IS tank family: Difference between revisions
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{{Short description|Series of Soviet WWII heavy tanks}} |
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{{Refimprove|date=July 2009}} |
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{{More footnotes|date=May 2023}} |
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{{Infobox Weapon |
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{{Infobox weapon |
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|name= Iosif Stalin tank |
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| name = Iosif Stalin tank |
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|image= [[Image:Belarus-Minsk-Museum of GPW Exhibition-5.jpg|300px|IS-2 and IS-3]] |
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| image = Belarus-Minsk-Museum of GPW Exhibition-5.jpg |
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|caption= IS-2 model 1943 (front) and IS-3 at the Great Patriotic War Museum, Minsk, Belarus |
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| caption = IS-2 model 1943 and IS-3 at the Great Patriotic War Museum, Minsk, Belarus |
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|origin={{flag|Soviet Union}} |
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|type= [[Heavy tank]] |
| type = [[Heavy tank]] |
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<!-- Type selection --> |
<!-- Type selection -->| is_vehicle = yes |
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<!-- Service history -->| wars = {{plainlist| |
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|is_artillery= |
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* [[World War II]] |
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|is_vehicle= yes |
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* [[Korean War]] |
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<!-- Service history --> |
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* [[Hungarian Revolution of 1956]] |
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|service= 1943–1995 |
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* [[Six-Day War]] |
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|used_by= Soviet Union, Cuba, China, North Korea, Egypt |
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* [[Prague Spring]] |
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|wars= [[World War II|WWII]], [[Soviet invasion of Hungary|Hungary]], [[Six Day War]], [[Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia|Czechoslovakia]] |
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* [[1991-1992 South Ossetia War]]}} |
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<!-- Production history --> |
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|designer= [[Zhozef |
| designer = [[Zhozef Kotin]]<br />[[Nikolay Dukhov]] |
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| number = {{plainlist| |
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|design_date= 1943 (IS-2), 1944 (IS-3), 1944–45 (IS-4) |
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* 207 (IS-1)<ref>{{cite web |url=https://tanks-encyclopedia.com/ww2/soviet/soviet_IS-I.php |title=IS-1 total production |url-status=dead |access-date=2021-02-02 |archive-date=2021-02-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210206090952/https://tanks-encyclopedia.com/ww2/soviet/soviet_IS-I.php }}</ref> |
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|manufacturer= [[Kirov Factory]], [[UZTM]] |
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* 3,854 (IS-2) |
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|unit_cost= |
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* 2,311 (IS-3) |
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|production_date= 1943–45 (IS-2), 1945–47 (IS-3), 1945–46 (IS-4) |
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* 250 (IS-4) |
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* 6 (IS-7)(prototypes)<ref name="WoT IS7 2">{{cite web |author1=[[Nicholas Moran]] |title=Inside the Chieftain's Hatch: IS-7 Part 2 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hPWw6sMaCOI | archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211117/hPWw6sMaCOI| archive-date=2021-11-17 | url-status=live|website=Youtube |date=23 December 2014 |publisher=World of Tanks North America}}{{cbignore}}</ref>}} |
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|variants= |
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| spec_label = IS-2 Model 1944{{sfn|Zaloga|Grandsen|1984|p=176}} |
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<!-- General specifications --> |
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| length = {{convert|9.90|m|ftin|abbr=on}} |
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|spec_label= IS-2 Model 1944<ref>Zaloga 1984, p 176.</ref> |
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| width = {{convert|3.09|m|ftin|abbr=on}} |
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| height = {{convert|2.73|m|ftin|abbr=on}} |
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| origin = [[Soviet Union]] |
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|width= {{convert|3.09|m|ftin|abbr=on}} |
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| is_artillery = |
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|height= {{convert|2.73|m|ftin|abbr=on}} |
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| used_by = Soviet Union<br> China<br> Cuba<br> Czechoslovakia<br> East Germany<br> Hungary<br> Egypt<br> Poland<br> North Korea |
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|crew= 4 |
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| design_date = {{plainlist| |
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<!-- Artillery specifications --> |
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* 1943 (IS-2) |
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|elevation= |
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* 1944 (IS-3) |
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|traverse= |
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* 1944–45 (IS-4)}} |
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<!-- Vehicle/missile specifications --> |
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| manufacturer = [[Kirov Factory]], [[UZTM]] |
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|armour= {{convert|30|-|160|mm|abbr=on}} |
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| unit_cost = IS-2: 264,400 rubles<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://tank.uw.ru/archive/sebestoimostx/|title = Себестоимость некоторых типов советских танков по годам}}</ref> |
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|primary_armament= [[122 mm gun M1931/37 (A-19)|D25-T]] 122 mm gun (28 rds.) |
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| production_date = {{plainlist| |
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|secondary_armament= 2×[[Degtyarev light machine gun|DT]], 1×[[DShK]] machine guns |
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* 1943–44 (IS-1) |
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|engine= 12-cyl. diesel model V-2 |
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* 1944–45 (IS-2) |
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|engine_power= 600 hp (450 kW) |
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* 1945–47 (IS-3) |
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|pw_ratio= 13 hp/tonne |
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* 1947–49 (IS-4)}} |
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|transmission= |
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| variants = <!-- General specifications --> |
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|suspension= [[torsion bar]] |
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| weight = {{convert|46|t|ST LT|lk=out}} |
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|clearance= |
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| crew = 4 |
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|fuel_capacity= {{convert|820|l|abbr=on}} |
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<!-- Artillery specifications -->| elevation = |
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|vehicle_range= {{convert|240|km|abbr=on}} |
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| traverse = <!-- Vehicle/missile specifications --> |
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|speed= {{convert|37|km/h|abbr=on}} |
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| armour = '''IS-2 Model 1943:'''<br />Hull front: 120 mm <br />Lower glacis: 100 mm at 30° angle<br />Turret front: 100 mm (rounded)<br />Mantlet: 155 mm (rounded)<br />Hull side: 90–130 mm at 9-25°<br />Turret side: 90 mm at 20° angle. |
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| primary_armament = [[122 mm gun M1931/37 (A-19)|D-25T]] 122 mm gun (28 rounds) |
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| secondary_armament = 1×[[DShK]], 3×[[Degtyarev light machine gun|DT]] (2,079 rounds) |
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| engine = 12-cyl. diesel [[Kharkiv model V-2|model V-2]] |
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| engine_power = 600 hp (450 kW) |
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| pw_ratio = 13 hp/tonne |
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| transmission = |
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| suspension = [[torsion bar]] |
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| clearance = |
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| fuel_capacity = {{convert|820|L|abbr=on}} |
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| vehicle_range = Road:<br />{{convert|240|km|abbr=on}}<br /> Cross-country:<br />{{convert|180|km|abbr=on}} <ref> Soviet Tanks and Combat Vehicles of World War Two (Steven J. Zaloga, James Grandsen) page 176.</ref> |
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| speed = {{convert|37|km/h|abbr=on}} |
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}} |
}} |
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{{Cold War tanks}} |
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The '''IS tanks''' ({{langx|ru|ИС}}) were a series of [[heavy tank]]s developed as a successor to the [[KV-series]] by the [[Soviet Union]] during [[World War II]]. The IS acronym is the anglicized initialism of [[Joseph Stalin]] ({{lang|ru|Ио́сиф Ста́лин}}, ''{{transliteration|ru|Iosif Stalin}}''). The heavy tanks were designed as a response to the capture of a [[Nazi Germany|German]] [[Tiger I]] in 1943.{{Sfn|Zaloga|1994}} They were mainly designed as breakthrough tanks, firing a heavy [[High explosive|high-explosive]] shell that was useful against entrenchments and bunkers. The [[IS-2]] went into service in April 1944 and was used as a spearhead by the [[Red Army]] in the final stage of the [[Battle of Berlin]]. The [[IS-3]] served on the [[Sino-Soviet split|Chinese-Soviet border]], the [[Hungarian Revolution of 1956|Hungarian Revolution]], the [[Prague Spring]] and on both sides of the [[Six-Day War]]. The series eventually culminated in the [[T-10 tank|T-10 heavy tank]]. |
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The '''Iosif Vissarionovich tank''' (or '''IS tank''', also known as the [[Joseph Stalin]] tank), was a [[heavy tank]] developed by the [[Soviet Union]] during [[World War II]] and first used in the Kursk area in September 1943.<ref>{{cite book|last=Erickson|first=John|title=The Road to Berlin: Stalins War with Germany: Volume 2|year=1983|publisher=Weidenfeld and Nicolson|location=London|isbn=0297772384|page=79}}</ref> The tanks in the series are also sometimes called '''JS''' or '''ИС''' tanks. |
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The heavy tank was designed with thick armour to counter the [[Germany|German]] [[88 mm gun]]s, and carried a main gun that was capable of defeating the German [[Tiger I|Tiger]] and [[Panther tank]]s. It was mainly a breakthrough tank, firing a heavy [[High explosive|high-explosive]] shell that was useful against entrenchments and bunkers. The IS-2 was put into service in April 1944, and was used as a spearhead in the [[Battle of Berlin]] by the [[Red Army]] in the final stage of the war. |
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== Design and production == |
== Design and production == |
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=== KV |
=== KV-85/IS-85/IS-1 === |
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{{anchor |Object 237|IS-85|IS-1}}<!-- [[IS-1 and IS-2]] Design and production placeholder --> |
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The [[KV series]] of Soviet heavy tanks was criticized by their crews for their poor mobility and lack of any heavier armament than the [[T-34]] medium tank. In 1942 this problem was partially addressed by the lighter, faster KV-1S tank. The KV series were much more expensive than the T-34, without having greater combat performance; the heavy tank program was nearly cancelled by Stalin in 1943. However, the German employment of substantial numbers of [[Panther Tank|Panther]] and [[Tiger I|Tiger]] tanks at the [[Battle of Kursk]] in the summer of 1943 changed Soviet priorities. In response, the Soviet tank industry created the stopgap KV-85, and embarked on the KV-13 design program to create a tank with more advanced armour layout and a more powerful main gun. The IS-85 prototype was initially accepted for production as the '''IS-1''' heavy tank. |
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The [[KV-85]] was a [[KV-1S]] with the new turret from the Object 237 (IS-85) still in development, mounting the 85mm D-5T gun. The tank was a result of the USSR's tank design bureau being torn in two, one half focusing on the KV-85 and its variants, and the other working on the later IS series. The IS-85 was soon finished and it combined the hull of the [[KV-13]], the new turret from the KV-85, and the same 85mm D-5T gun as both these tanks. The IS-85 was later referred to as IS-1. The first IS-1 rolled off the line in October 1943, but production was stopped in January 1944, as the IS-1 was quickly replaced by the IS-2. Because of this, only about 200 IS-1s were produced. |
