The IS tanks () were a series of

heavy tank A heavy tank is a tank classification produced from World War I to the end of the Cold War. These tanks generally sacrificed mobility and maneuverability for better armour protection and equal or greater firepower than tanks of lighter classes. ...

s developed as a successor to the KV-series by the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. The IS acronym is the anglicized initialism of

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Dzhugashvili; 5 March 1953) was a Soviet politician and revolutionary who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin, his death in 1953. He held power as General Secret ...

(, '). The heavy tanks were designed as a response to the capture of a German

Tiger I The Tiger I () was a Nazi Germany, German heavy tank of World War II that began operational duty in 1942 in North African Campaign, Africa and in the Soviet Union, usually in independent German heavy tank battalion, heavy tank battalions. It g ...

in 1943. They were mainly designed as breakthrough tanks, firing a heavy high-explosive shell that was useful against entrenchments and bunkers. The IS-2 went into service in April 1944 and was used as a spearhead by the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

in the final stage of the Battle of Berlin. The IS-3 served on the Chinese-Soviet border, the Hungarian Revolution, the

Prague Spring The Prague Spring (; ) was a period of liberalization, political liberalization and mass protest in the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic. It began on 5 January 1968, when reformist Alexander Dubček was elected Secretary (title), First Secre ...

and on both sides of the

Six-Day War The Six-Day War, also known as the June War, 1967 Arab–Israeli War or Third Arab–Israeli War, was fought between Israel and a coalition of Arab world, Arab states, primarily United Arab Republic, Egypt, Syria, and Jordan from 5 to 10June ...

. The series eventually culminated in the T-10 heavy tank.

Design and production

KV-85/IS-85/IS-1

The KV-85 was a KV-1S with the new turret from the Object 237 (IS-85) still in development, mounting the 85mm D-5T gun. The tank was a result of the USSR's tank design bureau being torn in two, one half focusing on the KV-85 and its variants, and the other working on the later IS series. The IS-85 was soon finished and it combined the hull of the KV-13, the new turret from the KV-85, and the same 85mm D-5T gun as both these tanks. The IS-85 was later referred to as IS-1. The first IS-1 rolled off the line in October 1943, but production was stopped in January 1944, as the IS-1 was quickly replaced by the IS-2. Because of this, only about 200 IS-1s were produced.

IS-2

In December 1943, two up-gunned variants of the IS-85 were created: the IS-100, armed with the 100mm BS-3 gun, and the IS-122, armed with the 122mm A19 gun (later adopted and renamed as the D-25T). The IS-122 was found to be better than the IS-100 in trials, and so the IS-100 was dropped. The IS-122 was renamed to IS-2 and production started with the 1943 model using a KV-13 chassis. First deliveries of IS-2s were in December 1943. The 1944 model was produced with a revised front slope that was better from an armor point of view while still saving weight. Production in bulk of the IS-2 started in February 1944 and ended nearing the end of World War II. By the end of World War II, 3,854 IS-2 model 1943 and model 1944's combined had been produced. German general Hasso von Manteuffel, who met tanks of that series in combat for the first time in Romania in 1944, considered the Stalin tank "the finest in the world."

Object 703 IS-3

There are two tanks known as IS-3: Object 244 was an IS-2 rearmed with the long-barrelled 85 mm cannon (D-5T-85-BM) and developed by the Leningrad Kirov Plant (LKZ), which was never series-produced for service use. The IS-3 known as Object 703 is a Soviet heavy tank developed in late 1944, and began production in May 1945. Its semi-hemispherical cast

turret Turret may refer to: * Turret (architecture), a small tower that projects above the wall of a building * Gun turret, a mechanism of a projectile-firing weapon * Optical microscope#Objective turret (revolver or revolving nose piece), Objective turre ...

