SU-85
Encyclopedia
The SU-85 was a Soviet
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....

 self-propelled gun used during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, based on the chassis of the T-34
T-34
The T-34 was a Soviet medium tank produced from 1940 to 1958. Although its armour and armament were surpassed by later tanks of the era, it has been often credited as the most effective, efficient and influential design of World War II...

 medium tank. Earlier Soviet self-propelled guns were meant to serve as either assault gun
Assault gun
An assault gun is a gun or howitzer mounted on a motor vehicle or armored chassis, designed for use in the direct fire role in support of infantry when attacking other infantry or fortified positions....

s, such as the SU-122
SU-122
The SU-122 was a Soviet self-propelled howitzer used during World War II. The number "122" in the designation represents the caliber of the main armament—a 122 mm M-30S howitzer.-Development history:...

, or as mobile anti-tank weapons; the SU-85 fell into the latter category. The designation SU-85 is derived as follows: 'SU' stands for the - self-propelled carriage, while "85" signifies the bore of the vehicle's armament, the 85 mm D-5T gun.

Development history

Early in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, Soviet tanks such as the T-34
T-34
The T-34 was a Soviet medium tank produced from 1940 to 1958. Although its armour and armament were surpassed by later tanks of the era, it has been often credited as the most effective, efficient and influential design of World War II...

 and KV-1 had enough firepower to destroy any German tank then available. However, in the fall of 1942, Soviet forces encountered the new German Tiger tank
Tiger I
Tiger I is the common name of a German heavy tank developed in 1942 and used in World War II. The final official German designation was Panzerkampfwagen Tiger Ausf. E, often shortened to Tiger. It was an answer to the unexpectedly formidable Soviet armour encountered in the initial months of...

, with armor too thick to be penetrated by the 76.2 mm guns used in the T-34 and KV tanks at a safe range. By spring 1943, the Soviets had also received reports of the new Panther tank
Panther tank
Panther is the common name of a medium tank fielded by Nazi Germany in World War II that served from mid-1943 to the end of the European war in 1945. It was intended as a counter to the T-34, and to replace the Panzer III and Panzer IV; while never replacing the latter, it served alongside it as...

, although the Panther was not seen in combat until July 1943, during the battle of Kursk
Battle of Kursk
The Battle of Kursk took place when German and Soviet forces confronted each other on the Eastern Front during World War II in the vicinity of the city of Kursk, in the Soviet Union in July and August 1943. It remains both the largest series of armored clashes, including the Battle of Prokhorovka,...

. This new generation of German vehicles meant the Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...

 needed a new and more powerful tank destroyer
Tank destroyer
A tank destroyer is a type of armored fighting vehicle armed with a gun or missile launcher, and is designed specifically to engage enemy armored vehicles...

.

In May 1943, work was begun on both a new anti-tank gun and a redesign to the armament of the SU-122
SU-122
The SU-122 was a Soviet self-propelled howitzer used during World War II. The number "122" in the designation represents the caliber of the main armament—a 122 mm M-30S howitzer.-Development history:...

. Developers of the former put their efforts to adapting the 85 mm heavy anti-aircraft gun, one of two types identified as best against the Tiger (the other being the 122 mm A-19). The SU-122, meanwhile, was rearmed with an existing 85 mm gun, the S-18, which was itself improved in the process. The production factory at Uralmash
Uralmash
Uralmash is a heavy machine production facility of the Russian engineering corporation OMZ. The facility is located in Yekaterinburg, Russia. The surrounding residential area where workers live is also called Uralmash....

, which received the SU-122 design, attempted to reject the design as too expensive, since the larger gun breech meant that the entire hull would need to be modified, but it was required nevertheless to put the design into production.

Of the SU-85, several prototypes were rejected for design flaws, but after several changes, which included changing the gun to a D-5T, one was put into service as the SU-85. At the same time, the 85 mm D-5S, which had proven both effective and reliable, was modified to include a telescopic sight and a new ball mantlet design and retitled the SU-85-II.

