The Great Patriotic War is called the "war of engines" for a reason. The outcome of the largest military operations depended on tanks and self-propelled guns. For the Germans, the Ferdinand self-propelled artillery mount became one of the most popular combat transport units, for the USSR - SAU-152.
It is noteworthy that these machines were not mass-produced: the Wehrmacht industry produced 91 installations, and the Soviet Union - 670. Information about the history of creation, device, performance characteristics and combat use of the SAU-152 is presented in this article.
Introduction
SAU-152 is a Soviet heavy self-propelled artillery installation of the times of the Great Patriotic War. Developed from June to October 1943. Due to the fact that the IS tank served as the basis for the creation of this combat unit, the vehicle is listed in the technical documentation as the ISU-152 self-propelled guns. In service with the Red Army since November 1943. The weapons designers of the Wehrmacht created a line of tanks that posed a serious threat to Soviet armored vehicles. German combat units could be destroyed with armor-piercing caliber shells,released at the minimum distance. The situation improved with the appearance of the SAU-152 tank on the battlefield. According to experts, he became a real killer of German armored vehicles, namely the Tigers and Panthers. For this reason, the new Soviet combat unit is also called the ISU-152 SPG "St. John's wort".
With an armor-piercing shell, he smashed any fascist medium tank. When armor-piercing ended, the crew fired concrete-piercing and even high-explosive fragmentation, which had very high energy. In the battle with the self-propelled guns-152 St. Due to the high energy of the projectile from the shoulder strap of an enemy combat unit, it could even destroy the tower.
About the history of creation
Design work on the SAU-152 was started in Chelyabinsk by the designers of Pilot Plant No. 100. By this time, it was finally decided to replace the heavy tank KV-1S with a new and promising IS-1. In view of the fact that the workers' and peasants' Red Army needed the SU-152 heavy assault gun, based on the KV-1S, which was less in demand, the military command decided to adapt the gun to the new combat vehicle. Thus, on the basis of the IS-1, an analogue of the ISU-152 was created. The design work was supervised by Kotin Zh. Ya., under whose leadership a line of heavy tanks was created in the Soviet Union. Chief Designer - G. N. Moskvin. Initially, the project was listed as IS-152. Soon the first prototype "Object No. 241" was ready. After successfully passed factory and state testsThe State Defense Committee issued Decree No. 4504, according to which the new combat unit was finally named ISU-152.
About production
SAU-152 (a photo of the tank is presented in the article) began to be mass-produced in November 1943 at the Kirov plant in Chelyabinsk (ChKZ). In December, in addition to the new combat unit, they also produced old installations due to the special needs of the front. However, in 1944 - exclusively SAU-152 "St. John's wort".
According to experts, minor changes were made to the design of the machine in order to reduce the cost and increase the combat and operational qualities in the production process. For example, in 1944, rolled armor plates were used to manufacture the bow of the installation, and not one solid piece. The thickness of the armored mask was increased by 4 cm and amounted to 10 cm. In addition, the installation began to be equipped with a 12.7-mm DShK heavy-caliber anti-aircraft machine gun. The 10R radio station was replaced by an improved version of the 10RK. The designers also increased the capacity of the external and internal tanks. Due to the fact that ChKZ was too busy with work, armored hulls for self-propelled guns were supplied from the Ural heavy engineering plant.
Description
For the ISU-152, the same layout was provided as for other Soviet self-propelled artillery installations. The only exception was the SU-76 "St. John's wort" with a fully armored hull, consisting of two parts. The armored cabin became the location of the crew, guns and ammunition. So in the wheelhouseplaced the combat and management departments. The designers installed the transmission and engine at the stern. The workplace of the driver, gunner and loader is the left half of the cabin from the gun. Mechanic and gunner in front, and loader behind them.
In the right half there is room for a round landing hatch. The crew could also leave the cabin through a rectangular hatch between the roof and rear sheets of the armored tube. There is also a third round hatch in the left half. However, it is not intended for landing and disembarking of the tank crew. Through it, an extension of the panoramic sight is brought out. The emergency hatch was the fourth hatch in the bottom of the tank. Also, the combat vehicle was equipped with several additional hatches, which were used when loading ammunition, during the repair of necks in fuel tanks, assemblies and other units.
About armor protection
For the manufacture of the hull, rolled armor plates were used, the thickness of which was 2, 3, 6, 9 and 7.5 cm. The first batches of tanks were produced with cast frontal parts. In subsequent series, more resistant rolled armor was used - the frontal parts in the hulls were already welded. Unlike the previous model (SU-152), in the new self-propelled artillery mount, the body turned out to be higher, and the armored cabin is larger. The reason for this is the reduced inclined angles of the side armored plates. Since such a design solution would significantly reduce the security of the crew, the developers had to compensate for this by thickening the armor in these places.