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=== IS-2 === |
=== IS-2 === |
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{{Main|IS-2}} |
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;Gun choice |
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In December 1943, two up-gunned variants of the IS-85 were created: the IS-100, armed with the 100mm BS-3 gun, and the IS-122, armed with the 122mm A19 gun (later adopted and renamed as the D-25T). The IS-122 was found to be better than the IS-100 in trials, and so the IS-100 was dropped. The IS-122 was renamed to IS-2 and production started with the 1943 model using a KV-13 chassis. First deliveries of IS-2s were in December 1943. The 1944 model was produced with a revised front slope that was better from an armor point of view while still saving weight. Production in bulk of the IS-2 started in February 1944 and ended nearing the end of World War II. By the end of World War II, 3,854 IS-2 model 1943 and model 1944's combined had been produced. German general [[Hasso von Manteuffel]], who met tanks of that series in combat for the first time in Romania in 1944, considered the Stalin tank "the finest in the world."<ref>[[B.H. Liddell Hart]], ''The Other Side of the Hill'', [https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.186745/page/n103/mode/1up?view=theater p.105], [[Cassell (publisher)|Cassell and Co.]], 1948.</ref> |
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Two candidate weapons were the [[122 mm gun M1931/37 (A-19)|A-19 122 mm gun]] and the [[100 mm field gun M1944 (BS-3)|BS-3 100 mm gun]]. The BS-3 had superior armour penetration (185 mm compared to 160 mm), but a less useful [[High explosives|high explosive]] round. Also, the BS-3 was a relatively new weapon in short supply, while there was excess production capacity for the A-19 and its ammunition. Compared to the older [[F-34 tank gun|76.2 mm]] tank gun, the A-19 had very good armour penetration, similar to that of the effective 75 mm high velocity gun mounted on the German Panther, and delivered 3.5 times the kinetic energy of the older [[F-34 tank gun|F-34]].[[Image:D25T shells.jpg|thumb|250px|left|The separate shells and charges of the two-piece ammunition of the A-19/D-25T 122mm gun. Left to right: the cartridge, high-explosive/fragmentation shell PF-471, armor-piercing tracer shell BR-471, armor-piercing capped shell BR-471B. All shells are shown from two sides.]] |
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=== {{anchor|IS-3}} Object 703 IS-3 === |
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After testing with both BS-3 and A-19 guns, the latter was selected as the main armament of the new tank, primarily because of its ready availability and the effect of its large high-explosive shell when attacking German fortifications. The A-19 used a separate shell and powder charge, resulting in a lower rate of fire and reduced ammunition capacity, both serious disadvantages in tank-to-tank engagements. However, the gun was very powerful, and while its 122 mm armour-piercing shell had a lower muzzle velocity than similar late-issue German 75 mm and 88 mm guns, Soviet proving-ground tests established that the A-19 could penetrate the front armour of the German Panther tank,<ref>Zaloga 1984:172</ref> and it was therefore considered adequate in the anti-tank role. |
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{{Main|IS-3 (tank)}} |
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There are two tanks known as IS-3: Object 244 was an IS-2 rearmed with the long-barrelled 85 mm cannon (D-5T-85-BM) and developed by the [[Kirov Plant|Leningrad Kirov Plant (LKZ)]], which was never series-produced for service use.<!-- Design and production [[IS-3]] place holder--> |
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German Army data on the penetration ranges of the 122 mm A-19 gun against the Panther tank showed it to be much less effective when the Panther stood at a side angle of 30 degrees to the incoming round: the A-19 gun was unable to penetrate the glacis plate of the Panther at any distance, and could only penetrate the bottom front plate of the hull at 100 m.<ref>Jentz 1995, p. 128, German WaPrüf 1 test, October 5, 1944.</ref> It was however the large HE shell the gun fired which was its main asset, proving highly useful and destructive in the anti-personnel role. The size of its gun continued to plague the IS-2, and the two-piece ammunition was difficult to handle and slow to reload (the rate of fire was only about two rounds per minute). Another limitation imposed by the size of its ammunition was the payload: only 28 rounds could be carried inside the tank.<ref>Zaloga 1984:175</ref> |
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<!--[[IS-3]] summary--> |
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The IS-3 known as Object 703 is a Soviet heavy tank developed in late 1944, and began production in May 1945. Its semi-hemispherical cast [[Gun turret|turret]] (resembling an upturned soup bowl), became the hallmark of post-war Soviet tanks. Its [[pike nose]] design was also mirrored by other tanks of the IS tank family such as the IS-7 and T-10 tank. Too late to see combat in World War II, the IS-3 participated in the [[Berlin Victory Parade of 1945]], and on the [[Sino-Soviet split|Chinese-Soviet border]], the [[Soviet invasion of Hungary]], the [[Prague Spring]] and the [[Six-Day War]]. |
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;IS-2 Production |
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[[Image:IS-2-44.jpg|thumb|250px|right|The IS-2 had a long 122 mm gun with a double-baffle [[muzzle brake]]. This IS-2 model 1944 is recognizable by its flat [[glacis plate]]. Compare to the 'stepped' glacis plate of the 1943 model IS-2 at the top of the page.]] |
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The IS-122 prototype replaced the IS-85, and began mass production as the IS-2. The 85 mm guns could be reserved for the new T-34-85 medium tank, and some of the IS-1s built were rearmed before leaving the factory, and issued as IS-2s. |
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=== {{anchor|IS-4}} Object 701 IS-4 === |
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The main production model was the '''IS-2''', with the powerful A-19. It was slightly lighter and faster than the heaviest KV model 1942 tank, with thicker front armour and a much-improved turret design. The tank could carry thicker armour than the KV series, while remaining lighter, due to the better layout of the armour envelope. The KV's armour was less well-shaped and featured heavy armour even on the rear, while the IS series concentrated its armour at the front. The IS-2 weighed about the same as a German Panther and was lighter than the German heavy Tiger tank series. It was slightly lower than both. |
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{{Main|IS-4}} |
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There are two tanks known as IS-4: Object 245 and Object 701. Object 245 was an IS-2 rearmed with a long 100 mm D-10T cannon. |
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<!-- Design and production [[IS-4]] place holder--> |
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<!-- [[IS-4]] summary --> |
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While the design was good for its time, Western observers {{Who|date=July 2009}} tended to criticize Soviet tanks for their lack of finish and crude construction. The Soviets responded that it was warranted considering the need for wartime expediency and the typically short battlefield life of their tanks.<ref>Perrett 1987:20</ref> |
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The IS-4 known as the Object 701 was a [[Soviet]] [[heavy tank]] that started development in 1943 and began production in 1946. Derived from the [[IS-2]] and part of the IS tank family the IS-4 featured a longer hull and increased armor. With the [[IS-3 (tank)|IS-3]] already in production, and when sluggish mobility and decreased need for tanks (particularly heavy tanks) became an issue, many were sent to the [[Russian Far East]] with some eventually becoming pillboxes along the [[China|Chinese]] border in the 1960s. Less than 250 were produced. |
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=== {{anchor|IS-5}} Object 730 IS-5 === |
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[[Image:IS-2 scheme of armour.jpg|thumb|250px|left|Armour plan of IS-2, models 1943 and 1944 top and bottom, respectively.]] |
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The IS-5, is merely one of the [[T-10 tank#Name changes|many designations]] given to what would ultimately become the T-10 tank.<ref name="Soviet T-10">{{cite book |last1=Kinnear |first1=James |last2=Sewell |first2=Stephen |title=Soviet T-10 Heavy Tank and Variants |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Xc4vDgAAQBAJ&q=IS-4+tank+-WoT&pg=PT266 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |language=en |date=29 June 2017|isbn=9781472820532 }}</ref> |
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Early IS-2s can be identified by the 'stepped' front hull casting with its small, opening driver's visor. The early tanks lacked gun tube travel locks or antiaircraft machine guns, and had narrow mantlets. |
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=== {{anchor|IS-6}} Object 252/253 IS-6 === |
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Later improved IS-2s (model 1944) had a faster-loading version of the gun, the D25-T with a double-baffle [[muzzle brake]] and better fire-control. It also featured a simpler hull front without a 'step' in it (using a flat, sloping glacis armour plate). Some sources called it IS-2m, but it is distinct from the official Soviet designation IS-2M for a 1950s modernization. Other minor upgrades included the addition of a travel lock on the hull rear, wider mantlet, and, on very late models, an antiaircraft machine gun. |
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There existed two different IS-6s: the Object 253 was an attempt to develop a practical electrical transmission system for heavy tanks. Similar systems had been tested previously in France and the United States and had been used with limited success in the German [[Elefant]]/Ferdinand tank destroyer during World War II. The experimental transmission proved unreliable and was dangerously prone to overheating, and development was discontinued. The alternative Object 252 shared the same hull and turret as the Object 253, but used a different suspension with no return rollers, and a conventional mechanical transmission. The design was deemed to offer no significant advantages over the IS-2, just the reload time was less, and the IS-6 project was halted. |
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===Upgraded version of IS-6=== |
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In the mid-1950s the remaining IS-2 tanks (mostly model 1944 variants) were upgraded to keep them battle-worthy, producing the IS-2M, which introduced fittings such as external fuel tanks on the rear hull (the basic IS-2 had these only on the hull sides), stowage bins on both sides of the hull, and protective skirting along the top edges of the [[Caterpillar track|tracks]]. |
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Since the IS-6 proved to have no significant advantages over IS-2 and its rival IS-4, in November 1944, they decided to dramatically upgrade the tank. The project was called "Object 252U" (U stands for "Improvement" in Russian). The tank featured a heavily sloped pike-nose armor, a new 122 mm D-13T gun, and more slope on the sides and rear. The design proved to be problematic in terms of crew comfort since the interior was too cramped and the design was cancelled.{{cn|date=August 2024}} |
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=== {{anchor|IS-7}} Object 260 IS-7 === |
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=== IS-3 === <!-- this section is linked from [[T-10 Heavy Tank]] article --> |
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{{Main|IS-7}} |
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[[Image:IS3.jpg|thumb|250px|right|The IS-3 had a superior armour layout, with a hemispherical [[turret]] like many later Soviet tanks. (This IS-3 is on display at the Royal Museum of the Armed Forces and Military History in Brussels, Belgium.)]] |
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The IS-7 heavy tank design began in [[Leningrad]] in 1945 by Nikolai Fedorovich Shashmurin<ref name="WoT IS7">{{cite web |author1=Nicolas Moran |title=Inside the Chieftain's Hatch: IS-7 Part 1 |url=https://youtube.com/watch?v=Hoecf7ovrRM&feature=youtu.be | archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211117/Hoecf7ovrRM| archive-date=2021-11-17 | url-status=live|website=World of Tanks North America |publisher=Youtube |date=9 December 2014}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref name="Tanks Encyclopedia">{{cite web |title=IS-7 (Object 260) Heavy Tank - Tanks Encyclopedia |url=http://www.tanks-encyclopedia.com/coldwar/USSR/is-7-object-260 |website=Tank Encyclopedia |date=5 May 2017}}</ref> and was developed in 1948.<ref name="Советский тяжелый танк ИС-7">{{cite web |url=http://www.tankmuseum.ru/советский_тяжелый_танк_ис-7/ |title=Советский тяжелый танк ИС-7 [IS-7 Soviet heavy tank] |publisher=Tankmuseum.ru |date=2016-01-05 |access-date=2016-02-21 }}{{dead link|date=March 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tankmuseum.ru/p1.html |title=Heavy soviet tanks |publisher=Tankmuseum.ru |date=1945-09-09 |access-date=2011-06-15 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110522045338/http://tankmuseum.ru/p1.html |archive-date=May 22, 2011 }}</ref> Weighing 68 [[tonne]]s, thickly armoured and armed with a 130 mm S-70 long-barrelled gun, it was the largest and heaviest member of the IS family.{{Sfn|Zaloga|1994|p=17}} |
