In this publication, an attempt is made to analyze the anti-tank capabilities of Soviet self-propelled artillery installations (ACS), which were available in the USSR during the Great Patriotic War. By the beginning of hostilities in June 1941, there were practically no self-propelled artillery installations in the Red Army, although work on their creation was carried out starting from the first half of the 30s. The self-propelled guns brought to the stage of serial production in the USSR were created on the basis of artillery systems with low ballistics and were considered as a means of supporting infantry units. The first Soviet self-propelled guns were armed with 76-mm regimental guns of the 1927 model and 122-mm howitzers of the 1910/30 model.
The first Soviet production model of the ACS was the SU-12 on the chassis of a three-axle American Moreland TX6 truck with two drive axles. On the Morland cargo platform, a column unit with a 76-mm regimental gun was mounted. Self-propelled cargo vehicles entered service in 1933 and were first demonstrated at the parade in 1934. Soon after the start of serial production of GAZ-AAA trucks in the USSR, the assembly of the SU-1-12 ACS began on their basis. According to archival data, a total of 99 SU-12 / SU-1-12 self-propelled guns were built. Of these, 48 on the basis of the Moreland truck and 51 on the basis of the Soviet GAZ-AAA truck.
SU-12 on parade
Initially, the SU-12 self-propelled guns did not have any armor protection at all, but soon a U-shaped armor shield was installed to protect the crew from bullets and shrapnel. The ammunition load of the gun was 36 shrapnel and fragmentation grenades, armor-piercing shells were not provided. The rate of fire was 10-12 rds / min. Installing a gun on a truck platform made it possible to quickly and inexpensively create an improvised self-propelled gun. The pedestal gun mount had a 270-degree firing sector, the fire from the gun could be fired both straight back and along the side. There was also a fundamental possibility of shooting on the move, but the accuracy was greatly reduced.
The SU-12's mobility on good roads was significantly higher than that of the 76-mm horse-drawn regimental guns. However, the first Soviet self-propelled gun had a lot of shortcomings. The vulnerability of the artillery crew, partially covered by a 4-mm steel shield, when firing direct fire was very high. The passability of the wheeled vehicle on soft soils left much to be desired and was seriously inferior to the horse teams of the regimental and divisional artillery. It was only possible to pull out the wheeled self-propelled gun stuck in the mud with a tractor. In this regard, it was decided to build self-propelled guns on tracked chassis, and production of the SU-12 was stopped in 1935.
The first Soviet self-propelled guns were successfully used in hostilities in the Far East against the Japanese in the late 30s and in the Winter War with Finland. All SU-12s in the western part of the country were lost shortly after the German attack, without affecting the course of hostilities.
In the 20-30s, the creation of self-propelled guns based on trucks was a global trend, and this experience in the USSR turned out to be useful. But if the installation of anti-aircraft guns on trucks made sense, then for the self-propelled guns operating in close proximity to the enemy, the use of an unprotected vehicle chassis with limited maneuverability was certainly a dead end solution.
In the pre-war period, a number of self-propelled guns based on light tanks were created in the Soviet Union. T-37A amphibious tankettes were considered as carriers of 45-mm anti-tank guns, but the matter was limited to the construction of two prototypes. The SU-5-2 self-propelled gun with a 122-mm howitzer mod. 1910/30 based on the T-26 tank. The SU-5-2 was produced in small series from 1936 to 1937; a total of 31 vehicles were built.
SU-5-2
The ammunition load of the 122-mm self-propelled gun SU-5-2 was 4 shells and 6 charges. Angles of guidance horizontally - 30 °, vertically from 0 ° to + 60 °. The maximum initial velocity of a fragmentation projectile is 335 m / s, the maximum firing range is 7680 m, the rate of fire is 5-6 rds / min. The thickness of the frontal armor was 15 mm, the side and stern were 10 mm, that is, the armor protection was quite adequate to withstand bullets and shrapnel, but it was available only in the front and partly on the sides.
In general, the SU-5-2 had good fighting qualities for its time, which was confirmed during the hostilities near Lake Khasan. In the reports of the command of the 2nd Mechanized Brigade of the Red Army, it was noted: "122-mm self-propelled guns provided great support to tanks and infantry, destroying enemy wire barriers and firing points."
