In December 1942, the ChKZ design bureau (Chelyabinsk Kirovsky plant) received a task to develop a heavy assault gun. In record time, in just 25 days, the plant staff presented a finished prototype of the machine, which has the factory designation U-11. ACS was created on the basis of the KV-1S tank. Its main weapon was the 152-mm howitzer gun ML-20 mod. 1937 of the year. At that time, this artillery system was one of the best among all Soviet heavy howitzers. The gun could be used both for direct fire and the destruction of armored mobile targets, and for fire from closed positions along a hinged trajectory for firing on squares, destroying obstacles and enemy fortifications.
The previous model of the Soviet assault weapon was the KV-2 tank, the armament of which was housed in a rotating turret. Repeating the design of this tank was hampered by a more significant rollback of the gun, so the gun was installed in a fixed hexagonal armored jacket. At the same time, the swinging part of the ML-20 cannon-howitzer remained practically unchanged. The gun was attached to a special frame-machine, which in turn was connected to the front armor plate of the wheelhouse. The anti-recoil devices of the gun protruding beyond the dimensions of the cabin were covered with a massive armored mask, which also served as a balancing element. The use of a constructive solution with a machine tool made it possible to improve the habitability and the useful volume of the felling. The chassis of the self-propelled gun was completely borrowed from the KV-1S heavy tank without undergoing any significant changes.
The prototype self-propelled gun was designated KV-14, and was demonstrated to the government at the beginning of 1943. After the demonstration, ChKZ received an order to immediately prepare the serial production of these ACS. This haste was explained quite simply - the troops needed assault guns during offensive operations, and the KV-14 was the only vehicle that could destroy the new heavy tank of the Wehrmacht Pz Kpfw VI "Tiger" at any distance of battle. For the first time, Soviet troops encountered him in September 1942 near Leningrad.
The team of the Chelyabinsk plant, having shown maximum efforts and real labor heroism, completed the task - the first serial KV-14 self-propelled guns left the assembly shops of the plant in February 1943. At the same time, it is necessary to highlight the fact that in 1943 ChKZ was engaged not only in the production of heavy KV-1S tanks, but also produced a much larger number of T-34 medium tanks. Therefore, the adaptation of the assembly lines of the plant for the KV-14 was carried out in such a way as not to harm the mass production of the T-34 and to continue the production of heavy KV-1S tanks. Only after the launch of a new heavy tank IS and an ACS based on it, the production of the T-34 at ChKZ was curtailed.
The new vehicles entered the army in the spring of 1943. Here they were finally renamed SU-152. In the process of mass production, various insignificant changes were made to the design of the vehicles, which were aimed at improving their combat qualities and manufacturability. So on the SU-152, a turret mount of the DShK anti-aircraft machine gun appeared, which was installed only on those machines that were modernized at the manufacturing plant in 1944-1945. The century of ACS SU-152 in production was short-lived. At ChKZ, work was in full swing on the creation of a new heavy tank, which, although it was a direct heir to the KV, but did not have "backward compatibility" of units and parts with it. Until the work on its chassis was completed, ChKZ continued to produce the SU-152 and the transitional model KV-85, by the end of the fall of 1943, all work on the new heavy tank was completed and the place of the SU-152 ACS on the conveyor was taken by its successor, the ISU-152. … In total, 671 SU-152 self-propelled guns were produced during 1943.
Design features
The armored hull and cabin of the self-propelled guns were welded from rolled armor plates with a thickness of 75, 60, 30 and 20 mm. Armor protection was differentiated, projectile. The armored plates from which the wheelhouse was assembled were located at rational angles of inclination. In order to provide access to the engine units and assemblies, a large rectangular hatch with a stamping and an opening for pouring water into the engine cooling system was designed on the roof of the engine compartment. Also in the armor plate above the transmission compartment there were 2 more round hatches, which were used to access the ACS transmission mechanisms.
The entire crew of the self-propelled gun was housed in an armored wheelhouse, which combined the control compartment and the fighting compartment. The wheelhouse was separated from the propulsion system by a special partition, in which gates were made, intended for ventilation of the fighting compartment of the ACS. When the gates were open, the running engine created the necessary air draft, which was enough to renew the air in the SU-152's habitable space. For embarkation and disembarkation from the vehicle, the crew members used the right round single-leaf hatch on the wheelhouse roof, as well as a rectangular double-leaf hatch located at the junction of the roof and rear armor plates of the wheelhouse. There was another round hatch to the left of the gun, but it was not intended for embarkation and disembarkation of the crew. This hatch was used to bring out the extension of the panoramic sight, but as a result of an emergency, it could also be used to evacuate the self-propelled crew. The main escape hatch for leaving the car was located in the bottom behind the driver's seat.
The main weapon of the SU-152 ACS was a modification of the ML-20S rifled 152-mm howitzer-gun ML-20 mod. 1937 of the year. The differences between the swinging parts of the towed and self-propelled versions were primarily due to the need to ensure the convenience of the gunner and loader in the cramped conditions of the closed wheelhouse. So the vertical and horizontal flywheels on the ML-20S gun were located on the left side of the barrel, while in the towed version on both sides. Also ML-20S was additionally equipped with a charging tray. The vertical aiming angles of the gun ranged from -5 to +18 degrees, the horizontal firing sector was 24 degrees (12 in each direction). The barrel length of the howitzer-gun was 29 calibers. The maximum firing range of direct fire was 3.8 km, the maximum possible firing range was 13 km. Both swivel mechanisms of the gun were manual, sector type, serviced by the gunner of the self-propelled guns, the ML-20S descent was also mechanical manual.
