Thursday 16 July 2020

Soviet Panzer '46

"Plans for experimental design and scientific research work of the Ministry of Transport Machinebuilding of the USSR for 1946

Item
Description of work
Factory
Cost
Heavy tank (Object 701)
Finishing technical documentation for mass production
Chelyabinsk Kirov factory
100
IS-6 heavy tank with an electric transmission
Trials and  finishing of the experimental prototype
Factory #100 branch
1500
New heavy tank with improved armour (IS-7)
Technical project development, prototype production, conducting trials
Ditto
7000
Artillery SPG on the chassis of the new heavy tank (IS-7) with a fully rotating turret
Development of a technical project
Ditto
150
New heavy tank with a mechanical transmission
Development of a technical project
Chelyabinsk Kirov factory

Approved by the board January 22nd, 1946."

7 comments:

  1. Hey what is the SPG based on the IS-7 that has a turret? None of the ones I know of come to mind.

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    Replies
    1. No idea, Yuri Pasholok writes that it existed but I don't even know a number for it. It's unlikely that it ever got off the drawing board.

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  2. What is the cost units? Political dissidents? :)

    Keep up the great work!

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  3. January 22nd, 1946 is the date of this document. So the potential adversary would be the West for these vehicles, not Nazi Germany.

    How much was Soviet design driven externally (say, here, by what capability the West had) and how much was driven internally (by what improvements Soviet engineers thought was achievable). Quality-wise what the Soviets had in 1946 (T-34/85s, IS-2s, SU-100s and ISUs on hand, T-44s and IS-3s coming off the assembly line, with IS-4s to follow in 1946) coupled with already-investigated designs (high-powered gunned ISUs) was as good if not better than what anyone else had.

    So why the need for an IS-6 or IS-7? The IS-4 by itself was almost unkillable. Even its side armor was formidable.

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    Replies
    1. I mean. The Soviets eventually (rather soon even) asked the exact same question and duly axed all the obviously oversized, budget-breaking and/or overkill projects...

      One imagines the expenses of postwar reconstruction and catching up to the Yanks in nukes rather helped sharpen focus on more economically rational "Boring But Practical" designs like the T-55 and the more restrained kinds of IS.

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    2. The IS-4 was built to combat the Ferdinand, the IS-7 to fight the Maus. When it turned out that the West didn't want to build huge monster tanks anymore both were canned.

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