SU-85A
Contents
Description
The SU-85A is a gift rank II Soviet tank destroyer with a battle rating of 4.0 (AB/RB/SB). This vehicle was offered as a reward during the 2018 Festive Quest event.
This tank destroyer was created for testing at the end of 1943, as a potential successor of the SU-76M. The most notable difference was the replacement of the older 76mm gun with an adapted version of an 85mm anti-aircraft cannon. Ultimately the vehicle was not accepted for anything beyond testing due to poor mechanical performance.
General info
Survivability and armour
Like the SU-76M that the SU-85A was developed from, the SU-85A's armour leaves a lot to be desired. The chassis itself is loosely based off of the light tanks T-70 and T-80- As a result, the lower frontal plate is 30 mm RHA, the upper plate and front of the crew compartment is 25 mm RHA, and the gun mantlet is 35 mm. There is a relatively small additional armour plate (25 mm) that is welded onto the upper frontal plate in front of the engines to give them slightly better protection. The sides and rear are 15 mm (hull) and 10 mm (crew compartment), making this vehicle vulnerable to heavy machine gunfire. This vehicle is also open-topped, making it a prime target for fighters looking to strafe an easy kill. All in all, this vehicle is the embodiment of a "glass cannon", unable to defend itself from anything but perhaps a glancing blow.
At Battle Rating 4.0, where one of the most common ammunition types used is APHE/APCBC, this vehicle has abysmal survivability. In most cases, the armour is just thick enough to arm the fuse in these shells- With a large fuel tank, lots of ammunition, and a crew packed into such a tight space, it is likely the shell will do crippling damage or knock the tank out with a single hit.
Mobility
| Game Mode | Mobility characteristics | Engine power (horsepower) | Power-to-weight ratio (hp/ton) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Max Speed | Weight | AoA Weight | Stock | Upgraded | Stock | Upgraded | |
| Arcade | 44 | 12.2 | N/A | 199 | 245 | 16.31 | 20.08 |
| Realistic | 40 | 124 | 140 | 10.16 | 11.48 | ||
The SU-85A's manoeuvrability is exactly what one might expect when the tank designers start with a light tank and weight without increasing engine power- not amazing. It has two coupled 70 horsepower motors, giving it a combined output of 140 HP. Weighing in at 12.2 tons, it has a power to weight of almost 11.5 horsepower per ton. As it utilizes high-revving gasoline motors, the SU-85A doesn't have nearly as much torque to help it move around had it been powered by diesel.
Maximum speed forwards is an acceptable 40 km/h with four forward gears, and maximum speed in reverse is -5 km/h with a single reverse gear. Across flat off-road terrain, it cruises comfortably at 30-35 km/h.
Armaments
Main armament
The SU-85A has a powerful 85mm D-5S main gun, and the same as in the SU-85.In battle at its tier you can one shot almost all enemy tanks and the reloading time is good but not exceptional (9,4 seconds). With training you can enhance the reloading to under 9 seconds, which can make the difference between life and death in real battle.
The BR-365 APHE standard shell can pierce up to 143 mm of armor at 100 meters at 0°, which is more than enough to deal with the frontal armor of any opponent.
The ultimate shell for this tank is the BR-365P APCR shell which can pierce 187 mm of armor at 100 meters (0°) ! And with an explosive power of
The O-365K HE shell will have devastating power of soft targets and lightly armored vehicles.
In terms of ballistics the gun is very accurate and doesn't drop too much. Under 1000 meters you will not need to compensate for the Earth curvature...
Usage in battles
In Tank RB, this vehicle plays best from the sidelines in a support role. It does not possess the speed to rush anywhere, even if it is not slow. It does not have the ability to take a hit without taking crippling damage. It can hide behind walls and relatively low cover and remain hidden where a taller light or medium tank would likely be spotted. It's gun is superior than other guns at its BR range, such as American short 75 and 76mm guns commonly found on Shermans and German 75mm guns found on Panzer IV's. As such, the SU-85A can typically penetrate most tanks it battles against through their frontal armor out to distances in excess of a kilometer.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Powerful 85mm D5-S cannon at a low rank
- Relatively small target / low silhouette
- Great choices of ammunition to deal with all opponents
Cons:
- Armor is not thick enough to protect the crew from much of anything, making the vehicle a "glass cannon".
- Open-topped (Often strafed by planes)
- Crew is grouped tightly together - A penetrating shot that does not result in ammunition or fuel detonation will likely incapacitate several crew members.
History
Describe the history of the creation and combat usage of the ground vehicle in more detail than in the introduction. If the historical reference turns out to be too long, take it to a separate article, taking a link to the article about the vehicle and adding a block "/ History" (example: https://wiki.warthunder.com/(Vehicle-name)/History) and add a link to it here using the main template. Be sure to reference text and sources by using <ref>, as well as adding them at the end of the article. This section may also include the vehicle's dev blog entry (if applicable) and the in-game encyclopedia description (under === In-game description ===, also if applicable).
Media
Excellent additions to the article would be video guides, screenshots from the game, and photos.
See 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.
External links
Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:
- topic on the official game forum;
- encyclopedia page on the tank;
- other literature.
SU-85A Historical Picture WWII: https://russianarmor.fandom.com/wiki/SU-85A
| USSR tank destroyers | |
|---|---|
| SU-76M | SU-76M · SU-76M (5th Gv.Kav.Corps) · SU-85A |
| SU-57B | SU-57B · SU-76D |
| T-34 Derivatives | SU-122 · SU-85 · SU-85M · SU-100 · SU-122P |
| Heavy Tank Derivatives | SU-100Y · ISU-122 · ISU-122S · SU-152 · ISU-152 · Object 268 |
| SU-100P and Derivatives | SU-100P · Object 120 |
| Wheeled | YaG-10 (29-K) |
| Airborne | ASU-57 · ASU-85 |
| Rocket | BM-8-24 · BM-13N · BM-31-12 |
| ATGM | IT-1 · Shturm-S · Object 775 · Khrizantema-S |
| Artillery | 2S1 · 2S3M |
| Other | SU-5-1 · ZiS-30 · SU-122-54 |
| USA | SU-57 |
| USSR premium ground vehicles | |
|---|---|
| Light tanks | BA-11 · RBT-5 · BT-7A (F-32) · T-26 (1st Gv.T.Br.) · T-26E · T-126 · PT-76-57 · 2S38 |
| Medium tanks | T-34 (Prototype) · T-34 (1st Gv.T.Br.) · T-34E · T-34-57 (1943) · T-34-85E · T-34-100 · T-44-122 · TO-55 · T-55AM-1 · T-72AV (TURMS-T) · T-80UD · Т-80U-Е1 |
| ▂M3 Medium · ▂M4A2 · ▂T-III · ▂T-V · ▂МК-IX "Valentine" | |
| Heavy tanks | SMK · T-35 · ▂MK-II "Matilda" · KV-1E · KV-2 (1940) · KV-2 (ZiS-6) · KV-122 · KV-220 · IS-2 "Revenge" · Object 248 · IS-6 · T-10A |
| Tank destroyers | BM-8-24 · BM-13N · BM-31-12 |
| SU-57 · SU-76D · SU-76M (5th Gv.Kav.Corps) · SU-85A · SU-100Y · SU-122P · Object 120 | |
| SPAA | ▂Phòng không T-34 · ZUT-37 |
