The SU Series - How the USSR made a better StuG
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 12 июн 2024
- When the Germans invaded the Soviet Union in the Summer of 1941, they had with them their revolutionary StuG III, an infantry support vehicle. The Soviets had no such vehicle, and set to work using captured StuGs while they created their own family of support vehicles, both for anti-tank and anti-infantry use. This is the story of the T-34 based SU series - Stalin's StuGs.
DISCORD: / discord
PATREON: / redwrenchfilms
Chapters:
00:00 Intro
00:45 The StuG III
01:34 SG-122
02:07 SU-122
03:47 The Big Bad Man
04:26 SU-85
05:34 SU-85M & SU-100
07:42 Outro
All content is presented in historical context for educational purposes. All footage is owned by it's copyright holder and is used in this channel under "fair use".
Music by Epidemic Sound 
Наука
Getting a few comments asking why I didn’t mention the SU-76i, the SU-152, ISU-152 etc - don’t fret! These will almost definitely be mentioned in detail in future videos. It’s nice to know that there’s demand for these though! Hope you’re enjoying the video :)
Don't forget the T-54/55 based ones.
Ok good to know!
It would be great to see a video about the SU/ASU-57 vehicles as well.
There's also the SU-57, an American M3 halftrack mounting the M1 57mm cannon. Then the SU-57B and SU-76D prototypes designed by GAZ, the ASU-57 airborne assault gun, the crazy attempts to shove the D-25S 122mm cannon into the SU-100... OH, and the damn NAVAL CANNON shoved into the SU-100Y.
Don’t forget the SU-100Y and the Non-SU Soviet Self Propelled Bigboi Guns
7:48 whoever decided to put a DShK on that SU is a madman and a genius.
You don't know how much I have been anticipating this.There's so little compared talk about SUs.
And from a well documented channel I like?
Best day.
I'm very glad to hear! Plenty more on the way.
Can definitely agree as not a lot of channels or large tv channels even mention SU’s.
The ISU-152 is my favorite Soviet tank destroyer
@@RedWrenchFilms where's the SU-5-1?
ive always loved the su100. i feel like the 100mm gun could have been the best gun of the war had the soviets put more effort into getting it into the field more.
If memory serves correctly the towed version of the gun (BS-3 i think) had issues with the recoil mechanism that took alot of ironing out. Not sure about the Spg version..
It was intended as the main armament for the IS-2 IIRC, but they simply can’t produce the AP round in the correct hardness(think it was shattering) so any plan with the gun needs to be put on hold.
Soviet metallurgy simply isn’t ready to produce high velocity guns and their ammunition in big quantity, which is why they tend to go for larger calibre.
They tried that gun along with the 122mm on the IS prototypes, but during testing the 122mm gun performed better than the 100mm, so they chose the 122mm variant which became the IS2. The recognition of the 100mm gun came with the post war designs, as mentioned in the video with the T-54/55.
100mm was a naval weapon, great at AT, but with development/adaptation issues. The 122mm was deemed a better fit, since HE was more capable, AT was comparable, and development mostly complete. Loadout for JSII was typically 80% HE because there just weren't that many panzers to shoot.
Yea even my country still using it for cost-line defense
As a war thunder player is always cool to see or learn about the origins of tanks you see and play all the time
War thunder🗿🗿🗿
@@1283hc more like 🌚😟😐😬🤬😭
Just dont leak any documents
@@voolcy35 did you say leak more documeeeeents ???? Wait till the new nerf for modern vehicles
Im a World of Tanks player
The importance of the SU-85 and SU-100 was that they were quick to produce and cheap stopgap antitank platforms that could be produced before the T-34 and KV/1 (and IS series) could be modernized. The SU-122 and SU-152, in comparison, were dedicated infantry support vehicles like the Stug that rarely fought other German tanks. However, being hit with a 20kg+ explosive projectile is enough to cause a significant emotional event.
The lack of dampening on the inside probably meant the crews ears would be blown out during a hit so yeah
There's a photo floating around with a panther (I think) hit by SU-152, half the damn thing is missing.
@@mandarin1257 There probably was an ammo explosion involved too.
Additional information is that SU (Samokhodnaya Ustanovka) is not a tank variants, but rather a category or designation, just like GMC (gun motor carriage) for American and Jagdpanzer for Germans.
And the vehicles with that destination goes further, like SU-76i, SU-122p, SU-100Y, SU-100P, SU-14, SU-152, SU-152G, SU-152P, SU-152 "taran" and so on.
