IS-2Sh

IS-2Sh is a typical tier 8 122mm heavy tank in terms of its mobility and gun, however it sports a very different armour layout. Compared with similar tanks, this tank has a slightly better-than-average gun.

1. Armour
2. Gun
3. Mobility
4. Provisions, & consumable loadout
5. Equipment loadout
6. Gameplay advice
7. Overall
8. Is it worth getting?
9. Most recently sold for:
10. Camo cost:
11. Historical info:

Armour

(TheIS-2Sh in the images is using Enhanced Armour)

Drag slider right -> to view 225mm AP
Drag slider <- left to view 265mm APCR

Armour when flat and facing head-on:
Upper plate 240-250mm
Lower plate 120mm

Turret front 170mm-580mm
Turret cheeks 270-445mm
Gun mantlet 340mm

Side armour:
The lower sides (behind the track) of the IS-2Sh are 60mm, and the upper sides are 100mm. This means that the IS-2Sh can’t sidescrape past the 70 degree angle, since the lower sides are so weak that anything will be able to penetrate it.

Since the turret is on the rear though, its quite easy to achieve a sidescraping angle above 70 degree auto-ricochet limit.

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Armour vs tier 7: 
Facing tier 7 enemies, this tank will have great armour on its turret, upper plate, and sides. You still have to be careful when sidescraping, but since tier 7 tanks have lower penetration, they are much less likely to be able to penetrate even the lower part of the hull where its only a 60mm plate.

Armour vs tier 8: 
Faced against tier 8 enemies, there are 2 scenarios.
If the enemy is a lower-pen medium tank (they have less than 255mm premium penetration), you can be quite confident in the frontal armour of the tank, as long as you hide the lower plate. The upper plate will still appear red to up to 250mm HEAT, even on flat ground.

If the enemy is a high-pen medium or they are a heavy, then you have to be more cautious. If the hull is angled downward then most of these tanks will be able to penetrate the upper plate.
If the hull is on flat ground, the upper plate is still strong, but these tanks will have enough penetration on premium ammo to go through it when its not angled.

Armour vs tier 9: 
When against tier 9 tanks, most heavy tanks will be able to go through the upper plate on flat ground. In tier 9 battles the best option for armour use is to use gun depression, since the frontal hull armour will not hold up.

 

Playing against an IS-2Sh:
-This tank always has weakpoints, if its sidescraping then shoot next to the gun where its only 170mm thick.

Shoot HEAT at the lower side armour, just above the tracks. As stated above, the IS-2Sh needs to angle at 70 degrees, or it won’t be able to bounce. However, HEAT can penetrate up to 85 degrees of angled armour, so it will always go through the lower sides of the IS-2Sh as long as its penetration is high enough.

-Shooting the front plate (where it is rounded) will not be a reliable penetration. Though it may show up as grey (like in the below image), 225mm of AP penetration will not go through consistently and most shots bounce off.

-On the other hand, if you are playing the IS-2Sh, use the very narrow hull to your advantage, try to hide the front area of the tank as much as possible, if its shown it makes for an easy penetration.

-If enemies shoot HEAT there isn’t too much you can do to get a bounce. However, its easy to miss the weak lower side armour and accidentally hit the upper sides, or the tracks. Either of these outcomes would result in a non-penetration.

-Sidescrape with the turret turned to the right side, if possible. Look in the images above and you can see that the left side turret cheek is much weaker than the right side, making for an easier penetration if you sidescrape with the turret turned to the left.

Gun

-IS-2Sh has the same 122mm gun that most other tier 8 Russian heavies mount.

-It has a 11.8s reload with 400 alpha damage, giving it 2036 DPM, which is the same as the other 122mm guns.
-Penetration on APCR is 221mm, HEAT is 270mm, and HE is 61mm.
-Aim time is 4.7/5.0s and dispersion is 0.389/0.350 depending on equipment.
–Gun handling is better than average. It has 0.23/0.23/0.16 or with Vertical Stabilizer its 0.2/0.2/0.14. 
-Gun depression is -7 all round the tank.

-Alpha damage is 400 on APCR, 340 on HEAT, and 500 on HE
-It has a 12s reload giving it 1993 DPM
-Penetration on APCR is 215mm, HEAT is 270mm, and HE is 61mm.
–Estimated aim time is 4.5/4.8s
–Base aim time is 2.7s, but it can get down to 2.08s.
-Dispersion is 0.381/0.331
–Gun handling is 0.23/0.23/0.16, or 0.2/0.2/0.14 with Vertical Stabilizer.
-Gun depression is -7 degrees around the whole tank.

Compared to other 122mm guns, the one on the IS-2Sh has pretty nice stats. Its aim time is significantly better than other 122mm HT, its gun handling is slightly better, and it has a comfortable -7 degrees of gun depression. The accuracy, DPM, & penetration are all identical to other 122mm HT guns.

Note that while this 122mm is pretty good for this type of tank, the tier 8 122mm HT is not an impressive tank type, and they all mount by far some of the least reliable guns in tier 8. Compared to all tier 8 heavies, the IS-2Sh’s gun is still quite unimpressive.

