Video: Big HE Shells vs German Tank Armour

The SU-152 made a name for itself as a tank killer thanks to its big 152 mm gun firing a 40 kg high explosive shell, but how good was this weapon at destroying tanks? Was better ammunition not available? In this video, I go over how 122 mm and 152 mm high explosive shells fared against thick armour compared to purpose made ammunition.

 

SU-152 Practical Accuracy

The topic of accuracy and precision of Soviet guns comes up a lot. Stereotypically, these guns are depicted in media as being unable to hit the broad side of a barn. Records of trials show otherwise. Here is a record of one such trials at various distances.

Armoured Long Livers

 "Order of the Minister of the Armed Forces to the Commander of the Armoured and Mechanized Forces, Marshal of the Armoured Forces P.S. Rybalko on using unneeded armoured vehicles and spare parts for them

#452102
June 10th, 1947

Minister of the Armed Forces General of the Army comrade Bulganin permitted the use of unneeded armoured vehicles and spare parts for them in the following manner:

• 131 MK-3 [Valentine] tanks, 63 SU-122 SPGs and 282 SU-85 SPGs in need of repairs are to be converted into prime movers for use in the Armoured and Mechanized Forces instead of tractors.
  Functional SU-85 SPGs can be used for training and converted into prime movers as they break down.

Fathers of the SU-152

 "Order to the People's Commissariat of Tank Production #764s
Chelyabinsk
November 13th, 1942

On the creation of an SPG design group

In accordance with the order issued by People's Commissar of Tank Production comrade I.M. Zaltsman on the creation of SPGs on the KV and T-34 tank chassis, I order to:

1. Create an SPG design group within the Kirov factory's design bureau, as the factory is a producer of both T-34 and KV tanks.
2. Appoint engineer Lev Sergeyevich Troyanov to the position of Deputy Chief Designer of Tank Production at the Kirov Factory. Task him with leading the SPG design group.
3. Director of the UZTM factory comrade Muzrukov must permanently transfer designers Kurin, Ilyin, Rybin, and Vishnyakov to the Kirov factory by November 15th, 1942.

Deputy People's Commissar of Tank Production, Kotin"

Via Yuri Pasholok

SU-152 and ISU-152 Tactics

The SU-152 is an often misunderstood vehicle. Some think that because of its thick front armour and relatively short gun it engaged enemies point-blank, but in reality it was actually a long ranged fighter, engaging enemies from 1500-2000 meters. In my latest video I explore the tactics behind SU-152 regiments and how they evolved over time.

SU-152 Regiments

 "State Committee of Defense Decree #2889ss
February 14th, 1943
Moscow, Kremlin

Topic: on the formation of heavy SPG regiments within the Reserve of the Supreme Command

The State Committee of Defense decrees that:

1. 16 heavy SPG regiments are to be formed according to TO&E #08/175 including 310 personnel and 12 152 mm self propelled ML-20 gun-howitzers each.
   The formation of regiments is assigned to the Commander of Artillery of the Red Army, Marshal of Artillery comrade Voronov, and the Military Council of Armoured and Mechanized Forces of the Red Army (Colonel General of the Tank Forces comrade Fedorenko and Lieutenant General of the Tank Forces comrade Biryukov). The following deadlines are set:
1. By February 28th, 1943: 1 regiment
2. By March 25th, 1943: 5 regiments
3. By April 25th, 1943: 5 regiments
4. By May 25th, 1943: 5 regiments

SPG Feedback

 "Brief conclusions drawn from usage of [self propelled] artillery regiments within the Central Front

...

The following main conclusions can be drawn from the use of self propelled artillery in offensive and defensive fighting against numerous enemy tanks and infantry:

On the offensive:

1. SPGs of all types are well suited for escorting tank attacks on the offensive due to their mobility, armour, and firepower.
2. SPGs do not need time to transition from moving to firing modes and back, which allows the SPGs to follow tanks into action and support them without falling behind.
3. The SPG regiment needs to be used as one whole jointly with its supporting tank unit (tank brigade or regiment).

Muzzle Brake Requirements

"USSR NKO

GBTU KA

Tank Usage Directorate

July 4th, 1944

#542526

To Assistant Commanders in charge of Armoured and Mechanized Warfare of Fronts

Copy for the Assistant Commanders in charge of Armoured and Mechanized Warfare of the 1st Baltic Front

A report by the Usage Department of the Armoured and Mechanized Warfare of the 2nd Ukrainian Front in February and a report of the NKTP inspector's group at the 1st Belorussian Front in May indicated vases where the gearbox of the T-34 tank with an 85 mm gun broke when the gun was fired on the move.

Video: SPG or Tank Destroyer?

In this week's video, I take a look at a commonly asked question: what's the difference between a self propelled gun and a tank destroyer? Was the SU-152 either or both? Watch and find out!

Roots of the SU-152

"Approved: Deputy People's Commissar of Tank Production, Major General of the Technical Forces, Kotin

Approved: Chief of the GABTU BTU, Major General of the Tank Forces, Korobkov

January 31st, 1942

Tactical-technical requirements for a self propelled 152 mm howitzer on the KV-7 chassis

The 152 mm self propelled howitzer is similar in design to the KV-7 tank and is designed to be used for destruction of fortifications at close range

U-18 Controversy

After the conclusion of the Great Patriotic War, People's Commissar of Tank Production Malyshev ordered each factory to write up a record of their activity during the war. This is what UZTM wrote about their attempt to convert the strange looking KV-7 into a functional SPG.