The SU-152 "taran" sounds crazy. Wargaming pls give. There is a whole tech tree there with the SU-152 P and the SU-100P. We already have the (fictional) SU-130 PM as the Tier 8 premium, so now they just have to fill in the tech tree turreted soviet TDs. Taran at tier 10, SU-152 P at tier 9, SU-130 PM but non premium at tier 8 and SU-100 P at tier 7.
Great vid, would love to see the ISU-152 getting some love too
Also the ISU-122 and 122s
And maybe the SU-152... ;)
@@RedWrenchFilms indeed.. you kinda forgot about that one in the vid (well most likely not but still haha)
Also don't forget the ISU-122 and 122s
Or even the casemate KV designs could be nice to get some more attention.. that thing is so derpy xD
@@stijnjanssens571 = you mean the SU-100Y
@@badhippo aswell hehe
I live in Slovakia and there is su-85 Standing in The Dargov Strait like a monument very great view when driving car on the road next to it.
I think it would be a good idea to put a StuG III about 200m away facing it. That would put the whole situation in full context for Slovakians.
ISU would be nice as a follow up
My lips are sealed!
@@RedWrenchFilms Please include the ISU-130! It was immediate post-war and didn't last long, so never gets mentioned (despite having the _longest_ barrel I've ever seen on any SU!).
@@dphalanx7465 know the ISU-152BM prototype?
@@cursedpikachu7644 Never heard of that one, brother. Look forward to whatever RWF does in the future.
I would've loved to see SU-152 here but it's a KV chassis so it makes sense. Loved this video like your other videos keep going 👍
You'll see it soon enough ;) Thanks very much!
@@RedWrenchFilms are you going to merge su kv based and isu together? and maybe a point about the kurganets?
And the SU-122. And the ISU versions of both.
The Su’s are such a imposing force, they have simplistic shapes and massive weapons.
Now if only they had a decent ammount of armor to actually make them good in head on engagements against similar power enemies.
@@robertharris6092 They are tank destroyers, not heavy tanks, remember the survivability onion, Tank destroyers are all about the "don't be seen"
@@alyx3154yeah he the type of person to say "If only scout planes had better armor and gun" like man it's use for scouting not fight tiger tanks
@@zherean42069 Absolutely, some people don't seem to know about te fine balance that is making any sort of military equipment.
Ahh, there is still so much about the talk about the SU's and the ISU's. Please make a video covering them as well, and don't forget the iconic veteran Su100y. Can't wait to see more!
Honorable mention for the Su-76i!
Perfect example of that similar SU/Stug/Jagd silhouette. One big happy family if you ask me.
I never realized that the SU-76 was built on a T70 chassis! I tootled around on a T70 tank I WoT.
Great comprehensive doco. Well done.
Thanks so much!
Hi Red Wrench,
Thank you so much for this excellent documentation.
As a German, I just wanted to add that these self propelled guns in German were pronounced like „Stoog“, deriving from Sturmgeschütz or assault gun
But do not let this little detail stop your awesome work!
I've always liked the SU series, thanks for giving some more info on them!
Very informative! Fantastic footage! The SU series of tank destroyers were truly impressive... Thanks for another great video
Thanks for the comment John! I'm glad you enjoyed.
I actually knew SU-100 since I was 10 year old (and I am over 55) . it was one of the few USSR tanks available on the Tamiya 1/35 series. It was not a sexy tank that enthralled my grade school classmates like a Jagdpanther or even Hunting Tiger did. But it is a solid looking tank. Glad you make a video about it. Thanks.
I learned of it from a bookcase game called Arab-Israeli wars by Avalon Hill...out of print.
7:49 improvised heavy machine gun on the engine area 😳 Never seen such solution on assault guns. Great informative video. Was getting lost in the SU series for long time 🤝
I've never seen a documentary on the SU series. Thank you.👍
the SU series is one of my favorite tank series, I don't know exactly why. Something about the casemate design is super cool to me.
Both entertaining and educational. I had never realized wht formidable tanks and tank destroyers the Soviets fielded against the Germans on the Eastern Front. The Germans were lucky to have held out as long as they did. Once again, great work. gb
they were not lucky , they had better tanks
Imma be honest I love the look of the SU 76 compared to any other SPG except maybe the Archer
funni backwards tank
Excellent! Now do the ISU-122 and ISU-152 as well please!
