IS-3

The IS-3 is a Tier 5 Soviet heavy tank.

Background Story

As the first IS-2s were rolling off production lines, there were already plans to make a replacement. That plan started on the 8th of April, 1944, when the State Committee of Defense issued decision number 5583 to NKTM Kirov Factory in Chelyabinsk (ChKZ) and Factory no. 100: design a successor to the IS-2.^[1]^[2]

The two design bureaus created very different designs. Factory 100's team didn't deviate from the IS-2 much, but the upper-front of the hull did. It had two connected and highly inclined sloped armor plates meeting at a large angle, along with escape hatches on both plates. This very unique design was first called the "hooked nose", but later from crews earned the title "pike (щук) nose."^[1]^[2]

ChKZ's team designed a similar hull, but without the two angled plates, instead, opting for a single angled plate (see Gallery). The major innovation of this design is the hemispherical turret, which housed the same gun as the IS-2, the 122 mm D-25T. It also featured a V-shaped floor, which allowed the reduction of vertical hull armor and further reduced the mass of the tank.^[1]

Factory 100's prototype made it to factory trials first, on October 28th, 1944. Its journey along the Brodokalmakskiy track, supposed to be 1,000 km, revealed several major problems with the drivetrain, and it was returned for corrections. The second 1,000 km march in November showed that the drivetrain problems never really went away.^[1]

Meanwhile, ChKZ's prototype performed very well during trials from December 18th-24th. Still, the factory was recommended to fine tune the tank. ChKZ's prototype was given the index Kirovets-1. The military representatives present during the testing, practically-minded, named it the Exhibit A.^[1]

In parallel with the trials, the Central Institute of Armor and Metallurgy (ЦНИИ-48[TsNII-48]) was analyzing the designs. Specialists from the Institute combined the pros of both tanks, notably the pike nose from Factory 100, and the turret, along with the V-shaped floor, from ChKZ.^[1]

The State Committee of Defense issued Order #729 on the creation of a new tank on December 16th, 1944, received by directors of both factories. ChKZ was to immediately produce a 10 vehicle pilot batch, to be delivered before 25th January of 1945. The index, Object 703, indicated ChKZ victory, since Factory 100's designs had 200-series indices.^[1]^[2]

Soon, the tank got its "fighting" index: IS-3 (for "Iosif Stalin"). It didn't get to the armed forces in time for WW2. Still, the IS-3 served the USSR well, entering service on 29 March 1945. It slowly left the Soviet Army throughout the 1950s, being replaced by the T-10. A total of 2,311 IS-3s were produced, fighting everywhere, be it Egypt, Korea, or Ukraine (yes, really, in 2014, Ukraine captured an IS-3 from pro-Russian rebels. It was abandoned after apparently firing at an outpost).^[1]^[3]

Playstyle

In game, the IS-3 plays the role of a heavy hitter, great for 'trading hits' because its alpha (average) damage is almost unparalleled relative to the other high-tier guns. While other guns may have higher reload speeds, that reload speed doesn't matter if you choose battles at your rate. Show yourself to an enemy only to fire and reload in cover, or make them miss their shots as you'll often be able to reload before a high-tier opponent can fire twice.

Pros

Low profile.
Fairly good penetration value for its tier.
Somewhat decent armor protection for its tier, able to bounce shots from low tiers. Its sloped armor can bounce even some Tier 6s if angled correctly.
High damage per shot.
Very cheap for a Tier 5 tank.

Cons

Low DPM for a Tier 5.
Mediocre health pool.
Armor isn't thick enough to reliably bounce shells from high tiers.
Mediocre mobility, at only 38 km/h forwards.

Real Life Trivia

In English, the IS series of tanks is sometimes referred to as "JS," since that's the romanization of the name that's abbreviated: Joseph Stalin (while in the Russian name, ИС [IS], it's Иосиф Ствлин [Iosif Stalin]).