(resembling an upturned soup bowl), became the hallmark of post-war Soviet tanks. Its

pike nose A pike nose (from ) is a configuration of vehicle armour in which an armoured vehicle's frontal armour consists of three angular plates put together to form a cone-like shape, similar to the nose of a Pike (fish), pike, from which the name stems. ...

design was also mirrored by other tanks of the IS tank family such as the IS-7 and T-10 tank. Too late to see combat in World War II, the IS-3 participated in the Berlin Victory Parade of 1945, and on the Chinese-Soviet border, the Soviet invasion of Hungary, the

and the

Object 701 IS-4

There are two tanks known as IS-4: Object 245 and Object 701. Object 245 was an IS-2 rearmed with a long 100 mm D-10T cannon. The IS-4 known as the Object 701 was a

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

that started development in 1943 and began production in 1946. Derived from the IS-2 and part of the IS tank family the IS-4 featured a longer hull and increased armor. With the IS-3 already in production, and when sluggish mobility and decreased need for tanks (particularly heavy tanks) became an issue, many were sent to the

Russian Far East The Russian Far East ( rus, Дальний Восток России, p=ˈdalʲnʲɪj vɐˈstok rɐˈsʲiɪ) is a region in North Asia. It is the easternmost part of Russia and the Asia, Asian continent, and is coextensive with the Far Easte ...

with some eventually becoming pillboxes along the Chinese border in the 1960s. Less than 250 were produced.

Object 730 IS-5

The IS-5, is merely one of the many designations given to what would ultimately become the T-10 tank.

Object 252/253 IS-6

There existed two different IS-6s: the Object 253 was an attempt to develop a practical electrical transmission system for heavy tanks. Similar systems had been tested previously in France and the United States and had been used with limited success in the German Elefant/Ferdinand tank destroyer during World War II. The experimental transmission proved unreliable and was dangerously prone to overheating, and development was discontinued. The alternative Object 252 shared the same hull and turret as the Object 253, but used a different suspension with no return rollers, and a conventional mechanical transmission. The design was deemed to offer no significant advantages over the IS-2, just the reload time was less, and the IS-6 project was halted.

Upgraded version of IS-6

Since the IS-6 proved to have no significant advantages over IS-2 and its rival IS-4, in November 1944, they decided to dramatically upgrade the tank. The project was called "Object 252U" (U stands for "Improvement" in Russian). The tank featured a heavily sloped pike-nose armor, a new 122 mm D-13T gun, and more slope on the sides and rear. The design proved to be problematic in terms of crew comfort since the interior was too cramped and the design was cancelled.

Object 260 IS-7

The IS-7 heavy tank design began in

Leningrad Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

in 1945 by Nikolai Fedorovich Shashmurin and was developed in 1948. Weighing 68

tonne The tonne ( or ; symbol: t) is a unit of mass equal to 1,000 kilograms. It is a non-SI unit accepted for use with SI. It is also referred to as a metric ton in the United States to distinguish it from the non-metric units of the s ...

s, thickly armoured and armed with a 130 mm S-70 long-barrelled gun, it was the largest and heaviest member of the IS family.

Object 730 T-10 IS-8

The IS-8Miller 2000, p. 250. (also known as Objekt 730) was the final development of the KV and IS tank series. It was accepted into service in 1952 as the IS-8, but due to the political climate in the wake of Stalin's death in 1953, it was renamed T-10, as it was the tenth heavy tank in Soviet service. The biggest differences from its direct ancestor, the IS-3, were a longer hull, seven pairs of road wheels instead of six, a larger turret mounting a new gun with fume extractor, an improved diesel engine, and increased armour. General performance was similar, although the T-10 could carry more ammunition. T-10s (like the earlier tanks they replaced) were deployed in independent tank regiments belonging to armies, and independent tank battalions belonging to divisions. These independent tank units could be attached to mechanized units, to support infantry operations and perform breakthroughs. The T-10M is the final iteration of this type. It featured a longer gun barrel than previous models with 5-baffle muzzle brake and 14.5 mm machine gun. This was the last Soviet heavy tank to enter service. When the advanced T-64 MBT became available it replaced the T-10 in front line formations.