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<!-- [[IS-7]] Design and production placeholder --> |
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=== {{anchor|T-10 tank}} Object 730 T-10 IS-8 === |
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In late 1944 the design was upgraded to the '''IS-3'''. This tank had improved armour layout, and a hemispherical cast [[turret]] (resembling an overturned "soup bowl") which became the hallmark of post-war Soviet tanks. While this low, hemispherical turret may have improved protection, it also significantly diminished the working headroom, especially for the loader (Soviet tanks in general are characterized by uncomfortably small interior space compared to Western tanks). The low turret also limited the maximum depression of the main gun, since the gun breech had little room inside the turret to pivot on its vertical axis. As a result, the IS-3 was less able to take advantage of [[hull-down]] positions than Western tanks.<ref>Perrett 1987:21</ref> The IS-3's pointed prow earned it the nickname ''Shchuka'' ([[Pike (fish)|Pike]]) by its crews. It weighed slightly less and stood 30 cm lower. |
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{{Main|T-10 tank}} |
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The IS-8<!--Miller notes that it is the IS-10 NOT IS-8. DO NOT change this without discussion/consensus or valid sources.--><ref name="Miller2000">Miller 2000, p. 250.</ref> (also known as Objekt 730) was the final development of the KV and IS tank series. It was accepted into service in 1952 as the IS-8,<ref name="Miller2000"/> but due to the [[De-Stalinization|political climate in the wake of Stalin's death]] in 1953, it was renamed T-10, as it was the tenth heavy tank in Soviet service.<ref name="National Interest">{{cite web |last1=Gao |first1=Charlie |title=Meet Stalin's Cold War Monster: The T-10M Heavy Tank |url=https://nationalinterest.org/blog/buzz/meet-stalins-cold-war-monster-t-10m-heavy-tank-38222 |website=The National Interest |language=en |date=8 December 2018}}</ref> |
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The IS-3 came too late to see action in World War II. Though some older sources claim that the tank saw action at the end of the war in Europe, there are no official reports to confirm this. The tank saw no action against the Germans, although one regiment may have been deployed against the Japanese in Manchuria. |
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The biggest differences from its direct ancestor, the IS-3, were a longer hull, seven pairs of road wheels instead of six, a larger turret mounting a new gun with [[Bore evacuator|fume extractor]], an improved diesel engine, and increased armour. General performance was similar, although the T-10 could carry more ammunition. |
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Starting in 1960, the IS-3 was slightly modernized as the IS-3M, in a manner similar to the IS-2M. |
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=== IS-4 === |
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Originally developed in competition with the IS-3, the IS-4 was similarly an extensive redesign of the IS-2. The hull was lengthened, with an extra set of road wheels added and an improved engine. Both the hull and turret were uparmoured. Several alternative armaments were explored in paper studies, but ultimately the IS-2's original 122mm gun was retained. An effort was also made to incorporate technical data derived from study of the [[Germany|German]] wartime [[Panzer V Panther]] tank, which influenced the layout of the IS-4's engine cooling system. |
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The tank was approved for mass production in 1948, but due to disappointing speed and mobility only 200 were manufactured. |
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Most of these were transferred to the [[Russian Far East]] in 1950, in preparation for the planned Soviet intervention in the [[Korean War]]. When this operation was aborted, the tanks nevertheless remained stationed in the region until their [[decommissioning]] in the 1960s. |
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=== IS-6 === |
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The IS-6 was an attempt to develop a practical electrical transmission system for heavy tanks. Similar systems had been tested previously in [[France]] and the [[United States]], and had actually been used in the German [[Elefant]]/Ferdinand tank destroyer during World War II. The experimental transmission proved too unreliable and was dangerously prone to overheating. Neither the transmission nor the IS-6 chassis itself were developed further. |
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=== IS-7 === |
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In 1948, the IS-7 heavy tank was developed.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tankmuseum.ru/p1.html |title=Heavy soviet tanks |publisher=Tankmuseum.ru |date=1945-09-09 |accessdate=2011-06-15}}</ref> Weighing 68 [[metric tons]], thickly armoured and armed with a 130 mm C-70 gun, it was the largest tank ever built by the [[USSR]]. Although it was in many ways an innovative design, it was never accepted for mass production due to its cumbersome size and the very impractical layout of its fighting compartment. |
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=== IS-10/T-10 === |
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{{Main|T-10 Heavy Tank}} |
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The IS-10<ref>Miller 2000, p. 250.</ref> (also known as Obyekt 730) was the final development of the KV and IS tank series. It was accepted into service in 1952 as the IS-10, but due to the political climate in the wake of Stalin's death in 1953, it was renamed T-10. |
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The biggest differences from its direct ancestor, the IS-3, were a longer hull, seven pairs of road wheels instead of six, a larger turret mounting a new gun with fume extractor, an improved diesel engine, and increased armour. General performance was similar, although the T-10 could carry more ammunition. |
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T-10s (like the earlier tanks they replaced) were deployed in independent tank regiments belonging to armies, and independent tank battalions belonging to divisions. These independent tank units could be attached to mechanized units, to support infantry operations and perform breakthroughs. |
T-10s (like the earlier tanks they replaced) were deployed in independent tank regiments belonging to armies, and independent tank battalions belonging to divisions. These independent tank units could be attached to mechanized units, to support infantry operations and perform breakthroughs. |
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This was the last Soviet heavy tank to enter service. When the advanced [[T-64]] MBT became available it replaced the T-10 in front line formations. |
The T-10M is the final iteration of this type. It featured a longer gun barrel than previous models with 5-baffle muzzle brake and 14.5 mm machine gun. This was the last Soviet heavy tank to enter service. When the advanced [[T-64]] MBT became available it replaced the T-10 in front line formations. |
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===Comparisons=== |
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== Operational history == |
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<gallery mode="packed"> |
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[[Image:IS-2 Cubinka 1.jpg|thumb|left|IS-2]] |
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File:IS3.jpg|IS-3 |
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File:IS-4 Tank.jpg|IS-4 |
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File:IS-7.JPG|An IS-7 tank during trials (1948) |
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File:Soviet tank T-10 in Kiev, Ukraine.JPG|T-10M in the [[Museum of The History of Ukraine in World War II]], [[Kyiv]]. |
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</gallery> |
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{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:right; font-size:smaller" |
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The IS-2 tank first saw combat in the spring of 1944. IS-2s were assigned to separate heavy tank regiments, normally of 21 tanks each.<ref>Zaloga 1994, p.16.</ref> These regiments were used to reinforce the most important attack sectors during major offensive operations. Tactically, they were employed as breakthrough tanks. Their role was to support infantry in the assault, using their large guns to destroy bunkers, buildings, dug-in crew-served weapons, and other 'soft' targets. They were also capable of taking on any German AFVs if required. Once a breakthrough was achieved, lighter, more mobile T-34s would take over the exploitation. |
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|+ Soviet heavy tanks of World War II{{sfn|Zaloga|Grandsen|1984|pp=119, 176}} |
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|- style="vertical-align:top; border-bottom:1px solid #999;" |
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! |
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! style="text-align:left;" | [[T-35]] |
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! style="text-align:left;" | [[T-100 tank|T-100]] |
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! style="text-align:left;" | [[SMK]] |
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! style="text-align:left;" | KV-1 <br />M1940 |
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! style="text-align:left;" | KV-1 <br />M1941 |
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! style="text-align:left;" | KV-1 <br />M1942 |
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! style="text-align:left;" | KV-1S <br />M1942 |
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! style="text-align:left;" | KV-85 <br />M1943 |
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! style="text-align:left;" | [[IS-2]] <br />M1945 {{clarify|date=October 2015}}<!-- The article talks about an M1943 and M1944 IS-2, not an M1945 --> |
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! style="text-align:left;" | [[Iosif Stalin tank#IS-3|IS-3]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.onwar.com/tanks/ussr/data/is3.htm |title=IS-3 Model 1945 |website=onwar.com |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140811054937/http://www.onwar.com/tanks/ussr/data/is3.htm |archive-date=2014-08-11 }}</ref>{{Unreliable source?|date=March 2017}}<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zxF4BgAAQBAJ |title=The Cold War: A History |first=David |last=Miller |year=1999 |publisher=Macmillan |isbn=0-312-24183-6}}</ref><br />M1945 |
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|- style="vertical-align:top;" |
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! style="text-align:left;" | Crew |
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| 11 |
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| 7 |
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| 7 |
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| 5 |
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| 5 |
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| 5 |
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| 5 |
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| 4 |
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| 4 |
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| 4 |
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|- style="vertical-align:top;" |
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! style="text-align:left;" | Weight ([[tonnes]]) |
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| 45 |
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| 58 |
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| 55 |
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| 43 |
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| 45 |
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| 47 |
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| 42.5 |
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| 46 |
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| 46 |
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| 46.5 |
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|- style="vertical-align:top;" |
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! style="text-align:left;" | Main armament |
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| 76.2 mm <br />M. 27/32 |
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| 76.2 mm <br />L-11 |
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| 76.2 mm <br />L-11 |
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| 76.2 mm <br />F-32 |
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| 76.2 mm <br />[[F-34 tank gun|F-34]] |
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| 76.2 mm <br />ZiS-5 |
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| 76.2 mm <br />ZiS-5 |
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| 85 mm <br />D-5T |
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| 122 mm <br />[[D-25T]] |
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| 122 mm <br />D-25T |
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|- style="vertical-align:top;" |
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! style="text-align:left;" | Ammunition |
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| 100 |
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| – |
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| – |
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| 111 |
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| 111 |
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| 114 |
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| 114 |
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| 70 |
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| 28 |
