History, Development, and Use
of the SU-152 Assault Gun

 

 

This section will cover the history, development, and use of the SU-152 assault gun. In this section you will find where the vehicle has been used, when it was designed, its limitations and abilities, and how it functions.

 

Brief Operational History

The SU-152 evolved from Soviet experience in fighting German assault guns (StuG series) vehicles and  their own projects to come up with alternative uses for the KV frame.  Some of these projects involved KV's with multiple 76mm guns, others had 45mm guns.  Both KV-6 and KV-7 multiple gun systems were found to be unsuccessful.  Work was then focused on making a vehicle with a larger cannon.  The weapon system chosen was a shortened version of the M-1937 152mm cannon.  The gun would be designated the M-1937/43 or ML-20S.

The chassis of the vehicle was almost identical to the KV-2.  The hull differed in that it had a huge armored box welded on with a huge cannon mounted within it.  The hatches on the roof had a provision for mounting defensive machine guns, but this was rarely done.  Its prototypes were originally designated as KV-14 and were built in Chelyabinsk.  When testing proved successful the weapon went into full production where it would be designated the SU-152.

The SU-152 served with the armored and mechanized forces.  It saw its first combat action at the battle of Kursk in July of 1943.  Total production of the SU-152 was 704 vehicles.  In 1944 the weapon was replaced as a front line assault gun by the ISU-152 which was based on the new JS-1 Stalin heavy tank.

  

Tactical Use and Limitations

The SU-152 was used in both the assault and anti-armor role.  In the assault the vehicle would be used to reduce bunkers and other strong points so that the infantry could advance.  This was especially useful in urban combat situations.

In the anti-armor role it was hoped that the sheer size and power of the projectile would destroy enemy armor.  While this was true, the fact that the weapon fired a two-piece artillery-style cartridge made it much less effective than a true tank destroyer.  It simply lacked the ability to fire rapidly when discovered after a tank ambush.

 

Deployment Chronology

The SU-152 had a very short service life because of the rapidly changing technology.  Here you can see what vehicles the SU-152 assault gun replaced and what assault gun eventually replaced it.  You will be able to find more about each vehicle if we have them on our site by clicking on the links below.

 

The SU-152 replaced... SU-152 Assault Gun The SU-152 was replaced by...
SU-122 Assault Gun ISU-152 Assault Gun

 

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.