Monument EC-3M in Taganrog
IS-3 is sometimes called the “last a tank World War II, although he didn’t have time for the war. His most important battle is ideological: participation in the Victory Parade in Berlin on September 7, 1945 (today it is exactly 70 years since this event!). Then, walking in orderly rows along Berlin
Square, 52 newest heavy tank "Joseph Stalin 3" literally shocked the military experts around the world.
Tank EC-3 was a transitional vehicle, like most vehicles of the first post-war years (including airplanes). He himself served for a very short time, but the design solutions laid in it formed the basis of everything domestic, and indeed world, tank building for decades to come.
The reason for the appearance of the new Soviet heavy tank was the fact that the EC-2, armed with the Red Army, could successfully fight the German Tigers and the Panthers, but they themselves served as a rather easy target for them. The whole thing was in armor protection - the frontal and side armor of the ISA were sewed with German cannon effortlessly. In addition, our "rigging" had big problems with reliability - numerous complaints from the front indicate that everything that could break was broken in the tank. Exhausted women and children, standing at the bench in wartime, could not ensure the quality of production.
However, there were also complaints about the armament of the EC-2: first of all, it was a small ammunition 122-mm cannon - just 28 shells. The rate of fire in the 2-3 shot per minute also did not suit the military - in combination with weak armor, it literally doomed the "shot out" tank to death.
In February, the 1944 of the year began the design of a new heavy tank to replace the EC-2, and in parallel with the work on the modernization and improvement of the serial EC. On an experimental tank, called "Kirovets-1", a completely new tower was used in the form of tank-building at that time, and the frontal armor plates (both upper and lower) had a strong slope - 60 degrees. This made the tank unrecognizable for all tank and anti-tank guns of the Wehrmacht during shelling into the front of the hull from a distance of more than 1 000 meters. The tower, though it was penetrating 88-mm by German guns, but had the ability very often to send projectiles to ricochet.
The tank was already about to be launched into the series, to replace the produced IP — 2, but here the “competing” Experimental Plant offered its own version of the modernization of the tank - “the 703 object”. He immediately struck the unusual shape of the bow of the body - received from the designers the name “crooked nose”, and later - “pike nose”. Such a constructive solution not only greatly increased the armor resistance, but also reduced the mass of the armored hull.
As a result, it was decided to create a structure that combined strong decisions of both projects.
By 20 March 1945 for conducting State tests was made 5 prototype tank. In a report to Stalin about the new tank, Beria designated the name of the car as “Marshal Stalin”. However, this name was never assigned to the tank - it received the designation EC-3.
According to the results of state tests, the heavy tank EC-3 was accepted into the series. By the end of the war, the tank did not have time - by May 21, only 1945 units had been manufactured by 29, of which only 17 machines had been factory run-in.
The production "life" of the EC-3 was also short - the last copy left the factory floor only a year after the start of production, in the middle of 1946. A total of 2305 serial IC-3 was manufactured.
As soon as the tank began to flow into the line units, the shaft of complaints went back to the plant. The military had so many complaints, and they were so serious that the machine had to be stopped in May 1946. In wartime, the issue of the development of the service life was not - the tank did not live in a war for a long time. In the peace period, completely different reliability requirements were imposed on combat vehicles. And besides, the design flaws of the EC-3 came out, which also demanded elimination. As a result, large-scale work began to finalize the tank. Moreover, the volume of this work was such that the Chelyabinsk Kirov Plant was loaded with work up to the 1953 year! In the late fifties, the IS underwent a regular modernization, with the aim of tightening its level to modern battle tanks. Upgraded machines received an index of EC-3M.
The only fact of the combat use of the EC-3 in the troops of the Soviet Union are the events in Budapest in the year 1956. And besides this, Isa was able to make war in the “six-day war” - the Arab-Israeli conflict 1967. According to its results, the Egyptian army lost the 73 tank EC-3 and EC-3M, more than half of which were abandoned by their crews.
Also interesting is the fact of the "combat use" of the EC-3 in the current conflict in Ukraine. In the course of the armed conflict in the east of Ukraine in 2014, the tank EC-3, standing as a monument in the city of Konstantinovka, was brought to working condition by the rebels of the DPR and removed from the pedestal. According to the reports of the rebels themselves, 30 June 2014, the tank was first used in the battle near Ulyanovka. According to some reports, shot from the pedestal of the EC-3 was "modernized" by the rebels: two machine guns were mounted on it, the NSV and the DShK. In July, the tank left by the rebels was discovered by the Ukrainian army after establishing control over Konstantinovka. It is planned to demilitarize it and return it to the pedestal. Now located in Kiev near the National Military History Museum.
In the USSR, the JS-3M tanks were officially in service until the mid-eighties. After the cancellation, a lot of cars across the country took the place of monuments. And one of them - EC-3M in Taganrog, which I was able to study.
Let's take a look at this copy in detail.
Tank IS-3 in all its glory. Combat weight 46 tons, crew 4 man, the length of the gun - almost 10 meters!
The bow of the hull. It houses the office of management. The driver’s hatch is visible in the roof of the case.
On the front armor plates, towing hooks with spring latches were installed (there are no latches on the monument, only brackets for them), as well as the laying of spare tracks.
Ring turret 12.7-mm anti-aircraft gun DShK sample 1938 year. On the monument it is not, unfortunately.
Armament tank - 122-mm gun. In the same place, in the mask of the gun, there is a DTM machine gun of 7.62 mm caliber paired with it.
The stern bronelist is folded back and has two round hatches for inspection of the transmission compartment.
Between the hatches there should be a bracket for fixing the barrel of the gun in the stowed position (when the tower was turned back by the barrel), but on this monument it is not there either.
The mounting brackets for two hundred liter forage fuel barrels are visible. These barrels are not connected to the fuel system of the tank.
Monolithic tower with numerous handrails.
Front removable sheet tower. It is also the cover of the gun hatch.
The stern of the tower and the roof of the engine compartment of the tank.
Luke surveillance tank commander. Inspection devices removed.
Muzzle brake 122-mm gun D-25T. The greatest range of fire of the tool - 5 000 meters!
Engine cover The tank was installed 12-cylinder diesel engine B-11 power 520 hp
Additional external fuel tanks. Could be dropped without leaving the crew of the tank, with the help of mechanical devices.
Chassis Tank. In general, it is identical to the running IC-2.
Track roller. Dual, diameter 550 mm.
Driving wheel rear location, with removable gear rims.
Well, according to tradition - a few general types in the end.
That's all, thanks for watching, write your impressions in the comments!
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