The gun's ammunition consisted of 20 separate loading rounds. Shells and propelling charges in the casings were placed at the rear wall of the fighting compartment of the ACS and along its sides. The rate of fire of the gun was at the level of 2 rounds per minute. For self-defense, the self-propelled gun crew used 2 PPSh submachine guns (ammunition 18 disks for 1278 rounds), as well as 25 F-1 grenades.
ACS SU-152 was equipped with a four-stroke V-shaped twelve-cylinder V-2K liquid-cooled diesel engine. Maximum engine power 600 HP The diesel engine was started using an ST-700 starter with a capacity of 15 hp. or compressed air from two cylinders of 5 liters each, located in the fighting compartment of the ACS. The self-propelled gun had a fairly dense layout, in which the main fuel tanks with a total volume of 600 liters were located in the engine-transmission and fighting compartment of the vehicle. In addition, the SU-152 ACS could be equipped with 4 external tanks with a volume of 90 liters each, which were installed along the sides of the engine compartment and were not connected to the engine fuel system. The self-propelled diesel engine worked in conjunction with a four-speed gearbox with a demultiplier (8 forward gears, 2 reverse gears).
The chassis of the ACS SU-152 was similar to the chassis of the KV-1S heavy tank. ACS suspension - individual torsion bar for each of 6 solid gable road wheels of small diameter on each side. Opposite each road roller, the travel stops of the suspension balancers were welded to the body of the ACS. Sloths with a helical track tensioning mechanism were in the front, and drive wheels with removable toothed rims were in the back. Each side of the self-propelled gun also had 3 small solid support rollers.
Combat use
Initially, the SU-152 self-propelled guns were armed with separate heavy self-propelled artillery regiments (OTSAP), each of which included 12 combat vehicles. Several such units were formed by the spring of 1943. In the defensive operation of the Red Army on the Kursk Bulge, 2 regiments took part, armed with these machines, which were deployed on the northern and southern faces of the Kursk Bulge. Of all Soviet armored vehicles, only these self-propelled guns could confidently fight all types of German armored vehicles without getting close to it.
Due to the small number (only 24 pieces), these self-propelled guns did not play a significant role in the Battle of Kursk, but the importance of their presence in active units is not in doubt. They were used for the most part as tank destroyers, since only the SU-152 self-propelled guns could effectively deal with new and modernized Wehrmacht tanks and self-propelled guns at almost any distance of battle.
It is worth noting that most of the German armored vehicles in the Battle of Kursk were modernized versions of the PzKpfW III and PzKpfW IV tanks, about 150 Tigers, about 200 Panthers, and 90 Ferdinands were used. Nevertheless, even medium German tanks, the frontal armor of the hull was increased to 70-80 mm. were a formidable enemy for the Soviet 45 and 76-mm artillery, which did not penetrate them with caliber ammunition at a distance of over 300 meters. More effective subcaliber projectiles were inadequate among the troops. At the same time, the SU-152 shells, due to their large mass and kinetic energy, had a strong destructive potential and their direct hits on armored targets led to serious destruction of the latter.
ACS SU-152 proved that there is no such German technology that they could not destroy. The 152-mm howitzer armor-piercing shells simply destroyed the Pz Kpfw III and Pz Kpfw IV medium tanks. The armor of the new Panther and Tiger tanks was also unable to withstand these shells. Due to the shortage of 152-mm armor-piercing shells in the troops, the crews of the self-propelled guns often used concrete-piercing or even simply high-explosive fragmentation shots. High-explosive fragmentation shots also had good effectiveness when used against armored targets. Often there were cases when a high-explosive projectile, when it hit the turret, tore it off the shoulder strap. Even if the armor of the tank could withstand the blow, the explosions of such ammunition damaged the chassis, sights, guns, removing enemy tanks from battle. Sometimes, to defeat German armored vehicles, it was enough to close the explosion of a high-explosive fragmentation projectile. The crew of the self-propelled guns of Major Sankovsky, who commanded one of the SU-152 batteries, in one day of battles chalked up 10 enemy tanks (perhaps the success applied to the entire battery) and was nominated for the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
In the offensive phase of the Battle of Kursk, the SU-152s also performed well enough, acting as mobile heavy artillery, which reinforced the infantry and tank units of the Red Army. Often self-propelled guns fought in the first lines of the advancing troops, but were often used more rationally - as a means of fire support for the second line of attack, which had a positive effect on the survival of the crews.
Performance characteristics: SU-152
Weight: 45.5 tons.
Dimensions:
Length 8, 95 m, width 3, 25 m, height 2, 45 m.
Crew: 5 people.
Reservation: from 20 to 75 mm.
Armament: 152-mm howitzer ML-20S
Ammunition: 20 rounds
Engine: V-shaped twelve-cylinder V-2K diesel engine with 600 hp.
Maximum speed: on the highway - 43 km / h, on rough terrain - 30 km / h
Progress in store: on the highway - 330 km.
