While working to develop an SPG that could vie with the most modern German tanks, the designers in the GAZ design bureau came up with a simple plan: take the SU-76M, the production of which had already been mastered, and create a new, more powerful weapon based on it. The project was developed with two 85mm cannons, the D-5S and the S-53S. The version with the D-5S ended up being built for testing purposes, and the vehicle came to be called the SU-85A. During testing it became clear that the recoil of the powerful cannon was too great for a light SPG, which led the engineers to install a new gun and upgrade the defensive characteristics of their creation. However, by 1945 the modernized vehicle known as the SU-85B had become decidedly out of date, and the military decided to cancel the project.

The SU-85A will appear in the hangars of players who participate in our winter marathon in rank II. It’s a classic “glass cannon,” which means that it’s a powerful weapon on a poorly-protected chassis. In fact, in terms of defensive indicators the vehicle is very close to the SU-76 – it can withstand shrapnel from high-explosive shells, but any anti-tank round with a caliber of more than 20mm is almost guaranteed to penetrate the vehicle’s armor. However, the cannon more than makes up for the SPG’s poor survivability and average speed – after all, you’re getting an accurate, deadly weapon with a decent selection of ammo at rank II. Its ammo includes excellent APHE rounds (sharp-nosed and blunt-nosed) with good penetration and post-penetration damage – they should be very familiar to War Thunder tank commanders from the SU-85/SU-85M and the T-34-85 tank series. Operating the SU-85A is quite simple – just avoid taking any damage, choose your position carefully, and start hitting those tanks!

The War Thunder Team