SU-85

SU-85

SU-152

ISU-152

SU-85

SU-152

ISU-152

USSR

III Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
4.3	4.3	4.3

Class:

Tank destroyer

Research:13 000

Purchase:76 000

Show in game

Description

The SU-85 is a rank III Soviet tank destroyer with a battle rating of 4.3 (AB/RB/SB). It was introduced during the Closed Beta Test for Ground Forces before Update 1.41. This vehicle is a successor of SU-122 bearing an 85 mm cannon instead of a howitzer.

General info

Survivability and armour

Armour type:

• Rolled homogeneous armour
• Cast homogeneous armour (Gun mantlet, Driver's hatch)

Armour	Front	Sides	Rear	Roof
Hull	45 mm (49°) Front glacis 45 mm (58°) Lower glacis 70 mm (49°) Driver's hatch	45 mm	45 mm (48°) Top 45 mm (48°) Lower	20 mm
Superstructure	45 mm (49°) 52 mm (0-63°) Gun mantlet	45 mm (17-40°)	45 mm (12°)	20 mm

Notes:

• Suspension wheels and tracks are 20 mm thick.
• Front glacis has tracks placed on it, adding 18 mm at their location.

Mobility

Game Mode	Max Speed (km/h)		Weight (tons)	Engine power (horsepower)		Power-to-weight ratio (hp/ton)
	Forward	Reverse		Stock	Upgraded	Stock	Upgraded
Arcade	60	10	29.6	710	954	23.99	32.23
Realistic	55	9		442	500	14.93	16.89

Armaments

85 mm D-5S
Capacity			Vertical guidance	Horizontal guidance	Stabilizer
48			-5°/+25°	±10°	N/A
Turret rotation speed (°/s)
Mode	Stock	Upgraded	Prior + Full crew	Prior + Expert qualif.	Prior + Ace qualif.
Arcade	8.9	12.4	22.2	24.6	26.1
Realistic	8.9	10.5	12.8	14.1	15.0
Reloading rate (seconds)
Stock	Prior + Full crew	Prior + Expert qualif.	Prior + Ace qualif.
9.6	8.5	7.9	7.4

Ammunition

Penetration statistics
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Penetration @ 0° Angle of Attack (mm)
		10 m	100 m	500 m	1,000 m	1,500 m	2,000 m
BR-365K	APHE	148	143	126	106	90	77
BR-365A	APHEBC	135	133	125	115	106	97
O-365K	HE	10	10	10	10	10	10

Shell details
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Velocity (m/s)	Projectile Mass (kg)	Fuse delay (m)	Fuse sensitivity (mm)	Explosive Mass (TNT equivalent) (g)	Ricochet
							0%	50%	100%
BR-365K	APHE	792	9.2	1.2	14	73.92	47°	60°	65°
BR-365A	APHEBC	792	9.2	1.2	14	164	48°	63°	71°
O-365K	HE	793	9.54	0.1	0.3	660	79°	80°	81°

Ammo racks

Last updated: 1.77.2.68

Ammo racks of the SU-85.

Full ammo	1st rack empty	2nd rack empty	3rd rack empty	4th rack empty	5th rack empty	Visual discrepancy
48	43 (+5)	41 (+7)	29 (+19)	17 (+31)	1 (+47)	No

Left side empty: 29 (+19)

Usage in battles

The SU-85, as a tank destroyer, should be played in a sniper format due to its powerful gun, but subpar armour. The 85 mm gun is able to take out many tanks at its battle rating due to being the lowest BR vehicle with the gun. However, the armour is only decent and is basically an enlarged T-34 front hull for front armour. At the battle rating, this armour quality is no longer able to withstand the enemy's shots such as that of the Panzer IV. Thus, this makes it a bad idea to be near the front line and instead sit back behind the fighting and take out distant enemy targets, maximizing the low silhouette to hide and distance to improve armour effectiveness.

Be warned that penetrations from shells with explosive fillers are often fatal due to the cramped nature of the crew compartment. Either most of the crew will be knocked out or the modules damaged and these will drastically hinder the SU-85's ability to fight and survive. It is imperative that the SU-85 hit the enemy and be the first one to fire the 85 mm gun to win an engagement. This is especially true in realistic and sim battles where the low profile will grant the SU-85 an advantage of stealth.

