Combat Vehicles of the Ural Factory for Transportation Machinery - Book 1: Sverdlovsk SP Guns 1941-1945
 

Reviewed by Cookie Sewell

Summary

FirstRead

Over the past ten years or so the Ural Railway Wagon Factory - UVZ or the main tank plant of Russia - has produced five outstanding histories of its tanks from the T-34 through the latest versions of the T-90. As the Ural Factory for Transportation Machinery (UZTM) is now under the auspices of UVZ, this is the first of a new series of histories about production of self-propelled guns and howitzers by UZTM. This volume looks at WWII.

The book has five chapters and one add-on: Creation of the Industrial Bases for Tank Building in Sverdlovsk; Assault Howitzers; the SU-85 Tank Destroyer; the Universal SU-100; If the War had Continued for Another Year...; and, Fate of the Assault Tank.

It starts with the creation of UZTM in 1939 and shows how it developed into a base where new design assault guns based on the T-34 tank could be designed and produced. The book covers in detail the histories of the SU-122, the SU-85 and the SU-100 as well as the basis for the creation of the SU-76 (starting with T-60 components) and also covers the “what ifs” such as an SU-122-D-25T, an SU-122P, and the SU-152-D-15. Plans are included for all of these (scales vary) and photos back up all versions which entered into at least prototype design.

While this book was released at the latest big Russian Arms Expo (UralExpo) this year, as noted in the back only 516 copies were printed so finding one may be quite difficult.

Overall this a great book and offers some marvelous new designs - perhaps companies like Takom may produce them!

Thanks to David Markov for the review copy.

Cookie Sewell