[Applause]
the isu-152 a heavy Soviet self-propelled gun used in World War II entering service in 1943 the
isu-152 could take on armor on the battlefield big or small with its 152.4 millimeter gun it
often went by the nickname Zveroboy meaning Beast killer to give the Soviet Army confidence that it
was one answer to Germany's large tank designs entering service in the second half of the war
the first prototype of the isu-152 was unveiled in January of 1943 and the design was accepted
into production just over a month later it went by the initial designation of kv-14
as they were built on the kv-1 chassis their designation changed to su-152 in
April of 1943. this variant was successful in combat however production of the kv-1
tank chassis ended in August of 1943 so the 152 would be upgraded and built on the new
is tank chassis starting in December of 1943. designation now changed to isu-152
4635 of these monsters were built up until 1959. several Soviet movies take advantage of their
dramatic presence which always amplifies a battlefield the most notable film that
uses several is Counter-Strike from 1985. to date there are around 20 isus in museums and memorials
around the world [Music] despite the nickname Beast killer the primary role of the ISU was
in supporting infantry and attacking fortified positions the ISU is extremely valuable during
Urban combat they were used at the Battle of Berlin at Budapest and Königsberg the
vehicle's excellent front armor meant it could Advance towards enemy strong points while Under
Fire from German artillery or anti-tank guns its low velocity high explosive rounds could blast
open enemy fortified positions or just level city blocks before Soviet infantry advanced
videos [Applause] front armor for the ISU is 90 millimeters at 30 degrees to an incredible
320 millimeters around the gun in late variants it should be noted the reason for the mantlet
looking so large is less about armor and more about making space for the recoil system used
by the gun the vehicle was slow it had a 520 horsepower diesel engine meaning at 47.3 tons
it had 11 horsepower per ton maximum speed on roads was 30 kilometers an hour or 19 miles per
hour the gun was slow to aim with a limited Traverse of 12 degrees left or right the gun
was further slow to reload and internally the ISU could only carry a maximum of 21
rounds replenishing the vehicle's ammunition Supply took over 40 minutes and required
a very strong loader the heaviest shell the vehicle fired was the concrete piercing round
weighing a massive 56 kilograms that's almost 125 pounds the shells were so big that even a
high explosive round meant for soft targets had the potential to destroy a heavily armored tank
foreign post-world War II isu's continued in limited production with upgrades including
the installation of the same engine used on t-54s isus were used around
the world from Korea to the Middle East one interesting use was at Chernobyl where they
were brought in after the nuclear meltdown a plan was created to use their guns to
blast a hole in the concrete surrounding the nuclear reactor from a safe distance
crews could then pipe in liquid nitrogen to cool the reactor down this plan was
abandoned for what involving coal miners accessing the reactor by digging under it
but the ISU would still play a role in bulldozing buildings that had absorbed
radiation in the surrounding area the theory was the isu's thick armor helped protect Crews
from radiation the crews performing this task would be called Liquidators
all right I'm Johnny thanks for watching this video on the Beast killer which was more of
a bulldozer with a big gun take care stay away from nuclear reactors and we'll see you next time
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