RUSSIAN military enthusiast Richard Moore has embarked on his third major restoration project – on a self-propelled gun that weighs almost 50 tonnes. The ISU-152 has arrived at Mr Moore s March yard from the Imperial War Museum in Duxford, and it is set t

RUSSIAN military enthusiast Richard Moore has embarked on his third major restoration project - on a self-propelled gun that weighs almost 50 tonnes.

The ISU-152 has arrived at Mr Moore's March yard from the Imperial War Museum in Duxford, and it is set to be his biggest challenge yet.

"It is in quite a poor condition," said 42-year-old Mr Moore. "We are going to have to source and make many of the parts, and we going to be restoring it over the next couple of years.

"It is comparable to a T34 tank we worked on a few months ago; that was in quite a bad state but the engine run. This one does not run."

The gun has stood at the Imperial War Museum for about eight years and was mostly used by spectators to stand on at air shows, but arrived at Mr Moore's yard last Thursday.

Mr Moore said: "This is the first time we have done work for the museum.

"The owner of the museum knew we were here - they have asked us for technical information before and we have used some of their information - and they asked us if we could restore the gun."

Mr Moore formed his Russian military vehicle dealership five years ago and, in that time, he has restored and sold missile launchers, tanks, a helicopter and army lorries.

The ISU-152 was a Soviet self-propelled gun used during the Second World War. It was introduced to the frontline in 1943 and was mainly used as an infantry and tank support vehicle. Mass production ceased in 1947.

It was known as the 'Glorious Beast' or 'Big Hunter' by the Russians, as it proved to be an effective countermeasure against the German Tiger and Panther tanks.