The SU-122III was a further attempt to improve the SU-122. It paired the same SU-85 chassis, which in turn was based on the T34/85 chassis, with a 122mm D-6 howitzer. This weapon was lighter and smaller than the U-11 howitzer. However, the variant was unsuccessful as a result of the lack of reliability of the D-6 recoil mechanism and it being poor in an anti tank role. The crew consisted of a commander, gunner, loader and driver and it was powered by a 12 cylinder four stroke diesel engine.