152 crew: 1 - driver; 2 - commander; 3 - gunner; 4 - lock; 5 - loader) was provided with the following additional weapons: large-caliber anti-aircraft 12.7 mm a DShK machine gun with a K-8T collimator sight on a turret mounted on the right round hatch of the vehicle commander. As well as the following additional weapons:

Ammunition for the DShK is 250 rounds. For self-defense, the crew had two PPSh or PPS machine guns (submachine guns) with 1,491 rounds of ammunition (21 disks) and 20 F-1 hand grenades.

In February 1945, in western Hungary , the last major battle took place (the Battle of Balaton), where the German command tried to counterattack the advance of the Red Army.

From memories, Clemens Stauberg, Title - Unterfeldwebel. Position – Driver. 502nd heavy tank battalion, 1st company.
“At the beginning of February 1945, our Tiger was confiscated from us under the pretext of major repairs. Repairs were needed. But we could still fight on it! We called it “Burger's grater.” This is how he began to look outwardly after a series of meetings with the Bolsheviks. It became clear that we would never see our tank again.

Soon our battalion was reinforced with eight PzKpfw IV tanks, five StuG IV tanks and two Jagdpanthers. Our self-propelled guns were close in appearance to Russian self-propelled guns. And the same weak points! I'm talking about the location of the engine and fuel tanks. Hit the side in the middle and the self-propelled gun is destroyed.

The rate of fire of our self-propelled guns was higher. This didn’t help us tankers much. The first short clash with the vanguard confirmed this. The armor of the Bolshevik tanks and self-propelled guns had long been equal to our new tanks, and surpassed them in quality. On one of the narrow sections of the front line, near the road, our self-propelled guns tried in every possible way to stop the sudden advance of a dozen T-34s. They partially succeeded. In order to reduce the consumption of self-propelled gun ammunition, an order was given to simply deprive the T-34 of movement. Our task was to finish.
Our crews already consisted half or entirely of untrained boys. In one of the tanks, the youngest was 14, the eldest was 17. In appearance, they could be considered 20-25 years old. It didn't fit in my head. They were hastily prepared and simply thrown into battle. After two hours of a short battle, we stopped the rapid attack of the T-34, and then drove off their infantry with artillery fire.
One of our tanks stopped and simply stood without leaving its position. The radio did not answer. About five minutes later, a boy from under the tank crawled out from under the tank. He crawled about five meters, dragging his unwinding intestines behind him. It was like a second birth, when part of the umbilical cord is inside the mother (tank), and he goes out with her into this terrible and merciless light. Someone spared him. Gave a long line.
We understood that the Russians were simply guided by our positions. And so it happened. By 18-00, they drove up their favorite car and bombarded everything with rockets. They liked to shower us with these shells in the dark. Sometimes before they started shelling they sang loudly or shouted something to us and laughed.
In the end, what happened happened. Our artillery was completely suppressed. On the third day of the battle, just to be sure, they were attacked by aviation, then by artillery, and then they rolled like an iron roller over our broken and demoralized positions...”

From memories, Fyodor Martynovich Veresov. Rank - Corporal. Position - Loading self-propelled gun - ISU-152, 390th Guards Heavy Self-Propelled Artillery Regiment, 1st Ukrainian Front.
“No, I didn’t get to Berlin. In March 1945, he was given a commission. And I don’t somehow regret that I didn’t get there. We won. We are, in general, simple people. I have no personal pride in participating in the victory. After the war I didn’t think about the war. Crossed out. Human life began, and I studied, and then work and, of course, family.

Over the years, towards the end of my life, I began to think about the war. It was as if she had returned to me again. The simple human feeling of victory in a war is first the bitterness of losing the people you love, then the bitter regret that no one will ever return them to you, and then the question. Why and why did this war happen?
When will people stop killing each other because of crazy ideas of crazy rulers? We betrayed God first. Then they betrayed the Soviet Union and returned to God again. What's next? Round and round again? In my opinion, we, the people of the whole world, need to defeat our abnormal politicians, who are constantly pushing us to war with each other. And enough about the war already...”


Self-propelled guns - "SU-100" with an installed 100 mm cannon"D-10".
Based on the T-34 tank.

Self-propelled guns - “ISU-122” with an installed 122-mm “A-19” cannon.
Based on the Joseph Stalin tank.

Self-propelled guns - “SU-152” (ISU) with an installed 152-mm ML-20S “Howitzer” cannon.
Based on the tank " Joseph Stalin ».

While preparing this article, I often came across this on various Internet forums about the war. The couch d'Artagnans, who have never held a weapon, are inciting war, either with Ukraine, or with the United States, or with anyone. The same sort of “heroes” write for a total war with Russia.
In the warmth of home, over a cup of instant coffee, they can write “Throw them with nuclear bombs and that’s it; Roll their city into pieces and that’s it...” These empty-hearted people have no understanding of war, of its indiscriminate approach to matters of life. Death, grief, fear, panic, horror will come to everyone if there is a war. There are a sufficient number of nuclear power plants on Earth. And this will be a catastrophe not for the USSR and the Third Reich, but for the entire existence of the planet.

After all, it is precisely such armchair citizens that the powers that be need in order to implement their inhuman plans with the help of their approving hubbub.

Apparently everyone has already forgotten the Russian proverb: « Don't wake up while it's quiet » .

Article

There was an acute shortage of heavy guns capable of hitting the armored vehicles of Nazi Germany. The most popular among the troops were large-caliber guns and heavy tanks. However, the guns that the USSR used in 1941-1942 had a lot of shortcomings.