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| 28 |
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|- style="vertical-align:top;" |
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! style="text-align:left;" | Secondary armament |
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| 2×45 mm<br />5×7.62 mm |
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| 45 mm |
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| 45 mm |
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| 2×[[DT machine gun|DT]] |
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| 4×DT |
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| 4×DT |
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| 4×DT |
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| 3×DT |
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| 3×DT, [[DShK]] |
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| 2×DT, DShK |
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|- style="vertical-align:top;" |
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! style="text-align:left;" | Engine |
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| 500 hp <br />M-17M [[gasoline]] |
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| 500 hp |
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| 850 hp <br />AM-34 |
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| 600 hp <br />V-2K [[Diesel engine|diesel]] |
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| 600 hp <br />V-2 |
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| 600 hp <br />V-2 |
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| 600 hp <br />V-2 |
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| 600 hp <br />V-2 |
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| 600 hp <br />V-2 |
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| 600 hp <br />V-2 |
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|- style="vertical-align:top;" |
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! style="text-align:left;" | Fuel ([[litres]]) |
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| 910 |
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| – |
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| – |
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| 600 |
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| 600 |
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| 600 |
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| 975 |
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| 975 |
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| 820 |
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| 790 |
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|- style="vertical-align:top;" |
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! style="text-align:left;" | Road speed (km/h) |
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| 30 |
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| 35 |
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| 36 |
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| 35 |
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| 35 |
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| 28 |
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| 45 |
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| 40 |
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| 37 |
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| 37 |
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|- style="vertical-align:top;" |
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! style="text-align:left;" | Road range (km) |
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| 150 |
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| – |
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| 150 |
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| 250 |
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| 250 |
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| 250 |
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| 380 |
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| 350 |
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| 240 |
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| 150 |
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|- style="vertical-align:top;" |
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! style="text-align:left;" | Cross-country range (km) |
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| 70 |
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| – |
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| 70 |
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| 150 |
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| 150 |
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| 150 |
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| 240 |
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| 220 |
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| 180 |
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| 120 |
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|- style="vertical-align:top;" |
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! style="text-align:left;" | Armor (mm){{clarify|date=October 2015}} <!-- Does this mean equivalent thickness of armour? Or actual thickness of armour?--> |
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| 11–30 |
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| 20–70 |
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| 20–60 |
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| 25–75 |
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| 30–90 |
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| 20–130 |
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| 30–82 |
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| 30–160 |
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| 30–160 |
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| 20–220 |
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|- |
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|} |
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== Combat history == |
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[[Image:IS-3 frontal view.JPG|thumb|right|Frontal view of an IS-3. The squat, solid-looking front profile and pointed prow are highly distinctive.]] |
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{{Main|IS-2#Combat history|IS-3 (tank)#Combat History}} |
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The IS-3 first appeared to Western observers at the [[Allied Victory Parade]] in Berlin in September 1945. The IS-3 was an impressive development in the eyes of Western military observers, the British in particular, who responded with heavy tank designs of their own. |
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The IS-2 entered combat in World War II during the first months of 1944. The Soviets produced significant numbers of the type (close to 4,000) and deployed them against the most advanced German designs of the time, notably the [[Tiger I]], [[Tiger II]], and [[Panther tank|Panther]], as well as against [[Elefant]] tank destroyers. The IS-2 was best used for bunker assault using its high-explosive ammunition, as its reload rate, just 2 rounds per minute, made it ineffective as a tank destroyer. The IS-3 saw service on the [[Sino-Soviet split|Chinese-Soviet border]], the [[Soviet invasion of Hungary]], the [[Prague Spring]] and on both sides of the [[Six-Day War]]. However, the mobility and firepower of medium-tanks and the evolution of the [[main battle tank]] rendered heavy tanks obsolete.<!-- Combat history [[IS-3]] placeholder --><!-- Duplicated to [[IS-3]] main page --> |
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== Variants == |
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By the 1950s the emergence of the [[main battle tank]] concept—combining medium-tank mobility with the firepower and later armour of the heavy tank—had rendered heavy tanks obsolete in Soviet operational doctrine. In the late 1960s the remaining Soviet heavy tanks were transferred to Red Army reserve service and storage. The IS-2 Model 1944 remained in active service much longer in the armies of [[Cuba]], [[China]] and [[North Korea]]. A regiment of Chinese IS-2s was available for use in the [[Korean War]], but saw no service there. In response to border disputes between the Soviet Union and China, some Soviet IS-3s were dug in as fixed pillboxes along the Soviet-Chinese border. The IS-3 was used in the 1956 [[Soviet invasion of Hungary]] and the [[Prague Spring]] in 1968. |
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;KV-85: A stopgap model built from a modified KV-1S hull mated to an Object 237(IS-1)'s turret and armed with the 85 mm D-5T.{{Sfn|Zaloga|1994|pp=5–6}} |
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;IS-1K: (1942) The first prototype of the IS-1 tank, which was made in two copies in 1942. The turret was from an experimental KV-9 tank, which did not go into mass production. But the high military command decided that the turret and gun of the KV-9 tank were too outdated. As a result, a new turret had to be designed for the new gun. |
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;IS-85 (IS-1): 1943 model armed with an 85 mm gun. When IS-2 production started, many were re-gunned with 122 mm guns before being issued. |
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;IS-100: A prototype version armed with a 100 mm gun; it went into trials against the ''IS-122'' which was armed with a 122 mm gun. Though the IS-100 was reported to have better anti-armor capabilities, the latter was chosen due to better all-around performance. |
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;IS-122 (IS-2 model 1943): 1943 model, armed with A-19 122 mm gun (later adopted as the D-25T gun). Production ended after World War II. |
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;IS-2 model 1944 :1944 improvement with D-25T 122 mm gun, with faster-loading drop breech and new fire control, and improved frontal hull armour using thinner armour with a more efficient shape. |
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;IS-2M: 1950s modernization of IS-2 tanks. |
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;[[IS-3 (tank)|IS-3]]:1944 armor redesign, with new rounded turret, angular front hull casting, integrated stowage bins over the tracks. Internally similar to IS-2 model 1944 and produced concurrently. About 350 built during the war. |
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;IS-3M: (1952) Modernized version of IS-3. Fitted with additional jettisonable external fuel tanks and improved hull welding. |
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;[[IS-4]]: 1944 design, in competition against the IS-3. Longer hull and thicker armor than IS-2. About 250 were built, after the war.{{Sfn|Zaloga|1994|p=19}} |
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;IS-6: Prototype with an experimental electrical transmission. Chassis tested further with a conventional transmission after failure of the experimental system, but not deemed a significant enough improvement over existing heavy tank designs to warrant mass production.{{Sfn|Zaloga|1994|p=20}} |
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;[[IS-7]]:1946 prototype, only three built. The IS-7 model 1948 variant had a weight of 68 metric tons and it was armed with the 130 mm S-70 naval cannon (7020 mm long barrel). The assisted loader can achieve up to 8 rounds per minute. Other equipment included stabilizers, infrared night scopes, and 8 machine guns. The hull armor was 150 mm placed at 50~52 degree angles. On the turret, the frontal thickness was 240–350 mm at an angle of 45-0 degrees. The IS-7 had a crew of five, with the driver in the hull, the commander and gunner in the front of the turret, with both loaders in the rear of the turret. A Slostin machine gun was to be installed as its AA armament.{{Sfn|Zaloga|1994|p=17}}<ref name=IS7AW>{{cite web |last1=Nikiforov |first1=Alexei |title=IS-7: the armored wonder? |url=http://pkka.narod.ru/is-7.htm |website=PKKA CA |access-date=9 October 2014}}</ref> |
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;[[T-10 tank|IS-8 (T-10)]]:<ref name="Miller2000"/> 1952 improvement with a longer hull, seven pairs of road wheels instead of six, a larger turret mounting a new gun with fume extractor, an improved diesel engine, and increased armor. Renamed [[T-10 Heavy Tank|T-10]] as part of the [[History of the Soviet Union (1953–1964)|Destalinization]] of the Soviet Union in the 1950s. |
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==Operators== |
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During the early 1950s all IS-3s were modernised as IS-3M models. The Egyptian Army acquired about 100 IS-3M tanks in all from the Soviet Union.<ref name="Zaloga, p. 39"/> During the [[Six Day War]], a single regiment of IS-3M tanks was stationed with the 7th Infantry Division at Rafah and the 125th Tank Brigade of the 6th Mechanized Division at Kuntilla was also equipped with about 60 IS-3M tanks.<ref name="Zaloga, p. 39">Zaloga 1994, p. 39.</ref> Israeli infantry and paratrooper units had considerable difficulty with the IS-3M when it was encountered due to its thick armour, which shrugged off hits from normal infantry anti-tank weapons such as the [[bazooka]].<ref name="Zaloga, p. 39"/> Even the 90 mm AP shell fired by the main gun of the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) [[M48 Patton]] tanks could not penetrate the frontal armour of the IS-3s at normal battle ranges.<ref name="Zaloga, p. 39"/> There were a number of engagements between the M48A2 Pattons of the IDF 7th Armoured Brigade and IS-3s supporting Egyptian positions at Rafah in which several M48A2s were knocked out in the fighting.<ref name="Zaloga, p. 39"/> However, in one engagement between a battalion of IS-3s and a company of [[Royal Ordnance L7|105mm gun]]-armed M48A3's (the only one in the IDF at the time), 7 IS-3s were destroyed at a range of approximately 500 meters. The slow rate of fire, poor engine performance (the engine was not well suited to hot-climate operations), and rudimentary fire control of the IS-3s proved to be a significant handicap, and about 73 IS-3s were lost in the 1967 war.<ref name="Zaloga, p. 39"/> Most Egyptian IS-3 tanks were withdrawn from service, though at least one regiment of IS-3 tanks was retained in service as late as the 1973 October war.<ref name="Zaloga, p. 39"/> The IDF itself experimented with a few captured IS-3M tanks, but found them ill-suited to fast-moving desert tank warfare; those that were not scrapped were turned into stationary defensive pillbox emplacements in the Jordan River area.<ref name="Zaloga, p. 39"/> |
