ISU-152

ISU-152
ISU-152 at the Victory Park Memorial, Krasnodar, Russia
Type	Heavy Assault Gun
Place of origin	Soviet Union
Service history
In service	1943 - 1970s
Used by	Soviet Union Finland Poland China Czechoslovakia North Korea Egypt Romania
Wars	World War II Korean War Hungarian Revolution Egyptian–Israeli Wars
Production history
Designer	Design Bureau of Factory No. 100
Designed	1943
Manufacturer	Chelyabinsk Kirovsk Plant (till 1946, also ISU-152M) Leningrad Kirov Plant (few units in 1945, also ISU-152K)
Produced	1943 (ISU-152) 1944 (ISU-152-2) 1945 (Object 704) 1956 (ISU-152K) 1959 (ISU-152M)
No. built	4,635
Variants	ISU-152 ISU-152-2 ISU-152 model 1945 ISU-152K ISU-152M
Specifications
Weight	47.3 metric tons (maximum)
Length	9.18 m (30 ft 1 in)
Width	3.07 m (10 ft 1 in)
Height	2.48 m (8 ft 2 in)
Crew	4 or 5
Armour	ISU-152, ISU-152-2 120 mm (mantlet (maximum)) 90 mm (lower hull front, lower hull side and superstructure front) 75 mm (upper hull side) 60 mm (upper hull front)--> ISU-152 model 1945 320 mm (in the area of the gun)
Main armament	152.4 mm ML-20S gun-howitzer (18 rounds) (ISU-152) 152.4 mm BL-8 or BL-10 gun (21 rounds) (ISU-152-2) 152.4 mm ML-20SM model 1944 gun-howitzer (20 rounds) (ISU-152 model 1945)
Secondary armament	ISU-152, ISU-152-2, ISU-152K 12.7 x 108 mm DShK anti-aircraft machine gun (200 rounds) (ISU-152, ISU-152-2) (300 rounds) (ISU-152K) ISU-152M 12.7 x 108 mm DshKM anti-aircraft machine gun (300 rounds) ISU-152 model 1945 12.7 x 108 mm DShK anti-aircraft machine gun (300 rounds) 12.7 x 108 mm DShK co-axial machine gun
Engine	V-2IS diesel engine V-54K diesel engine (ISU-152K) 520 hp (382 kW) 520 hp (382 kW) (ISU-152K)
Power/weight	11 hp/tonne
Transmission	mechanical
Suspension	torsion bar
Ground clearance	470 mm (1 ft 7 in) (ISU-152) 450 mm (1 ft 6 in) (ISU-152 model 1945)
Fuel capacity	560 litres (maximum) (internal fuel tanks) 920 litres (ISU-152K, ISU-152M) (internal fuel tanks) 360 litres (maximum) (four external fuel tanks, not connected to the supply system)
Operational range	120 km (cross terrain) (with the internal fuel tanks) 170 km (on a road) (maximum) (with the internal fuel tanks) 220 km on road (with two external fuel tanks) 670 km on road (with the internal fuel tanks) (ISU-152K, ISU-152M)
Speed	30 km/h (19 mph) on road 15-20 km/h cross terrain 40 km/h (on a road) (ISU-152 model 1945, ISU-152K, ISU-152M)

The ISU-152 was a Soviet self-propelled gun developed and used during World War II. The ISU-152 continued to be used postwar until the 1970s. It was unofficially nicknamed zveroboy (Russian: Зверобой; "Beast killer". The ISU-152 was developed to provide the Red Army with a heavy self-propelled assault gun to support infantry and armor in the attack.

The beginnings of the ISU-152 came on January 24, 1943, when the first prototype of the SU-152 was unveiled. This was a fully enclosed 152mm gun-howitzer on the KV-1S tank chassis. It was designated Object 236 (Объект 236). Object 236 was completed in Factory No. 100 in Chelyabinsk, and was successfully tested from January 24-February 7, 1943. On February 14 the vehicle was adopted and put into production under the KV-14 (КВ-14) designation; in April 1943 the designation was changed to SU-152 (СУ-152).

Although the SU-152 was successful in combat, production of the KV-1S tank chassis was ending, which made the modernisation of the vehicle necessary, using the new IS tank chassis. On May 25, 1943, the administration of Factory No. 100 ordered the modernisation of the SU-152, which included increased armour protection and other improvements. Development began in July 1943, under the supervision of Joseph Yakovlevich Kotin (the chief designer of Soviet heavy tanks) and G. N. Moskvin as the main designer.

The new design, designated IS-152 (ИС-152), was tested from September to November, 1943. Testing revealed a large number of deficiencies, which sent it back for further improvement. On November 6, 1943, an order was issued for adoption of the improved variant, under the ISU-152 (ИСУ-152) designation, and in December production began at the Chelyabinsk Kirovsk Plant, replacing the SU-152.

On April 15, 1942 at the plenum of the artillery committee, where the development of assault guns for support of the infantry was discussed, the necessity of also developing assault guns capable of destroying fortified positions was acknowledged. It was intended these assault guns would be armed with a 152.4 mm gun-howitzer and used for penetration of the enemy defence in the offensive operations planned for 1942-1943. This resulted in the development of the Object 236, and eventually the SU-152, which concept was later continued and further developed with the ISU-152.