In January 1943, Soviet industry began mass production of the SU-152 self-propelled artillery mount based on the KV-1s heavy tank. On the tracked platform, engineers installed a howitzer-cannon of the 1937 model (ML-20) of 152 mm caliber.

The hybrid turned out to be very successful. The SU-152 made its debut in July - August 1943 in battles with heavy German tanks T-5 Panther, T-6 Tiger and self-propelled guns Ferdinand. Subsequently, the SU-152 took part in the offensive operations of the Red Army in the western regions of the USSR.

However, the launch of the SU-152 into mass production became a necessary measure in war conditions, experts say. The self-propelled gun had problems with the reliability of the chassis and transmission. Most of these guns were destroyed or put out of action by mid-1944.

In honor of the leader

Significant shortcomings of the SU-152, identified during the testing phase, prompted the designers to begin modernizing the self-propelled gun. Work on the creation of an updated version began on May 25, 1943 in the design bureau of pilot plant No. 100 (now OJSC VNIITransmash, Chelyabinsk). They were led by talented Soviet designers and Grigory Nikolaevich Moskvin.

The modernized self-propelled gun received the name ISU-152. However, the Red Army soldiers soon nicknamed it “St. John’s Wort”: thanks to the powerful ML-20 gun inherited from its predecessor, as well as improved driving characteristics, the unit easily penetrated even the most protected German vehicles.

Kotin and Moskvin created the ISU-152 on the platform of the promising heavy tank IS-1 (“Joseph Stalin”), which the Chelyabinsk enterprise had been developing since February 1943.

The tank, named after the Soviet leader, was intended to replace the tank, which demonstrated poor performance. The tanks of the IS family turned out to be lighter (41 tons versus 43-47), powerful, protected and reliable.

IS-1 prototypes were successfully tested in July - August 1943, and in September the new tank was adopted by the Red Army. This made it possible to establish serial production of the ISU-152 in November.

The updated self-propelled gun has the ability to overcome obstacles up to 1.9 m high (versus 1.2 m for the SU-152) and a ditch up to 1.5 m deep (versus 0.9 m for the SU-152). True, the engineers had to sacrifice speed on the highway (35 km/h versus 43 km/h) and over rough terrain (15 km/h versus 30 km/h).

In addition to the running platform, the St. John's Wort differed from its predecessor in having a lower landing, while the wheelhouse became taller and more voluminous. Since October 1944, self-propelled guns were produced with a 12.7-mm anti-aircraft heavy machine gun DShK and a 10RK radio station.

• Passage of the newest heavy tank IS-2 along a forest road
• RIA News
• Boris Kudoyarov

“There really weren’t any big differences between the two self-propelled guns. At the same time, the ISU-152 had better security and maneuverability. The enlarged wheelhouse made the control of the St. John's wort more convenient, although its size turned the self-propelled gun into a fairly noticeable target on the battlefield. However, the need for ISU-152 was too great,” explained candidate of military sciences Sergei Suvorov in a conversation with RT.

In total, in 1943-1947, Soviet industry produced 3242 ISU-152, and in the period from November 1943 to May 1945 - 1885 units. In addition to the Red Army, the St. John's wort was in service with the armed forces of Poland, Czechoslovakia, and Egypt. Captured ISU-152s were used by soldiers of the Wehrmacht and Finland.

“They pierced the frontal armor”

It is noteworthy that the “specialization” of the ISU-152 was not initially included. According to the generally accepted classification, the St. John's wort is primarily an assault weapon. On the battlefield, the tank was much faster and more maneuverable than a self-propelled gun. However, the Red Army experienced a huge shortage of such large-caliber guns.

A significant problem with the ISU-152, in addition to poor mobility, was its low rate of fire - only 1-3 rounds per minute, while the German Tiger could fire up to 5-8 rounds per minute. The ammunition of the "St. John's wort" was small and amounted to 20 shots. Loading the shells took about 40 minutes.

To compensate for the shortcomings of the ISU-152, the Red Army resorted to careful camouflage of combat vehicles. Moreover, the Deerslayers never acted alone. The Soviet command sought to achieve a numerical advantage of self-propelled guns over German tanks. While one ISU-152 was reloading, the other was firing.

The St. John's Wort's solid armor allowed it to get close to heavy Wehrmacht tanks or reach positions under fire where soldiers could not deliver a towed gun.

From a distance of about a kilometer, the ISU-152 could hit absolutely any target. The basis of the St. John's wort ammunition in battles with Nazi tanks was the OF-540 high-explosive fragmentation cannon grenade weighing 43 kg and the BR-540 armor-piercing tracer projectile weighing 48 kg.

These incredibly heavy projectiles flew out of the howitzer at an impressive speed for their mass - about 600 m/s. This made it possible to penetrate the frontal armor and tear off the turrets of the German Tigers and Panthers. The less protected equipment of the Nazis completely failed irrevocably, even if the shells exploded a few meters away.

“The ML-20 is not the most ideal weapon for hitting heavy armored vehicles. It took a lot of work to load and load the BR-540 or OF-540. But any indirect hit from these heavy shells was guaranteed to cripple the German tank,” said Suvorov.

• Self-propelled artillery unit ISU-152
• Wikimedia Commons

The ISU-152 turned out to be an indispensable assistant to the Red Army from the point of view of its direct purpose - assault operations. The self-propelled gun left no chance for enemy firing points in dense urban areas. As historians note, “St. John’s Wort” distinguished itself during the capture of Koenigsberg, Berlin, and in battles with the Japanese army.