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;{{Flag|China}} |
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* [[People's Liberation Army]]: 60 IS-2s delivered in 1950–1951. Operated during the Korean War and in concrete bunkers along the Sino-Soviet border. |
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After the Korean War, China attempted to reverse-engineer the IS-2/IS-3 as Type 122 medium tank.<ref>[http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http://www.geocities.com/desperado6_sp3/Type122.html&date=2009-10-25+19:27:33 Desperado6, ''Type 122'']{{Self-published inline|date=May 2009}}</ref> The project was cancelled in favour of the [[Type 59]], a copy of the Soviet T-54A. |
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;{{Flag|Cuba}} |
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* [[Cuban Army]]: 41 IS-2Ms delivered in 1960. |
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=== Models === |
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;{{Flag|Czechoslovakia}} |
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[[Image:Iosif Stalin tank-1.jpg|thumb|right|IS-1]] |
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* [[Czechoslovak Army]]: 8 IS-2/IS-2M in service between 1945 and 1960. Two IS-3 delivered in 1949 were used only for trials and military parades. |
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[[Image:Iosif Stalin IS-2 Kyiv 1.jpg|thumb|right|IS-2M]] |
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;{{Flag|East Germany}} |
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[[Image:IS-7.JPG|thumb|right|IS-7 model 1948]] |
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* [[National People's Army|NVA]]: 60 IS-2 delivered 1956. Operated until 1963. |
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[[Image:IS-7 1948.JPG|thumb|right|IS-7 model 1948]] |
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;{{Flag|Egypt}} |
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;IS-85 (IS-1):1943 model armed with an 85 mm gun. When IS-2 production started, many were re-gunned with 122 mm guns before being issued. |
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* [[Egyptian Army]]: 100 IS-3M operated from 1956 to 1967, some in use in the Six-Day War 1967. |
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;IS-100:A prototype version armed with a 100 mm gun; it went into trials against the ''IS-122'' which was armed with a 122 mm gun. Though the IS-100 was reported to have better anti-armour capabilities, the latter was chosen due to better all-around performance. |
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;{{Flag|Nazi Germany}} |
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;IS-122 (IS-2 model 1943):1943 production model, armed with A-19 122 mm gun. |
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* [[Wehrmacht]]: Captured one or two IS-2 in May 1945.<ref>Das letzte Jahr der deutschen Heeres 1944-1945 " von Wolfgang Fleischer / Podzun-Pallas Verlag</ref> |
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;IS-2 model 1944 (sometimes "IS-2m"):1944 improvement with D25-T 122 mm gun, with faster-loading drop breech and new fire control, improved simpler hull front. |
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;{{Flag|Hungary|1949}} |
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;IS-2M: 1950s modernization of IS-2 tanks. |
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* [[Hungarian People's Army]]: 68 IS-2s in service between 1950 and 1956. After the crackdown of the [[Hungarian Revolution of 1956]] all were returned to the Soviet Union.<ref>{{cite web |last=József |first=Cseh |date=Winter 2012 |title=A Magyar Néphadsereg fegyverzettel való ellátásának néhány problémája az 1950-es évek elején |trans-title=Some Problems of Supplying the Hungarian People's Army with Armaments in the Early 1950s |language=hu |url=http://epa.oszk.hu/01600/01639/00008/pdf/EPA01639_elso_szazad_2012_tel_061-069.pdf}}</ref> |
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;IS-3:1944 armour redesign, with new rounded turret, angular front hull casting, integrated stowage bins over the tracks. Internally similar to IS-2 model 1944, and produced concurrently. About 350 built during the war. |
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;{{Flag|Israel}} |
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;IS-3M: (1952) Modernized version of IS-3. Six pairs of road wheels like IS-3; fitted with additional jettisonable external fuel tanks. |
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* [[Israel Defense Forces|IDF]]: Three IS-3M captured from Egypt in 1967. Reused as indirect fire artillery on the Sinai's [[Bar Lev line]] and as fixed turret bunkers fortifications along the [[Jordan Valley (Middle East)|Jordan Valley]] frontier. |
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;IS-4:1944 design, in competition against the IS-3. Longer hull and thicker armour than IS-2. About 200 were built, after the war. |
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;{{Flag|North Korea}} |
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;IS-6:Prototype with an experimental electrical transmission. Chassis tested further with a conventional transmission after failure of the experimental system, but not deemed a significant enough improvement over existing heavy tank designs to warrant mass production. |
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* [[Korean People's Army]]: Small number of IS-2s; never deployed in combat in the Korean War. |
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;IS-7:1946 prototype, only three built. The '''IS-7 model 1948''' variant had a weight of 68 [[metric tons]] and it was armed with the 130 mm S-70 naval cannon (7020 mm long barrel) with autoloader and stabilizer, infrared night scopes, 8 machine guns, armour from 220 to 300 mm thickness and 60 km/h roadspeed. Crew of five. The [[Slostin machine gun|Slostin gun]] was to be installed as its AA armament. |
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;{{Flag|Poland|1928}} |
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;IS-10:1952 improvement with a longer hull, seven pairs of road wheels instead of six, a larger turret mounting a new gun with fume extractor, an improved diesel engine, and increased armour. Renamed [[T-10 Heavy Tank|T-10]] as part of the [[History of the Soviet Union (1953–1964)|Destalinisation]] of the Soviet Union in the 1950s. |
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* [[Polish Land Forces]]: Approximately 71 IS-2s used in combat between 1944 and 1945. 180 IS-2s survived as of 1955 and remained in service until the 1960s; some later were converted to [[armoured recovery vehicle]]s. Two IS-3s were bought in 1946 for trials only. |
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;{{Flag|Romania}} |
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* [[Romanian Land Forces]]: One IS-2 captured during clashes on the Romanian border between 28 May and 7 June 1944. The tank was subsequently exhibited in [[Bucharest]].<ref>Mark Axworthy, Cornel I. Scafeș, Cristian Crăciunoiu, ''Third Axis, Fourth Ally: Romanian Armed Forces in the European War, 1941-1945'', p. 221</ref> |
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;{{Flag|South Ossetia}} |
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* [[South Ossetian Army]]: Operated some IS-2s, IS-3s and T-10s until 1995. |
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;{{Flag|USSR|1936}} |
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* [[Red Army]]: Heavy Breakthrough Tank from 1944 to 1945. |
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* [[Soviet Army]]: Phased out of service in the early-1970s. |
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;{{flagicon image|War Flag of Novorussia.svg|size=23px}} [[Novorossiya (confederation)|Novorossiyan rebels]] |
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* One IS-3, previously displayed on a pedestal in the village of Aleksandro-Kalynove near [[Kostiantynivka]] as a World War II memorial, used in combat by the [[Federal State of Novorossiya#Military|Novorossiyan Armed Forces]] in the [[2014 pro-Russian unrest in Ukraine]].<ref>{{Cite news |title=Танк "Иосиф Сталин-3" разгромил блокпост на Донбассе, есть погибшие |trans-title="Joseph Stalin-3" tank crushed checkpoint in Donbass, fatalities |agency=RIA Novosti |date=30 June 2014 |url=http://ria.ru/world/20140630/1014198318.html }}</ref> Kostiantynivka was retaken by Ukrainian forces on 7 July 2014, along with the IS-3.<ref>{{Cite news|url = http://www.marketwatch.com/story/ukrainian-government-troops-target-further-gains-2014-07-06|title = Ukrainian government troops target further gains|date = July 6, 2014|work = Market Watch (The Wall Street Journal)}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ukrinform.ua/eng/news/ukrainian_flag_raised_over_kostiantynivka_town_council_323472|title=Ukrainian flag raised over Kostiantynivka Town Council|work=ukrinform.ua|access-date=2014-08-02|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714235936/http://www.ukrinform.ua/eng/news/ukrainian_flag_raised_over_kostiantynivka_town_council_323472|archive-date=2014-07-14|url-status=dead}}</ref> |
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== |
==Surviving vehicles== |
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There are several surviving IS |
There are several surviving IS series tanks, with examples found at the following: |
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; IS-2 |
; IS-2 |
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* |
* Os. Górali [standing tank], Kraków, Poland |
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* Museum |
* [[Polish Army Museum]], Warsaw, Poland |
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* Museum of Arms in [[Fort Winiary]], Poznań, Poland |
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* Army Technical Museum, Lešany, Czech Republic.<ref name="lesany">[http://vhu.cz/cs/stranka/vojenske-technicke-muzeum ]{{dead link|date=June 2011}}</ref> |
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* Museum of Armoured Weapon in Training Center of Land Forces, Poznań, Poland (operational, [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_dXGjrqEZZ4 see movie]) |
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* Tank Museum of the People's Liberation Army, Beijing, China. |
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* Tank Museum of the People's Liberation Army, Beijing, China. |
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* Liberty Park, Overloon, The Netherlands. |
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* Liberty Park, Overloon, The Netherlands. |
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* [[Museum of The History of Ukraine in World War II]], Ukraine |
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* Kurzeme Fortress Museum, Zante, Latvia. |
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* Diorama Battle of Kursk, in Belgorod, Russia. |
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* The [[American Heritage Museum]], [[Greater Boston]], USA |
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* [[Military museum Lešany|Army Technical Museum]], Lešany, Czech Republic<ref name="lesany">{{cite web |title=MILITARY TECHNICAL MUSEUM LEŠANY> Basic information |publisher=Vojenský historický ústav Praha |language=cs |url=http://vhu.cz/cs/stranka/vojenske-technicke-muzeum |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090505222057/http://vhu.cz/cs/stranka/vojenske-technicke-muzeum |archive-date=May 5, 2009}}</ref> (previously in Prague as a [[Monument to Soviet tank crews]]) |
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* Orvidai Homestead - Museum, Kretinga, Lithuania |
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; IS-2M |
; IS-2M |
||
* [[Imperial War Museum Duxford]], England. |
* [[Imperial War Museum Duxford]], England. |
||
* |
* [[Kubinka Tank Museum]], Russia. |
||
* |
* Victory Park (Park Pobedy - Парк Победы), Ulyanovsk, Russia. |
||
* Victory Park at Poklonnaya Gora, Moscow, Russia. |
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; IS-3 |
; IS-3 |
||
* IDF Armoured Corps Museum, Israel. |
* [[Yad La-Shiryon|IDF Armoured Corps Museum]], Israel. |
||
* Museum of Armoured Arms, Training Center of Land Forces, Poznań, Poland |
* Museum of Armoured Arms, Training Center of Land Forces, Poznań, Poland |
||
* Army Technical Museum, Lešany, Czech Republic.<ref name="lesany"/> |
* Army Technical Museum, Lešany, Czech Republic (operational).<ref name="lesany"/> |
||
* [[Polish Army Museum]], Warsaw, Poland. (Fort Czerniaków branch of the Museum). |
* [[Polish Army Museum]], Warsaw, Poland. (Fort Czerniaków branch of the Museum). |
||
* |
* National Armor and Cavalry Museum, Fort Benning, Georgia, United States. |
||
* Victory Park in the northern part of Ulyanovsk, Russia. |
* Victory Park in the northern part of Ulyanovsk, Russia. |
||
* Ulyanovskoe SVU, Ulyanovsk, Russia |
* Ulyanovskoe SVU, Ulyanovsk, Russia |
||
* [[Royal Museum of the Armed Forces and of Military History]], Brussels, Belgium. |
|||
* Military Glory Museum, [[Gomel]], Belarus. |
* Military Glory Museum, [[Gomel]], Belarus. |
||
* Diorama Battle of Kursk, in Belgorod, Russia. |
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* At least one IS-3 was used by the separatist government in Donbas before being captured by Ukrainian forces. |
|||
; IS-3M |
; IS-3M |
||