About powertrain
The tank is equipped with a four-stroke V-shaped 12-cylinder V-2 IS diesel engine, whose power is 520 horsepower. To start it, compressed air is provided, which is contained in special tanks of the fighting compartment, an inertial starter with manual and electric drives. As the latter, an auxiliary electric motor of 0.88 kW is used. The diesel unit contains an NK-1 fuel pump, for which an all-mode regulator RNA-1 and a fuel supply corrector are provided. The air entering the engine from the tanks is cleaned by the Multicyclone filter. So that in the cold season there are no problems with starting the power unit, the engine compartment was equipped with heating devices. They also heated the fighting compartment. "St. John's wort" with three fuel tanks. The location of two was the fighting compartment, the third - the engine-transmission compartment. In addition, the self-propelled gun has four additional external fuel tanks that are not connected to a common fuel system.
About transmission
The "St. John's wort" installation has a mechanical transmission, which consists of the following components:
- Multi-disc main dry friction clutch.
- Four-speed transmission (8 forward and 2 reverse).
- Two onboard two-stage planetary slewing gears with multi-disc lockup clutch and band brakes.
- Two final drives.
Management of all transmission drives is mechanical. Unlikethe previous version, in the "St. John's wort" there were rotation mechanisms.
About chassis
SPG "St. A stroke limiter is welded in the housing opposite each roller. The drive wheels are located at the rear. The caterpillar of the tank is represented by single-ridge tracks, in the amount of 86 pieces 65 cm wide. The upper part of the caterpillar at each side, as in the SU-152, was supported by three small solid-cast rollers. The tension of the caterpillar in the "St. John's wort" was carried out by a screw-type mechanism.
About weapons
As the main weapon in the ISU-152, the howitzer-gun ML-20S of 152 mm caliber, model 1937-1943, was used. The armament was mounted on an armored plate in the front of the cabin.
In the vertical plane, the aiming of the gun was carried out at angles from -3 to +20 degrees, in the horizontal - 10 degrees. The ML-20 ensured the destruction of a target at a height of 3 m with a direct shot from a distance of 900 m. The highest combat range was 6200 m. The fire was fired mechanically using a manual or electric trigger. In addition to the main gun 152 mm. Since 1945, the self-propelled guns have been equipped with a large-caliber anti-aircraft machine gun DShK caliber 12.7 mm.
The weapon could have an open or anti-aircraft sight K-8T. A turret was attached to the rifle unit. The right round commander's hatch became the location of the machine gun. In addition to large-caliber guns,the crew of the artillery mount had two machine guns. Mostly these were PPS or PPSh submachine guns. There were also 20 F-1 grenades.
Ammunition
21 shots could be fired from the main gun. Compared to the ammunition for the ML-20, the range of shells towed for the ML-20S is more diverse. Shooting from the self-propelled guns "St. John's wort" was carried out:
- Armor-piercing tracer sharp-headed round 53-BR-540. He weighed almost 49 kg. Had an initial speed of 600 m/s.
- High-explosive fragmentation cannon shell 53-BR-540. Weight 43, 56 kg. In a second, the projectile covered a distance of 655 m.
Also, instead of a sharpened armor-piercing tracer, a blunt-headed 53-BR-54OB containing a ballistic tip could be used. Reinforced concrete bunkers were destroyed by means of a concrete-piercing cannon projectile 53-G-545. The ammunition load of the DShK anti-aircraft machine gun is represented by 250 rounds. For self-defense, the crew of the artillery mount was provided with discs for PPS and PPSh in the amount of 21 pcs.
TTX
Self-propelled artillery mount has the following parameters:
- Weighs 45.5 tons
- The SPG is 675 cm long, 325 cm wide and 245 cm high.
- There are 5 people in the crew.
- A combat vehicle with a range of 165 km moves at a speed of 43 km/h on a flat surface, and 20 km/h on a rough one.
- The specific pressure on the ground was 0.82 kg/cm2
- SPG is able to overcome meter walls, ditches - up to 2.5 m.
About the combat use of the installation
Howexperts say, the self-propelled guns-152 mm St. In addition, with the involvement of the installation in 1956, the Hungarian uprising was suppressed.
In this armed conflict, self-propelled guns were mainly used as the most powerful anti-sniper rifle - shells fired from St. John's wort destroyed rebel snipers who had settled in the building. Therefore, when they saw a self-propelled artillery mount nearby, the civilians themselves forced the shooters out of their homes. The self-propelled guns were used in the Arab-Israeli war as a firing point for shooting along the banks of the Suez Canal. With the help of self-propelled guns, they cleared rubble and shot concrete buildings when they eliminated the consequences of the Chernobyl accident.
