PanzerArt GB35-026 JS-3 Mantlet with D-25 Gun

D-25T is a 122 mm tank gun from the WWII period of Soviet production. The first prototypes of the gun were created in 1943, and its serial production started at the beginning of the following year. The presented cannon was developed by a team led by the well-known artillery designer Fyodor Petrov, as a development of the 1931/1937 A-19 field gun of the same caliber. The main changes concerned the adaptation of the cradle and the lock of the cannon to the tank turret, as well as the use of a more effective retractor. It is worth noting that in order to accelerate the design work, many solutions known from the D-5T tank gun were used here. In essence, the D-25T is a "collector" of the A-19 field gun and the D-5T gun, with the necessary modifications. However, this "compaction" turned out to be a very effective anti-tank weapon, capable of striking German Tiger or Panther tanks at a distance of 1000-1500 meters. It is worth noting that initially the rate of fire of the D-25T gun was low and amounted to only 2 shots per minute, but over time - thanks to the use of a semi-automatic wedge lock - it was possible to increase it. The gun was the main armament of the IS-2 heavy tank.