The SU-85 (Samokhodnaya Ustanovka 85) was a Soviet casemate-style self-propelled gun used during World War II, based on the chassis of the T-34 medium tank. Earlier Soviet self-propelled guns were meant to serve as either assault guns, such as the SU-122, or as tank destroyers; the SU-85 fell into the latter category. The designation “85” signifies the bore of the vehicle’s armament, the 85mm D-5S gun.

Based on the SU-122 chassis, SU-85 entered production in mid-1943, with the first vehicles reaching their units by August. When the up-gunned T-34/85 medium tank entered mass production in the spring of 1944, there was no point in continuing production of a tank destroyer without superior firepower, so SU-85 production was stopped in late 1944 after 2,050 vehicles had been produced. It was replaced on the production lines by the SU-100 tank destroyer, armed with the more powerful 100mm D-10S gun.

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