SU-85
Sign in to saveThe SU-85 (Samokhodnaya ustanovka 85) was a Soviet self-propelled gun used during World War II, based on the chassis of the T-34 medium tank. Earlier Soviet self-propelled guns were meant to serve as either assault guns, such as the SU-122, or as tank destroyers; the SU-85 fell into the latter category. As with the other AFVs in the SU series, the designation "85" refers to the vehicle's main armament, the 85 mm D-5T gun.
Key facts
- Weapon.name
- SU-85
- Weapon.image
- SU-85 tank destroyer at the Muzeum Polskiej Techniki Wojskowej in Warsaw.jpg
- Weapon.image_size
- 300
- Weapon.caption
- SU-85 tank destroyer in Polish Army Museum.
- Weapon.origin
- Soviet Union
- Weapon.type
- Self-propelled anti-tank gun
- Weapon.is_vehicle
- yes
- Weapon.service
- 1943–1950s (USSR)
- Weapon.wars
- World War II
- Weapon.designer
- Lew S. Trojanow
- Weapon.design_date
- 1943
- Weapon.production_date
- 1943–1944
- Weapon.number
- 2,650
- Weapon.variants
- See Variants section
- Weapon.length
- overall hull only
- Weapon.weight
- 29.6 tonnes (65,256 lbs)
- Weapon.suspension
- Christie
- Weapon.clearance
- 0.40 m
via Wikipedia infobox
Wikidata facts
- Mass
- 29.2
- Image
- Czerniaków SU-85.JPG
- Height
- 2.45
- Width
- 3
- Length
- 8.15
- Speed
- 47
Show 6 more facts
- Commons category
- SU-85
- Commons gallery
- SU-85
- service entry
- 1943-01-01
- service retirement
- 1950-01-01
- total produced
- 2050
- ride height
- 400
Sources (3)
via Wikidata · CC0
~6 min read
Article
13 sectionsContents
- Development history
- Description
- Production history
- Service history
- Variants
- Former Soviet Union
- Poland
- Operators
- See also
- Tanks of comparable role, performance and era
- References
- Sources
- External links
The SU-85 (Samokhodnaya ustanovka 85) was a Soviet self-propelled gun used during World War II, based on the chassis of the T-34 medium tank. Earlier Soviet self-propelled guns were meant to serve as either assault guns, such as the SU-122, or as tank destroyers; the SU-85 fell into the latter category. As with the other AFVs in the SU series, the designation "85" refers to the vehicle's main armament, the 85 mm D-5T gun.
== Development history == Early in World War II, Soviet tanks such as the T-34 and KV-1 had adequate firepower to defeat any of the German tanks then available. By the fall of 1942, Soviet forces began to encounter the new German Tiger tank, with armor too thick to be penetrated by the 76.2 mm guns used in the T-34 and KV tanks at a safe range. The Soviet command also had reports of the Panther tank, that was in development then and possessed thicker armor than the Tiger; both represented an advance in German tank design. Although the Panther was not seen in combat until July 1943, the new generation of German vehicles meant the Red Army would need a new, more powerful main gun for their armoured formations.