Comparisons

File:IS3.jpg, IS-3 File:IS-4 Tank.jpg, IS-4 File:IS-7.JPG, An IS-7 tank during trials (1948) File:Soviet tank T-10 in Kiev, Ukraine.JPG, T-10M in the Museum of The History of Ukraine in World War II,

Kyiv Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

Combat history

The IS-2 entered combat in World War II during the first months of 1944. The Soviets produced significant numbers of the type (close to 4,000) and deployed them against the most advanced German designs of the time, notably the

, Tiger II, and Panther, as well as against Elefant tank destroyers. The IS-2 was best used for bunker assault using its high-explosive ammunition, as its reload rate, just 2 rounds per minute, made it ineffective as a tank destroyer. The IS-3 saw service on the Chinese-Soviet border, the Soviet invasion of Hungary, the

and on both sides of the

. However, the mobility and firepower of medium-tanks and the evolution of the

main battle tank A main battle tank (MBT), also known as a battle tank or universal tank or simply tank,Ogorkiewicz 2018 p222 is a tank that fills the role of armour-protected direct fire and maneuver in many modern armies. Cold War-era development of more po ...

rendered heavy tanks obsolete.

Variants

;KV-85: A stopgap model built from a modified KV-1S hull mated to an Object 237(IS-1)'s turret and armed with the 85 mm D-5T. ;IS-1K: (1942) The first prototype of the IS-1 tank, which was made in two copies in 1942. The turret was from an experimental KV-9 tank, which did not go into mass production. But the high military command decided that the turret and gun of the KV-9 tank were too outdated. As a result, a new turret had to be designed for the new gun. ;IS-85 (IS-1): 1943 model armed with an 85 mm gun. When IS-2 production started, many were re-gunned with 122 mm guns before being issued. ;IS-100: A prototype version armed with a 100 mm gun; it went into trials against the ''IS-122'' which was armed with a 122 mm gun. Though the IS-100 was reported to have better anti-armor capabilities, the latter was chosen due to better all-around performance. ;IS-122 (IS-2 model 1943): 1943 model, armed with A-19 122 mm gun (later adopted as the D-25T gun). Production ended after World War II. ;IS-2 model 1944 :1944 improvement with D-25T 122 mm gun, with faster-loading drop breech and new fire control, and improved frontal hull armour using thinner armour with a more efficient shape. ;IS-2M: 1950s modernization of IS-2 tanks. ; IS-3:1944 armor redesign, with new rounded turret, angular front hull casting, integrated stowage bins over the tracks. Internally similar to IS-2 model 1944 and produced concurrently. About 350 built during the war. ;IS-3M: (1952) Modernized version of IS-3. Fitted with additional jettisonable external fuel tanks and improved hull welding. ; IS-4: 1944 design, in competition against the IS-3. Longer hull and thicker armor than IS-2. About 250 were built, after the war. ;IS-6: Prototype with an experimental electrical transmission. Chassis tested further with a conventional transmission after failure of the experimental system, but not deemed a significant enough improvement over existing heavy tank designs to warrant mass production. ; IS-7:1946 prototype, only three built. The IS-7 model 1948 variant had a weight of 68 metric tons and it was armed with the 130 mm S-70 naval cannon (7020 mm long barrel). The assisted loader can achieve up to 8 rounds per minute. Other equipment included stabilizers, infrared night scopes, and 8 machine guns. The hull armor was 150 mm placed at 50~52 degree angles. On the turret, the frontal thickness was 240–350 mm at an angle of 45-0 degrees. The IS-7 had a crew of five, with the driver in the hull, the commander and gunner in the front of the turret, with both loaders in the rear of the turret. A Slostin machine gun was to be installed as its AA armament. ; IS-8 (T-10): 1952 improvement with a longer hull, seven pairs of road wheels instead of six, a larger turret mounting a new gun with fume extractor, an improved diesel engine, and increased armor. Renamed T-10 as part of the Destalinization of the Soviet Union in the 1950s.

Operators

; *

People's Liberation Army The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is the military of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the People's Republic of China (PRC). It consists of four Military branch, services—People's Liberation Army Ground Force, Ground Force, People's ...

