IS-8

IS8 (Stock)

Totals

3531000 Price

1700 Hit Points

49.96 / 50.91 kgWeight

Crew

1. Commander

Armor

120/80/60Hull Armor(front/sides/rear, mm)

201/148/50Turret Armor(front/sides/rear, mm)

Maneuver

700 h.p.Engine Power

50 km/hSpeed Limit

28 deg/secTraverse Speed

Firepower

390 Standard Shell Damage

175 mmStandard Shell Penetration

11.8 Time for Complete Loading

26 deg/secTurret Traverse Speed

Communication

380 mView Range

440 mSignal Range

IS-3

IS-8

IS-7

IX

3531000

The development of the vehicle was started in 1949 by the Design Bureau of the Chelyabinsk Kirov Plant under the supervision of Joseph Kotin. At the design stage the vehicle was designated as Object 730. In 1950 a preproduction batch of 10 vehicles was launched. In 1953, before the tank entered service, it was redesignated as the IS-8. The vehicle was adopted for service in the second half of 1953 under the designation T-10. The number of produced vehicles varies from 2,500 to 8,000 according to different sources.

The final development of the IS and KV series of tanks. Originally known as the IS-10, it was later renamed the T-10 in the post-Stalin era. Designed in 1948, it was eventually produced between 1952-1966. Between 2,500 and 8,00 vehicles of this type were produced.

The IS-8 is a departure from its "parent", the IS-3, as instead of being a hands-on assault tank, the IS-8 is a "softer" but faster heavy tank, comparable to the IS. It drives more like a "super medium" than a heavy. The front armor is slightly increased in thickness compared to IS-3, but it is far less effective in the front due to the worsened angles and increased height of the tank, and the side and rear armor are decreased. The turret is very hard to penetrate and the center of the front hull is capable of bouncing shots from the direct front, but shots from other tier 9s will often go straight through. The top gun, however, has enough penetration to easily take on other tier 9 and 10 heavy tanks, and does a lot of damage with a quicker reload than the IS-3's BL-9 gun. Using the IS-8's speed to avoid damage and pick on other heavies makes this tank an extremely formidable opponent.

• IS-8
• T-10
• T-10A
• T-10M

IS-8

Stock

T-10

	Level	Turret	Weight (t)	Turret Armor (front/sides/rear, mm)	Gun Traverse Speed (deg/s)	View Range (m)
	VIII	T-10	11000	201/148/50	26	380

	Level	Gun	Weight (t)	Average Penetration (mm)		Rate of Fire	Dispersion at 100 m	Aiming Time
	VIII	122 mm D-25T	2590	175/217/61	390/390/530	5.08	0.46	3.4

	Level	Engine	Weight (t)	Engine Power (h.p.)	Chance of Fire on Impact
	IX	V-12-5	1024	700	15

	Level	Suspension	Weight (t)	Load Limit	Traverse Speed (deg/s)
	VIII	T-10	10000	50.907	28

	Level	Radio	Weight (t)	Signal Range (m)
	VII	10RK	0	440

T-10

Attack

T-10A

	Level	Turret	Weight (t)	Turret Armor (front/sides/rear, mm)	Gun Traverse Speed (deg/s)	View Range (m)
	VIII	T-10	11000	201/148/50	26	380

	Level	Gun	Weight (t)	Average Penetration (mm)		Rate of Fire	Dispersion at 100 m	Aiming Time
	IX	122 mm BL-9	2790	225/265/68	390/390/530	4.72	0.4	3.4

	Level	Engine	Weight (t)	Engine Power (h.p.)	Chance of Fire on Impact
	IX	V-12-5	1024	700	15

	Level	Suspension	Weight (t)	Load Limit	Traverse Speed (deg/s)
	IX	T-10M	10000	58.9	30

	Level	Radio	Weight (t)	Signal Range (m)
	IX	12RT	0	625

T-10A

Defense

T-10M

	Level	Turret	Weight (t)	Turret Armor (front/sides/rear, mm)	Gun Traverse Speed (deg/s)	View Range (m)
	IX	T-10M	11000	201/148/50	26	400

	Level	Gun	Weight (t)	Average Penetration (mm)		Rate of Fire	Dispersion at 100 m	Aiming Time
	IX	122 mm BL-9	2790	225/265/68	390/390/530	4.88	0.4	2.9

	Level	Engine	Weight (t)	Engine Power (h.p.)	Chance of Fire on Impact
	IX	V-12-6	1024	750	15

	Level	Suspension	Weight (t)	Load Limit	Traverse Speed (deg/s)
	IX	T-10M	10000	58.9	30

	Level	Radio	Weight (t)	Signal Range (m)
	X	R-113	0	730

T-10M

Attack

IS-7

	Level	Turret	Weight (t)	Turret Armor (front/sides/rear, mm)	Gun Traverse Speed (deg/s)	View Range (m)
	IX	T-10M	11000	201/148/50	26	400

	Level	Gun	Weight (t)	Average Penetration (mm)		Rate of Fire	Dispersion at 100 m	Aiming Time
	X	122 mm M62-T2	3397	258/340/68	440/440/530	4.88	0.38	2.9

	Level	Engine	Weight (t)	Engine Power (h.p.)	Chance of Fire on Impact
	IX	V-12-6	1024	750	15

	Level	Suspension	Weight (t)	Load Limit	Traverse Speed (deg/s)
	IX	T-10M	10000	58.9	30

