Obj. 252U

The Obj.252U is a variant of the IS-6, and this is evident in game, as it has similar turret, gun, and identical mobility. Overall the Obj.252U is one of the best 122mm variant heavy tanks.

Armour

vs 265mm APCR
-Upper plate 420mm Auto-Ricochet (driver port 250mm)
-Lower plate 165mm
-Turret 425-1000mm+ (weakest points 255-270mm)
-Gun mantlet 250mm
-Cupolas 155-220mm

Note that the above image is the tank being faced against a tier 8 premium round, 265mm of APCR.

As the tank has a pike nose, in a regular situation, turning the tank to the side puts it at its weakest point (shown in the image). Even if the tank is turned completely to a 45 degree angle, the upper plate is still 272mm at the weakest point.

VS tier 7:
Most enemies will struggle against the sides and rear of this tank. The side armour is 190mm above the tracks, and 165mm on the rear of the tank. They have to aim carefully below the tracks or at the lower plate of the tank’s rear.

If facing the front though, most tier 7 tanks can easily penetrate the lower plate.

VS tier 8 & 9:
These enemies will have a much easier time dealing with the 252U’s sides and rear, but the front will still be nearly impenetrable if the lower plate is hidden.

Side & rear armour:
When viewing the Obj.252U’s side armour (at a perpendicular angle), its turret sides are 220-240mm thick, and hull sides are 190mm.
When viewing the flat rear of the 252U, the turret rear is 135mm, the hull rear is 160mm, and the angled sides are 260mm.

Facing against an Obj.252U:
-If the tank facehugs you, aim for its hatches, they are an easy 150mm penetration, and while not tall, they are wide, meaning the 252U can’t really just put the gun in the way as there’s so much hatch to aim for.

-Alternatively, if you are slightly above an enemy 252U, and its hull is turned to the side (even if not by much), almost all tier 8 heavies and most tier 9 tanks will be able to shoot down on the closest upper plate and penetrate it with premium ammo.

-If the hull of the Obj.252U is not turned to the side, then try aiming for the hull, right above the driver’s hatch there is an area that is 250mm thick. If the 252U is a smart player then they would probably try put the gun in the way, at which point you can aim for their hatches.

If you can’t either of these, the best option is to try run away or circle the 252U so you can shoot its lower plate, side, or rear. Its very hard to deal with this tank if it is able to hide its lower plate or is in a facehug.

-In general when shooting at a 252U, aim carefully. Many tanks can very easily bounce of the turret sides and rear, or hull sides and rear. The 252U has got good all-round armour and not aiming at it carefully can lose a game.

vs 265mm APCR

Here you can see the clear driver hatch weakpoint, directly under the gun.

Though the mantlet may seem like its a weakpoint, its best not to try to penetrate it. Its 250mm of spaced armour, and spaced armour can still be very unpredictable even to AP and APCR shells.

Gun

The Obj.252U mounts a 122mm gun

-It has 420 alpha with a 13.1s reload, which gives it 1931 DPM
-Penetration is 225mm on AP, 265mm on APCR, and 68mm on HE
–Estimated aim time is 5.5/6.0s
–Base aim time is 3.1s, but it can get down to 2.53s.
-Dispersion is 0.398/0.359
–Gun handling is 0.24/0.24/0.16, and it can be improved to 0.2/0.2/0.14 with Vertical Stabilizer.
-Gun depression is -6

The Obj.252U features an improved gun compared to other 122mm heavies. Most 122mm tanks mount a variant of the D-25T gun, but the Obj.252U mounts the BL-13, a variant of the BL-9 tank destroyer gun.

Compared to similar guns, this features much improved penetration, which does make it feel more accurate, even though the accuracy is actually worse. The gun handling and aim time are very average for this type of gun, but the 252U does feature increased alpha damage, for lower DPM.

Overall this is a great gun for a tier 8 122mm, however compared to the whole scope of all tier 8 heavies, this gun is average at best.

Mobility

-Top speed is 35km/h, reverse speed is -14km/h.
-Traverse speed is 35.95 deg/s on hard terrain and 28.76 deg/s on medium terrain.
-In game acceleration rate is shown as 15.9 hp/t, it has a strong 819hp engine for its 52 ton weight.
-Actual acceleration rate is 13.3 hp/t on hard terrain, and 10.6 hp/t on medium terrain.
–Ground resistances are average, with 1.2/1.5/1.8

Overall the Mobility of the 252U is completely average for a heavy tank. If you have played an IS-6 before then you will know how the mobility of this tank feels, as the IS-6 and Obj.252U have identical mobility stats in every area.
Considering its armour profile, its quite a mobile tank. and doesn’t feel at all slow.

Equipment, provisions, & consumables

Obj.252U has no special provisions/consumables.

Gun Rammer:
The Obj.252U is one of the lowest DPM tier 8 tanks, so using a gun rammer is mandatory.
It already has one of the better penetration guns for a tier 8 heavy tank, so there is no need to use calibrated shells. The tank also doesn’t have any special HEAT or HE rounds, so there’s even less benefit to calibrated shells.

Use a gun rammer, as that helps this tank to still have a competitive level of DPM and a similar reload to the higher alpha tanks in tier 8. Gun rammer is essential to the brawling playsytle that this tank has.

Improved Assembly:
252U’s armour is very black and white, with the turret and upper plate being pretty much impenetrable, but the lower plate being very weak.

