History, Development, and Use
of the IS-2 Stalin Heavy Tank

This section will cover the history, development, and use of the IS-2 Stalin heavy tank.  In this section you will find where the tank has been used, when it was designed, its limitations and abilities, and how it functions.

 

Brief Operational History

The IS-2 tank came about after it was discovered by Kotlin's design team that the 85mm gun on the IS-1 was simply not powerful enough for a heavy tank.  This fact had been revealed to them in 1943 after the battle of Kursk.  Soon after that battle Kotlin decided to restrict production of the IS-1 so that a better weapon could be fitted to the tank.

Tests to determine what new anti-tank weapon would be used were held in November of 1943.  From the beginning Kotlin's design team had to choose between two different anti-tank guns.  The first was a 100mm gun known as the BS-3, the second was the 122mm A-19 gun.  The early results of the tests showed that the BS-3 had better armor penetration, but the sheer destructive power of the A-19 was found by many of these designers to be more impressive.  It was also much easier to produce than the BS-3 cannon.  For these reasons the A-19 with a single chamber muzzle brake was selected, although it was later fitted with a two chamber muzzle brake after an accident occurred on the proving grounds.

Once the gun had been chosen, Kotlin decided to improve the tank's already thick armor.  The glacis plate of the tank was to be sloped to improve protection without adding weight.  This was the only real improvement in the armor.  There had been an attempt to increase the thickness of the turret armor, but it made the turret unbalanced.  The team discovered that they would have to completely redesign the turret to fix the problem and they had neither the time or money to do that, so the turret remained unchanged.

The first IS-2's were issued to the Guards heavy tank regiments in 1944.  The first of these was the Guards Heavy Tank Brigade stationed in the Ukraine.  

In the heavy fighting that followed its introduction, the IS-2 proved itself to be a very durable fighting vehicle.  The 72nd Guards Independent Tank Regiment claimed 41 German tank kills in three weeks, with a loss of only eight of its own IS-2's being knocked out of action.  It was later determined that most of these were lost to engine hits and fires, but the German  88mm anti-tank gun still proved to be quite effective against them.

IS-2 Wartime Production Numbers
1943 102
1944 2,252
1945 1,500
Total 3,854

The IS-2 faced another challenge when units equipped with them attempted to cross the Vistula river near Sandomierz.  It was here that the IS-2 tanks first encountered the German King Tiger tank.  Battles with the King Tiger proved to be hard fought affairs where crew quality and supporting elements determined the outcome of the fight.

After the war the Stalin II's were upgraded with better engines, clutches, and fire control systems.  Sheet metal cargo boxes were also added to the sides of the turret.  Despite these modernizations the tank's days were numbered and by the late 1940's the tanks were gradually withdrawn from front line service.  Some Stalin II's were then converted into recovery vehicles, missile launchers, or into other specialized vehicles.  

Other Stalin II's were exported to the Warsaw Pact nations, China, and other friendly communist countries.  The tank did see action in the numerous Arab-Israeli conflicts, where some were then captured by Israel.  The Warsaw Pact countries soon phased their tanks out of service during the Cold War.  The longest users of the tank proved to be the Cuba and the People's Republic of China.

  

Tactical Use and Limitations

In combat the IS-2 heavy tank was deployed in independent tank regiments and in heavy tank battalions.  These would be used to smash their way through the enemy front line in the manner of the 'penetration' tanks of the 1930's.  It was highly suited to the aggressive tank operations of the late Great Patriotic War.

The tank soon developed a terrifying reputation amongst German tank crews.  One of the reasons for this could be found in its powerful 122mm main gun, a gun which literally ripped the frontal armor off of a captured Panther tank in its early tests.  Its thick armor only added to its reputation for invincibility as the tank was able to shrug off most anti-tank weapons of 75mm or less.

Despite its fearsome reputation, the IS-2 heavy tank had some serious flaws and limitations.  One of these was found in the poor quality of its armor which was made of high carbon steel made with nickel instead of manganese.  This mixture made the armor very brittle, especially along its weald seams, and made the tank highly vulnerable to fire from German 88mm guns out to 1000 meters.  This was a major disadvantage as its own gun could only penetrate the armor of the German Panther tank at 600 meters of less.

Another weakness of the tank was found in the A-19 main gun which had a very slow rate of fire (2-3 rounds per minute) and was equipped with only 28 rounds.  This was partially solved by introducing a better gun called the D-25T which was easier for the crew to load. 

 

Deployment Chronology

:Like many tanks of the late war period, the IS-2 heavy tank had a relatively short service life.  Here you can see what vehicles the IS-2 heavy tank replaced and what tanks eventually replaced it.  You will be able to find more about each tank if we have them on our site by clicking on the links below.

The IS-2 Stalin replaced... IS-2 'Stalin' Heavy Tank The IS-2 was replaced by...
IS-1 Heavy Tank IS-3 Heavy Tank

 

Sources Cited

Here are some of the most informative sources that we have used in compiling this information for you.  We hope you can find them as useful as we have.