	Level	Radio	Weight (t)	Signal Range (m)
	X	R-113	0	730

Compatible Equipment

Compatible Consumables

Player Opinion

Pros and Cons

Pros:

• Excellent gun in the M62-T2
• Excellent speed for a heavy tank, can keep up with medium tanks
• Excellent mobility for a heavy tank
• Spaced armor on the sides
• Potentially strong frontal armour, depending on angle (or lack thereof)

Cons:

• Large lower glacis is easily penetrated
• In-ability to angle the armour to maximize its ability to bounce shots
• Less HP than other tier 9 heavy tanks
• Bad gun depression like other Soviet heavies

Performance

The IS-8 should be played as a support Heavy, and opportunistic sniper. Its place is not on the front lines with the stronger heavies, such as the E-75 and ST-I, but in a more support role, and in the later stages of a battle, as an aggressive flanker.

The IS-8, like many Heavies, works best from a side-scrape or hull-down position. If neither is available to the player, closing the distance between a lone enemy tank and the player, and adopting a face-hugging setup, is ideal. If in the open, the armour can not be relied upon to bounce shots.

Ultimately, the IS-8 is a "high skill" tank. It is not user friendly, and only the dedicated tanker who plays to its strengths, can really draw out the exceptional qualities that the IS-8 offers.

Early Research

The 122mm BL-9 gun and the R-113 radio carry over from the IS-3 so immediately load those. The 122mm M62-T2 gun is the most important upgrade, but it is necessary to upgrade the suspension to the T-10M suspension before the gun can be mounted. Afterwards, research the V-12-6 engine to give the IS-8 its mobility, and then the T-10M turret.

Historical Info

The T-10 (also known as Object 730) was a Soviet heavy tank of the Cold War, the final development of the KV and IS tank series. It was accepted into production in 1952 as the IS-8 (Iosif Stalin, Russian form of Joseph Stalin), but due to the political climate in the wake of Stalin's death in 1953, it was renamed T-10.

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 armor. General performance was similar, although the T-10 could carry more ammunition. T-10s (like the IS 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.

Demise of Soviet Heavy Tanks

The mobile nature of armored warfare in World War II had demonstrated the drawbacks of the slow heavy tanks. In the final push towards Berlin, mechanized divisions had become widely split up as heavy tanks lagged behind the mobile T-34s. The Soviets continued to produce heavy tanks for a few years as part of the Cold War arms race (compare the heavier U.S. M103 and British Conqueror), but the more flexible T-54 and T-62 medium tanks already had armor and armament comparable to the T-10's. In the 1960s, the Soviets embraced the main battle tank (MBT) concept, by replacing heavy tanks with mobile medium tanks. In the late 1960s, the independent tank battalions with heavy tanks were re-equipped with the higher-technology T-64s, and later, the very fast T-80, while regular tank and mechanized units fielded the more basic T-55s and T-72s. T-10 production was stopped in 1966, and heavy tank projects were cancelled, such as the auto-loaded, 130 mm-armed Object 770. Antitank guided missiles (ATGMs) started to be deployed widely during this period, and would become an effective replacement for the heavy tanks' long-range firepower. The Soviets made use of them first on BMP-1 infantry fighting vehicles, and later on the T-64 and other MBTs. Eventually, light, sophisticated reactive armour was used to give the MBTs a further edge in protection without slowing them down. According to Bryan Perret, "the engagements of the Six-Day War, especially that at Rafah, merely emphasised what the Soviet Army already knew, namely that the heavy tank had had its day".

Production History

The T-10 served with the Soviet Union but was not known to have been provided to Warsaw Pact nations, though Soviet heavy tank regiments stationed in those countries may have been equipped with them. T-10Ms were "in the unhappy position" of simultaneous production by two factories (Kirov as Object 272 and Chelyabinsk as Object 734) "with incompatible parts".[2] Not until 1962 was Kirov's version standardized upon.[3] The T-10 is known to have been exported to Egypt and Syria.[4] It was used in combat during the Yom Kippur War, where it normally provided long-range fire support to the T-55/T-62 tanks, with little success.[5] Heavy tanks were withdrawn from Soviet front-line service by 1967, and completely removed from service in 1993. Many of the tank chassis were converted to missile vehicles. It is estimated that some 6,000 Soviet heavy tanks were built after the end of WWII, including IS-2s, IS-3s, and T-10s.

Models

• T-10 - (1952)
• T-10A - (1956) modification, adding a single-plane gun stabilizer.
• T-10B - (1957) adding a 2-plane gun stabilizer.
• T-10M - (1957) improved version with longer M-62-T2 L/43 gun with five-baffle muzzle brake, 2-plane gun stabilizer, machine guns replaced with 14.5 mm KPVT (a better ballistic match for the new main gun), infrared night vision equipment, NBC protection. Overall length is 10.29 m.
• 1963 - T-10Ms are equipped with OPVT deep-wading snorkel.
• 1967 - T-10Ms are supplied with APDS and HEAT ammunition.

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Historical Gallery

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  Iosif Stalin 8 1

• 

  Iosif Stalin 8 2

• 

  Iosif Stalin 8 3

Sources and External Links

External Links

• IS-8 Heavy Tank (aka Object-730 and T-10) at wikipedia.org.

• IS-8 or T-10: The Last Soviet Heavy Tank at battlefield.ru.

USSR

Heavy Tanks

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