In the Wehrmacht and the troops of the countries allied to the USSR (Great Britain and the USA) there were no analogues of the ISU-152. As a rule, foreign large-caliber artillery systems were lightly armored carriages. The exception was the German Brummbär assault tank with a 150 mm caliber gun. However, it had a low muzzle velocity and an unreliable chassis.

“The shortcomings of St. John's wort can be explained by the lack of resources to create a more effective self-propelled gun. But it is worth noting that the technological breakthrough in the development of artillery systems occurred much later. Taking into account the difficult economic conditions, the ISU-152 was an excellent weapon in terms of ease of production, repair and advantages on the battlefield,” summed up Suvorov.

The first examples of heavy self-propelled artillery units were created in the Soviet Union even before the start of World War II. However, things did not reach their mass production then. The realities of the war, the appearance of new heavy tanks in the ranks of Hitler's Panzerwaffe, forced Soviet designers to return to the development of heavy self-propelled guns.

Armed with powerful 152mm guns, these combat vehicles became the Red Army's most formidable anti-tank weapon. A projectile weighing half a centner tore the Tiger's turret off its shoulder strap and broke through the Panther's armor. It was for their success in the fight against the German armored “menagerie” that Soviet soldiers gave the heavy self-propelled guns the respectful nickname “St. John’s Wort.”

In connection with the adoption of the new heavy IS tank into service by the Red Army in the fall of 1943 and the discontinuation of the KV-1C, the need arose to create a heavy self-propelled gun based on the new heavy tank. Resolution of the State Defense Committee No. 4043ss of September 4, 1943 ordered Experimental Plant No. 100 in Chelyabinsk, together with the technical department of the Main Armored Directorate of the Red Army, to design, manufacture and test the IS-152 artillery self-propelled gun based on the IS tank by November 1, 1943.

During development, the installation received the factory designation “object 241”. G.N. was appointed lead designer. Moskvin. The prototype was manufactured in October. For several weeks, the self-propelled gun was tested at the NIBT Test Site in Kubinka and the Artillery Scientific Testing Experimental Site (ANIOP) in Gorokhovets. On November 6, 1943, by decree of the State Defense Committee, the new vehicle was accepted into service under the designation ISU-152, and in December its mass production began.

The layout of the ISU-152 did not differ in fundamental innovations. The conning tower, made of rolled armor plates, was installed in the front part of the hull, combining the control and combat compartments into one volume. The engine and transmission compartment was located in the rear of the hull. The bow part of the hull on the first production units was made of cast, on the latest production machines it had a welded structure.

The number and placement of crew members were the same as the SU-152. If the crew consisted of four people, then the duties of the loader were performed by the castle. For landing the crew in the roof of the cabin there were two round hatches in the front part and one rectangular in the stern. All hatches were closed with double-leaf covers, in the upper doors of which MK-4 surveillance devices were installed. In the front panel of the cabin there was an inspection hatch for the driver, which was closed with an armored plug with a glass block and an inspection slot.

The design of the conning tower itself has not undergone any fundamental changes. Due to the smaller width of the IS tank, compared to the KV, it was necessary to reduce the inclination of the side sheets from 25° to 15° to the vertical, and eliminate the inclination of the rear sheet completely. The thickness of the armor increased from 75 to 90 mm at the front deckhouse and from 60 to 75 mm at the side.

The gun mantlet had a thickness of 60 mm, and was later increased to 100 mm. The cabin roof consisted of two parts. The front part of the roof was welded to the front, zygomatic and side sheets. In addition to two round hatches, there was a hole for installing a fan in the fighting compartment (in the middle), which was covered from the outside with an armored cap, and there was also a hatch for access to the filler neck of the left front fuel tank (on the left) and an antenna input hole (on the right). The rear roof sheet was removable and secured with bolts. It should be noted that the installation of an exhaust fan became a significant advantage of the ISU-152, compared to the SU-152, in which there was no forced exhaust ventilation at all, and during the battle the crew members sometimes lost consciousness from the accumulated powder gases. However, according to the recollections of self-propelled gunners, even on the new vehicle the ventilation left much to be desired - when the bolt was opened after a shot, an avalanche of thick powder smoke, similar to sour cream, streamed from the gun barrel and slowly spread across the floor of the fighting compartment.

The roof over the engine-transmission compartment consisted of a removable sheet over the engine, mesh over the air supply windows to the engine, and armored grilles over the blinds. The removable sheet had a hatch for access to engine components and assemblies, which was closed with a hinged lid. At the back of the sheet there were two hatches for access to the filling necks of the fuel and oil tanks. The middle stern plate of the hull was bolted in the combat position; during repairs it could be hinged. To access the transmission units, it had two round hatches, closed with hinged armored covers. The bottom of the hull was welded from three armor plates and had hatches and holes that were closed with armor covers and plugs.

152-mm howitzer-gun ML-20. C arr. 1937/43 it was mounted in a cast frame, which played the role of the upper mount of the gun, and was protected by a cast armor mantlet, borrowed from the SU-152. The swinging part of the self-propelled howitzer-gun had minor differences compared to the field one: a folding tray was installed to facilitate loading and an additional rod to the trigger mechanism, the handles of the flywheels of the lifting and turning mechanisms were located on the gunner's left along the direction of the vehicle, the trunnions were moved forward for natural balancing .

Vertical guidance angles ranged from -3° to +20°, horizontal - in the 10° sector. The height of the firing line was 1800 mm. For direct fire, an ST-10 telescopic sight with a semi-independent aiming line was used; for firing from closed firing positions, a Hertz panorama with an extension was used, the lens of which came out of the wheelhouse through the open left upper hatch.

