How do you kill the IS-2?

[Fyrliel]

I played the Finnish campaign and could kill everything except the IS-2. Nothing could pen it and the only reliable way was to rush infantry at it when it was in or near a forest. Every tank I had couldn’t kill it because as soon as it got within firing range, the IS would always rotate to show its front armor by the time it fired. I assumed this was just a problem Finland had but when I played with my friend on the Baltic campaign one IS-2 sat for 10 minutes bouncing shots from two 88s. I see 57mms kill tigers and panthers frontally with ease but an 88 can’t kill an IS-2. It’s armor shouldn’t be comparable to a King Tiger, it had a weak turret front with its best armor being the front glacis, there is also the poor quality of Soviet steel. Is there no better way to kill it in campaign then infantry and lucky flanking shots.

[Twan]

IS-2 greatest tank of world war 2

Only real OGs will understand this

[DasaKamov]

Originally posted by Franz die Sturmtroopen:

How do you kill the IS-2

The same way you kill any other heavy tank.

Flank it and shoot it in the sides or rear.

Take advantage of the fact it can only fire once every 20 seconds.

Hit it with artillery and destroy it or force it to retreat.

Hit it with bombers / rocket planes / tank busters.

Blind it with smoke, move in close where armor penetration improves.

Blind it with smoke, hit it with Panzerfausts.

Originally posted by Franz die Sturmtroopen:

It’s armor shouldn’t be comparable to a King Tiger.

Good thing it's not, then?

Konigstiger (P) Frontal Armor: 180mm (also, 230mm pen on its gun when firing AP shells)
IS-2 obr. 1943 Frontal Armor: 160mm (200mm pen on its gun when firing AP shells)

[Fyrliel]

Originally posted by DasaKamov:

Originally posted by Franz die Sturmtroopen:

How do you kill the IS-2

The same way you kill any other heavy tank.

Flank it and shoot it in the sides or rear.

Take advantage of the fact it can only fire once every 20 seconds.

Hit it with artillery and destroy it or force it to retreat.

Hit it with bombers / rocket planes / tank busters.

Blind it with smoke, move in close where armor penetration improves.

Blind it with smoke, hit it with Panzerfausts.

Originally posted by Franz die Sturmtroopen:

It’s armor shouldn’t be comparable to a King Tiger.

Good thing it's not, then?

Konigstiger (P) Frontal Armor: 180mm (also, 230mm pen on its gun when firing AP shells)
IS-2 obr. 1943 Frontal Armor: 160mm (200mm pen on its gun when firing AP shells)

Well It’s good I’m doing everything I can.

It’s also not the 43 variant, it’s the 44 which does have armor comparable to the King Tiger. Given the IS-2 didn’t have comparable armor to the King Tiger in real life and could be taken out if it was hit on the turret I wish it would be lowered. I understand the need to give Russia something comparable to the King Tiger but the IS-2 is the quasi counter to the Tiger/Panther and the King Tiger was a counter to it.

[DasaKamov]

Originally posted by Franz die Sturmtroopen:

the IS-2 is the quasi counter to the Tiger/Panther and the King Tiger was a counter to it.

Actually, the T-34/85 was the counter to the Tigers and Panthers.

Furthermore, you keep remarking on the "inferior" quality of Soviet steel, but in 1944 onwards it was German armor which suffered from brittle, poor-quality steel (due to the relentless Allied strategic bombing campaign) and rushed assembly jobs (weak joint welds which cracked or shattered when hit by HE shells).

[Fyrliel]

Originally posted by DasaKamov:

Originally posted by Franz die Sturmtroopen:

the IS-2 is the quasi counter to the Tiger/Panther and the King Tiger was a counter to it.

Actually, the T-34/85 was the counter to the Tigers and Panthers.

Furthermore, you keep remarking on the "inferior" quality of Soviet steel, but in 1944 onwards it was German armor which suffered from brittle, poor-quality steel (due to the relentless Allied strategic bombing campaign) and rushed assembly jobs (weak joint welds which cracked or shattered when hit by HE shells).

The T-34-85 wasn't a counter, it could't kill a Tiger at anything less then 500 yards (the average combat range is 1000 yards) while the Tiger could kill it a few miles away. The Panther was nearly invincible unless a lucky shot was made on the turret face. The ISU-152/122 were the real counters to the Tiger/Panther, the reason I said quasi was because the IS-2 was used primarily for infantry support and fortress destruction.

German armor did become weaker then previously but it was still better then Soviet armor which could vary heavily in quality depending on the factory, lacked important material and was very rushed to meet production quotas. German industry was also much more advanced and developed then the Soviet industry which was barely developed.

[RakkoHug~<3]

Sorry to hear that you are having a difficult time with IS-2s Franz.

Just like Dasa pointed out earlier there are myriad of ways to deal with IS-2s.

Recently, AtkPower has made a guide on how to deal with heavy tanks.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZ-zeEI3OOg

In the video, Hobo used a Panther and a light AT gun in flanking position to easily take down a KT.

Side shot with AT rocket planes or 37mm Stukas works very well as well.

Another thing to consider is cost: for every IS-2 on the field, the other side can bring out a AT gun and a pair of Hetzers, which can do so much more than single IS-2.

Keeping up pressure against the other player will prevent them from saving up sufficient points to bring out IS-2s and KTs. It will be very difficult to wait patiently when one's defense line is completely overrun by pouncing Luchs.

There was an earlier thread that discussed extensively about the armor rating of IS-2 in game. It was quite sometime ago so you may have to utilize search function, but discussion was quite comprehensive and helpful. You should be able to find answers for most of your questions about the in-game implementations of IS-2s.