Due to the small number of 76-mm SU-12 and 122-mm SU-5-2, they did not have a noticeable effect on the course of hostilities in the initial period of the war. The anti-tank capabilities of the 76-mm SU-12 were low, with increased vulnerability of both the self-propelled gun itself and the calculation for bullets and shrapnel. With an initial speed of the 76-mm blunt-headed armor-piercing projectile BR-350A - 370 m / s at a distance of 500 meters, when meeting at an angle of 90 °, it pierced 30 mm armor, which made it possible to fight only with light German tanks and armored vehicles. Before the appearance of cumulative shells in the ammunition load of regimental guns, their anti-tank capabilities were very modest.
Despite the fact that the 122-mm howitzers did not have armor-piercing shells in the ammunition load, the firing of high-explosive fragmentation grenades was often quite effective. So, with the weight of the 53-OF-462 projectile - 21, 76 kg, it contained 3, 67 kg of TNT, which in 1941, with a direct hit, made it possible to guaranteed to hit any German tank. When the shell burst, heavy fragments were formed, capable of penetrating armor up to 20 mm thick within a radius of 2-3 meters. This was quite enough to destroy the armor of armored personnel carriers and light tanks, as well as disable the chassis, observation devices, sights and weapons. That is, with the correct tactics of use and the presence of a significant number of SU-5-2 in the troops, these SPGs in the initial period of the war could fight not only with fortifications and infantry, but also with German tanks.
Before the war, an ACS with a high anti-tank potential had already been created in the USSR. In 1936, the SU-6 was tested, armed with a 76-mm 3-K anti-aircraft gun on the chassis of a T-26 light tank. This vehicle was intended for anti-aircraft escort of motorized columns. She did not suit the military, since the entire crew did not fit in the artillery mount, and the installer of remote tubes was forced to move in an escort vehicle.
SU-6
Not very successful as an anti-aircraft, ACS SU-6 could become a very effective anti-tank weapon, acting from pre-prepared positions and from ambushes. The BR-361 armor-piercing projectile fired from the 3-K gun at a distance of 1000 meters at a 90 ° meeting angle pierced 82-mm armor. In 1941-1942, the capabilities of the 76-mm ACS SU-6 allowed it to successfully fight any German tanks at real firing ranges. When using sub-caliber projectiles, the armor penetration rates would be much higher. Unfortunately, the SU-6 never entered service as an anti-tank self-propelled artillery unit (PT ACS).
Many researchers refer to the KV-2 tank as a heavy assault self-propelled gun. Formally, thanks to the rotating turret, the KV-2 is identified as a tank. But in fact, a combat vehicle armed with a unique 152-mm tank howitzer arr. 1938/40 (M-10T), in many respects it was an ACS. The M-10T howitzer was vertically guided in the range from −3 to + 18 °, with a stationary turret position it could be guided in a small horizontal guidance sector, which was typical for self-propelled installations. Ammunition was 36 rounds of separate-case loading.
The KV-2 was created on the basis of the experience of fighting Finnish bunkers on the Mannerheim Line. The thickness of the frontal and side armor was 75 mm, and the thickness of the gun mantlet was 110 mm, which made it less vulnerable to anti-tank guns of 37-50 mm caliber. However, the high security of the KV-2 was often devalued by low technical reliability and poor training of driver mechanics.
With the power of the V-2K diesel engine - 500 hp, the 52-ton car on the highway could theoretically accelerate to 34 km / h. In reality, the speed on a good road did not exceed 25 km / h. On rough terrain, the tank moved at a pedestrian speed of 5-7 km / h. Taking into account the fact that the KV-2's cross-country ability on soft soils was not very good, and it was not easy to pull out the tank stuck in the mud, it was necessary to choose the route of movement very carefully. Due to the excessive weight and dimensions, crossing water obstacles often became an unsolvable task, bridges and crossings could not stand, and a lot of KV-2s were simply abandoned during the retreat.