Description

The SU-85 was a modification of the earlier SU-122
SU-122
The SU-122 was a Soviet self-propelled howitzer used during World War II. The number "122" in the designation represents the caliber of the main armament—a 122 mm M-30S howitzer.-Development history:...

 self-propelled howitzer, essentially replacing the 122 mm M-30S howitzer of the SU-122 with a D-5T high-velocity 85 mm antitank gun. The vehicle was small with good mobility. The trade-off was its relatively light armor.

Production history

SU-85 production started in mid-1943, with the first vehicles reaching their units by August. When the up-gunned T-34-85 medium tank entered mass production in the spring of 1944, there was no point in continuing production of a tank destroyer without superior firepower, so SU-85 production was stopped in late 1944 after 2,050 vehicles had been produced. It was replaced on the production lines by the SU-100
SU-100
The SU-100 was a Soviet tank destroyer. It was used extensively during the last year of World War II and saw service for many years afterwards with the armies of Soviet allies around the world.- Development :...

 tank destroyer, armed with the more powerful 100 mm D-10S gun.

There were two versions: the basic SU-85 had a fixed commander's cupola with a rotating periscope and three vision blocks; the improved SU-85M had the same casemate as the SU-100, with a commander's cupola
Cupola
In architecture, a cupola is a small, most-often dome-like, structure on top of a building. Often used to provide a lookout or to admit light and air, it usually crowns a larger roof or dome....

 as used on the T-34-85.

Service history

The SU-85 entered combat in August 1943. It saw active service in Soviet, Polish and Czechoslovak forces on the Eastern Front
Eastern Front (World War II)
The Eastern Front of World War II was a theatre of World War II between the European Axis powers and co-belligerent Finland against the Soviet Union, Poland, and some other Allies which encompassed Northern, Southern and Eastern Europe from 22 June 1941 to 9 May 1945...

 until the end of the war. It was obsolescent by 1945, and was withdrawn from active service not long after the war, to be exported to many Soviet client states in Europe and elsewhere.

The SU-85 remained in service longer in North Korea
North Korea
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea , , is a country in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang. The Korean Demilitarized Zone serves as the buffer zone between North Korea and South Korea...

 and Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...

. The similar SU-100
SU-100
The SU-100 was a Soviet tank destroyer. It was used extensively during the last year of World War II and saw service for many years afterwards with the armies of Soviet allies around the world.- Development :...

 remained in service much longer, and some SU-85 and SU-100 were converted and used as command and recovery vehicles.

Former Soviet Union

  • SU-85-I - First SU-85 prototype, rejected for space concerns. Armed with 85 mm S-18 gun.
  • SU-85-IV - Second prototype also with a standard hull of the SU-122 but it had a larger ball mantlet, different from the one used in SU-85-I. Armed with 85 mm S-18 gun.
  • SU-85-II - Third SU-85 prototype with the new 85 mm D-5S gun, a new TSh-15 sight and a new ball mantlet design.
    • SU-85 - Main production model armed with 85 mm D-5T gun.
      • SU-85M - SU-85 with the casemate from the SU-100
        SU-100
        The SU-100 was a Soviet tank destroyer. It was used extensively during the last year of World War II and saw service for many years afterwards with the armies of Soviet allies around the world.- Development :...

        tank destroyer, which was larger and could carry up to 60 rounds instead of 48. It also had the same commander's cupola as the one used in the T-34-85.
      • SU-85T - SU-85 converted into an ARV.
  • SU-85-III - Fourth SU-85 prototype with a modified commander's cupola, with direct vision slots and covers.

Poland

  • WPT-34 (1960s) - Polish repair and maintenance vehicle with a superstructure replacing the casemate, a crane, a large-diameter telescoping snorkel for deep fording operations as well as a large-spade type earth anchor in the rear. It was converted from SU-85 tank destroyers as well as T-34 medium tanks and SU-100 tank destroyers.

General references

  • Perrett, Bryan (1987). Soviet Armour Since 1945, London: Blandford. ISBN 0-7137-1735-1.
  • Zaloga, Steven J., James Grandsen (1984). Soviet Tanks and Combat Vehicles of World War Two, London: Arms and Armour Press. ISBN 0-85368-606-8.

External links

  • SU-85 at Battlefield.ru
  • SU-85 at WWIIvehicles.com
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