IS-2 Tank

The IS-2 tank was designed and developed by the Soviet Union in 1943. It was fielded by the Red Army in March 1944, taking part in the last battles of World War II. It first saw combat action with the 11th Guards Heavy Tank Regiment during the Spring of 1944. Along with its derivative, the IS-3, it was the most powerful armored vehicle in that armed conflict.

The IS-2 heavy tank was not only superior to the German Panzer VI (Tiger I) but also to the M26 Pershing as the Russian tank featured a 122-mm gun, more powerful than the 88mm and the 90mm cannon on the turret of the German and American tank respectively. It was massively produced and, by the end of the war, more than 3,500 units had rolled out from the Soviet industrial plants in the East. “IS” stood for “Iosif Stalin”.

Below, a column of IS-2 heavy tanks in Berlin at the end of the WW2

The original name of the IS-2 was the IS-85; a prototype which had first been fitted with an 85-mm gun, but later it would finally be replaced by the 122-mm gun and redesignated IS-122 in September 1943. However, when it entered mass production at the end of that year, it was renamed again as the IS-2. It officially entered service with the Red Army in late March 1944 and it would first see combat action the following month, April. It would play an important role, as part of the Soviet armored divisions, in Operation Bagration, which began on June 23, 1944. During the Battle of Berlin, the IS-2, IS-3, and the T-34 tank made up the spearheads of the Soviet armored divisions that entered the capital of the Third Reich.

Specifications

Type: Heavy Tank

Length: 9.9 m (32 ft, 5.8 in)

Width: 3 m (10 ft, 1.5 in)

Height: 2.7 m (8 ft, 11.5 in)

Armor: 160-mm-thick on the turret front, and 110-mm on the turret side; 120-mm thick on the hull glacis.

Power Plant: One V-2-IS, V-12 diesel engine, developing 600 HP.

Maximum Speed: 37 km/h (on road)

Range: 250 km

Armament: one 122-mm gun; one 12.7-mm machine gun; one 7.62-mm machine gun.

Crew: 4 men.

Below, side view of the plan drawing of the IS-2m version.