KV-2 captured by the enemy
On June 22, 1941, the KV-2 ammunition contained only OF-530 high-explosive fragmentation grenades weighing 40 kg, containing about 6 kg of TNT. The hit of such a shell in any German tank in 1941 inevitably turned it into a heap of flaming scrap metal. In practice, due to the impossibility of equipping the ammunition with standard ammunition, all the shells of the M-10 towed howitzer were used for firing. In this case, the required number of bunches of gunpowder was removed from the sleeve. Used cast iron fragmentation howitzer grenades, incendiary shells, old high-explosive grenades and even shrapnel, put on strike. When shooting at German tanks, concrete-piercing shells showed good results.
The M-10T gun had a whole set of shortcomings that devalued its effectiveness on the battlefield. Due to the imbalance of the tower, the standard electric motor could not always cope with its weight, which made the rotation of the tower very difficult. Even with a small angle of inclination of the tank, the turret was often impossible to rotate. Due to the excessive recoil, the gun could only be fired when the tank came to a complete stop. The recoil of the gun could simply disable both the turret turning mechanism and the engine-transmission group, and this despite the fact that shooting from the tank M-10T was strictly prohibited at full charge. The practical rate of fire with the refinement of the aiming was - 2 rds / min, which, in combination with the low turret traverse speed and the relatively short range of a direct shot, reduced the anti-tank capabilities.
Due to all this, the combat effectiveness of the machine, created for offensive combat operations and the destruction of enemy fortifications, when firing direct fire from a distance of several hundred meters was low. However, most of the KV-2 was lost not in duels with German tanks, but as a result of damage from German artillery fire, attacks from dive bombers, engine, transmission and chassis breakdowns, and lack of fuel and lubricants. Shortly after the start of the war, the production of the KV-2 was phased out. In total, 204 vehicles were built from January 1940 to July 1941.
In the initial period of the war, a significant number of damaged and faulty T-26 light tanks of various modifications accumulated at the tank repair enterprises. Often the tanks had damage to the turret or weapons, which prevented their further use. Two-turret tanks with machine-gun armament also demonstrated their complete failure. Under these conditions, it seemed quite logical to convert tanks with faulty or outdated weapons into ACS. It is known that a number of vehicles with dismantled turrets were rearmed with 37 and 45 mm anti-tank guns with armor shields. According to archival documents, such self-propelled guns, for example, were available in October 1941 in the 124th Tank Brigade, but the images of the vehicles have not survived. In terms of firepower, the improvised self-propelled guns did not surpass the T-26 tanks with a 45-mm gun, inferior in terms of crew protection. But the advantage of such vehicles was a much better view of the battlefield, and even in the conditions of catastrophic losses in the first months of the war, any combat-ready armored vehicles were worth their weight in gold. With competent tactics of using 37 and 45-mm self-propelled guns in 1941, they could quite successfully fight enemy tanks.
In the fall of 1941, self-propelled guns armed with 76-mm KT cannons were produced at the Leningrad Kirov plant on the repaired T-26 chassis. This gun was a tank version of the 76-mm regimental gun of the 1927 model, with similar ballistics and ammunition. In different sources, these self-propelled guns were designated differently: T-26-SU, SU-T-26, but most often SU-76P or SU-26. The SU-26 gun had a circular fire, the front crew was covered with an armor shield.
Padded SU-26
Later versions, built in 1942, also had armor protection on the sides. According to archival data, 14 SU-26 self-propelled guns were built in Leningrad during the war years, some of them survived until the blockade was broken. Of course, the anti-tank potential of these self-propelled guns was very weak, and they were used mainly for artillery support for tanks and infantry.
The first Soviet specialized tank destroyer was the ZIS-30, armed with a 57-mm anti-tank gun mod. 1941 Very often this weapon is called the ZIS-2, but this is not entirely correct. From the PTO ZIS-2, the production of which was resumed in 1943, the 57-mm gun mod. 1941 differed in a number of details, although in general the design was the same. Anti-tank 57-mm guns had excellent armor penetration and were guaranteed to penetrate the frontal armor of any German tank at the beginning of the war.
ZIS-30
PT ACS ZIS-30 was a light anti-tank installation with an openly located gun. The upper machine tool was attached in the middle to the body of the T-20 "Komsomolets" light tractor. The vertical guidance angles ranged from -5 to + 25 °, horizontally in the 30 ° sector. The practical rate of fire reached 20 rds / min. From bullets and shrapnel, the crew, which consisted of 5 people, was protected in battle only by a gun shield. The cannon could only fire from the spot. Due to the high center of gravity and strong recoil, in order to avoid overturning, it was necessary to fold the openers in the rear of the ACS. For self-defense of the self-propelled unit, there was a 7.62 mm DT machine gun inherited from the Komsomolets tractor.
