How did you call the self-propelled SU-152? And was she really "St. John's wort"?

Among the samples of Soviet military equipment from the times of the Great Patriotic War, there is a place for the "Zveroboy", released in a relatively small number (670 copies), as the SU-152 self-propelled unit was nicknamed in the troops. There were two types of ACS that can be confused, especially since their names are very similar. The guns installed in the felling of both cars are the same - this is a remarkable ML-20 gun. But the chassis of the ISU-152 is much more powerful, it inherited from the heavy tank IS-2.

The name of the self-propelled SU-152 got used to both cars, but since there is a difference between them, one should pay attention to the one with the KV chassis, to consider the history of the creation and the reasons for its appearance at the front.

Howitzer on the chassis of a heavy tank

On the chassis of the tank KV already put this howitzer, however, it was done differently. During the war with Finland, siege weapons with a rotating tower KV-2 were used for combat use. These samples had a number of drawbacks, in particular, a very high profile, which unmasked the technique and facilitated the entry of enemy weapons into it. In order to reduce the weight and height of the automatic control system and to simplify the technology of its production, in 1943 tank engineers from Chelyabinsk decided to install the gun in the fixed wheelhouse. In December of the same year, the experimental design work was completed, and the Chelyabinsk Metallurgical Plant commenced serial production.

There is nothing surprising in the name of the installation. SU-152 and deciphered: self-propelled plant with a gun caliber 152 mm.

Tank Destroyer

Actually, any counterattack of tank formations, according to the classical tactical science, is a consequence of the mistake of the command. A competent officer or general must take care of the secret concentration of his armored vehicles on that part of the enemy's defense, where there will be no serious counteraction. However, World War II broke the established stereotypes, and tanks often fought each other. By 1943, the Germans had "Tigers" capable of causing a tangible loss to Soviet armored vehicles from distant positions, so there was a need for a special class - a tank destroyer. The "St. John's wort," as the SU-152 self-propelled unit was nicknamed almost immediately, was to become just such a machine, although the ML-20 howitzer was created for another task - the breakthrough of the fortified echeloned positions of a well-entrenched enemy.

Advantages of SU-152

It is not known how German tankmen nicknamed the SU-152 self-propelled unit, but it delivered a lot of troubles. Soviet self-propelled guns could fire from hidden positions on a hinged trajectory, however, for this, benchmarks or corrections were needed.

The main advantage of the new technology was a super-powerful caliber and a long range of aimed fire. The mass of the projectile was from 40 to 49 kilograms, and when hit guaranteed to destroy any armored target. The real distance, allowing to reasonably hope for such a result, was a distance of 1800 meters. The chassis and mechanics had design flaws, but there were not more of them than the main enemy - the Tiger T-VI tank.

At first glance these are very impressive characteristics, but there were also problems that make it doubtful that the nickname of the self-propelled SU-152 is well-founded.

The main "beast"

In order to objectively assess the chances of our self-propelled gun during the artillery duel with the "Tiger", it is necessary to compare the capabilities of these machines in this situation.

So, the first thing you should pay attention to is the range of the aimed fire. It is approximately the same for these two samples, but it should be noted that the quality of German optics by Carl Zeiss is higher than ours, although Soviet sights can not be called bad.

The second important factor is rate of fire. Our self-propelled gunners could do just two shots per minute, interfered with the heavy weight of the projectile (up to 60 kg) and the tightness in the wheelhouse. During the same time, the Germans could have fired six times.

The subject of the third comparison is the caliber. This is exactly what caused the unofficial name of the self-propelled plant SU-152. Here, the superiority of our automatic control system over the enemy "beast" is undeniable. Where there are 88 millimeters against our 152! The trouble was that the German caliber was enough to break through the six-centimeter armor of the Soviet self-propelled gun. And the Germans had much more ammunition in the ammunition - 90 against our twenty. And yet, at the "Tiger" the tower was rotated by an electric motor, and the ML-20 had a corner of the turn just 12 degrees in each direction.

People win

Given all the characteristics, we can conclude that our self-propelled gun in the collision with the "Tiger" was almost doomed, but it is not. Each time the outcome of the duel was influenced by many factors, including the training of crews, the availability of combat experience, and the knowledge of the terrain, and simply courage. It was important and take a better position, and as soon as possible to detect the enemy, and the first to shoot, and, most importantly, get. And often all of this was achieved better for our tank artillerymen than for the Germans. And then they could praise their car: "St. John's wort!" (As the Red Army soldiers nicknamed the SU-152 self-propelled unit).