It would be neat to see not only the su-152 and isu-152 but the other concepts such as object 704, 268, and 263 as ive really only seen them through world of tanks. Also, the su 101 and su 122 54 would be interesting. i love this channel
You missed one. The SU-152 was an important beast of a tank.
Years ago, I was on the Russian team playing out some of the big Kursk battles with micro-armor and had a platoon of SU-85. That 85mm gun could easily cripple or kill a Panther. The engagement went just about as it did historically. The Germans could gain ground but every inch cost them dearly.
See the pinned comment :)
As far as I know, the SU-85 did not participate at Kursk, but was introduced as an effective platform post-Kursk: August 1943, according to Wikipedia, at least.
Some sources say it did and some say it only appeared afterwards! What I think happened is that it wasn't there at the beginning of the battle but arrived towards the end of the fighting, sometime in late July/early August, and were present for the Soviet counteroffensives.
You know I can edit the wiki right?
@@atomica0914 YES! :)
Could you go over the odd/weird cold war russian SPGs? Some that I can think of are the obj 120, su-100P, keep up the great work.
i finally understand something more than the number means the caliber of the gun, thanks
The Suchka series were also used in significant numbers as artillery.
nice video, appreciate that you don't confuse the D10T with the D10S, it's a very common mistake👍
You reminded me of how much I loved the SU-85M and the SU-100 in War Thunder... I made a couple of Panthers and Tigers get really angry that I somehow took a hit and survived...
Edit: also the SG-122 looks soo cursed, I love it.
Love these vids man, keep it up you'll be plenty popular in no time!
do more videos on french armour
Straight info with no bias, love to see it
I was indeed expecting mention of the 152 variants but I understand its perfect material for separate video!
Incredible detail you put into these films, thank you so much! You have me itching to make the 8 hour drive to the American Heritage Museum, I haven't been near any cold steel since my visit to the Tank Museum in 2016 👍
Keep in mind that anti-tank duty was _not_ their only job, they were extensively used as self-propelled artillery, fulfilling the same role as conventional towed guns but being more mobile in rough terrain and quicker to deploy. This allowed the Red Army to use its preferred tactic of overwhelming artillery barrages even when an offensive went too quickly for towed guns to keep up, and it also allowed counter-battery fire from locations typically unusable for artillery (such as muddy terrain, for example).
Great video.
Content full of details..
Thank you.
Another great vid to enjoy after work.
I am someone who plays war thunder and my favorite SU is the SU-85M. Good Armor, Mobile, and Quick firing and reloading gun!
These vehicles look like sports cars. And the SU-100 had a huge gun for a 30-plus ton WW2 vehicle.
Great presentation, short, right to the point, thank you.
Thank you! Very kind.
Thank You. I didn't know too much of these variants😮
I liked the video, condensed yet informative.
You also managed to show that these guys represented Soviet tank doctrine, cheap platforms that could mount powerful guns.
Great vid. Thanks
Well man loved the video, but would have been happier if the 152mm beast was mentioned
You'll have to wait for that one ;)
Thanks alot for these great videos. So captivating.
Ah thank you for the comment! I’m glad you enjoyed :)
Very educational video. Thank you.
Well done mate!
Thanks man!
So that's why the su-85m exists, interesting.
I just subscribed to your channel, I enjoy your humor mixed into well produced videos
Thanks! I appreciate it.
Verry nice! Didn't actually know the story of the 85M.. but quite clever to do it that way.
The KV/IS chassy TD's when? XD
I'm going to Have To watch more of your stuff, here. Short, sharp and to the point - wonderful!
BTW -- do I hear the lilt of Ireland in your voice?
Aw thank you so much! And yes - Belfast born and raised. :)
Panzer destroyer: memoirs of a red army tank commander he's commaning in an su-122, an su-85 and a t-34 it's a brilliant book that's where I acquired my love for the su series great video
Just booted up my computer and saw this... what a good time it is
Love these vids and their creators, very well done. The ads for slick conmen however really detract.
Slick conmen?
@@RedWrenchFilms Ads, paid advertisements. Nothing to do with your content.
I can't believe I've never seen the SG-122, such a cool crossover
Great video! Would love to hear more about less known/talked about Soviet armor
Ooh your patrons look really cool and nice and fun
They are the cool people.
Its astounding history cant be forgotten of the SU series tanks
Still I feel like the rest should have been covered like the SU-122-54 and more
Those beyond WW2
But I suppose those are meant for future videos.
