A tank destroyer, tank hunter or tank killer is a type of armoured fighting vehicle, predominantly intended for anti-tank duties. They are typically armed with a direct fire artillery gun, also known as a self-propelled anti-tank gun, or missile launcher, also called an anti-tank missile carrier. The vehicles are designed specifically to engage and destroy enemy tanks, often with limited operational capacities.
The Kliment Voroshilov (KV) tanks are a series of Soviet heavy tanks named after the Soviet defence commissar and politician Kliment Voroshilov who operated with the Red Army during World War II. The KV tanks were known for their heavy armour protection during the early stages of the war, especially during the first year of the German invasion of the Soviet Union. In certain situations, even a single KV-1 or KV-2 supported by infantry could halt German formations. The German Wehrmacht at that time rarely deployed its tanks against KVs, as their own armament was too poor to deal with the "Russischer Koloss" – "Russian Colossus".
Soviet armoured fighting vehicle production during World War II from the start of the German invasion of the Soviet Union on 22 June 1941 was large. Although the Soviet Union had a large force of combat vehicles before the German invasion, heavy losses led to a high demand for new vehicles. Production was complicated by the loss of production facilities in the western part of the Soviet Union, and entire factories were moved east of the Ural Mountains to put them out of reach of the Germans. In general, Soviet tanks had less interior space than the tanks of other nations – this was possible because the Red Army only employed soldiers of small stature in their tank forces.
The SU-152 is a Soviet self-propelled heavy howitzer used during World War II.
The ISU-122 was a Soviet assault gun used during World War II, mostly in the anti-tank role.
The ISU-152 is a Soviet self-propelled gun developed and used during World War II. It was unofficially nicknamed Zveroboy in response to several large German tanks and guns coming into service, including Tigers and Panthers. Since the ISU-152's gun was mounted in a casemate, aiming it was awkward, and had to be done by repositioning the entire vehicle using the tracks. Therefore, it was used as mobile artillery to support more mobile infantry and armor attacks. It continued service into the 1970s and was used in several campaigns and countries.
The M107 175 mm self-propelled gun was used by the U.S. Army and U.S. Marine Corps from the early 1960s to the late 1970s. It was part of a family of self-propelled artillery that included the M110. It was intended to provide long-range fire support in an air-transportable system. It was exported to several other countries including Germany, South Korea, Spain, Greece, Iran, Israel, Italy, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and Turkey. The M107's combat history in U.S. service was limited to the Vietnam War; it also saw extensive combat use in Israeli service. The M107 shared many components with, and in many cases was replaced by, later versions of the M110 203 mm howitzer. Although withdrawn from U.S. service in the late 1970s, it continues in service with some armies as of 2019.
122 mm corps gun M1931/37 (A-19) was a Soviet field gun developed in late 1930s by combining the barrel of the 122 mm gun M1931 (A-19) and the carriage of the 152 mm howitzer-gun M1937 (ML-20). The gun was in production from 1939 until 1946. It saw action in World War II and remained in service for a long time after the end of the war. Vehicle-mounted variants of the gun were fitted to the IS-2 and IS-3 tanks of the Iosif Stalin series of tanks and the ISU-122 self-propelled gun.
The T-34 medium tank is one of the most-produced and longest-lived tanks of all time.
The D-1 howitzer M1943 is a Soviet World War II-era 152.4 mm howitzer. The gun was developed by the design bureau headed by F. F. Petrov in 1942 and 1943, based on the carriage of the 122 mm howitzer M1938 (M-30) and using the barrel of the 152 mm howitzer M1938 (M-10). The powerful and mobile D-1, with its wide range of ammunition, significantly increased the firepower and breakthrough abilities of Red Army tank and motor rifle formations. Several hundred D-1s were manufactured before the end of World War II.
203 mm howitzer M1931 (B-4) was a 203 mm (8 inch) Soviet high-power heavy howitzer. During the Second World War, it was under the command of the Stavka's strategic reserve. It was nicknamed "Stalin's sledgehammer" by German soldiers. These guns were used with success against Finnish pillboxes at the Mannerheim Line, heavy German fortifications and in urban combat for destroying protected buildings and bunkers. These guns were used until the end of the war in the Battle of Berlin, during which the Red Army used them to smash German fortifications at point blank range with their heavy 203mm shells. In the spring of 1944, a KV-1S tank chassis was used to create a self-propelled variant, the S-51. The heavy recoil from the muzzle blast threw the crew off their seats and damaged the transmission, and so it was cancelled.