: 60 IS-2s delivered in 1950–1951. Operated during the Korean War and in concrete bunkers along the Sino-Soviet border. ; * Cuban Army: 41 IS-2Ms delivered in 1960. ; * Czechoslovak Army: 8 IS-2/IS-2M in service between 1945 and 1960. Two IS-3 delivered in 1949 were used only for trials and military parades. ; * NVA: 60 IS-2 delivered 1956. Operated until 1963. ; * Egyptian Army: 100 IS-3M operated from 1956 to 1967, some in use in the Six-Day War 1967. ; *

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the German Army (1935–1945), ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmac ...

: Captured one or two IS-2 in May 1945. ; * Hungarian People's Army: 68 IS-2s in service between 1950 and 1956. After the crackdown of the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 all were returned to the Soviet Union. ; * IDF: Three IS-3M captured from Egypt in 1967. Reused as indirect fire artillery on the Sinai's Bar Lev line and as fixed turret bunkers fortifications along the Jordan Valley frontier. ; *

Korean People's Army The Korean People's Army (KPA; ) encompasses the combined military forces of North Korea and the armed wing of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK). The KPA consists of five branches: the Korean People's Army Ground Force, Ground Force, the Ko ...

: Small number of IS-2s; never deployed in combat in the Korean War. ; * Polish People's Army: Approximately 71 IS-2s used in combat between 1944 and 1945. 180 IS-2s survived as of 1955 and remained in service until the 1960s; some later were converted to

armoured recovery vehicle An armoured recovery vehicle (ARV) is typically a powerful tank or armoured personnel carrier (APC) chassis modified for use during combat for military vehicle recovery (towing) or repair of battle-damaged, stuck, and/or inoperable armoured f ...

s. Two IS-3s were bought in 1946 for trials only. ; *

Romanian Land Forces The Romanian Land Forces () is the army of Romania, and the main component of the Romanian Armed Forces. Since 2007, full professionalization and a major equipment overhaul have transformed the nature of the Land Forces. The Romanian Land Force ...

: One IS-2 captured during clashes on the Romanian border between 28 May and 7 June 1944. The tank was subsequently exhibited in

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...

. ; * South Ossetian Army: Operated some IS-2s, IS-3s and T-10s until 1995. ; *

: Heavy Breakthrough Tank from 1944 to 1945. * Soviet Army: Phased out of service in the early-1970s. ; Novorossiyan rebels * One IS-3, previously displayed on a pedestal in the village of Aleksandro-Kalynove near Kostiantynivka as a World War II memorial, used in combat by the Novorossiyan Armed Forces in the

2014 pro-Russian unrest in Ukraine From the end of February 2014, in the aftermath of the Euromaidan and the Revolution of Dignity, which resulted in the ousting of Russian-leaning President of Ukraine, Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, demonstrations by Russian-backed, ...

. Kostiantynivka was retaken by Ukrainian forces on 7 July 2014, along with the IS-3.

Surviving vehicles

There are several surviving IS series tanks, with examples found at the following: ; IS-2 * Os. Górali tanding tank Kraków, Poland * Polish Army Museum, Warsaw, Poland * Museum of Arms in Fort Winiary, Poznań, Poland * Museum of Armoured Weapon in Training Center of Land Forces, Poznań, Poland (operational
see movie
* Tank Museum of the People's Liberation Army, Beijing, China. * Liberty Park, Overloon, The Netherlands. * Museum of The History of Ukraine in World War II, Ukraine * Kurzeme Fortress Museum, Zante, Latvia. * Diorama Battle of Kursk, in Belgorod, Russia. * The American Heritage Museum,

Greater Boston Greater Boston is the metropolitan region of New England encompassing the municipality of Boston, the capital of the U.S. state of Massachusetts and the most populous city in New England, and its surrounding areas, home to 4,941,632. The most s ...

, USA * Army Technical Museum, Lešany, Czech Republic (previously in Prague as a Monument to Soviet tank crews) * Orvidai Homestead - Museum, Kretinga, Lithuania ; IS-2M *

Imperial War Museum Duxford Imperial War Museum Duxford, also known as IWM Duxford or simply Duxford, is a branch of the Imperial War Museum near Duxford in Cambridgeshire, England. Duxford, Britain's largest aviation museum, houses exhibits, including nearly 200 aircraf ...