Mobility

-Top forward speed is 42km/h, with -12km/h in reverse.
-Traverse speed is 34 deg/s on hard terrain, and 27.2 deg/s on medium terrain.
-In game acceleration rate is shown as 15.1 hp/t, it has a decent 805hp engine for its 53 ton weight.
-Actual acceleration rate is 12.6 hp/t on hard terrain, and 10.1 hp/t on medium terrain.
–Terrain resistances are 1.2/1.5/1.9

Due to its poor terrain resistances, the tank often struggles to reach its 42km/h top speed. The mobility is still decent, however don’t expect it to be fast like an IS-5 is.

Provisions, & consumable loadout

IS-2Sh has access to improved engine power boost, reactive armour, & tungsten shells (+ the standard adrenaline).

There are multiple viable builds you can do with consumables, as each gives a very different benefit. Below are some recommendations which work well, but try the consumables yourself to find the ones that suit your playstyle.

Adrenaline + Tungsten shells:
For an ultimate damage build, use this. Adrenaline will allow the gun to reload 17% faster for 20s, giving the tank a 10.3s reload with 2331 DPM, allowing you to put more shots into the enemies at a faster rate. Tungsten shells will increase the average damage roll by 15%, increasing the average damage from 400 up to 460, with a base duration of 15s, you can put in 2 shots with this active.

These 2 can be used together to deal damage to enemies faster, but since the IS-2Sh is an alpha damage tank, not a DPM tank, it also works well to use the consumables at different points in the battle.

Tungsten shells + Improved engine power boost:
This consumable set plays into the IS-2Sh’s strengths, amplifying what the tank is good at.

Tungsten (as said above) increases the average damage roll to 460, allowing you to deal more damage but also making it easy to secure kills on tanks with more than 400 HP, but less than 460.
Improved engine power boost significantly increases engine power, helping the tank to actually be able to reach its top speed (which it usually can’t do due to poor terrain resistance). Its good for climbing hills, and along flat ground you can actually reach the 46km (42+4) top speed with this consumable. Its also good for increasing the fairly slow traverse and reverse speed.

(Author note: This is the option I use, as explained above, this consumable set takes the strengths of the IS-2Sh and amplifies them, making it quick into positions and allowing it to relocate quickly after the cooldown. Tungsten also makes it great at damage trading or taking kills, and its high alpha/slow reload/low DPM mean it doesn’t suffer the loss of adrenaline so much.)

Tungsten shells + Reactive armour:
Similar to the WZ-111, which has the same consumables as the IS-2Sh, this setup can work well. Its very good for brawls, where you can use reactive armour to absorb more damage from the enemy, but also be able to trade damage better by using tungsten shells.

Arguably this doesn’t work as well on the IS-2Sh compared to the WZ-111, since the WZ-111 is a better brawler with its more reliable frontal armour & mobility, however it does still work well as a setup for the IS-2Sh.

Equipment loadout

Gun Rammer:
IS-2Sh has sufficient penetration, while 221mm APCR as standard isn’t impressive, its perfectly fine for tier 8. The IS-2Sh also still ahs access to the great 270mm HEAT penetration which most tier 8 122mm HT have.

Calibrated shells is a valid choice on this tank, though generally is just unnecessary, as you are able to penetrate most tanks with either your APCR or HEAT shells.

Gun rammer improves the reload time from 12.6s to 12.0s, and increases the DPM from 1893 to 1993.

Enhanced Armour:
Due to its fairly mediocre upper plate, enhanced armour is quite important on the IS-2Sh. The upper plate of this tank is 240mm effective thickness when not enhanced, if accounting for the 5 degrees normalization of AP shells, this 240mm reduces down to 210-220mm (which just so happens to be within the range of tier 8 HT standard ammo).

Using enhanced armour is needed so enemies can’t just easily penetrate the upper plate when you aren’t angled. Of course, you can angle the hull to counter this, but even that is pointless against tanks with above-average penetration, such as the Emil 1951, K-2, or AMX 50 100. Enhanced armour will still help against higher penetration levels, especially with angling, so its still very useful to have on this tank.

Vertical Stabilizer/Refined Gun:
Despite the IS-2Sh having better-than-average aim time & gun handling than most 122mm HT, compared to non-122mm tanks, its still not impressive. Its dispersion is also just poor.

Vertical stabilizer is great for if you rush a position early and get into a bit of a brawl, or if you are relocating and need to try aim in on an enemy after stopping, since it helps to reduce your bloom when moving.

However, since the IS-2Sh isn’t really a brawler, and often works very well as a gun depression tank, refined gun is quite effective. The reduced dispersion will come into full effect when you’re sitting hulldown, generally a situation where you don’t have to move the tank too much. Its good in this situation as enemy tanks which are hulldown often have small weakpoints, and the better accuracy will help to hit these.

Gameplay advice

Due to its armour layout, the IS-2Sh plays completely differently to other 122mm HT. its also completely different as this is actually a gun depression heavy tank, not a sidescraper or brawler.