Using enhanced armour won’t allow the tank to bounce more on the upper plate or turret, as they are already strong enough to contend with even most tier 9 guns. Using it for the lower plate won’t make a difference, as already most tier 7 tanks can easily penetrate it anyway, and tier 8-9 tanks don’t struggle against it.

Improved assembly is far more beneficial to the tank, as it will allow the tank to take more hits when it does get penetrated. Improved assembly will increase the Obj.252U’s HP up from 1800 HP to 1908 HP.

Vertical Stabilizer:
As the Obj.252U is a brawling heavy tank which plays on the frontline, it won’t benefit form using refined gun.

Its far better to use vertical stabilizer, which makes it’s gun much more consistent when shooting at close to mid-range targets. You shouldn’t expect to hit long range shots anyway, especially with such poor aim time, so don’t use refined gun.

Gameplay advice

Obj. 252U is a frontline brawling heavy tank. It has a very standard and typical playstyle for a 122mm heavy, so it should be quite familiar to any player who has grinded the 60TP, IS-4, or IS-7 tech trees.

General gameplay:
The Obj.252U works best on the heavy tank side of the map, where it can brawl with enemy heavy tanks. (They are also larger and slower targets than mediums, and gameplay is slower-paced, favouring the poor accuracy and long reload of the 252U)

Try to hide your lower plate whenever possible, since when the enemies can only see your front, the lower is the really the only weakpoint.

Enemies will find it very hard to hit the other weakpoints of the 252U, especially when its moving or at a distance.

Sidescrape whenever possible, though this tank has a pike nose, its very well angled, and won’t become weak in a sidescrape.
The tank can sidescrape very well since it has 100mm of side armour, along with a very strong turret.

If you have played any of the other tier 8 122mm tanks (IS-3, IS-5, IS-6, T-2020, IS-3 Defender, WZ-111, 112 Glacial, WZ-112-2), then you will know how to play this tank and how to do well in it.
It has a standard heavy tank playstyle that’s fairly easy to get used to.

Overall

Overall the Obj.252U is a good tank. It has great armour, and not only on the front. Its very hard for enemies to penetrate if the tank is positioned correctly, and even if some tanks catch your side or rear the shells still have a chance to bounce off.
The mobility is good considering how much frontal and side armour this tank has, and its gun is among the better ones on a tier 8 122mm tank.

In general the Obj.252U is one of the most all-round 122mm heavy tanks, and is very new-player friendly thanks to its armour and easy playstyle.

Is it worth getting?

The Obj.252U is a good tank, and in that sense it would be worth getting. It can do very well in battles, and it has good all-round stats that you would want in a 122mm heavy tank.
If you don’t have other 122mm heavy tanks the Obj.252U is definitely the first and best choice.

If you have other 122mm premium HT, this tank isn’t really worth having (unless you really enjoy the playstyle of these tanks). The 252U plays in the exact same way as other 122mm heavy tanks, and its not the most fun or exciting gameplay you can get from a premium tank.

If you have never touched a 122mm heavy tank before, don’t just immediately buy this tank. Its one of the more boring playstyles, and how “good” it is shouldn’t outweigh how enjoyable it is. Try the IS-3, its free, and its similar (but weaker armour). If you like that, then you will like the 252U.

Obj.252U is worth 7,000 gold, though its a good tank and very new player friendly, its a 122mm heavy, which is among the more boring and monotonous playstyles of tier 8.
There are much better and much more interesting tanks than the Obj.252U, which you can usually buy for the same price or sometimes even cheaper.

Most recently sold for:

8,500 gold (Full bundle) – September 2022
8,000 gold (Tank only) – May 2023

Camo cost:

Vigilant camo: 2D, costs 1,450 gold

Historical Note:

The Obj.252U is an IS-6.

By the end of 1944, the IS-6 was losing to competing projects such as the IS-4 and IS-3, and it offered nothing new over the IS-2. The T-54 was being developed and improved, and becoming ever more promising as a mainstay in the Soviet army.

In a last bid to save the IS-6 project, the IS-6 Improved/Obj.252 Улучшен was created. This tank featured very shallow sloping compared to the IS-6 and the IS-3, and a very sharp pike nose. It retained the same suspension as the IS-6, and had a modified and improved version of the IS-6 turret.

Inaccuracies:
The Obj.252 U is largely accurate, however, like both the IS-6 and the IS-3, it mounts an incorrect gun.

As the Obj.252 U was just an IS-6 with improved armour, it mounted the same 122mm D-30 gun, which was an improved version of the D-25T gun. The D30 offered roughly the same level of firepower as the D-25T, but had a gun rammer to increase fire rate, and a compressed gas system to expel fumes from the gun.

This gun had 2 different muzzle brakes, one of which looks identical to the D-25T (as seen on IS-6), and another which looks identical to the BL-13 (as seen on the Obj.260).

What’s wrong with this gun?
Its the BL-13 gun, the complete wrong gun for the Obj.252U. The more accurate gun would be the IS-6’s stock 122mm D-30 gun, which has a quick reload but lower penetration, a very accurate descriptor of the real D-30.
This BL-13 gun was actually designed to be used on the Obj.252U’s immediate successor, the Obj.257, which eventually lead to the Obj.260 (IS-7 draft version, again using the same gun) and then finally the IS-7.

At least WG got its muzzle brake modelled correctly, even if the gun is completely wrong.

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