1:48 Russian JS-III Stalin Tank

SKU:A303
UPC:850002740257

1/48 Scale.
Features elevating 122mm gun, flexible tank treads, traversing
turret, 12.7 MM machine gun, opening hatches.
Molded in Russian Green.


JS-III Stalin Tank.
In 1943 the Russians developed the famous T-34 tank which did
much to help drive the Nazis from their homeland. The T-34 was
heavily armored and mounted a large caliber gun in a single
360-degree traverse turret. This tank set the pattern for future
Russian tank design and strongly influenced foreign designs
including the world-famous Panther Tank produced by Germany
during World War II. The Panther copied much from the T-34 and
the Germans developed these ideas into an even better fighting
machine. With the introduction of the T-34, the large gun, heavy
tank race was on. The Russians, utilizing the experience gained
with the T-34 design, came out with the KV-2, a 52 ton, 76mm gun
tank which was quickly followed by the first of the Stalin Tank
series, the JS-1. This new design was a 57 ton 122mm gun tank
which first appeared in 1945 and was improved in the following
years to produce the Joseph Stalin III.

The JS-III Tank incorporated two conspicuous departures in armor
design that were entirely new in tanks. The first is a
prow-shaped front hull, technically called compound obliquity. A
shell striking the front of the tank must, because of the sharply
angled plates, penetrate a thicker section of armor than would
be encountered in a flat vertical plate. The second radical
feature is the turret, which is the first turtle-back design on a
standard tank. Because it is cast in steel with varying wall
thicknesses, this type of turret affords greater protection
against high velocity anti-tank shells at a substantial savings
in weight, while still being sufficiently protected on the top
surface.

The JS-III mounts a high-velocity 122mm cannon which fires a 50
lb. shell. Because of the size of these shells, not many can be
carried in the closely-packed turret. Another disadvantage of
this gun is that the shells are hand-fed into the breach. A
slower rate of fire is affected by this, and this is critical
when the first few rounds of a tank battle count. The only other
armament on the JS-III Tank is the 12.7mm DSHK machine gun
mounted on top of the turret in front of the Commander's hatch.
Periscopes are provided for both driving and observation to cut
down the number of openings into the interior, and all steering
instructions are radioed from the Commander's hatch.

The JS-III is powered by a 60-degree V-type 12 cylinder,
liquid-cooled diesel engine which gives the tank a top speed of
20 miles per hour. The tracks are large and widely spaced,
exerting 11.6 pounds per square inch making it possible for the
JS-III to cross over soft ground that would bog down even
lighter, smaller tanks.