Enemies worth noting:

Panther D:

The Panther D's are one of the most common tanks around BR 5.3, and they pose a great threat with their deadly long 75 mm cannon, thick frontal armour and adequate speed. You want to avoid engaging them at long range as the SU-85 has only x3.5 scope magnification, making long-range shooting super hard. Engage the Panthers within 500 m and avoid shooting their frontal hull. Their biggest weak spot is the gun mantlet, which is only 100 mm thick and has a flat part in the middle. That is where you want to aim at, the SU-85's APHE has sufficient damage to instantly destroy the Panther even from its turret. The second weak spot is the sides, which more often than not instantly destroys the vehicle. Generally, APHE is enough to deal with the Panthers, and no APCR is needed. The APHE shell loves to chew through the Panther's thin side armour, even if it's angled.

Tiger H1:

The Tiger's weak spots are the opposite with the Panthers. Their hull is unsloped and rather thin, while the gun mantlet is weirdly shaped and can absorb quite some shells. The best engaging range remains the same, within 500 m. If the Tiger is angling, aim at the turret ring to disable the gunner and destroy the turret traverse, or aim at the hull side below the side skirt, which is only 60 mm. If it is not angling, aim between the driver's vision port and the MG for an instant kill. Avoid shooting at these two parts as they tend to bounce/absorb shells. Just in case if you see a Tiger E, don't shoot at the lower glacis as there will be add-on tracks installed there, making it harder to penetrate. Its transmission will also absorb all damage.

Ho-Ri:

In a frontal engagement, APCR is required as the APHE shells don't have enough penetration. With APCR loaded, aim at the further sides of the fighting compartment, away from the gun, because the further from the gun, the thinner the armour gets, with the thinnest part being around 160 mm unsloped. Penetrating there will knock out its loader, gunner or commander, or detonate the ammo. Of course, the best way is still side-shooting with APHE.

Panzer IV/70, Jagdpanzer 38(t):

These small tank destroyers with their well-angled frontal armour can be quite a problem from a distance. With APHE, you can disable their transmission by shooting at their lower glacis. Now if you can, flank them. The 85 mm APHE does a great job at penetrating sloped, thin armour, so you don't have to get to their absolute sides. For the Pz IV/70, you can also aim at the downward part of the gun mantlet since the shell might ricochet downwards into the hull, knocking out every crew member. The Jagdpanzer 38(t) doesn't have this problem, so side-shooting is required to destroy it effectively.

M4A3E2 Jumbo:

This is another common enemy. It is recommended to use the BR-365A, the one with less pen but more explosive filler. The reason is that it is better at penetrating sloped armour, which the Jumbo has. With that shell, you can easily destroy an M4A3E2 who's not angling. If it is, aim at the hull side just above the tracks, or load APCR and shoot straight at its gun mantlet. Against a 75 mm M4A3E2, you can relax a bit as it will struggle to penetrate your armour, but your cupola is a rather large weak spot and a shot through there can knock out the SU-85. Be more careful with the M4A3E2 76 W, as they can easily pierce through your armour.

Sturer Emil:

Picking a long-range fight with Sturer Emil from the front is suicide, the Emil's 128 mm will reach and penetrate the SU-85 before it is in position to fire back. Only engage if certain the Emil is unaware of the SU-85's presence on its flanks, or point it out to allies for more mobile friendlies to engage and destroy it. Allies could also divert its attention from the SU-85 to allow for an 85 mm shot into the thin armour on it.

Modules

Tier	Mobility		Protection	Firepower
I	Tracks		Parts	Horizontal Drive	BR-365A
II	Suspension	Brake System	FPE	Adjustment of Fire
III	Filters		Crew Replenishment	Elevation Mechanism
IV	Transmission	Engine

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Amazing 85 mm gun.
• Good mobility akin to the T-34.
• Low profile.
• Decently sloped armour.

Cons:

• Armour is only that of a T-34's and will not stop many rounds.
• Lack of APCR ammo.
• Small combat compartment can cause quick crew knock-out.