* Egyptian National Military Museum, [[Cairo Citadel]], Egypt. |
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* [[Military Vehicle Technology Foundation]], California, USA.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://mvtf.org/col_categor.php?vehicle=defaultimage |title=Military Vehicle Technology Foundation - Collection by Category |publisher=Mvtf.org |date= |accessdate=2011-06-15}}</ref> |
|||
* [[Military Vehicle Technology Foundation]], California, United States.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://mvtf.org/col_categor.php?vehicle=defaultimage |title=Military Vehicle Technology Foundation - Collection by Category |publisher=Mvtf.org |access-date=2011-06-15}}</ref> |
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* [[Royal Museum of the Armed Forces and of Military History]], Brussels, Belgium. (still operational) |
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; IS-4 |
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* [[Kubinka Tank Museum]], Russia. |
|||
; IS-7 |
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* [[Kubinka Tank Museum]], Russia. |
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===Gallery=== |
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<gallery mode="packed"> |
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File:IS-2_tank_Krakow.jpg|IS-2 |
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File:JS-2 museo tedesco russo berlino.JPG|IS-2M |
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File:IS-2 Cubinka 1.jpg|IS-2M at the Kubinka Tank Museum |
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File:Is-3 lesany.jpg|The IS-3 at the [[Military museum Lešany|Military Technical Museum Lešany]] |
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File:IS-3 heavy tank at the Muzeum Polskiej Techniki Wojskowej in Warsaw (2).jpg|IS-3 heavy tank at the Museum Polskiej Techniki Wojskowej in Warsaw. |
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File:IS-3-latrun-2.jpg|Former Egyptian Army IS-3M |
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</gallery> |
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== See also == |
== See also == |
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* [[Kliment Voroshilov tank|KV-1]] heavy tank |
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{{Portal|Tank}} |
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* [[ |
* [[T-10 tank|T-10]] heavy tank |
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* [[ |
* [[ISU-152]] assault gun |
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* [[ISU- |
* [[ISU-122]] assault gun |
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* [[ISU-122]] |
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* [[List of Soviet tanks]] |
* [[List of Soviet tanks]] |
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* [[March of the Soviet Tankmen]] |
* [[March of the Soviet Tankmen]] |
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== Notes == |
== Notes == |
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{{ |
{{Reflist|group=Notes}} |
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== References == |
== References == |
||
{{ |
{{Reflist}} |
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*Baryatinsky, Mikhail (2006). ''The IS Tanks''. Hersham, Surrey: Ian Allen Publishing. ISBN (10)0711031622; (13)9780711031623 |
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== Sources == |
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* Jentz, Thomas (1995). ''Germany's Panther Tank: The Quest for Combat Supremacy''. Atglen, PA: Schiffer Publishing. ISBN 0-88740-812-5 |
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{{Refbegin}} |
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* {{cite book | first = Bryan | last = Perrett | year = 1987 | title = Soviet Armour Since 1945 | publisher = Blandford Press | location = London | isbn = 0-7137-1735-1 }} |
|||
* Baryatinsky, Mikhail (2006). ''The IS Tanks''. Hersham, Surrey: Ian Allan Publishing. {{ISBN|0711031622}}; (13)9780711031623 |
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* {{cite book |last1=Glantz |first1=David M. |author-link1=David Glantz |last2=House |first2=DJonathan M. |year=2015 |title=When Titans Clashed. How the Red Army Stopped Hitler |edition=revised and expanded (Kindle) |publisher=University Press of Kansas |isbn=978-0-7006-2152-1}} |
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* Jentz, Thomas (1995). ''Germany's Panther Tank: The Quest for Combat Supremacy''. Atglen, PA: [[Schiffer Publishing]]. {{ISBN|0-88740-812-5}} |
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* {{cite book |last1=Jentz |first1=Tom |year=1993 |last2=Doyle |first2=Hillary |others=illustrated by Sarson, Peter |title=Tiger 1 Heavy Tank 1942–45 |publisher=Osprey |isbn=978-1-85532-337-7}} |
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* {{cite book |first=Bryan |last=Perrett |year=1987 |title=Soviet Armour Since 1945 |publisher=Blandford Press |location=London |isbn=0-7137-1735-1 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/sovietarmoursinc0000perr }} |
|||
* Sewell, Stephen ‘Cookie’ (2002). “Red Star – White Elephant?” in ''Armor'', July–August 2002, pp 26–32. Fort Knox, KY: US Army Armor Center. {{ISSN|0004-2420}} |
* Sewell, Stephen ‘Cookie’ (2002). “Red Star – White Elephant?” in ''Armor'', July–August 2002, pp 26–32. Fort Knox, KY: US Army Armor Center. {{ISSN|0004-2420}} |
||
*{{cite book | |
* {{cite book |last=Zaloga |first=Steven |author-link=Steven Zaloga |title=IS-2 Heavy Tank 1944-1973 |publisher=Osprey Publishing |year=1994 |isbn=978-1-85532-396-4}} |
||
* {{cite book | |
* {{cite book |last=Zaloga |first=Steven |author-link=Steven Zaloga |title=KV-1 & 2 Heavy Tanks 1939–1945 |publisher=Osprey Publishing |year=1996 |isbn=978-1-8553-2496-1}} |
||
* {{cite book |first1=Steven |last1=Zaloga |first2=James |last2=Grandsen |year=1984 |title=Soviet Tanks and Combat Vehicles of World War Two |publisher=Arms and Armour Press |location=London |isbn=0-85368-606-8}} |
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* {{cite web |title=Железный марш |trans_title=Iron March |url=http://ww2.kulichki.ru/ironmarsh.htm |publisher=ww2.kulichki.ru |language=Russian}} |
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{{ |
{{Refend}} |
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== External links == |
== External links == |
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{{ |
{{Commons|Iosef Stalin tank}} |
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* Battlefield.ru: [http://english.battlefield.ru/js-2.html JS-1 and JS-2 Development history, Combat employment, Comparison to German tanks], [http://www.battlefield.ru/photos/category/15-js2-dismalting-top.html Stripping the JS-2 -top view], [http://www.battlefield.ru/photos/category/16-js2-dismalting-bottom.html Stripping the JS-2 -bottom view], [http://english.battlefield.ru/js-3.html JS-3 History], [http://english.battlefield.ru/heavy-tanks-specification.html Soviet Heavy Tanks Specification], [http://english.battlefield.ru/last-heavy-tanks.html Last Heavy Tanks of the USSR] (JS-4 through JS-10, or T-10) |
* Battlefield.ru: [http://english.battlefield.ru/js-2.html JS-1 and JS-2 Development history, Combat employment, Comparison to German tanks] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111030055810/http://english.battlefield.ru/js-2.html |date=2011-10-30 }}, [http://www.battlefield.ru/photos/category/15-js2-dismalting-top.html Stripping the JS-2 -top view], [http://www.battlefield.ru/photos/category/16-js2-dismalting-bottom.html Stripping the JS-2 -bottom view], [https://web.archive.org/web/20130223023327/http://english.battlefield.ru/js-3.html JS-3 History], [http://english.battlefield.ru/heavy-tanks-specification.html Soviet Heavy Tanks Specification] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111030055911/http://english.battlefield.ru/heavy-tanks-specification.html |date=2011-10-30 }}, [http://english.battlefield.ru/last-heavy-tanks.html Last Heavy Tanks of the USSR] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131102174342/http://english.battlefield.ru/last-heavy-tanks.html |date=2013-11-02 }} (JS-4 through JS-10, or T-10) |
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* OnWar: [http://www.onwar.com/tanks/ussr/fis1.htm IS-1], [http://www.onwar.com/tanks/ussr/fis2m.htm IS-2], [http://www.onwar.com/tanks/ussr/fis3.htm IS-3] |
* OnWar: [https://web.archive.org/web/20131103140019/http://www.onwar.com/tanks/ussr/fis1.htm IS-1], [https://web.archive.org/web/20051122054010/http://www.onwar.com/tanks/ussr/fis2m.htm IS-2], [https://web.archive.org/web/20140807220700/http://www.onwar.com/tanks/ussr/fis3.htm IS-3] |
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* [http://www.xs4all.nl/~gurth/afv/photobooks.html#is-2m IS-2M Photobook] ([[PDF]]) |
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* [http://armor.kiev.ua/Tanks/WWII/IS2/is2_1.html M.Baryatinsky. History of IS-2 tanks (Russian)] |
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* [http://www.warbirdsblog.com/IS2.html Picture of IS-2 bearing Polish markings.] |
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* http://the.shadock.free.fr/Surviving_IS2.pdf. Retrieved 22/3/2008. Provides the location as well as photographs of surviving IS-2 tanks. |
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* [http://mainbattletanks.czweb.org/Tanky/is-7_2.jpg '''IS-7 model 1948'''] |
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* [http://legion-afv.narod.ru/IS.html IS tanks], in museums and monuments. |
* [http://legion-afv.narod.ru/IS.html IS tanks], in museums and monuments. |
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* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gKkb_p-VxA8 IS-3 "test drive" (video)] |
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* [http://forum.wotblitz.com/index.php?/topic/28948-awacs-tank-guide-is-7/ AWACS Tank Guide: IS-7 - Beginner's Guides & Tutorials] |
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{{WWIISovietAFVs}} |
{{WWIISovietAFVs}} |
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{{Authority control}} |
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{{PostWWIISovietAFVS}} |
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Iosif Stalin Tank}} |
{{DEFAULTSORT:Iosif Stalin Tank}} |
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[[Category:Heavy tanks of the Soviet Union]] |
[[Category:Heavy tanks of the Soviet Union]] |
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[[Category:World War II Soviet |
[[Category:World War II tanks of the Soviet Union]] |
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[[Category: |
[[Category:World War II heavy tanks]] |
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[[Category: |
[[Category:Cold War tanks of the Soviet Union]] |
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[[Category:Military vehicles introduced from 1940 to 1944]] |
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[[ |
[[Category:History of the tank]] |
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[[Category:Joseph Stalin]] |
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[[de:IS-Serie]] |
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[[fr:Char Josef Stalin]] |
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[[ko:IS 전차]] |
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[[it:JS (carro armato)]] |
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[[lb:Iosif Stalin Tanks]] |
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[[pl:IS-3]] |
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[[pt:Tanque Iosef Stalin]] |
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[[ru:Танк ИС]] |
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[[fi:IS-sarja (panssarivaunu)]] |
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[[sv:Josef Stalin (stridsvagn)]] |
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[[tr:Josef Stalin tank]] |
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[[vi:Xe tăng Iosif Stalin]] |
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[[zh:IS系列坦克]] |
Latest revision as of 10:13, 4 January 2025
This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (May 2023) |
Iosif Stalin tank | |
---|---|
Type | Heavy tank |
Place of origin | Soviet Union |
Service history | |
Used by | Soviet Union China Cuba Czechoslovakia East Germany Hungary Egypt Poland North Korea |
Wars | |
Production history | |
Designer | Zhozef Kotin Nikolay Dukhov |
Designed |
|
Manufacturer | Kirov Factory, UZTM |
Unit cost | IS-2: 264,400 rubles[1] |
Produced |
|
No. built | |
Specifications (IS-2 Model 1944[5]) | |
Mass | 46 tonnes (51 short tons; 45 long tons) |
Length | 9.90 m (32 ft 6 in) |
Width | 3.09 m (10 ft 2 in) |
Height | 2.73 m (8 ft 11 in) |
Crew | 4 |
Armor | IS-2 Model 1943: Hull front: 120 mm Lower glacis: 100 mm at 30° angle Turret front: 100 mm (rounded) Mantlet: 155 mm (rounded) Hull side: 90–130 mm at 9-25° Turret side: 90 mm at 20° angle. |
Main armament | D-25T 122 mm gun (28 rounds) |
Secondary armament | 1×DShK, 3×DT (2,079 rounds) |
Engine | 12-cyl. diesel model V-2 600 hp (450 kW) |
Power/weight | 13 hp/tonne |
Suspension | torsion bar |
Fuel capacity | 820 L (180 imp gal; 220 US gal) |
Operational range | Road: 240 km (150 mi) Cross-country: 180 km (110 mi) [4] |
Maximum speed | 37 km/h (23 mph) |
The IS tanks (Russian: ИС) were a series of heavy tanks developed as a successor to the KV-series by the Soviet Union during World War II. The IS acronym is the anglicized initialism of Joseph Stalin (Ио́сиф Ста́лин, Iosif Stalin). The heavy tanks were designed as a response to the capture of a German Tiger I in 1943.[6] They were mainly designed as breakthrough tanks, firing a heavy high-explosive shell that was useful against entrenchments and bunkers. The IS-2 went into service in April 1944 and was used as a spearhead by the Red Army in the final stage of the Battle of Berlin. The IS-3 served on the Chinese-Soviet border, the Hungarian Revolution, the Prague Spring and on both sides of the Six-Day War. The series eventually culminated in the T-10 heavy tank.
