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- "What the hell was that?! That's not allowed by schools regulation!"
- ―Sodoko while being chased by IS-2
The IS-2, named after Soviet leader Joseph Stalin (JS) / Iosif Stalin (IS, in Cyrillic Ио́сиф Ста́лин "ИС") was a Soviet heavy tank, the successor of the IS-1. It was heavily armed with a 122 mm gun and well-sloped armor. It first appeared in the anime during Episode 8.
Background
In 1943, IS-2 was developed to replace the KV-1, because it was completely obsolete with its poor mobility and weaponry to deal with new German tanks such as the Tiger I. The heavy tank project started gradually, from light and fast heavy KV-1S, average and decent heavy KV-85, the first phase of the IS heavy tank, the IS-85/IS-1, to the most successful phase, the IS-122/IS-2 Model 1943 and IS-2 Model 1944.
IS-2 Model 1943 Modification
The IS-2 Model 1943 immediately entered into service in April 1944. it was armed with a 122 mm A-19 Gun for both anti-tank and anti-infantry purposes. The frontal armor scheme of the IS-2 was stepped 120 mm frontal armor plates.
IS-2 Model 1944 Modification
The 122 mm A-19 Gun was upgraded with a 122 mm D-25T Gun with a double-baffle muzzle brake and better fire control, which could load the shell faster and could penetrate tanks with heavily sloped armor, such as the Panther. The stepped 120 mm frontal armor plates were replaced by a single sloped 90 or 100 mm frontal armor plate, increasing the armor effectiveness drastically.
Total of 3,854 IS-2s were produced during WWII, and it was assigned to heavy tank regiments deployed for major offensive actions. While successful, it suffered from a low rate of fire and reduced ammo storage.
IS-2 was a very effective heavy breakthrough tank, due to its impressive 122 mm gun and well-sloped armor. Its gun was primarily for anti-tank purpose, and secondarily for anti-infantry support, due to the high caliber gun that could maximize the effectiveness of both armor-piercing ballistic capped (APBC) shell and high-explosive (HE) shell. It could destroy most of the heavily armored tanks with just a direct hit from an APBC shell. It also well-suited to kill enemy infantry and fortifications by utilizing HE shell. The sloped 100 mm frontal armor could defeat most of incoming enemy fire in certain angles. The IS-2 was better suited for a breakthrough assault by utilizing its all-purpose 122 mm gun, great mobility for such size, and armor.
In Girls Und Panzer
Pravda Girls High School has an IS-2 Model 1944, designated as the main attack force to knock out as many tanks as possible by using its main gun.
The IS-2 served as the main heavy tank unit for Pravda during the semifinals against Ooarai Girls High School. It was very accurate despite the gun size, as shown when Nonna was assigned as IS-2 gunner by Katyusha after being a commander in her T-34/85. Going so far with the highest score during the match, it knocked out Rabbit Team's M3 Lee and Mallard Team's Char B1 bis from long range while moving. it also damaged Duck Team's Type 89B (Ooarai's flag tank), but barely survived after the shell exploded in front of its right track, severely damaging it.
References
Trivia
- IS-2 was featured in World of Tanks separately as Soviet heavy tank IS (Tier 7) and Chinese heavy tank IS-2 (Tier 7).
- Midoriko Sono (Sodoko) calls it the "Molotov".
Gallery
| Tanks ☰ | ||
|---|---|---|
| Light Tanks and Tankettes |  7TP •  AMR-35 •  BT-42 •  Crusader •  CV.33 • FT-17 • Harry Hopkins •  M22 Locust • M24 Chaffee • Mark VI •  Panzer II •  Panzer 38(t) • R35 •  T-60 • T-70 • Tetrarch • TK Tankette •  Type 2 Ka-Mi • Type 94 Tankette • Type 95 Ha-Go • Type 97 Te-Ke
| |
| Medium Tanks | Centurion • M3 Lee • M4 Sherman • M13/40 • Matilda II • P26/40 • Panzer III • Panzer IV • Panzer V "Panther" •  Sentinel • SOMUA S35 • T-34 • T-44 • Type 89B • Type 3 Chi-Nu • Type 97 Chi-Ha
| |
| Heavy Tanks | ARL 44 • B1 Bis • Black Prince • Churchill • IS-2 • KV-1 • KV-2 • M26 Pershing • Mark IV • Neubaufahrzeug • Panzer VI "Tiger" • Panzer VI Ausf. B "Tiger II" • Panzer VIII "Maus" • VK45.01 Porsche Tiger
| |
| Tank Destroyers | Elefant • Hetzer • ISU-152 • Jagdpanzer IV • Jagdpanther • Jagdtiger •  Mareșal • Semovente da 75/18 • StuG III • T28 Super-Heavy Tank
| |
| Self-Propelled Artillery | Karl-Gerät 040
| |
| Main Battle Tank | Type 10
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