"U-18

This is a project of a KV-7 SPG with the powerful 152 mm ML-20 gun.

The gun is also installed using a frame mount. The aiming angles are +15 to -5 vertically, 7 degrees 30 minutes to each side horizontally, or 15 degrees in total. The gun has good ballistic performance (43-51 kg shells, 550-650 m/s muzzle velocity) which gives 98 mm of penetration from 1000 meters compared to 49 mm from the ZIS-5 gun.

The explosive charge of the 152 mm shell is three times greater than that of the 76 mm shell.

Heavy Tank Destroyers that Remained on Paper

The KV-14 (SU-152) SPG was accepted into service on February 14th, 1943. It was designed primarily to combat enemy fortifications, but its first use in combat pitted it against German tanks. Work on tank destroyers on the SU-152 chassis began in the spring of 1943. Even though none of these projects was implemented in metal, the work eventually led to the ISU-122.

Big Guns

"To the Chief of the 16th Department of the GAU Artillery Committee, Colonel comrade Zhevanik

I report on the work that I performed during my trip to Sverdlovsk and Chelyabinsk from May 3rd to May 28th, 1943.

1. Kalinin factory #8.

Based on directions by Lieutenant General of Artillery Hohlov, I organized work to design and produce an experimental 85 mm tank gun. To achieve this, I supplied factory #8 with a copy of the tactical-technical requirements and necessary blueprints with the aid of the GAU military representative at factory #9. I negotiated with the factory's director, comrade Fratkin, as well as the chief engineer and chief designer. Based on this meeting, comrade Fratkin gave the order on May 4th to quickly begin work on designing the gun with the aim of completing blueprints by May 10th.

High Caliber Beast Killers

The acceptance of the KV-14 SPG, better known as the SU-152 "Beast Killer", didn't mean that further development of its design ceased. The use of an ML-20 gun-howitzer was, in a way, a compromise, and attempts to install more powerful systems continued. This article will discuss alternative armament for the heavy Soviet SPG: 203 mm howitzer and mortars. The SU-203 could have been one of these vehicles.

SU-152: From Assault Gun to Tank Destroyer

Work on Soviet SPGs assigned at the plenum of the Artillery Committee held on April 14-15th reached their logical conclusion by the end of 1942. The light SPG concept turned into the SU-12, designed by factory #38's design bureau and S.A. Ginzburg (the future SU-76). The most promising medium SPG was the U-35, designed at UZTM. By the end of December, the first vehicles of the pilot batch were complete.

The heavy SPG was in a more difficult situation. The project that started as the "212" bunker buster radically changed several times. The ZIK-20 SPG was to go into production, but the process dragged on. Even a model of the casemate was not completed on time, to say nothing of the SPG itself. In the end, another vehicle was developed, the KV-14.

Theory and Practice

I covered the precision of the ML-20S gun-howitzer before, but numbers on a table are not quite as fun to look at as the trials themselves. Here are the results from the same gun mounted in a SU-152.

"Results of precision trials, February 2nd 1943

Left group: firing from 1000 meters

Right group: firing from 500 meters."

Via Yuri Pasholok.

OBM-43

"To the Chairman of the NKV Technical Council, comrade Satel

To the Chairman of the GAU Artillery Committee, Lieutenant-General comrade Hohlov

To the Head of the NKVD 4th Special Department, Commissar of State Security comrade Kravchenko

October 2nd, 1943

NKV special telegram #5014 sent on September 24th of this year tasked NKV OKB-172 and Molotov factory #172, as instructed by the People's Commissar of Armament and GAU Chief, to produce an SPG with a 122 mm gun that fired a 25 kg shell at 1000 m/s.

SU-152 in Combat

"1836th Heavy Self Propelled Artillery Regiment

The 1838th Guards Heavy Self Propelled Artillery Regiment participated in offensive and defensive combat.

In offensive combat, the regiment fought among the tanks and behind them, destroying Tiger tanks and Ferdinand SPGs in counterattacks and ambushes, as well as enemy fortifications and dugouts.

In defensive combat, the regiment fought from ambushes, by the battery, positioned in locations of likely enemy tank attacks. Ambushes and maneuvers ensured that enemy tanks and SPGs were destroyed while SU-152s remained invulnerable.

Birth of the SU-152

"State Committee of Defense decree #2883ss

February 14th, 1943

Moscow, Kremlin

On the production of SU-14 SPGs, KV-1S tanks, and armoured hulls for them in February and March of 1943

In order to satisfy SU-14 production requirements set by GOKO decree #2859ss issued on February 9th, 1943, as well as to ensure production in March, the State Committee of Defense decrees that:

Stalin and Ventilation

There is a story that is encountered in memoirs about Soviet tank building, describing how Stalin climbed up on the SU-152 during an inspection of new vehicles in the fall of 1943, and personally ordered that an additional ventilation fan be installed in the roof of a SU-152 after speaking to the vehicle's driver. The story may be apocryphal, but such an order was issued soon after the demonstration either way.

"To the Senior Military Representative of the GBTU USA, Engineer-Lieutenant-Colonel comrade Markin

Chelyabinsk

I report to you that, as of September 23rd, 1943, each SU-152 SPG produced must have extraction fans installed.

The factory will receive orders from the People's Commissar of Tank Production in the near future.

Chief of the GBTU Self Propelled Artillery Directorate, Almoz

Chief of the 1st Department of the GBTU USA, Engineer-Lieutenant-Colonel Demyanko"

CAMD RF 38-11369-78 p. 45a