When shooting at night, the sight and panorama scales, as well as the aiming and gun arrows, were illuminated by electric bulbs from the Luch 5 device. The direct fire range was 3800 m, the longest was 6200 m. The rate of fire was 2–3 rounds/min. The gun had electric and mechanical (manual) triggers. The electric release trigger was located on the handle of the lifting mechanism flywheel. The guns of the first releases used a mechanical (manual) trigger. The lifting and rotating mechanisms of the sector type were mounted on brackets to the left cheek of the frame.

The ammunition consisted of 21 rounds of separate cartridge loading with armor-piercing tracer sharp-headed projectiles BR-540, high-explosive fragmentation cannon and steel howitzer grenades OF-540 and OF-530, fragmentation howitzer grenades made of steel cast iron O-5Z0A. Armor-piercing tracer shells were located in the niche of the conning tower on the left side in special frames, high-explosive fragmentation grenades - in the same place, cartridges with combat charges in the conning tower niche in special frames and in a clamp arrangement.

Some of the cartridges with combat charges were placed on the bottom under the gun. The initial speed of the armor-piercing projectile with a mass of 48.78 kg was 600 m/s, at a distance of 1000 m it penetrated armor 123 mm thick.

Since October 1944, on some vehicles, an anti-aircraft turret with a 12.7-mm DShK machine gun model 1938 began to be installed on the rotating shoulder strap of the commander's hatch. The ammunition load for the machine gun was 250 rounds. In addition, two PPSh (later PPS) submachine guns with 1,491 rounds of ammunition and 20 F-1 hand grenades were stowed in the fighting compartment.

The power plant and transmission were borrowed from the IS-1 (IS-2) tank. The ISU-152 was equipped with a 12-cylinder four-stroke diesel engine V-2IS (V-2-10) with a power of 520 hp. at 2000 rpm. The cylinders were arranged in a V-shape at an angle of 60°. Compression ratio 14–15. Engine weight 1000 kg.

The engine was started by an inertia starter, which had manual and electric drives, or using compressed air cylinders.

The total capacity of the three fuel tanks was 520 liters. Another 300 liters were transported in three external tanks not connected to the power system. The fuel supply is forced, using a twelve-plunger high-pressure fuel pump NK-1.

Lubrication system - circulation, under pressure. A circulation tank was built into the lubrication system tank, which ensured rapid heating of the oil and the ability to use the method of diluting the oil with gasoline.

The cooling system is liquid, closed, with forced circulation. There are two radiators, plate-tubular, horseshoe-shaped, installed above a centrifugal fan.

To clean the air entering the engine cylinders, two VT-5 air purifiers of the “multi-cyclone” type were installed on the self-propelled guns. The air cleaner heads had built-in injectors and glow plugs to heat the intake air in winter. In addition, wick heaters running on diesel fuel were used to heat the coolant in the engine cooling system. These same heaters also provided heating for the fighting compartment of the vehicle during long-term stops.

The ACS transmission included a multi-disc main dry friction clutch (steel on ferrodo), a four-speed eight-speed gearbox with a range multiplier, two-stage planetary turning mechanisms with a multi-disc locking clutch and two-stage final drives with a planetary gear set.

The chassis of the self-propelled guns, applied to one side, consisted of six dual cast road wheels with a diameter of 550 mm and three support rollers. The rear drive wheels had two removable ring gears with 14 teeth each. The idler wheels are cast, with a crank mechanism for tensioning the tracks, interchangeable with the support rollers. Suspension - individual torsion bar. The caterpillars are steel, fine-linked, with 86 single-ridge tracks each. The tracks are stamped, 650 mm wide and 162 mm pitch. Pin engagement.

For external radio communication, 10P or 10RK radio stations were installed on the vehicles, and for internal radio communication, a TPU-4-BIS-F intercom was installed. To communicate with the landing party, there was an audible alarm button at the stern.

Already at the beginning of 1944, the production of ISU-152 began to be hampered by a shortage of ML-20 guns. Anticipating such a situation, at artillery plant No. 9 in Sverdlovsk they placed the barrel of a 122-mm A-19 hull cannon on the cradle of an ML-20C gun and as a result received a heavy artillery self-propelled gun ISU-122 (“object 242”). A prototype of the installation was tested at the Gorokhovets test site in December 1943. By decree of the State Defense Committee of March 12, 1944, the ISU-122 was adopted by the Red Army. Serial production of the vehicle began at ChKZ in April 1944 and continued until September 1945.

The ISU-122 was a variant of the ISU-152 self-propelled guns, in which the 152-mm ML-20C howitzer-gun was replaced with a 122-mm A-19 mod. 1931/37 At the same time, the movable armor of the gun had to be changed somewhat. The height of the firing line was 1790 mm. In May 1944, changes were made to the design of the A-19 gun barrel, which disrupted the interchangeability of new barrels with previously released ones.

The upgraded gun received the name “122-mm self-propelled gun mod. 1931/44". Both guns had a piston breech. The barrel length was 46.3 calibers. The design of the A-19 gun was largely the same as the ML-20C. It differed from the latter in having a smaller caliber barrel with a length increased by 730 mm, the absence of a muzzle brake and fewer rifling. To aim the gun, a sector-type lifting mechanism and a screw-type rotating mechanism were used. The vertical aiming angles ranged from -3° to +22°, horizontally - in the 10° sector. To protect the lifting mechanism from inertial loads, a delivery link was introduced into its design in the form of a conical friction clutch located between the worm wheel and the gear of the lifting mechanism. When shooting, we used the ST-18 telescopic sight, which differed from the ST-10 sight only in the cutting of the scales, and a panoramic sight with a semi-independent or independent line of sight (Hertz panorama). The direct fire range was 5,000 m, the longest was 14,300 m. The rate of fire was 2–3 rounds/min.

