IS-3 - Tank Encyclopedia (2024)

Soviet Union (1944)
Heavy Tank – 2,311 Built

The peak of the Soviet heavy tank line

The IS-3 was only superficially a major departure from previous heavy tanks, with a lineage including the KV-1 (1939), KV-1S, KV-85, IS-1 and the IS-2. The IS-3 had a new front hull and a new turret shape which became the trademark of all postwar Soviet tanks to date. Because of multiple issues, production was cut short and it was followed by the ponderous IS-4, the prototypes IS-6, IS-7 and, finally, the IS-10 (rebaptized T-10 after the death of Stalin). Because of poor mobility, the Russians reached the same conclusions as their western counterparts regarding heavy tanks. This class of vehicles was abandoned in the West as well after 1953 after the first cruiser-derived MBTs had revealed a new way.

Hello dear reader! This article is in need of some care and attention and may contain errors or inaccuracies. If you spot anything out of place, please let us know!

The “pike”

As soon as the first IS-2 rolled off the factory line, decision number 5583 on 8 April 1944 asked for a replacement, designated Iosif Stalin 3. The same ChTZ design team was at first responsible for the design of the prototype (Object 703) in Chelyabinsk. As a note another vehicle also received the designation IS-3 (Object 244), a regular IS-2 fitted with the D-5T-85-BM long barrel 85 mm (3.35 in) gun, which had far greater velocity than the 122 mm (4.8 in). The project was later canceled. The new IS-3 retained the same gun as the IS-2, but the protection was entirely revised. The design was eventually carried out in a competitive manner between Plant Number 100, led by Zh.Ya. Kotinym and A.S.Ermolaevym, and the Chelyabinsk Kirov Plant design bureau, headed by N.L.Duhovym and M.F.Balzhi. This resulted in two designs.
G.N.Moskvin and V.I.Tarotko from Plant n°100 decided not to deviate greatly from standard production design of the IS-2, but the upper front part of the body was made of two connected and highly inclined sloped armor plates meeting at a large angle. On top of the plates was a triangular shaped roof, inclined at 7°. Directly above the driver, there was an escape/access hatch. Subsequently, this nose design was dubbed “pike nose”, and later the tank itself was called “Pike” (Shchuka) by the crews.
On the other hand, CHKZ’s Zh.Ya.Kotin chief engineer, using experience from the experimental “Object 244”, “Object 245” and “Object 248”, redesigned the turret in a simpler way, largely hemispheric, lower but with a considerable slope at any angle. But in both cases, the hull machine gun was excluded, liberating space, allowing more judicious interior management and improving the frontal armor plate layout.

The prototypes

The first prototype began the first running tests on 28 October 1944, on the Kalmakskom proving grounds, but revealed some serious flaws and had to be returned to the factory for modifications. The tests were resumed in November on the usual 1000 km (620 mi) trip, but again, revealed serious problems, in particular with the transmission and engine. The second prototype swapped its B-11 diesel for a B-2-IS, but the chassis was unmodified, although slightly longer. The running tests were performed from 18 to 24 December 1944, but also revealed some limitations which needed to be fixed.
Meantime, CRI-48 specialists studied both designs and suggested to combine their particular advantages, namely the “pike” frontal armor of Plant 100 and the new dome-like shaped turret design of CHKZ. The final project was named “Kirovets-1” and CHKZ director I.M.Zaltsman expected to deliver this new model before the final Victory. By the order number 729 of December 16, 1944, the plant was to provide ten pre-series machines, of which 10 were to be delivered before the 25th of January, 1945.

