SU-122-54

SU-122-54

2S3M

Object 268

SU-122-54

2S3M

Object 268

USSR

V Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
6.7	6.7	6.7

Class:

Tank destroyer

Research:82 000

Purchase:240 000

Show in game

Description

The SU-122-54 is a rank V Soviet tank destroyer with a battle rating of 6.7 (AB/RB/SB). It was introduced in Update 1.49 (aka 1.70.1945) "Weapons of Victory". Featuring a T-54 chassis in a tank destroyer format and a 122 mm gun, the SU-122-54 presents an interesting vehicle for Rank V battles.

General info

Survivability and armour

Armour type:

• Rolled homogeneous armour
• Cast homogeneous armour (Gun mantlet, Commander cupola)

Armour	Front	Sides	Rear	Roof
Hull	100 mm (50°) Front glacis 100 mm (54-55°) Lower glacis	80 mm	45 mm (17°)	20 mm
Superstructure	100 mm (50°) Front glacis 100 mm (41°) Side joint plate 100 + 100 mm (7-65°) Gun mantlet	80 mm (26°)	30 mm (21°)	20 mm

Notes:

• Suspension wheels are 20 mm thick while tracks are 30 mm thick.

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	55	9	36	739	992	20.53	27.56
Realistic	51	8		460	520	12.78	14.44

Armaments

Main armament

122 mm D-49
Capacity			Vertical guidance	Horizontal guidance	Stabilizer
35			-4°/+16°	±8°	N/A
Turret rotation speed (°/s)
Mode	Stock	Upgraded	Prior + Full crew	Prior + Expert qualif.	Prior + Ace qualif.
Arcade	6.16	8.53	10.36	11.46	12.19
Realistic	4.17	4.90	5.95	6.58	7.00
Reloading rate (seconds)
Stock	Prior + Full crew	Prior + Expert qualif.	Prior + Ace qualif.
15.99	14.51	13.04	12.3

Ammunition

Penetration statistics
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Penetration in mm @ 90°
		10m	100m	500m	1000m	1500m	2000m
BR-471	APHE	205	201	183	162	144	128
BR-471B	APHEBC	205	203	191	178	166	155
BR-471D	APCBC	230	227	215	200	186	173
3BM-7	APDS	299	298	291	272	253	249
3BK-10	HEATFS	400	400	400	400	400	400
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	19	272	-1°	47°	60°	65°
BR-471B	APHEBC	795	25	1.2	19	272	+4°	48°	63°	71°
BR-471D	APCBC	800	25	1.2	19	212.5	+4°	48°	63°	71°
3BM-7	APDS	1400	5.4	N/A	N/A	N/A
3BK-10	HEATFS	820	18.4	0.0	0.1	2.05
OF-471	HE	800	25	0.1	0.1	3,600	+0°	79°	80°	81°

Machine guns

14.5 mm KPVT
Pintle mount
Capacity (Belt capacity)				Fire rate (shots/minute)	Vertical guidance	Horizontal guidance
300 (50)				600	-5°/+40°	±180°
Coaxial mount
Capacity (Belt capacity)				Fire rate (shots/minute)	Vertical guidance	Horizontal guidance
300 (50)				600	N/A	N/A

Usage in battles

The SU-122-54 could be described as a post-war ISU-122. Most characteristics of the vehicle point towards an effort to improve on both the good and bad features of the ISU. It features thickened and better-angled armour increased firepower with better crew ergonomics and new shells as well as improved mobility thanks to a redesigned chassis. This makes for a dangerous vehicle with more options in how to use than it's predecessors.

However, this all comes at the price of a high battle rating where it currently sits at. This makes for a quite difficult vehicle to use, as the opposition will be fierce. Be mindful of how you approach a situation. Charging blindly or sitting very far back won't yield great results, play as if it were a chess match and strategically choose your position and targets.

One way of playing the SU-122-54 is as a sniper, a task made easier with the inclusion of a APDS round that can pack a mean hit at penetration with a fire-rate decent for such sniper.

Modules

Tier	Mobility		Protection	Firepower
I	Tracks		Parts	Horizontal Drive	BR-471B
II	Suspension	Brake System	FPE	Adjustment of Fire	BR-471D
III	Filters		Crew Replenishment	Elevation Mechanism	3BM-7	Smoke Grenades
IV	Transmission	Engine		Rangefinder	3BK-10	NVD

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Strong gun that can fire HEAT-FS or APDS shells, unlike most other 122 mm gun-equipped tanks with a improved fire-rate
• Fairly low silhouette
• Has two 14.5 mm machine guns, good for warding off low-flying aircraft or light vehicles
• Decently mobile
• Has access to a rangefinder and NVD
• Good top speed
• Mantlet is 200 mm thick in total

Cons:

• Long reload (16 seconds), though not as long as most other 122 mm
• The protection is not adequate at close range
• Restricted firing angles for the main guns, horizontally and vertically, due to casemate mounting
• Lack of a turret means that if you get flanked, the tank is in serious trouble
• Roof machine gun may sometime struggle to engage ground targets
• Cupolas hits will injure respective crew members
• Two loaders means the rate of fire suffers strongly in the event of a penetration
• The armour is thick enough to hamper acceleration

History

The success of the T-54 tank in the early 1950s had the vehicle chassis used in many different variants for different roles. The roles range out from a self-propelled anti-aircraft gun, armoured recovery vehicle, bridge-layers, mine-clearers, flamethrowers, armoured personnel carriers, fire-fighting vehicles, and a self-propelled gun. The self-propelled gun, known as "Object 600", was a vehicle based off the T-54A design and carried the 122 mm gun infamous on the IS heavy tank series. The vehicle was known as the SU-122-54, but it has sometimes also be referred to as the IT-122 as well. The chassis was modified for the vehicle, with the large gap present between the first and second road wheels moved to between the third and fourth. The superstructure, like traditional designs, was built onto the hull and held the 122 mm gun. Secondary armament consisted of two KPVT heavy machine guns on coaxial and pintle-mount for anti-aircraft purposes. The general design was developed and built between 1955 and 1957, with a total of 77 units made with minor differences between each batch.

In-game description

The SU-122-54 self-propelled artillery mount was constructed on the basis of the T-54-55 medium tank from 1948 to 1951. It was intended first and foremost to play the role of an assault and antitank weapon. Plans were made for large-scale production of the SU-122, but starting in 1957 its release was curtailed due to a shift in the priorities of military production in favor of building missile weapons.

The SU-122-54 SPG was used by the Soviet Army until the second half of the 1960s, when it was removed from the army’s arsenal. A total of 77 SU-122-54 SPGs were produced.

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

• [Devblog] SU-122-54 and J2M2