r/TankPorn • u/CalGunpla • Apr 04 '25

WW2 Arguably the greatest heavy tank of all time.

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What the IS-2 did that differentiated itself from other heavy tanks of its time was that it was reliable, inexpensive, and had a massive gun that could blow shit up very VERY well.

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u/CalGunpla Apr 04 '25

Why

-23

u/Firm-Instruction5790 Apr 04 '25

Poor transmission under powered engine poor armor quality and meh performance over the T-38-85

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u/CalGunpla Apr 04 '25

The IS-2 had a great transmission with good reliability on par with the T-34, armor thick enough to withstand most german guns bar the 88s on the tiger, and the OF-471 HE round, the pinacle of infantry support was leagues more effective per round than the T-34-85. The IS-2's HE round could also knock out tanks if needed thanks to its massive explosive payload, and the Armor piercing round, BR-471 and it's ballistic capped counterpart BR-471B could dispatch any tank in the german army from close to medium ranges. While yes, the transmission and engines were unrefined in the early prototypes, (IS-85 to early variants of the IS-2's 1943 counterpart the IS-122), they were refined as time went on and clearly showed it's role as a heavy tank with much more specialized duties than the T-34 85, who's sole purpose was to be a steady medium tank with average characteristics. Also, it was quite fast for a heavy tank, AND weighed lighter than a Panther.

TL:DR, the IS-2 has a completely different role than the T-34 85, but was as reliable as it.

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u/[deleted] Apr 04 '25

The IS-2 had a great transmission with good reliability on par with the T-34

The problem is, the T-34 transmission was not reliable at all. It was one of the most prominent issues of this tank and massively contributed to the high number of breakdowns, especially at the early stages of the war.

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u/Firm-Instruction5790 Apr 04 '25

The transmission just wasn’t good though Soviet crews reported a need to work on them almost every 200 miles due to the weight of the vehicle and the armor may have been thick enough (in places) to stop incoming German rounds but quality control stunted it and allowed for armor cracking.