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240 km (150 mi) Cross-country: 180 km (110 mi) [2] Maximum speed. 37 km/h (23 mph) The IS-2 (Russian: ИС-2, sometimes romanized as JS-2[note 1]) is a Soviet heavy tank, the second of the IS tank series named after the Soviet leader Joseph Stalin.
- A New Standard in Hell: The IS-2
- Precursors: The IS-1 and Is-100
- The IS-122
- The IS-2 Model 1943
- Production
- The IS-2 Model 1944
- The Is-2M
- The IS-2 in Action
- Postwar Career
- Unused Design
As the escalation between German and Russian engineers reached a new point with the introduction on the German side of the Panther and Tiger, and the knowledge that something bigger was brewing, the IS-2 was pressed into introduction as soon as its main armament was ready. With a partly sloped frontal armor, 120 mm (4.72 in) thick and, moreover, a ...
The IS-1 was an improvement over previous designs, combining the hull developed for the KV-13 prototypes with the new three-man KV-85 turret, fielding the new D5-T 85 mm (3.35 in) gun. The only issue with this gun was that the new medium T-34/85, which sported the same gun, was released in the meantime, entering service during the winter 1943/44. S...
The choice of a new 122 mm (4.8 in) gun was studied by Kotin’s team at Zavod Nr.9. As shown at Kursk, the 122 and 152 mm (5.98 in) guns were better suited to take on on the new German tanks, the Tiger, Panther and Elefant. It was obvious that, aside the 85 mm (3.35 in) gun, more suitable for the next evolution of the T-34, a 122 mm would be most re...
Armor
The first version of the IS-2 (production name) was equipped with the A19 gun, and production started in November 1943 at the Chelyabinsk factory. Initial proposals for the turret included a 152 mm (5.98 in) howitzer, a 50 mm (1.97 in) mortar capable of launching smoke shells or flares and, most importantly, a fully revolving commander cupola also serving a DSHT heavy machine gun. The latter was intended for AA defense and was finally accepted in the definitive production design. The second g...
Powerplant
The diesel engine was the V2-IC, basically the same already installed in the KV-1, with some antiquated features, but also some improvements. There was an inertial starter with manual and electric drives or compressed air which could be activated from the inside. The electric inertial starter was an auxiliary electric motor giving 0.88 kW. There was a NK-1 high pressure pump with variable speed master RNA-1 and leak proof fuel cells. Air filtering through the fighting compartment was obtained...
Drivetrain
The drivetrain was identical to the one of KV-85 and very similar to that of the KV-1, with 6 double cast metal 550 mm (21.65 in) road wheels suspended by robust torsion arms on each side and three return rollers. The front idlers were of the same kind as the roadwheels to ease production, while the large dented rear drive sprockets were also unchanged since the beginning. The track was also consistent with previous models, counting 86 links, 650 mm (25.59 in) wide each. The transmission comp...
The bulk of the production started in February 1944, with around 2,252 delivered until the end of the year, perhaps 50% being of the new IS-2 1944 model. There was a subtle difference concerning the nose, between the one manufactured by Chelyabinsk (rounded cast) in August 1944, and the UZTM nose which had a flat lower bow plate. But as soon as the...
By 1944, a new version of the 122 mm (4.8 in) gun, the D-25T, already tested in January on a single IS-122, was accepted in service to replace the A19. It had a 780-790 m/sec muzzle velocity (2600 ft/sec) and could penetrate 140 mm (5.51 in) of armor at 500 m (550 yards). But, most important, the breech mechanism, although still semi-automatic, was...
Another version was experimentally built in the summer of 1944. It was a radical departure from the series, with the transmission and fighting compartments relocated to the rear, the engine in the center and driver and radio at the front. The chassis was reworked with a new drivetrain comprising larger doubled roadwheels and no return rollers. In t...
Tactically, the IS-2s were deployed with the elite Guards Battalions, which acted on request wherever a strongpoint was encountered. Its capacity to destroy Panthers and Tigers, as well as fortifications with HE rounds, made it irreplaceable. A typical Guard Tank Brigade had 3 regiments of 65 IS-2s each. Independent Guard units also existed with fe...
The IS-2M was the new standard of modifications, which was applied to nearly all remaining IS-2s after the war. Before this, the IS-2s had been in the first line for 15 years. This set of overhauls spanned from 1954 to 1958. Starting in 1959, some experiments to convert limited numbers of IS-2s into tactical missile mobile launchers gave several tu...
Nikolai Fedorovich Shashmurin, a well-known tank designer, drew up plans for a possible alternative to the IS-2. Unofficially named the IS-2Sh (Sh = Shashmurin) or simply Shashmurin’s IS-2, it was a complete redesign of the IS. It featured a rear-mounted turret carrying the 122mm gun, large single roadwheels and heavily sloped frontal hull armor. T...
- 4 (commander, loader, gunner, driver)
- 46 tonnes (90,000 lbs)
- V2 diesel V12, 600 bhp (450 kW)
May 13, 2024 · After being introduced toward the end of the war, the IS-2 became the first armored unit to open fire on Reichstag, ultimately helping Russian forces march into the heart of Nazi Germany and...
The IS-2, born in war, was the epitome of armored warfare, combining powerful weaponry and increased protection. Let’s have a look at the IS-2 heavy tank’s origins, development, and battlefield performance. Origins of Soviet Heavy Tanks.
Feb 12, 2019 · The IS-2 was the most powerful and heavily armored of the Soviet serial tanks of the war period, and one of the strongest tanks at that time in the world. Tanks of this type played a...
Aug 26, 2019 · Allotted to small, independent units similar to the German Tiger companies, the 46-ton IS-2 proved intrinsically superior to the Panther medium tank and able to hold its own against the Tiger I and II heavies in gun duels up to 3,000 feet.
The IS-2 [Iosef Stalin 2] was the first production version, weighing over 40 tons. The IS-2 heavy tank was equipped with external fuel tanks and a 122mm gun. During 1944 further development efforts led to improvement in the the armor which later led to the IS-3.