Really wish to learn more about Soviet Cold War Tanks.
great video!
Well done !
Great video.
im guessing and hoping that the next part is the ISU series and hopefully after that its the IS series
No comment. ;)
Hey, where do you get all the background footage? I love them and if they are from any documentaries and stuff I'd love to watch them! Keep up the great videos dude!
Ah I’m glad you like them! To be honest I think I used 15-20 pieces of footage for this video, a lot of which were from Panzer Insight/Panzer Picture, who has done an excellent job of collating lots of little snippets of footage and uploading them to their own channel.
Nice
They also fitted the 122mm D - 25T (or A19?) Gun into it, giving the SU - 122P
Very interesting!
Nice video I haven't seen many talking about the SUs but you forgot the SU-122p, although it's pretty much just an SU-100 with the same 122 that the IS-2 it's never even mentioned kinda like the T-34-57s
I don‘t even think the Soviet Arsenal was really that inferior, even in the early war. But it was massively misused and the disorganization of the defense led to enormous unnecessary losses.
The worst problem of a early war soviet arsenal is the lack of armor piercing shells. There are early war reports from several fronts that stated percentage of different shells actually avaliable from the amount stated in a doctrine. For the armor piercing shells, both for tanks and anti tank guns, this number didn't rise more than 10%. That's the main reason why Germans managed to repair so many damaged tanks during 1941-42 and put them into the action again
you should try to do a short series on captured and then modified tanks and or guns used to then attack like the early marder hulls being 38ts and the one german half track with the soviet 76? if my memory serves but not just these 2 examples any that you can find that are interesting or downright insane up to you
8:03 They also had a very low sillouette making them perfect for ambushes, especially firing from a hull-down position.
Stalins's STUG
Yea makes sense
Certainly quite interesting how the Soviets of the time simply took the concept of an Assault gun, from the germans, for their own purposes, the question now lies, were they employed or deployed similarly to their German counterparts?
also, did they have a doctrine specific only to their own concept of Assault Tanks?
looking forward to the next video, especially with the SU-76 and SU-152.
Can you make a video about french td tank? ;)
You missed many SU's like the Halftrack SU's the KV hull SU (SU-152) the IS hull SU (ISU-152 & ISU-122) the SU 5-1 first ever SU i think the T54 hull SU (SU-122-54 i think) and some others
Pinned comment ^
I do find interesting that a big deal is made over the lack of a secondary weapon on the Ferdinand, but it's not talked about much with the SU's
Because German used them to spearhead the assault in Kursk alongside normal Tigers.
Nobody would use SU-76,85 and 100 in that role. That is for SU/ISU-152
It's a shame the soviets couldn't get more of these 100mm guns out into combat, from what I've heard the early 100mm rounds struggled to kill panthers from a distance which explains why the 122 was chosen over it. It's a shame the soviet don't really mention wgat shell types they were firing on the Early 100 but if I'd have a logical guess it'd probably have been the br412 without the cap on it. Because tests with the su100 said the gun could destroy a Panther from about 3kms away which is a huge improvement. But the report I read didn't mention the shell type.
Well done video that seems to have an audience in mind.
Most other tank videos just seem to get boring one way or another.
Either they overdo documentation on already well known tanks. (You can find millions of videos talking about Tigers)
Some also seem to get into boring specs of the tank. Like getting into the mm armor of all sides of the tank (tanks are designed to take hits from the front so unless a model is unique in this way, this isn’t really interesting), or specs of the cannon that don’t actually say much (the power and penetration of a cannon is more than caliber, barrel length and stuff like that, and even with all those details it’s hard to imagine the actual penetration power).
Both of these issues are avoided by having a not so often discussed tank series, and sticking to comprehensible and relevant info.
Plus you didn’t stretch it out in any way as so many other channels do.
Might be an overanalyze from my side, but I genuinely enjoyed the video
Well done
Ah this really means a lot. I try to make videos that I would enjoy, and as much as I do find armour/gun/penetration values interesting, I think the historical context and the main decisions made by the designers are much more fun. Feedback like this is so helpful so please don’t feel like you’re overanalysing haha
@@RedWrenchFilms that’s a nice mindset to have when making videos. Seems effective and adds a touch of passion to the topic.
I also like to get into armor and penetration values from time to time.
The problem is often just dumping a lot of numbers. Here you simply sticked to the frontal armor thickness and its angle and that’s great. Not too many numbers to understand, and if you are watching a video on the SU series, you probably understand the concept of angled armor beforehand.