Design

The chassis was left virtually unchanged, although the design incorporated welded two-parts, reinforcements for the 6 all-metal usual double rollers with individual torsion suspension, 2 idlers acting as front guides and the rear drive wheels with removable crowns of 14 teeth. However, as shown by superposed plans, the gap between the individual boogies was slightly higher. There were also three double return rollers per side. The tracks were also unchanged, still 160 mm (6.3 in) wide. The big change, however, was found in the front hull layout, with a “pike nose” counting two inclined plates at a greater angle to the vertical. The top was given a backward-slope, wide shoulder straps to fit the tower.
The hull sides were also largely inclined and well-sloped, thus eliminating the previous usage of storing equipment on the large mudguards, although they still could be stored inside. At the rear, the power transmission unit was made more accessible and the driver was relocated on the center axis of the tank. His top hatch was equipped with vision devices and he also had access to an extra escape hatch in the bottom floor.
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Czechoslovakian IS-3, 1956
The other change from any previous designs was the turret. It was hemispherical, bowl-shaped, larger than the width of the tank itself and presented a pronounced tumblehome form. This shape, later simplified, ended as the trademark of all Soviet Cold War tanks, and its still recognizable today in the latest Russian MBTs. The front part of the turret was narrower, housing the gun mantlet in a single piece (not welded on like previous turrets). At the rear was placed an oval roof two-piece hatch. The commander cupola was gone, but a new ring mount for the DSHK heavy AA machine-gun was designed for a better angle of fire.
On the right were installed viewing periscopes MK-4 and the commander’s hatch received a TPK-1 viewing device. Another MK-4 was placed at the top left of the tower, for the gunner. The turret was electrically traversed at a maximum turning speed of 12 degrees per second. Ten handling bars were welded-on, two horizontal in the middle and four vertical to the turret rear, to carry soldiers. This particular design had two backdrops. First, it significantly diminished the working headroom, especially for the loader, and the low-profile also diminished the maximum depression of the main gun.
Armament comprised the same 122 mm (4.8 in) gun D-25T model 1943, 48 calibers, with a two-chamber muzzle brake and horizontal semi-automatic breech. The sighting range (with a telescopic sight TS-17) was 5000 m (5450 yards). However, the rate of fire was 2-3 shots per minute, still largely inferior to German and western tanks in general. Moreover, the split ammunition types consisted of only 28 rounds, 18 HE and 10 AP shells. There was a single DT secondary machine-gun next to the gun in a fixed cast encasing, firing tracers (954 rounds in 15 “cheesebox” magazines), and the DShK 300 rounds in strips of 50.
The 12-cylinder 4-stroke V-type diesel engine V-2 IS-3 gave 520 hp at 2200 rpm. It was fed by two internal 450 liters tanks, with a safety obturation system activated from inside in case of fire, and the usual external four side tanks, plus two small tanks on the rear slope. Usually, a steel cable was held there too. The old transmission had a dry multi-plate friction clutch, 8-speed gearbox with dual and dual-stage planetary rotation mechanisms. The floating brakes had cast iron steel belts. The final drives had simple step-down gears and planetary gears. Internal communication was made possible by a TPU 4bis intercom and external by an F10 RC-26 radio.

Active service

From Last days of ww2 to the early cold war

Since the IS-3 differed in many points from the previous designs, for the first time a major retooling was needed. This took time, and only in May 1945, the first three pre-series vehicles rolled out of the factory, to be thrown immediately into action in Germany, in the hands of an independent Guards Battalion. However, when they arrived, peace had already been signed. Rumors of a fighting en route with an isolated Abteilung of Jadgpanthers after the surrender is left unconfirmed by most sources.
By the time of the invasion of Manchuria in August, many more IS-3s were ready, but there is little evidence that they did participate in these events. The IS-3 was a Cold War tank, of the same generation as the British Centurion and American Pershing. All three were conceived to fight the latest German tanks, but ended on opposite fronts and had a long Cold War career.
Stalin, however, had other plans for these tanks, paraded proudly on the 7th of September 1945 during a military parade in Berlin. They all belonged to the 71st Guards Heavy Tank Regiment of the 2nd Guards Tank Army. They also paraded first in the Soviet Union on November 7, 1946, and in the Red Square the next year. The experts evaluation of the IS-3 was quite higher than the real capabilities of the tank since the third Stalin was plagued by defaults and never-fixed issues left from an antiquated and troublesome transmission inherited from the KV-1, new issues caused by the adoption of an ill-adapted heavy gun (with too little ammo carried and a very low rate of fire).
Assembly too was problematic, the rear hull side elements welded around the engine compartment having tendencies to crack open. Resulting from this, the production was discontinued in the summer of 1946 and eventually stopped at the 2,311th vehicle.