Design and production
[edit]KV-85/IS-85/IS-1
[edit]
The KV-85 was a KV-1S with the new turret from the Object 237 (IS-85) still in development, mounting the 85mm D-5T gun. The tank was a result of the USSR's tank design bureau being torn in two, one half focusing on the KV-85 and its variants, and the other working on the later IS series. The IS-85 was soon finished and it combined the hull of the KV-13, the new turret from the KV-85, and the same 85mm D-5T gun as both these tanks. The IS-85 was later referred to as IS-1. The first IS-1 rolled off the line in October 1943, but production was stopped in January 1944, as the IS-1 was quickly replaced by the IS-2. Because of this, only about 200 IS-1s were produced.
IS-2
[edit]In December 1943, two up-gunned variants of the IS-85 were created: the IS-100, armed with the 100mm BS-3 gun, and the IS-122, armed with the 122mm A19 gun (later adopted and renamed as the D-25T). The IS-122 was found to be better than the IS-100 in trials, and so the IS-100 was dropped. The IS-122 was renamed to IS-2 and production started with the 1943 model using a KV-13 chassis. First deliveries of IS-2s were in December 1943. The 1944 model was produced with a revised front slope that was better from an armor point of view while still saving weight. Production in bulk of the IS-2 started in February 1944 and ended nearing the end of World War II. By the end of World War II, 3,854 IS-2 model 1943 and model 1944's combined had been produced. German general Hasso von Manteuffel, who met tanks of that series in combat for the first time in Romania in 1944, considered the Stalin tank "the finest in the world."[7]
Object 703 IS-3
[edit]There are two tanks known as IS-3: Object 244 was an IS-2 rearmed with the long-barrelled 85 mm cannon (D-5T-85-BM) and developed by the Leningrad Kirov Plant (LKZ), which was never series-produced for service use.
The IS-3 known as Object 703 is a Soviet heavy tank developed in late 1944, and began production in May 1945. Its semi-hemispherical cast turret (resembling an upturned soup bowl), became the hallmark of post-war Soviet tanks. Its pike nose design was also mirrored by other tanks of the IS tank family such as the IS-7 and T-10 tank. Too late to see combat in World War II, the IS-3 participated in the Berlin Victory Parade of 1945, and on the Chinese-Soviet border, the Soviet invasion of Hungary, the Prague Spring and the Six-Day War.
Object 701 IS-4
[edit]There are two tanks known as IS-4: Object 245 and Object 701. Object 245 was an IS-2 rearmed with a long 100 mm D-10T cannon.
The IS-4 known as the Object 701 was a Soviet heavy tank that started development in 1943 and began production in 1946. Derived from the IS-2 and part of the IS tank family the IS-4 featured a longer hull and increased armor. With the IS-3 already in production, and when sluggish mobility and decreased need for tanks (particularly heavy tanks) became an issue, many were sent to the Russian Far East with some eventually becoming pillboxes along the Chinese border in the 1960s. Less than 250 were produced.
Object 730 IS-5
[edit]The IS-5, is merely one of the many designations given to what would ultimately become the T-10 tank.[8]
Object 252/253 IS-6
[edit]There existed two different IS-6s: the Object 253 was an attempt to develop a practical electrical transmission system for heavy tanks. Similar systems had been tested previously in France and the United States and had been used with limited success in the German Elefant/Ferdinand tank destroyer during World War II. The experimental transmission proved unreliable and was dangerously prone to overheating, and development was discontinued. The alternative Object 252 shared the same hull and turret as the Object 253, but used a different suspension with no return rollers, and a conventional mechanical transmission. The design was deemed to offer no significant advantages over the IS-2, just the reload time was less, and the IS-6 project was halted.
Upgraded version of IS-6
[edit]Since the IS-6 proved to have no significant advantages over IS-2 and its rival IS-4, in November 1944, they decided to dramatically upgrade the tank. The project was called "Object 252U" (U stands for "Improvement" in Russian). The tank featured a heavily sloped pike-nose armor, a new 122 mm D-13T gun, and more slope on the sides and rear. The design proved to be problematic in terms of crew comfort since the interior was too cramped and the design was cancelled.[citation needed]
Object 260 IS-7
[edit]The IS-7 heavy tank design began in Leningrad in 1945 by Nikolai Fedorovich Shashmurin[9][10] and was developed in 1948.[11][12] Weighing 68 tonnes, thickly armoured and armed with a 130 mm S-70 long-barrelled gun, it was the largest and heaviest member of the IS family.[13]
Object 730 T-10 IS-8
[edit]The IS-8[14] (also known as Objekt 730) was the final development of the KV and IS tank series. It was accepted into service in 1952 as the IS-8,[14] but due to the political climate in the wake of Stalin's death in 1953, it was renamed T-10, as it was the tenth heavy tank in Soviet service.[15]
The biggest differences from its direct ancestor, the IS-3, were a longer hull, seven pairs of road wheels instead of six, a larger turret mounting a new gun with fume extractor, an improved diesel engine, and increased armour. General performance was similar, although the T-10 could carry more ammunition.
T-10s (like the earlier tanks they replaced) were deployed in independent tank regiments belonging to armies, and independent tank battalions belonging to divisions. These independent tank units could be attached to mechanized units, to support infantry operations and perform breakthroughs.
The T-10M is the final iteration of this type. It featured a longer gun barrel than previous models with 5-baffle muzzle brake and 14.5 mm machine gun. This was the last Soviet heavy tank to enter service. When the advanced T-64 MBT became available it replaced the T-10 in front line formations.
Comparisons
[edit]-
IS-3
-
IS-4
-
An IS-7 tank during trials (1948)
-
T-10M in the Museum of The History of Ukraine in World War II, Kyiv.
T-35 | T-100 | SMK | KV-1 M1940 |
KV-1 M1941 |
KV-1 M1942 |
KV-1S M1942 |
KV-85 M1943 |
IS-2 M1945 [clarification needed] |
IS-3[17][unreliable source?][18] M1945 | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Crew | 11 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
Weight (tonnes) | 45 | 58 | 55 | 43 | 45 | 47 | 42.5 | 46 | 46 | 46.5 |
Main armament | 76.2 mm M. 27/32 |
76.2 mm L-11 |
76.2 mm L-11 |
76.2 mm F-32 |
76.2 mm F-34 |
76.2 mm ZiS-5 |
76.2 mm ZiS-5 |
85 mm D-5T |
122 mm D-25T |
122 mm D-25T |
Ammunition | 100 | – | – | 111 | 111 | 114 | 114 | 70 | 28 | 28 |
Secondary armament | 2×45 mm 5×7.62 mm |
45 mm | 45 mm | 2×DT | 4×DT | 4×DT | 4×DT | 3×DT | 3×DT, DShK | 2×DT, DShK |
Engine | 500 hp M-17M gasoline |
500 hp | 850 hp AM-34 |
600 hp V-2K diesel |
600 hp V-2 |
600 hp V-2 |
600 hp V-2 |
600 hp V-2 |
600 hp V-2 |
600 hp V-2 |
Fuel (litres) | 910 | – | – | 600 | 600 | 600 | 975 | 975 | 820 | 790 |
Road speed (km/h) | 30 | 35 | 36 | 35 | 35 | 28 | 45 | 40 | 37 | 37 |
Road range (km) | 150 | – | 150 | 250 | 250 | 250 | 380 | 350 | 240 | 150 |
Cross-country range (km) | 70 | – | 70 | 150 | 150 | 150 | 240 | 220 | 180 | 120 |
Armor (mm)[clarification needed] | 11–30 | 20–70 | 20–60 | 25–75 | 30–90 | 20–130 | 30–82 | 30–160 | 30–160 | 20–220 |
Combat history
[edit]The IS-2 entered combat in World War II during the first months of 1944. The Soviets produced significant numbers of the type (close to 4,000) and deployed them against the most advanced German designs of the time, notably the Tiger I, Tiger II, and Panther, as well as against Elefant tank destroyers. The IS-2 was best used for bunker assault using its high-explosive ammunition, as its reload rate, just 2 rounds per minute, made it ineffective as a tank destroyer. The IS-3 saw service on the Chinese-Soviet border, the Soviet invasion of Hungary, the Prague Spring and on both sides of the Six-Day War. However, the mobility and firepower of medium-tanks and the evolution of the main battle tank rendered heavy tanks obsolete.
Variants
[edit]- KV-85
- A stopgap model built from a modified KV-1S hull mated to an Object 237(IS-1)'s turret and armed with the 85 mm D-5T.[19]
- IS-1K
- (1942) The first prototype of the IS-1 tank, which was made in two copies in 1942. The turret was from an experimental KV-9 tank, which did not go into mass production. But the high military command decided that the turret and gun of the KV-9 tank were too outdated. As a result, a new turret had to be designed for the new gun.
- IS-85 (IS-1)
- 1943 model armed with an 85 mm gun. When IS-2 production started, many were re-gunned with 122 mm guns before being issued.
- IS-100
- A prototype version armed with a 100 mm gun; it went into trials against the IS-122 which was armed with a 122 mm gun. Though the IS-100 was reported to have better anti-armor capabilities, the latter was chosen due to better all-around performance.
- IS-122 (IS-2 model 1943)
- 1943 model, armed with A-19 122 mm gun (later adopted as the D-25T gun). Production ended after World War II.
- IS-2 model 1944
- 1944 improvement with D-25T 122 mm gun, with faster-loading drop breech and new fire control, and improved frontal hull armour using thinner armour with a more efficient shape.
- IS-2M
- 1950s modernization of IS-2 tanks.
- IS-3
- 1944 armor redesign, with new rounded turret, angular front hull casting, integrated stowage bins over the tracks. Internally similar to IS-2 model 1944 and produced concurrently. About 350 built during the war.
- IS-3M
- (1952) Modernized version of IS-3. Fitted with additional jettisonable external fuel tanks and improved hull welding.
- IS-4
- 1944 design, in competition against the IS-3. Longer hull and thicker armor than IS-2. About 250 were built, after the war.[20]
- IS-6
- Prototype with an experimental electrical transmission. Chassis tested further with a conventional transmission after failure of the experimental system, but not deemed a significant enough improvement over existing heavy tank designs to warrant mass production.[21]
- IS-7
- 1946 prototype, only three built. The IS-7 model 1948 variant had a weight of 68 metric tons and it was armed with the 130 mm S-70 naval cannon (7020 mm long barrel). The assisted loader can achieve up to 8 rounds per minute. Other equipment included stabilizers, infrared night scopes, and 8 machine guns. The hull armor was 150 mm placed at 50~52 degree angles. On the turret, the frontal thickness was 240–350 mm at an angle of 45-0 degrees. The IS-7 had a crew of five, with the driver in the hull, the commander and gunner in the front of the turret, with both loaders in the rear of the turret. A Slostin machine gun was to be installed as its AA armament.[13][22]
- IS-8 (T-10)
- [14] 1952 improvement with a longer hull, seven pairs of road wheels instead of six, a larger turret mounting a new gun with fume extractor, an improved diesel engine, and increased armor. Renamed T-10 as part of the Destalinization of the Soviet Union in the 1950s.
