ISU-122
BOYS ARE BACK! Russian soldiers riding an early ISU-122. Photo provided by Marcin Tyra�ski.
The chassis of the IS heavy tank was used to build new
types of heavy self-propelled guns - ISU-122 and ISU-152. In the beginning, the 152.4mm
L/32 howitzer was accepted for full-scale production.
Due to the problem with supply of appropriate number of armament, the 122mm L/43 A-19 gun
model 1931/1937 also entered full-scale production. In the Winter of 1944, the first
vehicles armed with the (122mm L/43) D-25T gun with a muzzle break and
semi-automatic wedge lock appeared. The D-25T (D-25S) gun had also better performance.
Vehicles armed with the better D-25T gun were designated as ISU-122s. In the Summer of
1944, the Kirov Works in Chelyabinsk began a production of ISU-122BM armed with BL-7 gun.
Also experimental versions were designed such as the ISU-130 armed with a 130mm S-26 gun
and an ISU-122E with armor protection as thick as 150mm. Approximately, 1500
self-propelled guns of this type were manufactured. The ISU-122 were also used by the
Polish Army.
ISU-122s armed with D-25S gun with muzzle-break. Photo provided by Marcin Tyranski.
Photo of the ISU-130 armed with S-26 gun.
Specifications, ISU-122
