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Description

The IS-7 (ИC-7), starting life under the project title of Object 260 (объект 260), followed on from the ill-fated IS-5 (Object 730) and IS-6 (Object 252/253). With these failures, the request was still standing for the USSR’s next heavy tank.

The IS-7 was the brain-child of the Soviet tank designer Nikolai Fedorovich Shashmurin. As well as having a hand in the design of the rather successful IS-2 which would serve well in the later years of World War II, Shashmurin also drew up plans for the ill-fated KV-4 (Object 906) project, which never came to fruition.

The IS-7 would be Shashmurin’s crowning glory and could be considered the zenith of the Iosif Stalin heavy tanks. At the time of its conception, it was one of the most technologically advanced heavy tanks in the world, and one of the most heavily armored.

The seeds of the IS-7 were first sown in December 1945 in Factory No. 100 in Leningrad, with a full-scale wooden mock-up produced soon after. Running prototypes were ready for testing in 1946. These tests ran through 1947, ending in 1948 when the designers believed they had reached a finalized design. It was then given the title of IS-7. This final design was armed with a stabilized 130 mm (5.12 in) cannon fed by an autoloader, a total of 8 machine guns, infrared scopes, and armor up to 300 mm (11.8 in) thick. It was the largest tank that the USSR had or would ever produce.

After the initial factory tests, the prototype tanks were handed over to the State Commission. The test drivers were famously fond of how the IS-7 handled. Reporting that it would respond to the smallest adjustment with ease. The tests were not without incident, though.

During one of the trials, an IS-7 caught fire, despite both sets of internal extinguishers firing, the fire continued to burn resulting in the abandonment of the vehicle and its complete destruction. The cause of the fire was thought to have originated with the weight-saving plastic lined canvas fuel tanks. Quite understandably, these were deleted in later versions.

Though it was liked and generally thought to be a good vehicle, the governing bodies refused to accept it into mass production. The official reasons are not known as to it was rejected. As such, the IS-7 would never enter service, with its successor, the IS-8, later known as T-10, proving to be a more flexible vehicle and able to better meet the needs found on the now fast moving battlefields. It served from 1953 to 1996.

Only one IS-7, built in 1948, survives today and is currently on display at the Kubinka Tank Museum.

Description

The IS-7 (ИC-7), starting life under the project title of Object 260 (объект 260), followed on from the ill-fated IS-5 (Object 730) and IS-6 (Object 252/253). With these failures, the request was still standing for the USSR’s next heavy tank.

The IS-7 was the brain-child of the Soviet tank designer Nikolai Fedorovich Shashmurin. As well as having a hand in the design of the rather successful IS-2 which would serve well in the later years of World War II, Shashmurin also drew up plans for the ill-fated KV-4 (Object 906) project, which never came to fruition.

The IS-7 would be Shashmurin’s crowning glory and could be considered the zenith of the Iosif Stalin heavy tanks. At the time of its conception, it was one of the most technologically advanced heavy tanks in the world, and one of the most heavily armored.

The seeds of the IS-7 were first sown in December 1945 in Factory No. 100 in Leningrad, with a full-scale wooden mock-up produced soon after. Running prototypes were ready for testing in 1946. These tests ran through 1947, ending in 1948 when the designers believed they had reached a finalized design. It was then given the title of IS-7. This final design was armed with a stabilized 130 mm (5.12 in) cannon fed by an autoloader, a total of 8 machine guns, infrared scopes, and armor up to 300 mm (11.8 in) thick. It was the largest tank that the USSR had or would ever produce.

After the initial factory tests, the prototype tanks were handed over to the State Commission. The test drivers were famously fond of how the IS-7 handled. Reporting that it would respond to the smallest adjustment with ease. The tests were not without incident, though.

During one of the trials, an IS-7 caught fire, despite both sets of internal extinguishers firing, the fire continued to burn resulting in the abandonment of the vehicle and its complete destruction. The cause of the fire was thought to have originated with the weight-saving plastic lined canvas fuel tanks. Quite understandably, these were deleted in later versions.

Though it was liked and generally thought to be a good vehicle, the governing bodies refused to accept it into mass production. The official reasons are not known as to it was rejected. As such, the IS-7 would never enter service, with its successor, the IS-8, later known as T-10, proving to be a more flexible vehicle and able to better meet the needs found on the now fast moving battlefields. It served from 1953 to 1996.

Only one IS-7, built in 1948, survives today and is currently on display at the Kubinka Tank Museum.