IS-4M

IS-4M

IS-3

T-10M

IS-4M

IS-3

T-10M

USSR

V Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
7.7	7.7	7.7

Class:

Heavy tank

Research:120 000

Purchase:340 000

Show in game

Description

The IS-4M is a rank V Soviet heavy tank with a battle rating of 7.7 (AB/RB/SB). It was introduced during the closed beta testing for Ground Forces before Update 1.41.

General info

Survivability and armour

Armour type:

• Rolled homogeneous armour (Hull, Turret roof, Hatch roof)
• Cast homogeneous armour (Turret)

Armour	Front	Sides	Rear	Roof
Hull	140 mm (62°) Front glacis 160 mm (40°) Lower glacis 160 mm (34-77°) Driver's port 40 mm (44-87°) Top of Driver's port	160 mm (30-53°) Top 160 mm Middle 30 mm (61°) Bottom	100 mm (37°) Top 30 mm (80°) Middle 100 mm (31-39°) Bottom	30 mm
Turret	200-250 mm (2-89°) Turret front 200 mm (0-65°) , 170 + 250 mm (2-61°) Gun mantlet	200 mm (3-40°)	150 (62-72°) Top 170 mm (21-49°) Bottom	30 mm Front, Hatch roof, Ventilators 50 mm Front sides 170 mm Center

Notes:

• Suspension wheels are 20 mm thick, torsion bars are 10 mm thick, and tracks are 30 mm thick.

Mobility

Mobility characteristic
Weight (tons)	Add-on Armour weight (tons)	Max speed (km/h)
60.0	N/A	45 (AB)
		43 (RB/SB)
Engine power (horsepower)
Mode	Stock	Upgraded
Arcade	968	___
Realistic/Simulator	663	750
Power-to-weight ratio (hp/ton)
Mode	Stock	Upgraded
Arcade	16.13	__.__
Realistic/Simulator	11.05	12.50

Armaments

Main armament

122 mm D-25T
Capacity			Vertical guidance	Horizontal guidance	Stabilizer
30			-3°/+19°	±180°	N/A
Turret rotation speed (°/s)
Mode	Stock	Upgraded	Prior + Full crew	Prior + Expert qualif.	Prior + Ace qualif.
Arcade	9.4	13.0	__.__	__.__	__.__
Realistic	6.9	8.1	__.__	__.__	__.__
Reloading rate (seconds)
Stock	Prior + Full crew	Prior + Expert qualif.	Prior + Ace qualif.
27.1	__.__	__.__	20.8

Ammunition

Penetration statistics
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Penetration in mm @ 90°
		10m	100m	500m	1000m	1500m	2000m
BR-471	APHE	204	200	182	162	144	128
BR-471B	APHEBC	205	202	191	178	165	154
BR-471D	APCBC	229	227	214	199	186	173
OF-471	HE	45	45	44	43	42	42

Shell details
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Velocity in m/s	Projectile Mass in kg	Fuse delay in m:	Fuse sensitivity in mm:	Explosive Mass in g (TNT equivalent):	Normalization At 30° from horizontal:	Ricochet:
								0%	50%	100%
BR-471	APHE	795	25	1.2	15	272	-1°	47°	60°	65°
BR-471B	APHEBC	795	25	1.2	15	272	+4°	48°	63°	71°
BR-471D	APCBC	800	25	1.2	15	212.5	+4°	48°	63°	71°
OF-471	HE	800	25	0.1	0.1	3,600	+0°	79°	80°	81°

Ammo racks

Ammo racks of the IS-4M.

Full ammo	Ammo Part	1st rack empty	2nd rack empty	3rd rack empty	4th rack empty	5th rack empty	6th rack empty	Visual discrepancy
30	Projectiles Propellants	29 (+1) 29 (+1)	24 (+6) 24 (+6)	19 (+11) 19 (+11)	14 (+16) 14 (+16)	9 (+21) 9 (+21)	1 (+29) 1 (+29)	no

Machine guns

12.7 mm DShK
Pintle mount
Capacity (Belt capacity)				Fire rate (shots/minute)	Vertical guidance	Horizontal guidance
250 (50)				600	-10°/+60°	±180°
Coaxial mount
Capacity (Belt capacity)				Fire rate (shots/minute)	Vertical guidance	Horizontal guidance
1,000 (50)				600	N/A	N/A

Usage in battles

Describe the tactics of playing in the vehicle, the features of using vehicles in the team and advice on tactics. Refrain from creating a "guide" - do not impose a single point of view but give the reader food for thought. Describe the most dangerous enemies and give recommendations on fighting them. If necessary, note the specifics of the game in different modes (AB, RB, SB).