, England. *

Kubinka Tank Museum The Kubinka Tank Museum (Центральный музей бронетанкового вооружения и техники - Tsentral'nyy Muzey Bronetankovogo Vooruzheniya I Tekhniki -Central Museum of Armored Arms and Technology) is a larg ...

, Russia. * Victory Park (Park Pobedy - Парк Победы), Ulyanovsk, Russia. * Victory Park at Poklonnaya Gora, Moscow, Russia. ; IS-3 * IDF Armoured Corps Museum, Israel. * Museum of Armoured Arms, Training Center of Land Forces, Poznań, Poland * Army Technical Museum, Lešany, Czech Republic (operational). * Polish Army Museum, Warsaw, Poland. (Fort Czerniaków branch of the Museum). * National Armor and Cavalry Museum, Fort Benning, Georgia, United States. * Victory Park in the northern part of Ulyanovsk, Russia. * Ulyanovskoe SVU, Ulyanovsk, Russia * Military Glory Museum,

Gomel Gomel (, ) or Homyel (, ) is a city in south-eastern Belarus. It serves as the administrative centre of Gomel Region and Gomel District, though it is administratively separated from the district. As of 2025, it is the List of cities and largest ...

, Belarus. * Diorama Battle of Kursk, in Belgorod, Russia. * At least one IS-3 was used by the separatist government in Donbas before being captured by Ukrainian forces. ; IS-3M * Egyptian National Military Museum,

Cairo Citadel The Citadel of Cairo or Citadel of Saladin () is a medieval Islamic-era fortification in Cairo, Egypt, built by Salah ad-Din (Saladin) and further developed by subsequent Egyptian rulers. It was the seat of government in Egypt and the residenc ...

, Egypt. * Military Vehicle Technology Foundation, California, United States. * Royal Museum of the Armed Forces and of Military History, Brussels, Belgium. (still operational) ; IS-4 *

, Russia. ; IS-7 *

, Russia.

Gallery

File:IS-2_tank_Krakow.jpg, IS-2 File:JS-2 museo tedesco russo berlino.JPG, IS-2M File:IS-2 Cubinka 1.jpg, IS-2M at the Kubinka Tank Museum File:Is-3 lesany.jpg, The IS-3 at the Military Technical Museum Lešany File:IS-3 heavy tank at the Muzeum Polskiej Techniki Wojskowej in Warsaw (2).jpg, IS-3 heavy tank at the Museum Polskiej Techniki Wojskowej in Warsaw. File:IS-3-latrun-2.jpg, Former Egyptian Army IS-3M

Notes

References

Sources

* Baryatinsky, Mikhail (2006). ''The IS Tanks''. Hersham, Surrey: Ian Allan Publishing. ; (13)9780711031623 * * Jentz, Thomas (1995). ''Germany's Panther Tank: The Quest for Combat Supremacy''. Atglen, PA:

Schiffer Publishing Schiffer Publishing Ltd. (also known for its imprints Schiffer, Schiffer Craft, Schiffer Military History, Schiffer Kids, REDFeather MBS, Cornell Maritime Press, Tidewater Publishers, Thrums Books, and Geared Up Publications) is a family-owned p ...

. * * * Sewell, Stephen ‘Cookie’ (2002). “Red Star – White Elephant?” in ''Armor'', July–August 2002, pp 26–32. Fort Knox, KY: US Army Armor Center. * * *

External links

* Battlefield.ru
JS-1 and JS-2 Development history, Combat employment, Comparison to German tanks

(JS-4 through JS-10, or T-10) * OnWar

in museums and monuments.
IS-3 "test drive" (video)

AWACS Tank Guide: IS-7 - Beginner's Guides & Tutorials
{{DEFAULTSORT:Iosif Stalin Tank Heavy tanks of the Soviet Union World War II tanks of the Soviet Union World War II heavy tanks Cold War tanks of the Soviet Union Military vehicles introduced from 1940 to 1944 History of the tank Joseph Stalin