As far as tank to tank comparison is concerned, the Joseph Stalin 2 was Russia's answer for the Panther and Tiger I and II's. All though the King Tiger was the most formidable tank of World War Two, it had to be aware of the whereabouts of the Joseph Stalin 2. A quote from Germany's well respected General, Hasso von Manteuffel, paints the picture;

"It was a shock to find that, although my Tigers began hitting them at 2200m, our shells (sic) did not penetrate them until we closed to half that distance. But I was able to counter their superiority by maneuver and mobility in making best use of ground and cover".

The first version actually carried an 85mm gun, this tank was known as the IS-1A, this in a short time was replaced by the IS-1B that carried a 100mm gun. But by early 1944 the JS-2 roamed the battlefield with its 122mm gun which was able to penetrate 185mm (7.5") of armour at 1000m (3280ft). A draw back to its main gun existed in the fact that because of the size of its weapon, the projectile and charge had to be loaded separately which lowered its rate of fire that was already compromised by the screw breech mechanism. That problem was corrected in the JS-3.

SPECIFICATIONS: JS-2