Serial production of the ZIS-30 self-propelled guns began at the end of September 1941 at the Nizhny Novgorod Machine-Building Plant and lasted only about a month. During this time, it was possible to build 101 self-propelled guns. According to the official version, the production of the ZIS-30 was discontinued due to the lack of Komsomolets tractors, but even if this is so, what prevented the installation of very effective anti-tank 57-mm guns on the chassis of light tanks?
The most likely reason for the curtailment of the construction of a 57-mm tank destroyer was, most likely, difficulties with the production of gun barrels. The percentage of rejects in the manufacture of barrels reached completely indecent values, and it was not possible to correct this situation on the existing machine park, despite the efforts of the labor collective of the manufacturer. It is this, and not the "excessive power" of 57-mm anti-tank guns, that explains their insignificant production volumes in 1941 and the subsequent rejection of serial construction. Gorky Artillery Plant No. 92, and V. G. Grabin turned out to be easier, based on the design of the 57-mm gun mod. 1941, to organize the production of the divisional 76-mm gun, which became widely known as the ZIS-3. The 76-mm divisional gun of the 1942 model (ZIS-3) at the time of creation had quite acceptable armor penetration, while possessing a more powerful high-explosive fragmentation projectile. Subsequently, this weapon became widespread and was popular among the troops. The ZIS-3 was in service not only in divisional artillery, specially modified guns were used by anti-tank fighter units and were installed on self-propelled gun mounts. Subsequently, the production of 57-mm PTO, after making some changes in the design under the name ZIS-2, was resumed in 1943. This became possible after the receipt of a perfect machine park from the USA, which made it possible to solve the problem with the manufacture of barrels.
As for the ZIS-30 self-propelled gun, this self-propelled gun, in the face of an acute shortage of anti-tank weapons, initially proved to be quite good. The artillerymen, who had previously dealt with 45-mm anti-tank guns, especially liked the high armor penetration and direct firing range. During combat use, the self-propelled gun revealed a number of serious shortcomings: overloaded undercarriage, insufficient power reserve, small ammunition and a tendency to overturn. However, all this was quite predictable, since the ZIS-30 self-propelled gun was a typical ersatz - a model of wartime, created in a hurry from the chassis and artillery unit available, which were not very suitable for each other. By the middle of 1942, almost all ZIS-30s were lost during the fighting. However, they proved to be a very useful means of dealing with German tanks. The ZIS-30 self-propelled guns were in service with the anti-tank batteries of the tank brigades of the Western and South-Western fronts and took an active part in the defense of Moscow.
After the stabilization of the situation at the front and a number of successful offensive operations of the Red Army, an urgent need arose for self-propelled guns for artillery support. Unlike tanks, self-propelled guns were not supposed to directly participate in the attack. Moving at a distance of 500-600 meters from the advancing troops, they suppressed firing points with the fire of their guns, destroyed fortifications and destroyed enemy infantry. That is, a typical "artillery attack" was required, to use the terminology of the enemy. This set different requirements for ACS compared to tanks. The protection of self-propelled guns could be less, but it was preferable to increase the caliber of the guns, and, as a result, the power of the shells.
Production of the SU-76 began in the late autumn of 1942. This self-propelled gun was created on the basis of light tanks T-60 and T-70 using a number of automotive units and is armed with a 76-mm ZIS-ZSh (Sh - assault) gun - a variant of a divisional gun specially developed for the ACS. The vertical guidance angles ranged from -3 to + 25 °, horizontally in the 15 ° sector. The elevation angle of the gun made it possible to reach the firing range of the ZIS-3 divisional gun, that is, 13 km. The ammunition load was 60 shells. The thickness of the frontal armor is 26-35 mm, the side and stern -10-15 mm made it possible to protect the crew (4 people) from small arms fire and shrapnel. The first serial modification also had an armored 7 mm roof.
The power plant of the SU-76 was a pair of two GAZ-202 automobile engines with a total power of 140 hp. As conceived by the designers, this was supposed to reduce the cost of production of the ACS, but was the reason for massive reclamations from the army. The power plant was very difficult to control, the asynchronous operation of the engines caused strong torsional vibrations, which led to a rapid failure of the transmission.
