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Hello !
Today, I’d like to suggest the addition of a T-34-85 equipped with the experimental 1-plane stabilizer STP-S-53. It’s a fairly well-known modification but a proper suggestion on the new forums had not been made yet.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixZNtu1l-FFnM5Ukomf6eMaUUUwEVaMVj88ciqzFijRXPaM22_oKuOJ5adElM2g9OWanG6Ve9e7PMfBVlHSkYiMl-4h6wDmBLI1gdP37D0ZdR1BTSra-1aJyEoXGQLBXPes8nWARpE9pa7/s1600/T-34-85+stabilizer.jpg)
History
Spoiler
Tank gun stabilizers picked the Soviets’ interest in the late 1920s / early 1930s. However, it was not until the 1940s that they were truly put to the test. Work began in the summer of 1943 on a stabilizer for the T-34’s 76 mm F-34 gun. While the advantage of a 2-plane stabilizer was already understood by the engineers, the complexity of the task meant that it would be more reasonable to keep a 1-plane stabilizer.
This resulted in the creation of a 1300 kg-heavy system that was never built. However, a refined version was built and trialed in a T-34 in February 1944.
![](https://i.postimg.cc/zXYf6sqh/image-2024-06-06-114039966.png)
As the T-34-85 soon came to be, it was deemed more useful to stop working on stabilizing the 76 mm gun. Work started on the aptly named STP-S-53 “Taran”, STP meaning “tank gun stabilizer” and S-53 being the name of the T-34-85’s “serial” gun. In early 1945, 5 tanks were equipped with the STP-S-53.
From April 10th to May 31st 1946, 4 tanks went through trials. Those trials showed that the tank was 2,5 to 3 times more accurate on the move with the stabilizer on, at a speed of up to 25 km/h.
Work was discontinued since it would have required reworking the T-34’s turret and 100 mm guns were seen as more promising by that time and worthy of attention.
![](https://i-ru.cdn.gaijin.net/monthly_2021_08/942335884_improved_photo(1)-architectural-scale-6_00x-gigapixel-min.jpg.b38e491626bf8e5e8a90201d8a6cd035.jpg)
Specifications
Crew : 5
- Driver
- Gunner
- Commander
- Machine-gunner
- Loader
Armament
- One 85 mm gun ZiS-S-53 with a 1-plane stabilizer (Ammo : 60 rounds)
Sights : TSh-15
Elevation : -5° / +22°
Dimensions
- Weight : ~ 33 t
- Length : 6.1 m
- Width : 3 m
- Height : 2.7 m
Mobility
- Engine : V-2-34(M) (500 hp)
- Top speed : 55 km/h / -9 km/h
- Transmission : 5 forward / 1 reverse
Armor
- Identical to the T-34-85 (ZiS-S-53)
Sources
- Отечественные бронированные машины. ХХ век. Том 2., p. 11, 61, 151
- Отечественные бронированные машины 1945-1965 гг. M.V. Pavlov, I.V. Pavlov, p. 331
- Tank Archives: Soviet Stabilizers