Please enjoy and have a wonderful SD2 time. :)

[Rabidnid]

Originally posted by Franz die Sturmtroopen:

It’s also not the 43 variant, it’s the 44 which does have armor comparable to the King Tiger. Given the IS-2 didn’t have comparable armor to the King Tiger in real life and could be taken out if it was hit on the turret I wish it would be lowered. I understand the need to give Russia something comparable to the King Tiger but the IS-2 is the quasi counter to the Tiger/Panther and the King Tiger was a counter to it.

Not really accurate they were both built as assault tanks but after initial encounters with the 88L71 the glassis was improved to eliminate the shot trap and improve the quality of the armour. The turret was mostly immune due to the angles.

[Fyrliel]

Originally posted by Rabidnid:

Originally posted by Franz die Sturmtroopen:

It’s also not the 43 variant, it’s the 44 which does have armor comparable to the King Tiger. Given the IS-2 didn’t have comparable armor to the King Tiger in real life and could be taken out if it was hit on the turret I wish it would be lowered. I understand the need to give Russia something comparable to the King Tiger but the IS-2 is the quasi counter to the Tiger/Panther and the King Tiger was a counter to it.

Not really accurate they were both built as assault tanks but after initial encounters with the 88L71 the glassis was improved to eliminate the shot trap and improve the quality of the armour. The turret was mostly immune due to the angles.

The Turret was only 100mm with only slight improvements to the armor from the sloped front but the 8.8 cm Flak 41 could pen it at 1,600 yards with 142mm penetration. If it used APCR it could pen almost the entire front except the front plate with 171mm of penetration. There really should be no way an 88 shouldn't be able to pen it from the front or why the IS-2 should have so much armor compared to it's counter.

[Rabidnid]

Originally posted by Franz die Sturmtroopen:

Originally posted by Rabidnid:

Not really accurate they were both built as assault tanks but after initial encounters with the 88L71 the glassis was improved to eliminate the shot trap and improve the quality of the armour. The turret was mostly immune due to the angles.

The Turret was only 100mm with only slight improvements to the armor from the sloped front but the 8.8 cm Flak 41 could pen it at 1,600 yards with 142mm penetration. If it used APCR it could pen almost the entire front except the front plate with 171mm of penetration. There really should be no way an 88 shouldn't be able to pen it from the front or why the IS-2 should have so much armor compared to it's counter.

160 mm and they had no APCR because all the tungsten went to machine tools in 1943.

[Hydra]

Originally posted by Franz die Sturmtroopen:

Originally posted by DasaKamov:

The same way you kill any other heavy tank.

Flank it and shoot it in the sides or rear.

Take advantage of the fact it can only fire once every 20 seconds.

Hit it with artillery and destroy it or force it to retreat.

Hit it with bombers / rocket planes / tank busters.

Blind it with smoke, move in close where armor penetration improves.

Blind it with smoke, hit it with Panzerfausts.

Good thing it's not, then?

Konigstiger (P) Frontal Armor: 180mm (also, 230mm pen on its gun when firing AP shells)
IS-2 obr. 1943 Frontal Armor: 160mm (200mm pen on its gun when firing AP shells)

Well It’s good I’m doing everything I can.

It’s also not the 43 variant, it’s the 44 which does have armor comparable to the King Tiger. Given the IS-2 didn’t have comparable armor to the King Tiger in real life and could be taken out if it was hit on the turret I wish it would be lowered. I understand the need to give Russia something comparable to the King Tiger but the IS-2 is the quasi counter to the Tiger/Panther and the King Tiger was a counter to it.

Uhhh actually the IS-2 1944 had greater side armor than the King Tiger and due to sloping, parts of its front turret were more resistant to enemy fire than the King Tiger's turret. Add to this the King Tiger often having armor quality issues due to resource shortages and substitutions and yes an IS-2 1944 was about as difficult to take out as a King Tiger armor-wise.

The main advantage the king tiger had was gun penetration and velocity. So if a King Tiger is fighting an IS-2 1944 the King Tiger is favored due to its gun. If just about any other German unit is fighting an IS-2 1944 then yes will struggle with it about as badly as the Soviets struggled with King Tigers.

[Hydra]

Originally posted by Rabidnid:

Originally posted by Franz die Sturmtroopen:

The Turret was only 100mm with only slight improvements to the armor from the sloped front but the 8.8 cm Flak 41 could pen it at 1,600 yards with 142mm penetration. If it used APCR it could pen almost the entire front except the front plate with 171mm of penetration. There really should be no way an 88 shouldn't be able to pen it from the front or why the IS-2 should have so much armor compared to it's counter.

160 mm and they had no APCR because all the tungsten went to machine tools in 1943.

^ This what little tungsten Germany had for its military was almost exclusively used on low caliber older anti tank guns in order to keep them relevant against improved Allied armor.

While APCR was tested on large caliber guns such as the pak 43 and kwk 43 it was virtually unheard of for large caliber gun anti tank and tank units to be outfitted with them, due to the already high penetration of such guns making the use of such limited resources on them extremely wasteful.

[Twan]

IS2 greatest tank of WWII, you can't just shambeh bambeh it

[Cyclonite_The_Best]

Originally posted by Franz die Sturmtroopen:

How do you kill the IS-2?

The same way as we kill Königstiger.

[Chinggis Khaan]

Preferably dont try to kill it and instead focus on the infantry, use smoke on the tank if it's firing on your bunkers/AT guns, it's more time efficient and time is what there is little of in any battlefield.

[Fyrliel]

Originally posted by Cyclonite_The_Best:

Originally posted by Franz die Sturmtroopen:

How do you kill the IS-2?

The same way as we kill Königstiger.

There aren’t Königstigers in the campaigns.