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Anunta-ma cand e disponibil
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Trumpeter 05568 Soviet SU-152 Tank - Late 1:35 |
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| According to its combat designation, the SU-152 could be either a heavy tank destroyer or a heavy assault gun, and indeed, in practice, it was discovered the 152 mm (5.98 in) muzzle velocity and the heavy high explosive rounds had surprising, unsuspected qualities against German armor. This was the origin of its popular nickname of "beast fighter" in reference to the German Tigers, Elefants and Panthers encountered at Kursk. Although, in practice, the 152 mm (5.98 in) round did not penetrate the thick armor of these tanks, the excessive shock of the explosion on impact was enough to jam a turret, gun mantlet, blast tracks or do other significant damage. Tests performed on captured Tiger tanks early in 1943 had shown that the SU-152 was able of "decapitating" them (blasting the turret off) at any range, with a good degree of reliability. At that time, this was the only Russian tank capable of doing so. The consequence of this was that the SU-152 operationally functioned within regular mobile artillery units, which could be used as ersatz heavy tank destroyer battalions on demand.
The last offensive where SU-152s were committed en masse (alongside ISU-152s) was during Operation Bagration in June 1944. A small number of SPGs managed to survive until the end of the war and served in the postwar years until 1954, when these were decommissioned, scrapped, and the remainder sold (to Syria and Egypt). Only four are still in existence today. |
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