picture 170159

Developed towards the end of the Second World War, but too late to see action in that conflict, the IS-3 heavy tank (IS stood for Iosif Stalin, the Russian form of Joseph Stalin) had well-sloped armour and a semi-hemispherical cast turret, which became the hallmark of all subsequent Soviet tanks. The version deployed during Operation Danube was the slightly modernised IS-3M, which included additional jettisonable external fuel tanks, improved hull welding, and a 12.7mm DShK heavy machine gun for anti-aircraft defence. All were painted in dark olive green (or dark green) overall and received a set of vertical white identification stripes in addition to their turret numbers. (Artwork by David Bocquelet)