The ineffective frontal armour and awkward side armour make it quite hard to use in a sidescrape or brawl situation, however its very strong upper plate, small turret and good gun depression make it very effective when using its full -7 degrees.

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General gameplay:
Some things you need to note about IS-2Sh before considering its gameplay:
-Its more effective as a gun depression tank than it is as a sidescraper tank.
-Its armour has tons of weakpoints, and is very poor in close ranges.
-Its speed is just for show, its actual mobility is mediocre.

Considering this, the IS-2Sh should generally be played on the heavy tank side of the map, take it into positions where it can go hulldown and use its good gun depression. If its a flat map which is mainly city (such as Himmelsdorf), then take it to hulldown positions, such as behind piles of rubble, where it can hide the lower plate but still shoot enemies.

The only situations where you should employ sidescraping are if there are no other options for you to use your armour. Sidescraping in the IS-2Sh is awkward due to its thin side armour, this is explained more below.

Make sure to use consumables often during gameplay, don’t hold back and try to save them for most crucial situations, since often you can still get a few uses from the consumables before such a situation comes up. The more you can use the consumables effectively, the more of an advantage it is for your tank.

Use gun depression:
Due to a small turret, which is rear mounted, and having a good -7 gun depression with a low profile, the IS-2Sh is surprisingly effective in using gun depression positions.

Avoid angling the hull, as shown below. There is no benefit to angling it, as this exposes the curved hull shoulder which is weak. When not angled and using full gun depression, the upper plate is already over 310mm thick.

Sidescraping:
Note the image below. This is an angle you might sidescrape from in a normal tank, however due to the weak lower side armour of 60mm, and multiple hull and turret weakpoints, it doesn’t work in the IS-2Sh.

Note the next image below. This is the angle at which you need to sidescrape in the IS-2Sh. The tracks aren’t penetrable at this angle, and you can turn the turret away to make the angling better. The gun partially covers the weakest area of the turret cheek.

At this angle, enemies can load premium ammo to penetrate the upper plate, but its much harder to penetrate with standard ammo.

Use consumables:
The consumables on this tank are essential to boosting your stats and what you can do in battle.

Use adrenaline for situations where you think you can put multiple shots into the enemies, such as in a brawl or push situation.
Use tungsten to trade damage or to secure kills on tanks with more HP than your usual 400 alpha.
Use the speed boost to get into position quickly, such as for climbing hills, or use it to reach your top speed along flat ground, since this tank usually struggles to get to its base 42km/h top speed. Also use this consumable to reverse out of situations, since it increases your top reverse speed to 20km/h.
Use reactive to absorb damage when you know you’ll take quite a few hits, such as if facing an autoloader, fighting multiple enemies, or in a 1-on-1 fight.

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Overall gameplay of the IS-2Sh is that of a gun depression tank, as its armour is most effective when using gun depression. Sidescraping can be done, but due to multiple weakpoints its quite awkward.

Overall

Armour – 5/10
Gun – 4.5/10
Mobility – 3.5/10
Speed – 8.5/10

The IS-2Sh is overall a decent tank.

Armour is decent on the upper plate, turret, and hull sides, but not amazing. Its not the easiest to use, weakpoints are numerous.
Gun has poor accuracy, gun handling. Aim time, standard penetration, & DPM are mediocre. Gun depression and alpha damage are good, shell velocity is very high.
Mobility is poor, with a fairly weak engine and slow acceleration and traverse speeds. Reverse speed is also slow.
Speed is very good at 42km/h.

The IS-2Sh is exactly what it looks like. A tier 7 IS-2, moved up to tier 8, with the turret put on the rear.
Its a very unique tank but unfortunately is overshadowed by other heavies with better hull armour and turret armour. Even though this has a better 122mm gun than all other USSR/Chinese tier 8 HT, and fairly good speed, ideally it needs a bit more armour & acceleration.

Is it worth getting?

Rear turreted heavy tanks are generally harder to play, and the IS-2Sh is no exception. Due to it having less armour than most other heavies, it isn’t worth getting unless you really want it, as there are other similar tanks with better armour.
Though, if you love the gameplay of rear turreted tanks, then you may enjoy this one.

IS-2Sh is worth what its usually sold for, around 5,500 gold.

Most recently sold for:

5,500 gold (Full Bundle)- January 2022
5,000 gold (Tank only) – August 2022
6,000 gold (Full bundle) – January 2023 
5,500 gold (Starting price), 4,000 gold (Final price) in Auction – August 2023

Camo cost:

Historical info:

IS-2Sh, Shashmurin’s IS-2, was a proposal by Nikolai Shashmurin for an alternate design to the existing IS-2 tank. Its most notable features where its large road wheels, similar to an IS-6; a 122mm gun in a rear-mounted modified IS-2 turret; and the driver in the hull with the engine situated behind him.

There was also a SPG variant of this tank shown in Shashmurin’s drawing of this alternative IS-2, a rear-casemate tank destroyer with a gun of unknown caliber (though, probably the same 122mm gun as the IS-2), and the same large roadwheels.

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