The installation's ammunition included 30 rounds of separate case loading with an armor-piercing tracer sharp-headed projectile BR-471 and an armor-piercing tracer projectile with a ballistic tip BR-471B, as well as high-explosive fragmentation cannon grenades: solid-body short OF-471N, with a screw head and a long - OF-471. The initial speed of an armor-piercing projectile with a mass of 25 kg was 800 m/s. Additionally, two PPSh (PPS) submachine guns with 1,491 rounds of ammunition (21 discs) and 25 F-1 hand grenades were stowed in the fighting compartment.

Since October 1944, a DShK anti-aircraft machine gun with 250 rounds of ammunition was installed on some vehicles.

In April 1944, the design bureau of plant No. 100 created the ISU-122S self-propelled artillery mount (ISU-122-2, “object 249”), which was a modernized version of the ISU-122. In June, the installation was tested at ANIOP in Gorokhovets, and on August 22, 1944 it was put into service. In the same month, its serial production began at ChKZ in parallel with the ISU-122 and ISU-152, which continued until September 1945.

ISU-122S was created on the basis of ISU-122 and differed from it in the installation of a D-25S mod. 1944 with a horizontal wedge semi-automatic bolt and muzzle brake. The height of the firing line was 1795 mm. Barrel length - 48 calibers. Due to more compact recoil devices and the breech of the gun, it was possible to increase the rate of fire to 6 rounds/min. Vertical aiming angles ranged from -3° to +20°, horizontally - in a 10° sector (7° to the right and 3° to the left). The gun sights are telescopic TSh-17 and Hertz panorama. The direct fire range is 5000 m, the maximum is up to 15,000 m. The ammunition load is the same as that of the A-19 cannon. Externally, the SU-122S differed from the SU-122 with a gun barrel and a new cast mantlet with a thickness of 120–150 mm.

From 1944 to 1947, 2,790 ISU-152 self-propelled units were manufactured, 1,735 ISU-122 and 675 ISU-122S. Thus, the total production of heavy artillery self-propelled guns - 5,200 units - exceeded the number of heavy IS tanks produced - 4,499 units. It should be noted that, as in the case of the IS-2, the Leningrad Kirov Plant was supposed to be involved in the production of self-propelled guns based on it. By May 9, 1945, the first five ISU-152s were assembled there, and by the end of the year - another hundred. In 1946 and 1947, production of ISU-152 was carried out only at LKZ.

Since the spring of 1944, heavy self-propelled artillery regiments SU-152 were re-equipped with ISU-152 and ISU-122 installations. They were transferred to new states and all were given the rank of guards. In total, before the end of the war, 56 such regiments were formed, each with 21 ISU-152 or ISU-122 vehicles (some of these regiments were of mixed composition). On March 1, 1945, the 143rd separate tank Nevelskaya brigade in the Belarusian-Lithuanian military district was reorganized into the 66th Guards Nevelskaya heavy self-propelled artillery brigade of the RVGK of three regiments (1804 people, 65 ISU-122 and three SU-76).

Heavy self-propelled artillery regiments attached to tank and rifle units and formations were primarily used to support infantry and tanks in the offensive. Following in their battle formations, self-propelled guns destroyed enemy firing points and ensured successful advancement for infantry and tanks. In this phase of the offensive, self-propelled guns became one of the main means of repelling tank counterattacks. In a number of cases, they had to move ahead of the battle formations of their troops and take the blow themselves, thereby ensuring freedom of maneuver for the supported tanks.

So, for example, on January 15, 1945, in East Prussia, in the Borowe region, the Germans, with up to one regiment of motorized infantry, supported by tanks and self-propelled guns, counterattacked the battle formations of our advancing infantry, along with which the 390th Guards Heavy Self-Propelled Artillery Regiment was operating. The infantry, under pressure from superior enemy forces, retreated behind the battle formations of the self-propelled guns, who met the German attack with concentrated fire and covered the supported units. The counterattack was repulsed, and the infantry was again able to continue its offensive.

Heavy self-propelled guns were sometimes involved in artillery preparations. At the same time, fire was carried out both direct fire and from closed positions. In particular, on January 12, 1945, during the Sandomierz-Silesian operation, the 368th Guards Regiment ISU-152 of the 1st Ukrainian Front fired at a strong point and four enemy artillery and mortar batteries for 107 minutes. Having fired 980 shells, the regiment suppressed two mortar batteries, destroyed eight guns and up to one battalion of enemy soldiers and officers. It is interesting to note that additional ammunition was laid out in advance at the firing positions, but the shells in the combat vehicles were consumed first, otherwise the rate of fire would have been significantly reduced. It took up to 40 minutes for the subsequent replenishment of heavy self-propelled guns with shells, so they stopped firing well in advance of the attack.

Heavy self-propelled guns were used very effectively in the fight against enemy tanks. For example, in the Berlin operation on April 19, the 360th Guards Heavy Self-Propelled Artillery Regiment supported the advance of the 388th Rifle Division. Parts of the division captured one of the groves east of Lichtenberg, where they entrenched themselves. The next day, the enemy, with the strength of up to one infantry regiment, supported by 15 tanks, began to counterattack. When repelling attacks during the day, heavy self-propelled gun fire destroyed 10 German tanks and up to 300 soldiers and officers.