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Very good frontal armour; can even bounce 128 mm shells from the Maus.
• Retains the powerful D-25T 122mm gun as on the previous IS-2 and IS-3
• The mere presence of an IS-4 can make enemies panic or run and hide.
• Slightly wider choices of ammo compared to the IS-2 and IS-3.

Cons:

• Can - and will - be a priority target for the enemy team due to its fearsome reputation
• Long reload of 20 seconds
• Ammo rack in the back of the turret; if a shell penetrates, the ammo could detonate.

History

Development

During the development of the IS-3 in 1944 under General Nikolai Dukhov, a separate project was underway by a design team led by L.S. Troyanov to improve the IS-2 design. This separate project commenced under the designation Object 701. The project produced three proposed design. The Object 701-2 with a S-34 100 mm gun, 701-5 with a different armour configuration, and the 701-6 with the 122 mm D-25 gun. The 701-6 was accepted for further development, to which was modified with thicker armour, longer hull, and a more powerful engine. There was some implementation of German designs into the prototype; the engine has a cooling system that uses a pair of circular fans on the engine deck, a feature also is seen on the Panther tank.

Usage

Object 701 was eventually approved for production in 1947 as the IS-4. The production turned out 200 tanks (some sources say 250) before the production was halted. The reason being that the IS-4 was criticized for being inadequate in mobility despite its new engine. While production ended, the remaining IS-4 still saw service in the Soviet Union. When the Korean War broke out in 1950 and the United States and its allies got involved, the IS-4s were all shipped to the Far East of the Soviet Union in anticipation of Soviet intervention in the Korean War. They were not committed despite pressure by the Chinese from fear of inciting another world war. Even so, the IS-4 stayed in the region ready for action. In the late 1950s, the IS-4 underwent a modernization program along the lines of the IS-3 with increased ammo stowage, new machine gun armaments, new gun optics, better engine, and better filtration system and this modernized variant was named the IS-4M. The IS-4 stayed in service in the Soviet Union until the 1960s.

Legacy

The IS-4, as a relatively unsuccessful Soviet tank, faded to obscurity with little information on it passed its development period. It was the heaviest of the Soviet heavy tanks that were slated for production. The IS-4's design was further developed on in the IS tank family with the Object 703, with the design using an electrical transmission instead of a mechanical one. This vehicle redesignated the IS-6, also proved to be problematic and was shelved.

In-game description

Development of this tank began in July 1943 at the ChKZ factory. The main impetus for creating a new Soviet heavy tank was the prospect of being able to install more powerful artillery on it than what was installed on the IS-2. The vehicle underwent testing until the autumn of 1944. The new vehicle had one inarguable virtue - no tank or anti-tank cannon of Soviet or German make could penetrate its 160 mm frontal armour. At the end of 1944, two more vehicles equipped with modernised transmission were produced.

In April 1945, the tank was put into service and mass-produced under the designation IS-4. The vehicle's hull was fully welded, while its turret was cast with tapering armour thickness. Along with its 122 mm D-25T cannon, it was also armed with a coaxial 12.7 mm machine gun. An identical machine gun was placed as an anti-aircraft gun on a ring mount above the loader's hatch. One of the vehicle's characteristic features was its original ammunition rack, in which shells were housed in special metal canisters. The tank had epicyclic transmission and individual torsion-bar suspension. The crew consisted of 4 people. The vehicle's powertrain was a 750 hp B-12 diesel engine. With this engine, the tank could reach 43 km/h on-road.

The IS-4 was mass-produced until 1949. In total, around 250 of them were made. These vehicles served in the Far East.

It became clear during its deployment that the tank's mass exceeded the carrying capacity of most bridges and transport platforms. It was this fact that effectively buried the idea of building vehicles with a mass greater than 50 tonnes. The IS-4 was taken out of operation and placed in long-term storage, and then withdrawn from service entirely. After this, it was often used on ballistic ranges as a target.

Media

Camouflages and skins for the IS-4 from live.warthunder.com

See also

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

External links

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