Hobby Master Archive

Hobby Master 1/48 Ground Power Series HG1102 China People’s Liberation Army JS-2 # 203, 1952

THESE ARE PRE-PRODUCTION PICTURES NOT THE RETAIL VERSION

Crew: 4 Combat weight: 46 tons Power-to-weight ratio: 11.3 hp/t Hull length: 6.68 m Overall length: 9.91 m Width: 3.07 m Engine: V-21 4-stroke V-type diesel 520 HP Transmission: Multiple dry main clutch, mechanical gearbox with reduction gear, 2-stage planetary turning mechanism and side drives, 8 gears forward, 2 reverse Fuel capacity: 137 gallons internal + 80 gallons external + 110 gallons supplementary Maximum speed: road 23mph, off road 18mph Maximum range: 150 miles Fuel consumption: 0.8 gallons/mile Fording depth: 1.3 m Armament: D-25T Model 1943 122mm rifled tank gun Main gun ammunition: BR-47B (armor piercing/tracer); BP-460A (HEAT shaped charge); OF-462 and OF-471 (HE fragmentation) Muzzle velocity: 2560 ft/s Maximum effective range: 9 miles indirect fire; 900m direct-fire Stowed main gun rounds: 28 Gun depression/elevation: -3 to +20 degrees Secondary armament: DshK model 1938 12.7 mm machine gun, co-axial DT 7.62 mm machine gun, DT 7.62 mm close defence machine gun Armor: 90-120 mm hull front, 90-95 mm hull sides, 60 mm hull rear, 160 mm turret front, 100 mm turret rear sides, 90 mm turret rear.

Fully assembled True to Scale (1:48) Die-Cast chassis, turret and gun Turret turns Appliqued turret armour Main gun can be elevated Realistic tracks Realistic wheels Highly detailed features Professionally painted in accurate colors Weathering Markings Tampo (pad) applied The JS-2 was the evolution of the KV tanks and the JS-1’s. It was equipped with a massive 122mm main gun and its original purpose was to destroy German lines so Soviet troops could advance. Early in 1944 these tanks started to arrive in the field but later in 1944 modifications were needed to improve performance. The next major improvements wouldn’t come for another 10 years. After WWII the JS-2’s were exported to China and Cuba where they were used into the 1990’s.

The People’s Liberation Army was established August 1, 1927 under another name but in 1946 it became official. China received several JS-2’s in the early 1950’s, some for the PLA and others for the newly formed People’s Volunteer Army. This allowed the PLA to remain independent while the PVA assisted North Korea. The US assisted South Korea as part of a UN police force. These two actions avoided official war between China and the US. There had been some reports of JS-2’s being in Korea but this couldn’t be officially confirmed.