SU-76
The first 25 SU-76s manufactured in January 1943 were sent to a self-propelled artillery training regiment. A month later, the first two self-propelled artillery regiments (SAP) formed on the SU-76 went to the Volkhov front and took part in breaking the blockade of Leningrad. During the fighting, self-propelled guns demonstrated good mobility and maneuverability. The firepower of the guns made it possible to effectively destroy light field fortifications and destroy accumulations of enemy manpower. But at the same time, there was a massive failure of transmission elements and engines. This led to a halt in mass production after the release of 320 cars. The refinement of the engine-transmission compartment did not lead to a fundamental design change. To improve the reliability, it was decided to strengthen its elements in order to increase the reliability and increase the service life. Subsequently, the power of the twin propulsion system was increased to 170 hp. In addition, the armored roof of the fighting compartment was abandoned, which made it possible to reduce the mass from 11, 2 to 10, 5 tons and improved the crew working conditions and visibility. In the stowed position, to protect against road dust and precipitation, the fighting compartment was covered with a tarpaulin. This variant of the SPG, designated SU-76M, managed to take part in the Battle of Kursk. The understanding that an SPG is not a tank did not come immediately to many commanders. Attempts to use the SU-76M with bulletproof armor in frontal attacks on well-fortified enemy positions inevitably led to large losses. It was then that this self-propelled gun earned unflattering nicknames among the front-line soldiers: "bitch", "naked ferdinand" and "mass grave of the crew." However, with proper use, the SU-76M performed well. On the defensive, they repelled infantry attacks and were used as a protected mobile anti-tank reserve. In the offensive, self-propelled guns suppressed machine-gun nests, destroyed bunkers and bunkers, made passages in barbed wire with cannon fire, and, if necessary, fought counter-attacking tanks.
In the second half of the war, the 76-mm armor-piercing projectile was no longer guaranteed to hit the German medium tanks Pz. IV late modifications and heavy Pz. V "Panther" and Pz. VI "Tiger", and the shooting of cumulative shells used in regimental guns, due to the unreliable operation of the fuses and the possibility of bursting in the barrel for divisional and tank guns, was strictly prohibited. This problem was resolved after the introduction of the 53-UBR-354P round with the 53-BR-350P sub-caliber projectile into the ammunition load. The sub-caliber projectile at a distance of 500 meters pierced 90 mm armor along the normal, which made it possible to confidently hit the frontal armor of the German "fours", as well as the sides of the "Tigers" and "Panthers". Of course, the SU-76M was not suitable for duels with tanks and anti-tank self-propelled guns of the enemy, which, starting from 1943, were en masse armed with long-barreled guns with high ballistics. But when operating from ambushes, various kinds of shelters and in street battles, the chances were good. Good mobility and high cross-country ability on soft soils also played a role. Competent use of camouflage, taking into account the terrain, as well as maneuvering from one shelter dug in the ground to another, often made it possible to achieve victory even over heavy enemy tanks. The demand for the SU-76M as a universal means of artillery support for infantry and tank units is confirmed by the huge circulation - 14,292 built vehicles.
At the very end of the war, the role of 76-mm self-propelled guns as a means of combating enemy armored vehicles decreased. By that time, our troops were already sufficiently saturated with specialized anti-tank guns and tank destroyers, and enemy tanks became a rarity. During this period, the SU-76M were used exclusively for their intended purpose, as well as as an armored personnel carrier for transporting infantry, evacuating the wounded, and as a vehicle for forward artillery observers.
At the beginning of 1943, on the basis of captured German tanks Pz. Kpfw III and ACS StuG III began production of ACS SU-76I. In terms of security, with practically the same characteristics of weapons, they significantly exceeded the SU-76. The thickness of the frontal armor of captured vehicles, depending on the modification, was 30-60 mm. The conning tower and sides were protected by 30 mm armor, the roof thickness was 10 mm. The wheelhouse had the shape of a truncated pyramid with rational angles of inclination of armor plates, which increased armor resistance. Some of the vehicles intended for use as commanders were equipped with a powerful radio station and commander's turrets with an entrance hatch from the Pz. Kpfw III.