In the battles on the Zemland Peninsula during the East Prussian operation, the 378th Guards Heavy Self-Propelled Artillery Regiment, when repelling counterattacks, successfully used the formation of the regiment's battle formation as a fan. This provided the regiment with shelling in a 180° sector, which made it easier to fight enemy tanks attacking from different directions.

One of the ISU-152 batteries, having formed its battle formation in a fan along a front length of 250 m, successfully repelled a counterattack of 30 enemy tanks on April 7, 1945, knocking out six of them. The battery suffered no losses. Only two cars received minor damage to the chassis.

At the final stage of the Great Patriotic War, a characteristic feature of the use of self-propelled artillery was fighting in large populated areas, including well-fortified ones. As is known, an attack on a large populated area is a very complex form of combat and in its nature differs in many respects from an offensive battle under normal conditions.

Fighting in the city was almost always divided into a number of separate local battles for individual objects and centers of resistance.

This forced the advancing troops to create special assault detachments and groups that had great independence to conduct battle in the city. Assault detachments and assault groups formed the basis of the battle formations of formations and units fighting for the city.

Self-propelled artillery regiments and brigades were attached to rifle divisions and corps; in the latter, they were fully or partially assigned to rifle regiments, in which they were used to strengthen assault detachments and groups. The assault groups included self-propelled artillery batteries and separate installations (usually two). Self-propelled guns, which were part of the assault groups, had the tasks of directly escorting infantry and tanks, repelling counterattacks of enemy tanks and self-propelled guns, and consolidating them at occupied targets. Accompanying the infantry, self-propelled guns with direct fire from the spot, less often with short stops, destroyed the enemy's firing points and anti-tank guns, his tanks and self-propelled guns, destroyed rubble, barricades and houses adapted for defense, and thereby ensured the advance of troops. Volley fire was sometimes used to destroy buildings, which gave very good results. In the battle formations of assault groups, self-propelled artillery units usually moved together with tanks under infantry cover, but if there were no tanks, then they moved along with the infantry.

The deployment of self-propelled artillery units to operate ahead of the infantry turned out to be unjustified, since they suffered heavy losses from enemy fire.

In the 8th Guards Army of the 1st Belorussian Front, in the battles for the Polish city of Poznan, two or three ISU-152s of the 394th Guards Heavy Self-Propelled Artillery Regiment were included in the assault groups of the 74th Guards Rifle Division. On February 20, 1945, in the battles for the 8th, 9th and 10th quarters of the city, directly adjacent to the southern part of the fortress citadel, an assault group consisting of an infantry platoon, three ISU-152 and two T-34 tanks cleared the quarter from the enemy No. 10. Another group consisting of an infantry platoon, two ISU-152 self-propelled artillery mounts and three TO-34 flamethrowers stormed the 8th and 9th quarters. In these battles, self-propelled guns acted quickly and decisively. They approached the houses and point-blank destroyed German firing points located in the windows, basements and other places of the buildings, and also made breaks in the walls of the buildings for the passage of their infantry. When operating along the streets, self-propelled guns moved, clinging to the walls of houses and destroying enemy fire weapons located in buildings on the opposite side. With their fire, the installations mutually covered each other and ensured the advancement of infantry and tanks. The self-propelled artillery units moved forward in alternating rolls as the infantry and tanks advanced. As a result, the quarters were quickly occupied by our infantry and the Germans withdrew to the citadel with heavy losses.

Experienced heavy self-propelled guns in the courtyard of plant No. 100 in Chelyabinsk, 1944. Above - ISU-122-1 (object 243), below - ISU-122-3 (object 251).

Back in December 1943, taking into account that in the future the enemy might have new tanks with more powerful armor, the State Defense Committee, by a special resolution, ordered the design and production of self-propelled artillery mounts with guns of increased power by April 1944:

With a 122-mm cannon having an initial speed of 1000 m/s with a projectile weight of 25 kg;

With a 130-mm cannon having an initial speed of 900 m/s with a projectile mass of 33.4 kg;

With a 152-mm cannon having an initial speed of 880 m/s with a projectile mass of 43.5 kg.

All these guns penetrated 200 mm thick armor at a distance of 1500–2000 m.

In the course of implementing this resolution, artillery self-propelled guns were created and tested in 1944–1945: ISU-122-1 (“object 243”) with a 122-mm BL-9 cannon, ISU-122-3 (“object 251”) with 122- mm S-26-1 cannon, ISU-130 (“object 250”) with a 130 mm S-26 cannon; ISU-152-1 (“object 246”) with a 152-mm BL-8 cannon and PSU-152-2 (“object 247”) with a 152-mm BL-10 cannon.

The BL-8, BL-9 and BL-10 guns were developed by OKB-172 (not to be confused with plant No. 172), all of whose designers were prisoners. Hence the decoding of the letter abbreviation in the installation indices: “BL” - “Beria Lavrentiy”.

The BL-9 (OBM-50) gun was designed under the leadership of I.I. Ivanov. It had a piston valve and was equipped with a system for purging the barrel bore with compressed air. Vertical guidance angles ranged from -2° to +18°30?, horizontally - in the sector 9°30? (right 7°, left 2°30?). When shooting, the ST-18 telescopic sight and Hertz panorama were used.