Samohodnaya Ustanovka may refer to any of these Soviet casemate self-propelled guns:
The Uralmash-1 (Уралмаш-1) was a Soviet prototype self-propelled gun developed during World War II. It was a turretless, tracked armoured fighting vehicle designed by the Yekaterinburg-based Uralmash design bureau (UZTM) between autumn 1944 and spring 1945. It used the chassis of the T-44 medium tank and was intended to replace the SU-100 which itself had only entered service with the Red Army in late 1944. Two prototypes of the Uralmash-1 with different armament were built in early 1945, one with the 100 mm D-10 tank gun, the other with the 122 mm D-25S tank gun. While mass production was initially recommended, the end of the war with Germany in May 1945 eventually caused the project to be cancelled due to lack of necessity. If the Uralmash-1 had entered service, the 100 mm variant would have been designated SU-101 (СУ-101) while the 122 mm variant would have been designated SU-102 (СУ-102), in accordance with Soviet military nomenclature, where the "SU"-label stood for Samokhodnaya Ustanovka, or self-propelled gun.
The M44 was an American-made self-propelled 155 mm howitzer based on the M41 Walker Bulldog tank chassis, first introduced in the early 1950s. Flaws in its design prevented it from seeing action in the Korean War, but the type went on to serve in the armies of the United States, West Germany, Italy, and the United Kingdom into the late Cold War period, and even longer in Turkish service.
The 203 mm Howitzer Motor Carriage M43 was an American self-propelled artillery vehicle built on a widened and lengthened Medium Tank M4A3 chassis, but with a Continental engine and HVSS that was introduced at the end of World War II. The M43 shared the same chassis as the more widely produced M40 Gun Motor Carriage, which instead mounted a 155 mm gun, and were designed by the Pressed Steel Car Company. A production run of 576 was planned originally, but in the end only 24 were produced and another 24 were converted from M40 hulls. The M43 went on to serve in the Korean War, and was retired after its conclusion.
The 155 mm Howitzer Motor Carriage M41 was an American self-propelled artillery vehicle built on a lengthened M24 Chaffee tank chassis that was introduced at the end of the Second World War. Out of a planned run of 250, only 85 were produced before cancellation of the order at the end of 1945. The M41 went on to serve extensively in the Korean War, its success influencing the design of later U.S. self-propelled artillery. The type was retired after the conclusion of that conflict but went on to serve briefly in the French Army.
The SU-152G was a Soviet experimental 152-mm self-propelled howitzer, and was designed by OKB-3 of the heavy machine construction division of Uralmash. The main designer of the SU-152G was Lev Gorlitsky. The SU-152G was intended to suppress and destroy enemy firing positions, engage enemy armored vehicles, as well as conducting area denial and counter-battery tasks.
The Mk 61 105 mm Self-Propelled Howitzer was a French self-propelled artillery piece designed and built during the late 1950s for the French Army.
The SU-100P is a Soviet experimental 100-mm self-propelled howitzer, and is designed by OKB-3 of the heavy machine construction division of Uralmash. The main designer of the SU-100P is Lev Gorlitsky. The SU-100P was intended to suppress and destroy enemy firing positions, engage enemy armored vehicles, as well as area denial, in addition to conducting counter-battery tasks. It was intended to be the main competitor of the Object 416.
The 10.5 cm leFH 16 Geschützwagen Mk VI 736 (e) was a German self-propelled artillery piece. It was created by mounting the German 10.5 cm leFH 16 field howitzer onto the chassis of the British Light Tank Mk VI. The vehicle was created by engineer Alfred Becker, who was battery chief of the 12th Battery in the 15th Artillery Regiment, 227th Infantry Division. Becker found abandoned vehicles while his unit was performing coastal protection duties in France. He made use of his artillery crews to build this vehicle and a number of others to motorize his battery. Becker's unit operated the first purpose-built self-propelled artillery of the war. A previous rough-and-ready conversion, the 15 cm sIG 33 (Sf) auf Panzerkampfwagen I Ausf B, had merely put a sIG 33 inside a superstructure, complete with wheeled carriage.
