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SU-152 ChKZ (1943)

Description

SU-152 heavy assault gun has been produced at the Kirov tank factory in Chelyabinsk (ChKZ) from February 1943 till January 1944. 670 units were produced in total.

The assault gun was built on KV-1s tank chassis, so its engine compartment remained the same while the fighting and driving compartments were new. It had only one weapon installed - 152mm ML-20 all-purpose gun. The crew compartment was wider than the hull but was armored good enough. Its array of aiming instruments included the telescopic gunsight for direct fire, gunner’s panoramic gunsight with an independent line of sight and PTK-5 panoramic visor for the commander.

During the Kursk battle, SU-152 was the only Soviet armoured vehicle capable of engaging the newest German heavy tanks at 1.5-2 km distances.

Unladen weight: 45500 kg.
Length: 8.7 m.
Width: 3.3 m.
Height: 2.3 m.
Clearance: 440 mm.

Engine: В-2К, diesel.
Maximum power: 600 HP at 2000 RPM.
Maximum RPM: 2150 RPM.
4 speed gearbox with 2 stage demultiplier.

Maximum road speed:
1-st low: 4.5 kph.
2-st low: 6.6 kph.
3-st low: 9.3 kph.
4-st low: 12.9 kph.
1-st high: 16.0 kph.
2-st high: 23.1 kph.
3-st high: 33.0 kph.
4-st high: 45.4 kph.
Reverse low: 5.0 kph.
Reverse high: 17.9 kph.

Maximum offroad speed: 24 kph.

Endurance range: 200 km.

Fluids:
Internal fuel tanks capacity: 545 l.
External fuel tanks capacity: 280 l.
Engine oil system capacity: 100 l.
Summer engine coolant: 150 l. of water
Winter engine coolant: 150 l. of 67% ethylene-glycol
Maximum oil consumption: 11 l/h.

Hull armour:
Gun mantlet: 60-70 mm cast armour.
Upper front: 75 mm rolled armour.
Middle front: 50 mm rolled armour.
Lower front: 60 mm rolled armour.
Sides: 60 mm rolled armour.
Rear: 60 mm rolled armour.
Frontal roof: 20 mm rolled armour.
Rear roof: 30 mm rolled armour.
Bottom: 30 mm rolled armour.
Bottom above tracks: 25 mm rolled armour.

Main gun: rifled, 152 mm ML-20S, separate loading.
Barrel length: 22.8.
Elevation: +18°..-3°.
Azimuth: +7°..-7°.
Ammo: up to 20 rounds.
Usable rate of fire: 2.4 rounds per minute.
Turret drive: mechanical.

Gun ammunition:

OF-540 high explosive (HE): 43.56 kg, 655 m/s, 6.25 kg explosives.
Gunsight settings
(Distance - mils scale):
00000m - 000
00200m - 002 04200m - 059 08200m - 154
00400m - 004 04400m - 063 08400m - 160
00600m - 007 04600m - 067 08600m - 167
00800m - 009 04800m - 071 08800m - 173
01000m - 012 05000m - 075 09000m - 180

01200m - 014 05200m - 079 09200m - 187
01400m - 017 05400m - 083 09400m - 195
01600m - 020 05600m - 087 09600m - 203
01800m - 022 05800m - 092 09800m - 210
02000m - 025 06000m - 096 10000m - 218

02200m - 027 06200m - 101 10200m - 226
02400m - 030 06400m - 105 10400m - 234
02600m - 033 06600m - 110 10600m - 242
02800m - 036 06800m - 115 10800m - 251
03000m - 039 07000m - 120 11000m - 259

03200m - 042 07200m - 125 11200m - 267
03400m - 045 07400m - 131 11400m - 276
03600m - 048 07600m - 137 11600m - 285
03800m - 052 07800m - 142 11800m - 294
04000m - 055 08000m - 148 12000m - 303

BR-540 armour piercing high explosive (APHE): 48.78 kg, 600 m/s, 1.2 kg explosives.
Gunsight settings
(Distance - mils scale):
0000m - 00
0100m - 02 1100m - 16
0200m - 03 1200m - 17
0300m - 04 1300m - 19
0400m - 06 1400m - 20
0500m - 07 1500m - 22
0600m - 09 1600m - 23
0700m - 10 1700m - 24
0800m - 11 1800m - 26
0900m - 13 1900m - 28
1000m - 14 2000m - 29

Gunsights:
ST-10 gunner scope-sight, field of view 18°.
PG gunner panoramic periscopic sight, field of view 10.5°, allows indirect fire.
PTK commander panoramic periscopic sight, field of view 26°.

Radio equipment:
VHF 9-RM transceiver.
3 intercom terminals.

Modifications

High-Explosive Shells
OF-540

Good against soft, unarmoured or lightly armoured targets.

Mass 43.56 kg, explosives mass 6.25 kg.
Direct hit armour penetration 60 mm, effective damage distance for light vehicles 8 m.

When fired from a ML-20S gun:
Muzzle velocity: 655 m/s.
500 m: velocity: 630 m/s, drop -3.0 m.
1000 m: velocity: 605 m/s, drop -12.4 m.
2000 m: velocity: 560 m/s, drop -51.6 m.

Armour Piercing High Explosive Shells
BR-540

Shells armed with bursting charge warhead.
Good against armoured targets. In case of penetration do more damage inside the target than solid AP shells, but HE filling can detonate prematurely (for instance, when used against spaced armour plates).

Mass 48.78 kg, explosives mass 1.2 kg.

When fired from a ML-20S gun:
Muzzle velocity 600 m/s, armour penetration at point blank range 138 mm.
500 m: armour penetration 131 mm, velocity 578 m/s, drop -3.7 m.
1000 m: armour penetration 124 mm, velocity 557 m/s, drop -14.7 m.
2000 m: armour penetration 111 mm, velocity 516 m/s, drop -60.1 m.

Removed Fuel Tank
The external rear-mounted fuel tank was commonly removed on the Eastern front.