Object 252U

## General Information

The in-game icon for the Object 252U

The **Object 252U** is a tier VIII Soviet heavy tank. Like most other Soviet tanks of its tier, the Object 252U possesses a 122 mm gun barrel and the "pike-nose" hull that many Soviet tanks are distinguished by.

## Strategy

### Pros

* Despite the pike-nose, the hull's upper plate is at an angle, so the effective armor is higher than what the stats say
* Relatively strong sides, can side-scrape
* 420 alpha is above average when compared to all other 122 mm tanks
* Nigh-impenetrable turret from the front (except the hatches)

### Cons

* Wide hatches, quite hard to hide them
* Poor DPM, as with all 122 mm guns in tier VIII

### Strategy

#### As the Obj. 252U

Play hull-down or side-scrape, don't sit back playing second line support because your turret is strong. Use Gun Rammer to increase your DPM. After firing, wiggle your turret and raise your gun up to protect your hatches. Don't be discouraged by the poor DPM, it's a characteristic that all tier VIII 122 mm tanks have to deal with. When side-scraping, don't over-poke, as you still have a pike-nose hull, and tanks will aim for your vulnerable lower plate. Remember, hull-down or side-scrape, trade in shots, not alpha, and don't be afraid to take shots.

#### Against the Obj. 252U

Time your shots carefully, as the Obj. 252U has small but wide hatches. If the Obj. 252U is face-hugging you, then aim for the hatches, as the Obj. 252U cannot effectively defend itself to hide the hatches due to its low profile. If the Obj. 252U is showing its lower plate and if you can penetrate it, then shoot the lower plate. Use prammo when the Obj. 252U shows its upper plate when it peeks corners sideways. Of course, swarming a lone enemy tank like the Obj. 252U is always an option.

## Specifications

### Modules

#### Turret

 **Turret Armor** | Front: 250 mmSides: 150 mmRear: 100 mm
 **Max AmmoRack Size** | 30 shells

#### Suspension

 **Terrain CrossingCapacity** | Road: 87% Ground: 70%Water: 57%

## Legendary Camouflage

 Concealment Bonus
 Description
 In-match Name
 Icons

## History

From Blitzhangar: "A draft project, prepared during the development of the IS-6 heavy tank. The draft was completed by the end of 1944. Later, work on the IS-6 tank was stopped, and the development of the project was discontinued. The vehicle never entered service."

### Historical Accuracy

**From Tanks Encyclopedia**:

"

#### Last Breath of the IS-6

In the later years of the Second World War (‘The Great Patriotic War’ to the Soviets), there was a quest to develop a replacement for the IS-2 heavy tank. The development process resulted in the IS-6 (Object 252/Object 253) and IS-4 (Object 701). This program was as secret as it was ambitious, with two rival factories working on their designs in absolute secrecy in fear of leaking information to one another.

On paper, the IS-6 seemed superior to any Panzer in Germany’s arsenal at the time. However, due to its mechanical issues and overall poor performance, it lost to its competitor, the IS-4, which would go on to enter service in 1946. Despite this, a last ditch effort to revamp the IS-6 was made, with limited success. This renewed vehicle would become known as the Object 252 November improvement – more commonly known as the Object 252U.

#### Development

After the battlefront experiences of 1943, with the appearance of the new German heavy tanks and tank destroyers such as the Ferdinand, the Soviet Union quickly realised that a new heavy tank was needed. Thus, in November of 1943, the GABTU (Main Directorate of the Armed Forces) requested the development of a 55 tonnes (61 tons) heavy tank.

Two factories of the same organization (ChKZ) and the same city, Chelyabinsk, were assigned this task.

1. SKB-2, which was headed by Nikolai Dukhov, who had taken part in the development of the IS tank, and would later become the assistant of the chief designer of the Soviet atomic bomb plan. SKB-2 designed the Object 701, which was a planned upgrade of the IS-2 and later became the IS-4.

2. Experimental Factory No. 100, which was headed by Josef Kotin, who previously had done work on countless Soviet tanks. In contrast to their ‘opponents’, they developed a completely new tank, the Object 252 and 253.

From June to October 1944, Factory No.100’s Object 252 and Object 253 (IS-6) failed in comparison to the SKB-2 design. The armor was much thinner than that of the Object 701, yet it was still heavy, weighing over 50 tonnes (55 tons). The mechanical problems in the suspension and mobility were worse compared to its heavier counterpart. Kotin managed to get the IS-6 to Moscow, where it got tested against the Object 701, but to no avail. In late November of the same year, an upgrade attempt was made with the help of the NII-48 institute using a heavily angled pike-nose design for the armor and a new turret. Despite it being a dead-end when it came to the development of the IS-6, it was a turning point for future heavy tank designs. This is now known as the Object 252U."

## Trivia

* The Obj. 252U is widely considered to be one of the strongest, if not the strongest 122 mm tier VIII tank due to the armor and the alpha damage

## External Links

https://na.wotblitz.com/en/news/updates/update-8-7/

https://blitzhangar.com/en/tank/obj-252u

https://tanks-encyclopedia.com/object-252-improved-object-252u/

https://na.wotblitz.com/en/news/event/object-252u/

1. ↑ https://blitzhangar.com/en/tank/obj-252u
2. ↑ https://tanks-encyclopedia.com/object-252-improved-object-252u/