The Soviets discovered they needed a mobile heavy gun to dislodge the Germans during the Stalingrad counteroffensive. While they could use artillery guns to engage enemy fortifications directly, these unarmored units were often vulnerable to enemy counterfire and were slow to position.
Although they already had a vehicle like this in the KV-2, it was slow, lumbering, and had a large turret, making it an easy target. Furthermore, KV-2 production stopped because the Soviets had to move its factories behind the Urals to protect them from the German advance.
So, to fill this need, the Red Army used the chassis of the KV-1S and mounted a 152-millimeter massive howitzer on it, protected by a casemate structure. This gigantic gun allowed it to destroy fixed emplacements and mobile armored targets; thus, its Russian crews gave it the Zveroboy nickname, translating to Beast Slayer in English.
However, as the SU-152 is primarily an assault gun, it usually disables enemy vehicles by knocking out its crew. This meant the damaged tanks only needed minor repairs or new crews and would be back in action the next day. Nevertheless, its cheap cost and easy construction (plus its giant gun) made the SU-152 one of the best tank destroyers of the war, as the Soviets could make so many of them to overwhelm the enemy through sheer numbers.
[Featured image by Maciek Godlewski via Wikimedia Commons | Cropped and scaled | CC BY 2.5]
