IS-4 (tank)

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IS-4 (tank)
IS-4 in the Kubinka Tank Museum

IS-4 in the Kubinka Tank Museum
General properties
crew 4th
length 9.79 m
width 3.23 m
height 2.48 m
Dimensions 60 t
Armor and armament
Armor 140-250 mm
Main armament 122 mm tank cannon D-25T
Secondary armament 2 × 12.7 mm MG DSchK
agility
drive W-12
750 PS (552 kW)
Top speed 43 km / h
Power / weight 12.5 hp / t
Range 320 km

The IS-4 ( Russian ИС-4 , from I ossif S talin; German Josef Stalin ) was a heavy Soviet tank that was developed towards the end of the Second World War and mass-produced from 1947 to 1949. In German-speaking countries, the tank is sometimes also known as the JS-4 .

history

Prototypes

Work on a new heavy tank began in December 1943, at a time when the first model in the IS series , the IS-85 , was not yet in service. In 1944, the first six prototypes were manufactured under the designation "Object 701" and tested until the spring of 1945. The design was based on the IS-2 , with the hull lengthened in favor of more powerful engines and the armor reinforced. This greatly increased the weight of the new tank. Two more vehicles with reinforced armor followed. The prototypes were tested with different armaments: the prototypes 701-5 and 701-6 received the 122 mm D-25 cannon, the prototype 701-2 was equipped with the 100 mm S-34 cannon with reinforced turret armor on the front tested. The D-10T was also tested. Ultimately, the 122 mm D-25T cannon was chosen as the main armament, as it had already been used successfully on the IS-2. In mid-1945 the further development of the Object 701 was temporarily stopped in favor of the IS-3 , as it had a more modern armor layout (inverted V-bow shape on the front of the hull, round gun turret in a bullet-repellent dome shape) with a lower weight. When numerous shortcomings were found on the IS-3 during the Manchurian Operation in August 1945, work on Object 701 was resumed as it was believed that the relatively conventional design presented less development risk.

Serial production

In 1946 the object 701 was officially taken over by the Soviet Army and was given the designation IS-4. At the same time, production at the Chelyabinsk tractor plant was switched from the IS-3 to the IS-4. Due to severe war damage to the Soviet infrastructure and numerous defects in the vehicle, which required the factory capacities for repairs, the required numbers could not be achieved. The poor manufacturing quality of the individual components made the situation even worse. In 1946, instead of the planned 155 series vehicles, only six more prototypes were built. In order to eliminate the shortcomings, around 30% of the design was revised parallel to the start of series production, with some components from the German Panther armored vehicle being adopted. With these changes, 52 vehicles could be produced in 1947, which was still well below the required number of 200. Despite this adjustment, field tests in 1948 showed that the vehicles still had too high a failure rate, particularly as a result of manufacturing defects. Since several action plans to improve the design and production were not implemented, production was stopped after 219 series vehicles in August 1949. The entire design team was assigned to other developments, including the "Object 730" heavy tank. Nevertheless, there was a small production of 25 improved IS-4M vehicles in 1951, in which the front armor was again reinforced and some changes were made to increase reliability.

variant 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 All in all
Object 701 6th 2 6th - - - - - 14th
IS-4 - - - 52 155 12 - - 219
IS-4M - - - - - - - 25th 25th

construction

The hull of the IS-4 has a conventional design, the shape of the nose plate was adopted from the IS-2. The tower sits in the front third of the hull, the type W-12 engine is a further development of the W-2 with supercharging and increased injection pressure. The support roller drive has seven rollers and three support rollers on each side. The turret is similar to other turret designs of late war and post-war Soviet tanks with an overhang at the rear of the turret, e.g. B. that of the first T-54 prototype. It did not yet have the spherical shape typical of Soviet Cold War tanks that was introduced into the heavy Soviet tanks with the IS-3. As is customary with other Soviet tanks, additional tanks were attached to the rear of the hull. The arrangement of the tanks differed from that of the IS-2, with the IS-4 having two tanks on each side parallel to each other.

period of service

The IS-4 was stationed in the east of the Soviet Union, on the border with China. During operation it quickly became clear that the IS-4 represented a logistical challenge for the armored troops due to its heavy weight, as it could not be carried by numerous bridges and therefore could not pass them. This severely restricted its usability. The declining demand for heavy tanks (especially since the IS-3 and T-10 were lighter and produced in significantly larger numbers) and the never-resolved problems with the reliability of the vehicles meant that all IS-4s were restored as early as 1960 were retired. Some vehicles were dismantled and used as stationary turrets , others were destroyed as hard targets in the 1970s .

Technical specifications

  • Weight
    • Combat weight: 59.49 t (IS-4M: 59.9 t)
    • Ground pressure : 0.9-0.93 kg / cm²
  • Dimensions
    • Length over everything with pipe to the front: 9.79 m
    • Length of the tub: 6.60 m
    • Width overall: 3.23 m
    • Height: 2.48 m
    • Wheelbase: 4.385 m
    • Ground clearance: 41 cm
  • drive
    • engine
      • Type: W-12
      • Power: 750 PS (552 kW)
  • Performance
    • Maximum road speed: 41 to 43 km / h (depending on the source)
    • Top speed terrain: 15 to 20 km / h (depending on the source)
    • Power-to-weight ratio : 12.5 hp / t (IS-4M: 11.7 hp / t)
    • Climbing ability:
    • Incline: 35 °
    • Wading ability: 1.50 m
    • Driving range road: 320 km
    • Off-road driving range: 80 to 140 km
  • Armament
    • Main gun: 122 mm D-25T L / 43 cannon
    • Secondary armament
    • ammunition
      • Cannon: 30 rounds
      • MGs: 1000 rounds
  • Armor
    • Trough armor front / side: 140 mm 61 ° (below 160 mm 40 °) / 160 mm 30 °
    • Tower armor front / side: 250 mm 0 ° / 200 mm 35 °
  • Crew : 4 men
  • Number of pieces : 255

See also

literature

  • AW Karpenko: Soviet-Russian tanks . 1905-2003. Ed .: Rudi Meier. Elbe-Dnjepr, Klitzschen 2004, ISBN 3-933395-44-5 , p. 424 (Russian: Обозрение отечественной бронетанковой техники (1905–1995 гг.) . Translated by Rudi Meier).
  • М. В. Павлов, И. В. Павлов. Отечественные бронированные машины 1945–1965 гг. // Техника и вооружение: вчера, сегодня, завтра. - Москва: Техинформ, 2012. - № 12. - С. 51-56.
  • Журнал "Техника - молодежи", 1990, № 3. С.Грянкин - ИС-3 и ИС-4, стр 20 <
  • Желтов И., Сергеев А., Павлов И., Павлов М. «Танки ИС» специальный выпуск журнала «ТанкоМастер»

Web links

Commons : IS-4  - Collection of Images

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Тяжелый танк ИС-4 (IS-4 heavy tank). In: русская-сила.рф. Retrieved March 25, 2015 (Russian).
  2. ↑ М. Барятинский: Советская бронетанковая техника 1945 - 1995. (Pdf, 12.37 MB) 2000, p. 5 , accessed on March 25, 2015 (Russian).
  3. ↑ IS-4 (JS-4) Sestroretsk. In: legion-afv.narod.ru. Retrieved March 25, 2015 (Russian).
  4. ↑ http://topwar.ru/14412-tank-is-4-samyy-tyazhelyy-seriynyy-v-sssr.html
  5. ↑ 1324593339-is-4-2 1 .jpg. (JPEG graphic, 1442 × 436 pixels) In: forums.vbios.com. Retrieved March 25, 2015 (armor scheme).