History

Development

The development for this vehicle began in 1943 to supplement the firepower the T-34 and KV-1 has. Before then, the T-34 and KV-1 tanks are more than adequate to deal with the German Panzer forces, but by the end of 1942, the appearance of the Tiger I revealed that the German armoured forces were becoming more developed and more armoured. This reveal showed the Red Army that needed better guns in order to deal with the rising threat of these new German vehicles.

The search for a better gun led to the development of the D-5 85 mm gun, which was a modified anti-aircraft gun made by design bureaus of Vasiliy Grabin and Fyodor Petrov. It was found that the new gun was unable to be mounted on the current T-34 or KV-1, so it was to be mounted as a self-propelled gun like the SU-122, which is a self-propelled gun made on a T-34 chassis. The vehicle to be produced was designated the SU-85 and was similar to the SU-122, just replacing the 122 mm gun with an 85 mm one. The gun that was to be mounted in the self-propelled configuration was designated the D-5S (S for self-propelled) and the vehicle was produced at the Uralmash factory. Modifications were made overtime during its production such as a telescopic sight and a new ball gun mantlet, these modified vehicles were designated the SU-85-II. Up to 2,050 units were produced from mid-1943 to late 1944.

Combat usage

The SU-85 saw service in August 1943 in Soviet service, which coincides the time the Soviets engage in a counteroffensive against the Battle of Kursk. It was praised for its low profile to be able to conceal itself and its excellent mobility. The initial production batch had low visibility due to lack of optics, with only four periscopes in the design, but this was improved on the SU-85M with a commander's cupola seen on the later variants of the T-34. The 85 mm gun was able to destroy a Tiger tank from 1000 meters out, proving much capable against the newer German tank designs. Though capable, its firepower was still seen as lacking considering the Tiger could still destroy it and T-34s from up to 2,000 meters away. The lack of range on the SU-85, plus the up-arming of T-34s from the 76.2 mm F-34 gun to the same 85 mm gun as well in the T-34-85 caused the production of the SU-85 to be cancelled in late 1944 as it no longer provided any beneficial firepower over the standard tank unit.

Even after it was retired from Soviet service, replaced by the more powerful SU-100, it was exported to Soviet allies in the Warsaw Pact after World War II. The SU-85s were either kept as tank destroyers or converted into armour recovery or command vehicles. These vehicles saw service in North Korea, Vietnam, and may still be in service today by Central European countries like Albania, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, and Romania.

In-game description

Tactical deployment of the SU-122 showed that in order to fulfill its task of accompanying and supporting tanks, its rate of fire needed to be increased. The new SU-85 SPG was developed and put into service at the end of the summer of 1943. It was created based on the T-34 tank and equipped with an 85 mm D5-S85 cannon with a 48.8 calibre barrel length. The penetration of the new weapon's shell was 75% higher than the T-34's 76 mm cannon shell and 45% higher than the 122 mm howitzer on the SU-122. These qualities resulted in a 1.5 times increase in its effective firing range against armoured vehicles. Its ammunition capacity totalled 48 shells.

The SPG was comparable to the SU-122 in its design, with an aft-located engine compartment and a cabin armoured from all sides with the cannon installed in the front. The self-propelled vehicle was primarily intended for direct fire during short stops. It was also armed with a panoramic sight to allow it to fire from cover. A 9R or 9RS radio set was mounted on the SPG, along with the TPU-3-BisF intercom. With its superior mobility in comparison to enemy heavy tanks and SPGs, the SU-85 was able to successfully do battle with them in spite of its weaker armour.

Between August 1943 and July 1944, 2,337 of them were made in total. The new vehicles were put into service in separate SPG regiments (up to 16 vehicles per regiment) and were widely used in the conflicts of the Great Patriotic War.

The SPG's flaws included its lack of a machine gun for defending the vehicle from infantry in close quarters, its small ammunition capacity and relatively weak armour.

Media

Skins and camouflages for the SU-85 series from live.warthunder.com.

Read also

Links to the articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example,

• reference to the series of the vehicles;
• links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.

ETC.

Sources

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