The Uralmash-1 was a turretless casemate vehicle with a flat engine compartment in the front and a boxy elevated crew compartment in the rear, mounted on a suspension taken directly from the T-44 medium tank. The main gun protruded from the crew compartment and arched over the vehicle's engine. Thus, even a long-barreled gun only slightly increased the overall vehicle length, improving maneuverability and eliminating one of the SU-100's major deficits. This layout was referred to as "of the Ferdinand sort" ("по типу Фердинанда") in internal Soviet documents, referencing the German heavy tank destroyer Ferdinand faced by Soviet forces at that time, which was built in a similar fashion. The layout also spread the vehicles weight more evenly among the road wheels, addressing the mechanical issues faced by the front heavy SU-100.