Operators
[edit]- People's Liberation Army: 60 IS-2s delivered in 1950–1951. Operated during the Korean War and in concrete bunkers along the Sino-Soviet border.
- Cuban Army: 41 IS-2Ms delivered in 1960.
- Czechoslovak Army: 8 IS-2/IS-2M in service between 1945 and 1960. Two IS-3 delivered in 1949 were used only for trials and military parades.
- NVA: 60 IS-2 delivered 1956. Operated until 1963.
- Egyptian Army: 100 IS-3M operated from 1956 to 1967, some in use in the Six-Day War 1967.
- Hungarian People's Army: 68 IS-2s in service between 1950 and 1956. After the crackdown of the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 all were returned to the Soviet Union.[24]
- IDF: Three IS-3M captured from Egypt in 1967. Reused as indirect fire artillery on the Sinai's Bar Lev line and as fixed turret bunkers fortifications along the Jordan Valley frontier.
- Korean People's Army: Small number of IS-2s; never deployed in combat in the Korean War.
- Polish Land Forces: Approximately 71 IS-2s used in combat between 1944 and 1945. 180 IS-2s survived as of 1955 and remained in service until the 1960s; some later were converted to armoured recovery vehicles. Two IS-3s were bought in 1946 for trials only.
- Romanian Land Forces: One IS-2 captured during clashes on the Romanian border between 28 May and 7 June 1944. The tank was subsequently exhibited in Bucharest.[25]
- South Ossetian Army: Operated some IS-2s, IS-3s and T-10s until 1995.
- Red Army: Heavy Breakthrough Tank from 1944 to 1945.
- Soviet Army: Phased out of service in the early-1970s.
- One IS-3, previously displayed on a pedestal in the village of Aleksandro-Kalynove near Kostiantynivka as a World War II memorial, used in combat by the Novorossiyan Armed Forces in the 2014 pro-Russian unrest in Ukraine.[26] Kostiantynivka was retaken by Ukrainian forces on 7 July 2014, along with the IS-3.[27][28]
Surviving vehicles
[edit]There are several surviving IS series tanks, with examples found at the following:
- IS-2
- Os. Górali [standing tank], Kraków, Poland
- Polish Army Museum, Warsaw, Poland
- Museum of Arms in Fort Winiary, Poznań, Poland
- Museum of Armoured Weapon in Training Center of Land Forces, Poznań, Poland (operational, see movie)
- Tank Museum of the People's Liberation Army, Beijing, China.
- Liberty Park, Overloon, The Netherlands.
- Museum of The History of Ukraine in World War II, Ukraine
- Kurzeme Fortress Museum, Zante, Latvia.
- Diorama Battle of Kursk, in Belgorod, Russia.
- The American Heritage Museum, Greater Boston, USA
- Army Technical Museum, Lešany, Czech Republic[29] (previously in Prague as a Monument to Soviet tank crews)
- Orvidai Homestead - Museum, Kretinga, Lithuania
- IS-2M
- Imperial War Museum Duxford, England.
- Kubinka Tank Museum, Russia.
- Victory Park (Park Pobedy - Парк Победы), Ulyanovsk, Russia.
- Victory Park at Poklonnaya Gora, Moscow, Russia.
- IS-3
- IDF Armoured Corps Museum, Israel.
- Museum of Armoured Arms, Training Center of Land Forces, Poznań, Poland
- Army Technical Museum, Lešany, Czech Republic (operational).[29]
- Polish Army Museum, Warsaw, Poland. (Fort Czerniaków branch of the Museum).
- National Armor and Cavalry Museum, Fort Benning, Georgia, United States.
- Victory Park in the northern part of Ulyanovsk, Russia.
- Ulyanovskoe SVU, Ulyanovsk, Russia
- Military Glory Museum, Gomel, Belarus.
- Diorama Battle of Kursk, in Belgorod, Russia.
- At least one IS-3 was used by the separatist government in Donbas before being captured by Ukrainian forces.
- IS-3M
- Egyptian National Military Museum, Cairo Citadel, Egypt.
- Military Vehicle Technology Foundation, California, United States.[30]
- Royal Museum of the Armed Forces and of Military History, Brussels, Belgium. (still operational)
- IS-4
- Kubinka Tank Museum, Russia.
- IS-7
- Kubinka Tank Museum, Russia.
Gallery
[edit]-
IS-2
-
IS-2M
-
IS-2M at the Kubinka Tank Museum
-
The IS-3 at the Military Technical Museum Lešany
-
IS-3 heavy tank at the Museum Polskiej Techniki Wojskowej in Warsaw.
-
Former Egyptian Army IS-3M
See also
[edit]- KV-1 heavy tank
- T-10 heavy tank
- ISU-152 assault gun
- ISU-122 assault gun
- List of Soviet tanks
- March of the Soviet Tankmen
Notes
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "Себестоимость некоторых типов советских танков по годам".
- ^ "IS-1 total production". Archived from the original on 2021-02-06. Retrieved 2021-02-02.
- ^ Nicholas Moran (23 December 2014). "Inside the Chieftain's Hatch: IS-7 Part 2". Youtube. World of Tanks North America. Archived from the original on 2021-11-17.
- ^ Soviet Tanks and Combat Vehicles of World War Two (Steven J. Zaloga, James Grandsen) page 176.
- ^ Zaloga & Grandsen 1984, p. 176.
- ^ Zaloga 1994.
- ^ B.H. Liddell Hart, The Other Side of the Hill, p.105, Cassell and Co., 1948.
- ^ Kinnear, James; Sewell, Stephen (29 June 2017). Soviet T-10 Heavy Tank and Variants. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 9781472820532.
- ^ Nicolas Moran (9 December 2014). "Inside the Chieftain's Hatch: IS-7 Part 1". World of Tanks North America. Youtube. Archived from the original on 2021-11-17.
- ^ "IS-7 (Object 260) Heavy Tank - Tanks Encyclopedia". Tank Encyclopedia. 5 May 2017.
- ^ "Советский тяжелый танк ИС-7 [IS-7 Soviet heavy tank]". Tankmuseum.ru. 2016-01-05. Retrieved 2016-02-21.[permanent dead link ]
- ^ "Heavy soviet tanks". Tankmuseum.ru. 1945-09-09. Archived from the original on May 22, 2011. Retrieved 2011-06-15.
- ^ a b Zaloga 1994, p. 17.
- ^ a b c Miller 2000, p. 250.
- ^ Gao, Charlie (8 December 2018). "Meet Stalin's Cold War Monster: The T-10M Heavy Tank". The National Interest.
- ^ Zaloga & Grandsen 1984, pp. 119, 176.
- ^ "IS-3 Model 1945". onwar.com. Archived from the original on 2014-08-11.
- ^ Miller, David (1999). The Cold War: A History. Macmillan. ISBN 0-312-24183-6.
- ^ Zaloga 1994, pp. 5–6.
- ^ Zaloga 1994, p. 19.
- ^ Zaloga 1994, p. 20.
- ^ Nikiforov, Alexei. "IS-7: the armored wonder?". PKKA CA. Retrieved 9 October 2014.
- ^ Das letzte Jahr der deutschen Heeres 1944-1945 " von Wolfgang Fleischer / Podzun-Pallas Verlag
- ^ József, Cseh (Winter 2012). "A Magyar Néphadsereg fegyverzettel való ellátásának néhány problémája az 1950-es évek elején" [Some Problems of Supplying the Hungarian People's Army with Armaments in the Early 1950s] (PDF) (in Hungarian).
- ^ Mark Axworthy, Cornel I. Scafeș, Cristian Crăciunoiu, Third Axis, Fourth Ally: Romanian Armed Forces in the European War, 1941-1945, p. 221
- ^ "Танк "Иосиф Сталин-3" разгромил блокпост на Донбассе, есть погибшие" ["Joseph Stalin-3" tank crushed checkpoint in Donbass, fatalities]. RIA Novosti. 30 June 2014.
- ^ "Ukrainian government troops target further gains". Market Watch (The Wall Street Journal). July 6, 2014.
- ^ "Ukrainian flag raised over Kostiantynivka Town Council". ukrinform.ua. Archived from the original on 2014-07-14. Retrieved 2014-08-02.
- ^ a b "MILITARY TECHNICAL MUSEUM LEŠANY> Basic information" (in Czech). Vojenský historický ústav Praha. Archived from the original on May 5, 2009.
- ^ "Military Vehicle Technology Foundation - Collection by Category". Mvtf.org. Retrieved 2011-06-15.
Sources
[edit]- Baryatinsky, Mikhail (2006). The IS Tanks. Hersham, Surrey: Ian Allan Publishing. ISBN 0711031622; (13)9780711031623
- Glantz, David M.; House, DJonathan M. (2015). When Titans Clashed. How the Red Army Stopped Hitler (revised and expanded (Kindle) ed.). University Press of Kansas. ISBN 978-0-7006-2152-1.
- Jentz, Thomas (1995). Germany's Panther Tank: The Quest for Combat Supremacy. Atglen, PA: Schiffer Publishing. ISBN 0-88740-812-5
- Jentz, Tom; Doyle, Hillary (1993). Tiger 1 Heavy Tank 1942–45. illustrated by Sarson, Peter. Osprey. ISBN 978-1-85532-337-7.
- Perrett, Bryan (1987). Soviet Armour Since 1945. London: Blandford Press. ISBN 0-7137-1735-1.
- Sewell, Stephen ‘Cookie’ (2002). “Red Star – White Elephant?” in Armor, July–August 2002, pp 26–32. Fort Knox, KY: US Army Armor Center. ISSN 0004-2420
- Zaloga, Steven (1994). IS-2 Heavy Tank 1944-1973. Osprey Publishing. ISBN 978-1-85532-396-4.
- Zaloga, Steven (1996). KV-1 & 2 Heavy Tanks 1939–1945. Osprey Publishing. ISBN 978-1-8553-2496-1.
- Zaloga, Steven; Grandsen, James (1984). Soviet Tanks and Combat Vehicles of World War Two. London: Arms and Armour Press. ISBN 0-85368-606-8.
External links
[edit]- Battlefield.ru: JS-1 and JS-2 Development history, Combat employment, Comparison to German tanks Archived 2011-10-30 at the Wayback Machine, Stripping the JS-2 -top view, Stripping the JS-2 -bottom view, JS-3 History, Soviet Heavy Tanks Specification Archived 2011-10-30 at the Wayback Machine, Last Heavy Tanks of the USSR Archived 2013-11-02 at the Wayback Machine (JS-4 through JS-10, or T-10)
- OnWar: IS-1, IS-2, IS-3
- IS tanks, in museums and monuments.
- IS-3 "test drive" (video)
- AWACS Tank Guide: IS-7 - Beginner's Guides & Tutorials