T - 10 tank The T - 10 ( also known as Object 730 ) was a Soviet heavy tank of the Cold War , the final development of the KV and IS tank series . During development , it was called IS - 8 and IS - 9 . It was accepted into production in 1952 as the IS - 10 ( " Iosif Stalin " , Russian form of Joseph Stalin ) , but due to the political climate in the wake of Stalin ' s death in 1953 , it was renamed T - 10 . The biggest differences from its direct ancestor , the IS - 3 , were a longer hull , seven pairs of road wheels instead of six , a larger turret mounting a new gun with fume extractor , an improved diesel engine , and increased armour . General performance was similar , although the T - 10 could carry more ammunition . T - 10s ( like the IS tanks they replaced ) were deployed in independent tank regiments belonging to armies , and independent tank battalions belonging to divisions . These independent tank units could be attached to mechanized unit s , to support infantry operations and perform breakthroughs . Demise of Soviet heavy tanks . The mobile nature of armoured warfare in World War II had demonstrated the drawbacks of the slow heavy tanks . In the final push towards Berlin , mechanized divisions had become widely split up as heavy tanks lagged behind the mobile T - 34 s . The Soviets continued to produce heavy tanks for a few years as part of the Cold War arms race ( compare the heavier U . S . M103 and British Conqueror ) , but the more flexible T - 54 and T - 62 medium tanks already had armour and armament comparable to the T - 10 ' s . In the 1960s , the Soviets embraced the main battle tank ( MBT ) concept , by replacing heavy tanks with mobile medium tanks . In the late 1960s , the independent tank battalions with heavy tanks were re - equipped with the higher - technology T - 64 s , and later , the very fast T - 80 , while regular tank and mechanized units fielded the more basic T - 55 s and T - 72 s . T - 10 production was stopped in 1966 , and heavy tank projects were cancelled , such as the auto - loaded , 130 mm - armed " Obiekt 770 " . Antitank guided missile s ( ATGMs ) started to be deployed widely during this period , and would become an effective replacement for the heavy tanks ' long - range firepower . The Soviets made use of them first on BMP - 1 infantry fighting vehicles , and later on the T - 64 and other MBTs . Eventually , light , sophisticated reactive armour was used to give the MBTs a further edge in protection without slowing them down . According to Bryan Perret , " the engagements of the Six - Day War , especially that at Rafah , merely emphasised what the Soviet Army already knew , namely that the heavy tank had its day " . Production history . The T - 10 served with the Soviet Union but was not known to have been provided to Warsaw Pact nations , though Soviet heavy tank regiments stationed in those countries may have been equipped with them . T - 10Ms were " in the unhappy position " of simultaneous production by two factories ( Kirov as " Object " 272 and Chelyabinsk as " Object " 734 ) " with incompatible parts " . Not until 1962 was Kirov ' s version standardized upon . The T - 10 is known to have been exported to Egypt and Syria . It was used in combat during the Yom Kippur War , where it normally provided long - range fire support to the T - 55 / T - 62 tanks , with little success . Heavy tanks were withdrawn from Soviet front - line service by 1967 , and completely removed from service in 1993 . Many of the tank chassis were converted to missile vehicles . It is estimated that some 6 , 000 Soviet heavy tanks were built after the end of World War II , including IS - 2 s , IS - 3s , and T - 10s .