Many other channels would have probably also gone waaaay too deep into the invasion of the USSR as historical context. This moves the target audience from historically interested people, to the general public. Anyone can watch it, without any prior knowledge.
And I do not mean this as any sort of “gate keeping”. Anyone should be able to watch these videos.
But people who already know what “Operation Barbarossa” is, don’t really want it to be explained every single time they dive into a new topic of the eastern front. Plus there’s already hundreds of other videos and documentaries going into depths with these things, that less historically interested people could be inspired to go watch afterwards.
My main point with this is that leaving out specifics on the historical context isn’t as harmful as it might seem. And going into the specifics too much just removes any focus from the video.
I feel like here it’s done just right.
Bit of context, and then onto the main topic.
Keeps the people whom are likely to watch this (people with prior knowledge to WW2 and tanks) entertained, and the people less likely to watch this (people with little historical knowledge) are maybe left with a few questions to go on an adventure with.
Keep it going man
@@zaiz6018 Thanks so much - you've pretty much nailed what I'm going for and it's great that it's clearly came across in the way I make my videos :)
should do a video like this on the artillery. the su/ISU-152 series.
Nice vid, the T-34 based SUs don't get enough attention in my opinion.
It is literally an irl reference of warhammer 40k shadowsword tank and other baneblade-family turretless tanks!
interesting that the su-100 was deployed so late in the war. what about the isu series with the big 152mm? did they end up being deployed in the final years of the war?
I've never seen alot of these soviet footages! Did you find then on youtube or someplace else?
Yeah mostly RUclips! Check out Panzer Insight/Panzer Pictures, they usually have some great footage
SU-100 is so good that us vietnamese keep the tanks in active for coastal defense against beach landing attack
Su-76M, love that little thing. No Emcha but much more interesting to spam then T-34s.
I realized now that the jag panther is practically a su85 if the d5t gun had muzzle as it was aa gun before being integrated into tanks like t34 85 and su85 though they removed the muzzle
I was hoping for more info about the 100mm guns
Actually...if the SU85 appeared in August 43, that made it too late for Kursk...but just in time for the Orel Counteroffensive.
No idea why the Sovs didn't go forward with the advanced models of the SU122 (which is, quite possibly, the best balanced Assault Gun of WW2). Probably they were just to jazzed by the idea of the *SU152,* despite its slowness and lack of maneuverabiliy.
Stalin can you do the Stug-shaker?
I remember reading somewhere that SU 85's were not available for the Battle of Kursk ??
Please video on is4
Soon! (tm)
@@RedWrenchFilms thanks king
You made somewhat of a mistake there... The SU-122 and SU-85 had very different hulls. The SU-85 had a full width driver's hatch, not half width as per the SU-122. The entire roof plate and hatch arrangement was also completely altered. The SU-85 had a very large forward roof hatch [above the driver and gunner] that intruded into the top of the glacis plate, as well as a front facing pistol port just below it. The commander's armoured dome [non-opening cupola] was also substantially altered and also differently placed on the SU-85. The fact that you detailed the alterations between the SU-85 and SU-100 makes this error all the more glaring. The fact you wished you had more to say on the SU-85 is rather ironic, given just how much obvious detail you managed to miss.
You're absolutely correct Paul, I should've added the caveat that there were no MAJOR changes.
When making these videos I try and highlight the features or differences that allow one to identify one or the other at a glance, and with the SU-122 and SU-85 the easiest way to do that is by the gun.
Likewise there are a lot more subtle differences between the SU-85 and SU-100 that I didn't get into, I just highlighted the main changes that allow someone to identify an SU-85 from an SU-85M or an SU-100. Naturally I'd include everything if I could but I try to keep these sort of videos as concise as possible!
August 1943 was just _after_ the Battle of Kursk, which was approx July 5 to July 12... though the larger, regional (or "front") battle to push the Germans back extended in to August.
The high German Tiger kill ratios vs Russian tanks was because the 76mm Russian field artillery and tank guns would bounce clean off a Tiger; one famous Tiger sent back to Berlin for examination survived 30, 40 direct hits!
But by August the Su-85 helped even the playing field, it must have been a nasty surprise (especially with it's low profile) to many German tank crews
SU-122 my beloved❤️
I've read that the SU-100 was really scary to face in WW2.
dude that looks fun... i want to go to the past now
it's so baffling to think that how a single war would force people to make so mane technological breakthroughs