The IS-3M

The first step towards modernization (IS-3M) was taken in 1948, with reinforced brackets for the engine, a modified gearbox mount, strengthened under-turret plate, improved design of the main clutch, better sealing and final drive rollers. The radio was also modernized, but the weight eventually rose to 49 tons. The second wave of upgrades came in the fifties, with an increased body rigidity through the introduction of rigidity bars in the rear hull section and bracing in the floor and bottom of the gearbox. The machine-guns were replaced by the DShKM and DTM.
A new rotary commander’s hatch cover was provided while night vision device TVN-2 was mounted for the driver. The engine was also changed for a B-54K-IC giving 520 hp, and serving a 2-VTI dual-purpose air cleaner. Other modifications included a modified lubrication system, cooling system and NICS-1 heater with electric drive, reinforced bearing for the rollers and idlers, and two-wire circuit of emergency lighting for the electrical system. The shot control system was entirely modernized, R-113 radio and P-120 intercoms fitted. During the seventies-eighties, the IS-3M were gradually put into active reserve, then in depots.

Cold War career

The IS-3M participated in the Hungarian revolution of 1956 (several lost in Budapest). Other Warsaw Pact nations received the IS-3, like the Poles (two for trials), Czechs (one for the military school), and “affiliated nations” in the Middle East, like the Egyptians. Egyptian IS-3Ms (around 100 IS-3s plus around 60 IS-3M) took part in the 1967 War, some being destroyed en route by IDF fighter-bombers dropping napalm.
These were part of the 7th Infantry Division, holding the position in the Khan Yunis-Rafah line, and another 60 tanks operated with the 125th Armored Brigade stationed near El Kuntilly. Many were simply captured in relatively good order and bolstered the young IDF forces after the war, being turned into tractors, ARVs or concrete pillboxes on the “Bar-Lev Line” along the Suez Canal, or near Port Saïd, prior to the 1973 War. Many were returned to their former owners after the war.

Gallery


IS-3 - Tank Encyclopedia (13)
ww2 Soviet Tanks Poster

Video


I do not own the rights to this video or soundtrack. They are displayed solely for educational purposes.

IS-3 links and references

The IS family on Wikipedia
On WWIIvehicles.com
On Battlefield.ru
Range (road/off road)185 km (115 mi)

IS-3 model 1944 specifications

Dimensions (L-w-h)9.85 x 3.09 x 2.45 m (32.32×10.14×8.04 ft)
Total weight, battle ready45.7 tons
Crew4 (commander, loader, gunner, driver)
PropulsionV-2-1S diesel V12 600 bhp (450 kW)
Speed40 km/h (25 mph)
SuspensionsTransverse Torsion arms
ArmamentMain: 122 mm (4.8 in) D25T gun
Secondary: 12.7 mm (0.5 in) DShK anti-aircraft machine gun
1 or 2×7.62 mm (0.3 in) machine guns
Armor thickness60 to 175 mm (2.36-6.89 in)
Production2311

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Iosif Stalin 3 model 1944, from an Independent Guards Heavy Tanks Regiment straight out the factory and bound to Berlin, May 1945.

IS-3 from the 71st Guards Heavy Tank Regiment, Berlin parade, September 1945.
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IS-3M at Odessa, 1948.
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IS-3 with a surplus, roughly cast turret, 1948.
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IS-3M at the Chinese border, 1972.
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IS-3 during the 1956 Hungarian revolution.
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One of the two Polish IS-3 tested after the war. Both are preserved in static display.

Egyptian IS-3M from the XXth Infantry Division, War of 1967.

IS-3 - Tank Encyclopedia (2024)

FAQs

How effective was the IS-3? ›

The IS-3 was a significant improvement to the IS-1 and IS-2 due to its pike nose frontal armor. Having frontal hull armor that was already pre-angled meant that less armor was needed to maintain the same effective armor thickness on the upper glacis.