The gun guidance drives are the same as those of the ISU-122 self-propelled gun. The balancing of the swinging part relative to the trunnion axis was carried out using weights attached to the stationary part of the gun enclosure. The installation's ammunition included 21 rounds of separate-case loading with armor-piercing shells. The initial speed of the armor-piercing projectile with a mass of 11.9 kg was 1007 m/s and was 200 m/s higher than that of the 122-mm D-25 cannon. The design of the hull and armored cabin, power plant, transmission, chassis and electrical equipment of the vehicle were borrowed from the ISU-122 self-propelled gun. The 10-RK-26 radio station was used for external communication, and the TPU-4BIS-F tank intercom was used for internal communication.

The first prototype of the BL-9 cannon was manufactured in May 1944 at plant No. 172, and in June it was installed on the ISU-122-1.

This vehicle was presented for field testing on July 7, 1944. The installation failed preliminary tests in Gorokhovets in August 1944 due to the low survivability of the barrel. The new barrel was manufactured by the beginning of February 1945, and after its installation, the self-propelled gun again entered testing, which took place in May 1945. On the latter, the barrel ruptured during firing due to metal defects. After this, further work on ISU-122-1 was stopped.

The ISU-152-1 self-propelled gun (ISU-152BM) was created in April 1944 in the design bureau of plant No. 100, on the initiative of OKB-172, which proposed placing in the SU-152 mount the 152-mm BL-7 cannon they developed, which had ballistics Br-2 guns.

A modification of the gun for installation in self-propelled guns received the index BL-8 (OBM-43).

It had a piston bolt, a muzzle brake of an original design, and a system for purging the barrel bore with compressed air from cylinders. Vertical guidance angles ranged from -3°10? up to +17°45?, horizontal - in the sector 8°30? (right 6°30?, left 2°). The height of the firing line is 1655 mm. When shooting, the ST-10 telescopic sight and Hertz panorama were used. The firing range was 18,500 m. The guidance drives remained unchanged compared to the ISU-122 installation. The ammunition included 21 rounds of separate cartridge loading. The initial speed of the armor-piercing projectile reached 850 m/s. In connection with the installation of the new gun, the design of the gun's armored mantlet was slightly changed.

When testing the BL-8 gun, “unsatisfactory performance of projectiles” was revealed, unreliable operation of the muzzle brake and piston bolt, as well as poor working conditions for the crew. The large overhang of the barrel (the total length of the installation was 12.05 m) limited the maneuverability of the vehicle.

Based on the test results, the BL-8 was replaced by the BL-10 cannon with a semi-automatic wedge breech.

In December 1944, the ISU-152-2 self-propelled gun with the BL-10 gun was tested at the Leningrad ANIOP. It could not withstand them due to the unsatisfactory survivability of the gun barrel and the small horizontal guidance angle.

The gun was sent for modification to plant No. 172, however, its development was not completed before the end of the war.

The S-26 and S-26-1 guns were designed at the TsAKB under the leadership of V.G. Grabina.

The 130 mm S-26 gun had the ballistics and ammunition of the B-13 naval gun, but had a number of fundamental design differences, as it was equipped with a muzzle brake, a horizontal wedge breech, etc. The length of the gun barrel was 54.7 calibers. Direct fire range - 5000 m, rate of fire - 2 rounds/min. The gun's ammunition consisted of 25 rounds of separate-case loading with armor-piercing shells.

The initial speed of an armor-piercing projectile with a mass of 33.4 kg is 900 m/s. The S-26-1 gun had the same ballistics as the 122-mm BL-9 gun, and differed from it by the presence of a horizontal wedge breech and a modified design of individual components. Barrel length - 59.5 caliber. Direct fire range - 5000 m, maximum - 16,000 m. Rate of fire - 1.5–1.8 rounds/min. The initial speed of an armor-piercing projectile weighing 25 kg is 1000 m/s.

Self-propelled guns ISU-130 and ISU-122-3 were manufactured at plant No. 100 in the fall of 1944. The ISU-122S self-propelled gun was used as the basis for their creation.

In October 1944, the ISU-130 passed factory tests, and in November - December of the same year - testing grounds. Based on their results, it was decided to send the gun to the TsAKB for modification, which dragged on until the end of the war. Sea and artillery tests of the ISU-130 ended only in June 1945, when the adoption of this self-propelled gun for service lost its meaning. A prototype of the ISU-122-3 self-propelled gun underwent field tests in November 1944 and failed due to unsatisfactory barrel survivability. Refinement of the barrel was completed only in June 1945.

Self-propelled guns with prototype guns had the same disadvantages as other self-propelled guns on the chassis of the IS tank: a large forward reach of the barrel, which reduced maneuverability in narrow passages, small angles of horizontal aiming of the gun and the complexity of the aiming itself, which made it difficult to shoot at moving targets; low combat rate of fire due to the relatively small size of the fighting compartment; large mass of shots; separate-case loading and the presence of a piston bolt in a number of guns; poor visibility from cars; small ammunition load and difficulty in replenishing it during the battle.

At the same time, the good projectile resistance of the hull and wheelhouse of these self-propelled guns, achieved through the installation of powerful armor plates at rational angles of inclination, made it possible to use them at a direct shot distance and quite effectively hit any targets.

Self-propelled guns with more powerful guns were designed on the basis of the IS. Thus, at the beginning of 1944, the S-51 self-propelled gun project was transferred to the chassis of the IS tank. However, due to the lack of the required number of 203-mm B-4 howitzers, the production of which had already been completed, they decided to create a self-propelled version of the 152-mm high-power Br-2 cannon.