Commander SU-76I
Initially, the SPG, created on the basis of trophies, was planned, by analogy with the SU-76, to arm the 76.2 mm ZIS-3Sh cannon. But in the case of using this weapon, reliable protection of the embrasure of the weapon from bullets and shrapnel was not ensured, since slots were invariably formed in the shield when lifting and turning the weapon. In this case, the special self-propelled 76, 2-mm gun S-1 turned out to be very useful. Previously, it was created on the basis of the tank F-34, especially for the light experimental self-propelled guns of the Gorky Automobile Plant. The angles of vertical aiming of the gun are from - 5 to 15 °, horizontally - in the sector ± 10 °. The ammunition load was 98 shells. On command vehicles, due to the use of a more bulky and powerful radio station, the ammunition load was reduced.
The production of the car lasted from March to November 1943. The SU-76I, built in an amount of about 200 copies, despite the better protection compared to the SU-76, was not suitable for the role of a light tank destroyer. The practical rate of fire of the gun was no more than 5 - 6 rds / min. And in terms of armor penetration characteristics, the S-1 gun was completely identical to the tank F-34. However, several cases of successful use of the SU-76I against German medium tanks have been documented. The first vehicles began to enter the troops in May 1943, that is, a few months later than the SU-76, but unlike Soviet self-propelled guns, they did not cause any particular complaints. The SU-76I was loved among the troops, the self-propelled guns noted the high reliability, ease of control and the abundance of observation devices compared to the SU-76. In addition, in terms of mobility on rough terrain, the self-propelled gun was practically not inferior to the T-34 tanks, surpassing them in speed on good roads. Despite the presence of an armored roof, the crews liked the relative spaciousness inside the fighting compartment compared to other Soviet self-propelled gun mounts, the commander, gunner and loader in the conning tower were not too constrained. As a significant disadvantage, the difficulty of starting the engine in severe frost was noted.
Self-propelled artillery regiments armed with SU-76I received their baptism of fire during the Battle of Kursk, where, on the whole, they showed themselves well. In July 1943, based on the experience of combat use on the mask of the SU-76I gun, an armored baffle was installed to prevent the gun from jamming with bullets and shrapnel. To increase the range, the SU-76I began to be equipped with two external gas tanks, mounted on easily resettable brackets along the stern.
Self-propelled guns SU-76I were actively used during the Belgorod-Kharkov operation, while many vehicles that received combat damage were restored several times. In the active army, SU-76Is were encountered until mid-1944, after which the vehicles that survived the battles were decommissioned due to extreme wear and tear and lack of spare parts.
In addition to 76-mm guns, attempts were made to mount a 122-mm M-30 howitzer on the captured chassis. It is known about the construction of several machines under the name SG-122 "Artshturm" or abbreviated SG-122A. This self-propelled gun was created on the basis of the StuG III Ausf. C or Ausf. D. It is known about the order of 10 self-propelled guns in September 1942, but information about whether this order was completed in full is not preserved.
SG-122A
The 122 mm M-30 howitzer could not be installed in the standard German wheelhouse. The Soviet-made conning tower was significantly higher. The thickness of the frontal armor of the cabin is 45 mm, the sides are 35 mm, the stern is 25 mm, the roof is 20 mm. The vehicle was not very successful, experts noted the excessive congestion of the front rollers and the high gas content of the fighting compartment when firing. The self-propelled guns on a captured chassis after the installation of a Soviet-made armored jacket turned out to be tight and had weaker booking than the German StuG III. The lack of good sighting devices and observation devices at that time also negatively affected the combat characteristics of self-propelled guns. It can be noted that in addition to the alteration of trophies in the Red Army in 1942-1943, a lot of captured German armored vehicles were used unchanged. So, on the Kursk Bulge, captured SU-75 (StuG III) and "Marder III" fought alongside the T-34.