IS-3 frontal armor? ›

The IS-3 has very thick armor, with mantlet and turret front at 250 mm. Furthermore, the armor package is shaped in such a way to maximize armor protection. With the introduction of NATO main battle tanks with 105mm L7 cannon and more capable anti-tank guided weapons the main benefit of the IS-3 was negated.

Did the IS-3 ever see combat? ›

Combat history

The IS-3 saw service on the Chinese-Soviet border, the Soviet invasion of Hungary, the Prague Spring and on both sides of the Six-Day War. However, the mobility and firepower of medium-tanks and the evolution of the main battle tank rendered heavy tanks obsolete.

IS-3 armour thickness? ›

The turret front of the IS-3 is an also fairly well armoured, with 250 mm of heavily sloped armour equating to around 400 mm effective thickness.

Did the M103 see combat? ›

The M103 was never used in combat. While the US Army deactivated its heavy armor units with the reception of the new M60 series main battle tanks in 1963, the remaining M103s stayed within the US Marine Corps inventory until they began receiving the M60 series main battle tank.

IS IS-3 good wot? ›

Is-3 is still decent, compared to other tech Tree heavies. It packs a punch and the armor might work sometimes. The premiums at tier 8 are way better, but they won't change.

Was the IS2 used in WWII? ›

It was developed and saw combat during World War II and saw service in other Soviet allied countries after the war.

IS-3 kirovets 1? ›

The Kirovets-1 project (IS-3, prototype No. 1) was developed from July through November 1944. The prototype was built at the Chelyabinsk Kirov Plant in September–October 1944. From December 18 through December 24, 1944, the vehicle underwent trials at the NIBT proving grounds in Kubinka.

When was the IS-4 made? ›

The IS-4, also known as the Object 701, was a Soviet heavy tank that started development in 1943 and began production in 1946. Derived from the IS-2 and part of the IS tank family, the IS-4 featured a longer hull and increased armor.

IS-3 Heavy Tank World Conqueror 4? ›

The IS-3 Heavy Tank is an Elite Force that can be recruited only once per battle. Latest addition to the Elite Forces arsenal, the IS-3 Heavy Tank is one of the most powerful armored unit of the game, surpassing the King Tiger in terms of its health pool.

What does KV stand for in tanks? ›

The Kliment Voroshilov (KV; Russian: Климент Ворошилов, КВ) tanks are a series of Soviet heavy tanks named after the Soviet defence commissar and politician Kliment Voroshilov who operated with the Red Army during World War II.

IS-3 vs t 55? ›

The T-55 was superior to the IS-2, IS-3 and T-10 heavy tanks in many respects, including the rate of fire of the gun (at least four compared to fewer than three rounds per minute).

How thick is Abrams armor? ›

On all Abrams models up to the M1A2C, the frontal hull armor is 700mm thick. I have measured this myself, using the weldlines as a guide. From the front to the weld is 600mm and then behind the weld is a 101mm steel plate, giving a total thickness of about 100mm.

How thick is the is 7 armor? ›

The lower glacis was designed to be 100mm but a measure taken by Nicholas Moran found it to be as thick as 110-120mm depending on welding variations. The armor on the sides was also 150mm on the upper side plate and 100mm on the lower side plate.

What is the thickest armor ever made? ›

The thickest armour ever carried was in HMS Inflexible (completed 1881), measuring 60 cm (24 in) backed by teak up to a maximum thickness of 107 cm (42 in).

How effective was the Marder 3? ›

The Marder IIIs were mechanically reliable, as with all vehicles based on the Czechoslovak LT-38 chassis. Their firepower was sufficient to destroy the majority of Soviet tanks on the battlefield at combat range. The Marder' IIIs weaknesses were mainly related to survivability.

How many IS-3 were built? ›

The IS-3 is a Soviet tier 8 heavy tank. Mass production of the vehicle started in May 1945. On September 7,1945, IS-3 tanks took part in the Allied Victory Parade through Berlin. A total of 1170 vehicles were manufactured by the end of 1946, when production was canceled.

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