By the summer of 1944, a new self-propelled gun, designated S-59, was manufactured and entered field testing. The design of the S-59 was generally similar to the S-51, but was based on the chassis of the IS-85 tank. When testing at ANIOP, the same shortcomings were revealed as during tests of the S-51. And no wonder - despite the already negative experience, the unit was again not equipped with a coulter! And this despite the fact that the recoil when firing a full charge from a 152-mm cannon was greater than when firing from a 203-mm howitzer. Did the artillery designers really not know this? However, work on this type of self-propelled guns was soon stopped.

In July 1944, the head of the Leningrad branch of TsAKB I.I. Ivanov sent to the technical department of the NKV a preliminary design of a self-propelled installation of special power - a 210-mm Br-17 cannon or a 305-mm Br-18 howitzer on the twin chassis of the T-34 tank. Since the TsAKB branch did not have time to produce the necessary draft design documentation by the required deadline, the project was archived.

At the end of the war, Experimental Plant No. 100, Uralmashzavod and Artillery Plant No. 9, within the framework of the “Bear” theme, developed a long-range, rapid-fire self-propelled gun intended for counter-battery combat and artillery raids. It was supposed to create a double-barreled 122-mm artillery system, in which one barrel would be loaded using the energy of a shot from the second. The mock-up of the installation with 76-mm guns worked fine, but for some reason the artillery designers did not take into account that the 122-mm guns have separate loading. As a result, they failed to mechanize this process. In 1945, a self-propelled gun was designed with guns placed on the sides of the vehicle to facilitate manual loading. A year later, a wooden model was made, but the self-propelled gun was not made in metal.

The ISU-122 and ISU-152 self-propelled artillery mounts were in service with the Soviet Army in the post-war years. Both have been modernized. So, for example, since 1958, the standard radio stations and TPU on the ISU-122 were replaced by the Granat radio station and TPU R-120.

After the ISU-152 was adopted as the standard self-propelled gun in the late 1950s, ISU-122 self-propelled guns began to be disarmed and converted into tractors. The ISU-T tractor was an ordinary self-propelled gun with a dismantled gun and a welded embrasure.

On November 16, 1962, the heavy evacuation tractor BTT was put into service. It existed in two modifications - BTT-1 and BTT-1T. The body of the BTT-1 vehicle has undergone changes, mainly in the frontal part. Two box-shaped damper stops were welded to the lower frontal plate for pushing the tanks using a log. The roof of the cabin was also changed, to which a beam with struts was welded to increase rigidity. A winch (traction force 25 tf, working cable length 200 m) with a power take-off mechanism from the engine was placed in the engine room, located in the middle part of the hull. The winch was controlled by the driver from the engine room, which had a second seat and two control levers for this purpose. At the rear of the machine there was a coulter device for resting on the ground. The tractor was equipped with a collapsible boom crane with a lifting capacity of 3 tons with a manual drive. On the roof of the power compartment there was a cargo platform designed to transport up to 3 tons of cargo. The towing device of the tractor was equipped with suspension with double-sided shock absorption and a rigid coupling. The vehicle was equipped with a V-54-IST engine. Its special feature was the crankshaft, borrowed from the V-12-5 engine. For driving at night, the driver had a night BVN device. The weight of the tractor was 46 tons. The crew included two people. On the BTT-1T tractor, instead of a traction winch, a standard or modernized set of rigging equipment was installed, designed for a traction force of 15 tf.

In addition to the Soviet Army, BTT-1 tractors were also in service abroad, in particular in Egypt. Several of these vehicles were captured by Israel during the wars of 1967 and 1973.

As for the ISU-152, these vehicles were in service with the Soviet Army until the 1970s, until the new generation of self-propelled guns began to enter the army. At the same time, the ISU-152 was modernized twice. The first time was in 1956, when the self-propelled gun received the designation ISU-152K. A commander's cupola with a TPKU device and seven TNP observation blocks was installed on the roof of the cabin; the ammunition load of the ML-20C howitzer-gun was increased to 30 rounds, which required a change in the location of the internal equipment of the fighting compartment and additional ammunition racks; Instead of the ST-10 sight, an improved PS-10 telescopic sight was installed.

All vehicles were equipped with a DShKM anti-aircraft machine gun with 300 rounds of ammunition. The self-propelled guns were equipped with a V-54K engine with a power of 520 hp. with ejection cooling system. The capacity of the fuel tanks was increased to 1280 liters. The lubrication system was improved, the design of the radiators became different. In connection with the ejection engine cooling system, the mounting of the external fuel tanks was also changed. The vehicles were equipped with radio stations 10-RT and TPU-47. The weight of the self-propelled gun increased to 47.2 tons, but the dynamic characteristics remained the same. The power reserve has increased to 360 km.

The second modernization option was designated ISU-152M. The vehicle was equipped with modified units of the IS-2M tank, a DShKM anti-aircraft machine gun with 250 rounds of ammunition, and night vision devices.

During the overhaul, the ISU-122 self-propelled guns also underwent some modifications. Thus, since 1958, standard radio stations and TPUs were replaced by “Granat” radio stations and TPU R-120.

In addition to the Soviet Army, PSU-152 and ISU-122 were in service with the Polish Army. As part of the 13th and 25th self-propelled artillery regiments, they took part in the final battles of 1945. Soon after the war, the Czechoslovak People's Army also received the PSU-152. In the early 1960s, one regiment of the Egyptian army was also armed with the PSU-152. In 1973, they were used as fixed firing points on the banks of the Suez Canal and fired at Israeli positions.