SU-152

SU-152
SU-152
Specifications
Mass	45.5 tonnes
Length	8.95 m
Width	3.25 m
Height	2.45 m
Crew	5

The SU-152 was a Soviet heavy self-propelled gun used during World War II.

It was a self-propelled 152-mm gun-howitzer, on the chassis of a KV-1S heavy tank. Because of its ability to take out German Tigers, Panthers, and Elefants, it was nicknamed Zveroboy—"animal killer".

History

Contrary to popular belief, SU-152 was not intended to be a stop-the-gap countermeasure against German Tiger heavy tank. The Stalingrad counteroffensive (Operation Uranus) showed the Red Army urgent need for mobile heavy guns. The primary target for these guns were German fortifications around and inside Stalingrad city. The firepower of Soviet tank, motorized and infantry units was not sufficient to deal with German pillboxes and fortified buildings. The advancement of Soviet troops was successful due to close support of artillery and combat engineer units. However all Soviet guns and howitzers with rare exception were towed. Therefore their mobility was sufficiently limited by absence of roads, deep snow cover, small number of artillery tractors and high vulnerability on march. Moreover, in many cases heavy guns and howitzers were towed by completely exhausted horses or Soviet soldiers.

Such situation did not satisfy state authorities. In November 1942 the State Defense Committee ordered to start the development of heavy self-propelled gun armed with 152.4-mm ML-20 gun-howitzer. It should be noted that Red Army had dedicated anti-fortification vehicle in pre-war period. It was heavy assault tank KV-2 armed with 152.4-mm howitzer M-10. The mass production of KV-2s ceased in July 1941 and a few number of them survived to November 1942. The new anti-fortification vehicle with same purpose should have better mobility, armament and cost than KV-2. Due to big recoil force from ML-20 gun-howitzer the gun mounting in a turret became impossible. So authorities agreed with non-rotating gun mounting in superstructure with limited traverse angle.

Before issuing the order there were some initiative projects of anti-fortification vehicle. All of them were halted but some designs from these projects were used later. After issuing the order these works were reactivated. In December 1943 three different designs of "pillbox killer" vehicle were introduced by concurrent engineer groups from artillery and tank factories. All of these design used ML-20 gun-howitzer as a primary armament and heavy tank KV-1S base. After discussion the project of Joseph Yakovlevich Kotin was chosen for further mass production. This design successfully combined ML-20 and KV-1S base with minimal efforts and adjustments.

The assembly of first prototype (called "Object 236") began in December 31, 1942 and it was completed after 25 days. The entire project was designated as KV-14. The plant testings of "Object 236" started in January 25, 1943. After successful plant tests the more crucial program of state tests was launched. The "Object 236" succeded again. In February 14, 1943 the State Defense Committee accepted it for Red Army service and issued the order about immediate launching its mass production on the Chelyabinskiy Kirovskiy Zavod (ChKZ, Kirov Plant in Chelyabinsk city). The designation of series self-propelled guns was changed from initial KV-14 to final SU-152. The gun-howitzer ML-20 was slightly modified for mounting in SU-152. The barrel length was reduced by 3 caliber length in comparison with towed variant and some handles were moved for better gunner comfort. This variant had designation ML-20S. The muzzle velocity and external ballistics were identical with original ML-20 gun-howitzer.

So the main cause for SU-152 development was Red Army need for heavy assault gun and design works started before the first capture of the Tiger tank by Red Army. However the SU-152 initially had good anti-tank capabilities due to high muzzle velocity and heavy weight of ML-20S projectiles. The research of captured Tiger tank construction and abilities showed that in the first half of 1943 SU-152 was the only Soviet AFV able to destroy Tiger on any fighting distance. This conclusion greatly increased the speed of SU-152 mass production and formation of self-propelled artillery units. But this had not any influence on the development of first-generation series Soviet self-propelled guns. SU-152 with SU-122 and SU-76 were designed for artillery support of tank and motorized Red Army units in October - December 1942. The fast SU-152 prototype construction was not a rush to build something against Tiger tank; in reality ChKZ and its subcontractors did a huge experimental and preparation work long before the issue of State Defense Committee order in November 1942. This allowed to build SU-152 prototype so fast.

After launching SU-152 mass production its design was slightly modified for improving reliability. Initially SU-152s had not a machinegun; this was a weakness in close and urban combat. For solving this problem the DShK 12.7-mm anti-aircraft gun installation was developed in mid-summer of 1943. Some SU-152s got it after repair. SU-152 was the last member of KV family of AFVs in mass production. The SU-152 was replaced by its direct successor ISU-152 on ChKZ production lines in December 1943. The exact total number of produced SU-152s differs even in Russian sources. The most frequent figures are 670 or 704 SU-152s. Survived in World War II battles SU-152s were withdrawn from Soviet Army service in 1954.

Combat history

Produced during 1943 as an immediate response to the German Panther tank and Tiger tank, the 152 mm gun being a highly effective antitank weapon. It fired a very large shell, making it an effective weapon against infantry, too. It was employed to provide long-range fire support for tanks, particularly against German heavy tanks and strongpoints.

Initially the SU-152 had no machine gun, but later a 12.7 mm DShK was added on an anti-aircraft mount.

Organisation

The SU-152 was employed by Independent Heavy Self-propelled Artillery Regiments (OTSAP, ОТСАП, in Russian, from Otdel'niy Tyazheliy Samokhodno-Artilleriyskiy Polk, Отдельный Тяжелый Самоходно-Артиллерийский Полк). Initially each OTSAP had twelve SU-152s, divided into three batteries of four vehicles and one tank KV-1S as commander's vehicle. After November 1943 the OTSAP organisation changed to 21 vehicle, see corresponding chapter on ISU-152 page.

See also

• List of Soviet tanks - covers all periods

External links

• Free.polbox.pl
• OnWar.com