The SU-152 is an often misunderstood vehicle. Some think that because of its thick front armour and relatively short gun it engaged enemies point-blank, but in reality it was actually a long ranged fighter, engaging enemies from 1500-2000 meters. In my latest video I explore the tactics behind SU-152 regiments and how they evolved over time.
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This mostly confirms what I had read. Any such SPG, lacking a turret, could easily get into trouble advancing to the very front lines to blast away. They were long-range weapons.
ReplyDeleteAnd against unarmored, relatively immobile targets, where "close" is usually good enough to take it out, even longer ranges are possible. The only caveat is against armored mobile targets, where a near-miss is not enough-- you need a direct hit--and also a miss will give the target an opportunity to escape. I think at least in SU-85 regiments this was somewhat mitigated by having the whole battery shoot at one vehicle? (Reading Krysov). Though even then you don't want to waste shells (Krysov recounts a case where his SU-122 battery hit and took out a Ferdinand (?) by multiple near-simultaneous hits yet with one of his crewmates bewailing "A wasted shell!").