History
The desire for the successor of the IS-3 heavy tank with a more lenient weight and cost requirement brought forth a start in development in 1948. The tank labelled the IS-8, used many characteristics from the previous experimental heavy tanks, with the engine of the IS-4 and IS-6, road wheels and tracks of the IS-4, the turret traverse mechanism and suspension system from the IS-7. The IS-8 also used an improved 122 mm gun from the IS-2 and IS-3 models. The armour on the IS-8 and IS-3 were quite similar in format but was thickened on the IS-8 for improved protection. The hull was extended to make room for an engine cooling system, necessitating another road wheelset on the suspension. The IS-8 was deemed ready for production between late 1950 to early 1951, with production to begin at the Chelyabinsk Tractor Plant (ChTZ), with reports that some IS-8 tanks were also produced at a tank plant in Omsk as well.[1]
Stalin’s death in 1953 brought forth a political situation of destalinization to er
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