The SU-122 self-propelled gun, built on the chassis of the Soviet T-34 tank, turned out to be more viable. The total number of parts borrowed from the tank was 75%, the rest of the parts were new, specially made for a self-propelled installation. In many ways, the appearance of the SU-122 is associated with the experience of operating captured German "artillery attacks" in the troops. Assault guns were much cheaper than tanks, spacious conning houses made it possible to install larger caliber guns. The use of the 122 mm M-30 howitzer as a weapon promised a number of significant benefits. This gun could well have been placed in the conning tower of the self-propelled guns, which was confirmed by the experience of creating the SG-122A. Compared to the 76-mm projectile, the howitzer 122-mm high-explosive fragmentation projectile had a significantly greater destructive effect. The 122-mm projectile, which weighed 21, 76 kg, contained 3, 67 explosives, against 6, 2 kg of the "three-inch" projectile with 710 gr. explosive. One shot of a 122 mm gun could achieve more than a few shots of a 76 mm gun. The powerful high-explosive action of the 122-mm projectile made it possible to destroy not only wooden and earth fortifications, but also concrete pillboxes or solid brick buildings. HEAT shells could also be successfully used to destroy highly defended fortifications.
SU-122
The SU-122 self-propelled gun was not born out of nowhere, at the end of 1941 the concept of a reckless tank with full preservation of the T-34 chassis, armed with a 76-mm cannon, was proposed. The weight savings achieved by abandoning the turret made it possible to increase the thickness of the frontal armor to 75 mm. The complexity of manufacturing was reduced by 25%. Later, these developments were used to create a 122-mm self-propelled gun.
In terms of the level of security, the SU-122 practically did not differ from the T-34. The self-propelled gun was armed with a tank modification of the 122-mm divisional howitzer mod. 1938 - М-30С, while maintaining a number of features of the towed gun. So, the placement of the controls for the aiming mechanisms on opposite sides of the barrel required the presence of two gunners in the crew, which, of course, did not add free space in the self-propelled gun. The range of elevation angles was from −3 ° to + 25 °, the horizontal firing sector was ± 10 °. The maximum firing range is 8000 meters. Rate of fire - 2-3 rds / min. Ammunition from 32 to 40 rounds of separate-case loading, depending on the series of release. These were mainly high-explosive fragmentation shells.
The need for such machines at the front was huge, despite a number of remarks revealed during the tests, the self-propelled gun was adopted. The first self-propelled gun regiment SU-122 was formed at the end of 1942. The 122 mm self-propelled guns appeared on the front in February 1943 and were received with great enthusiasm. Combat tests of self-propelled guns in order to work out tactics of use took place in early February 1943. The most successful option was the use of the SU-122 to support the advancing infantry and tanks, being behind them at a distance of 400-600 meters. In the course of breaking through the enemy defense, self-propelled guns with the fire of their guns carried out the suppression of enemy firing points, destroyed obstacles and barriers, and also repelled counterattacks.
When a 122-mm high-explosive fragmentation projectile hits a medium tank, as a rule, it is destroyed or disabled. According to the reports of German tankers who took part in the battle of Kursk, they repeatedly recorded cases of serious damage to heavy tanks Pz. VI "Tiger" as a result of shelling with 122-mm howitzer shells.
Here is what Major Gomille Commander III writes about this. Abteilung / Panzer Regiment of the Panzer Division Grossdeutschland: "… Hauptmann von Williborn, the commander of the 10th company, was seriously wounded during the battle. His "Tiger" received a total of eight hits from 122-mm shells from assault guns based on the T-34 tank. One shell pierced the side armor of the hull. The tower was hit by six shells, three of which made only small dents in the armor, the other two cracked the armor and chipped off small pieces of it. The sixth round broke off a huge piece of armor (the size of two palms), which flew into the fighting compartment of the tank. The electrical circuit of the electric triggering of the gun was out of order, the observation devices were broken or knocked out of the attachment points. The welded seam of the tower parted, and a half-meter crack was formed, which could not be welded by the forces of the field repair team."
On the whole, evaluating the anti-tank capabilities of the SU-122, it can be stated that they were very weak. This, in fact, served as a result of one of the main reasons for the removal of the ACS from production. Despite the presence in the ammunition load of the BP-460A cumulative shells weighing 13.4 kg, with 175 mm armor penetration, it was possible to hit a moving tank from the first shot only from an ambush or in combat in a populated area. A total of 638 vehicles were built, production of the SU-122 self-propelled guns was completed in the summer of 1943. Nevertheless, several self-propelled guns of this type survived until the end of hostilities, taking part in the assault on Berlin.
