Self-propelled gun su 100. Military review and politics. Equipment and equipment

The SU-100-Y is an experimental heavy Soviet self-propelled gun based on the T-100 tank, produced in a single copy in 1940.

The history of the creation of the SU-100U

Even during the Winter War, the Red Army felt an urgent need for armored engineering vehicles. In 1939, it was decided to create an engineering tank based on the T-100 with anti-ballistic armor to carry explosives and sappers, build a bridge, evacuate damaged tanks, and perform other similar tasks.

During the design, an order was received - they demanded to put a gun on the T-100 base in order to fight fortifications enemy. As a result, the plant was asked to change plans, that is, to start designing not an engineering vehicle, but self-propelled guns. Permission was obtained, and in January 1940, the drawings of the T-100-X, the prototype of the SU-100-Y, were transferred to the Izhora plant.

During the manufacture of the machine, the cabin was replaced with a simpler one in order to speed up assembly, and by March 1940, the SU-100-Y or T-100-Y, as it was also called, went to the first exit.

Performance characteristics (TTX) SU-100U

general information

• Classification - ACS;
• Combat weight - 64 tons;
• Crew - 6 people;
• The number of issued - 1 piece.

Dimensions

• Case length - 10900 mm;
• Hull width - 3400 mm;
• Height - 3290 mm.

Booking

• Armor type - rolled steel;
• Forehead of the hull - 60 mm;
• Hull board - 60 mm;
• Hull feed - 60 mm;
• Bottom - 20-30 mm;
• Hull roof - 20 mm;
• The forehead of the tower is 60 mm.

Armament

• Caliber and brand of gun - 130-mm gun B-13-IIs;
• Type of gun - ship;
• Barrel length - 55 calibers;
• Gun ammunition - 30;
• Angles HH: 45°
• Firing range - 25.5 km;
• Machine guns - 3 × DT-29.

Mobility

• Engine type - carburetor, 12-cylinder, V-shaped, 4-stroke, liquid-cooled GAM-34BT (GAM-34);
• Engine power - 890 hp;
• Highway speed - 32 km / h;
• Cross-country speed - 12 km / h;
• Power reserve on the highway - 120 km;
• Power reserve over rough terrain - 60 km;
• Suspension type - torsion bar;
• Specific ground pressure - 0.75 kg / cm²;
• Climbability - 42 degrees;
• Overcoming wall - 1.3 m;
• Crossable moat - 4 m;
• Crossable ford - 1.25 m.

Use in combat

In March 1940, the SU-100-Y was sent to Karelia, but by that time fighting there have already been completed, and it was not possible to test the car in combat conditions. Self-propelled fired at the defensive lines of the Finns. The machine performed well, but due to its large mass and size, it was too difficult to transport it by rail.

When the KV-1 and KV-2 were put into service, all work on machines based on the T-100 was completed. In the summer of 1940, the self-propelled gun was transferred to Kubinka, and in 1941 it participated in the defense of Moscow along with the SU-14-1 and SU-14. There is no other information about the use of the SU-100-Y.

tank memory

The SU-100-Y, unlike its base, the T-100, is today preserved and exhibited in the museum in Kubinka.

Hey tankers!!! Let's talk about the Soviet tier 6 tank destroyer: the SU-100.

Development history

The SU-100 was created on the basis of the medium tank T-34-85 by the design bureau of Uralmashzavod in late 1943 - early 1944 as a further development of the SU-85, due to the latter's insufficient capabilities in the fight against German heavy tanks. Serial production of the SU-100 was launched at the Uralmash plant in August 1944 and continued until early 1948. In addition, in 1951-1956, its production under a Soviet license was carried out in Czechoslovakia. In total, 4976 self-propelled guns of this type were produced in the USSR and Czechoslovakia. The first combat use of the SU-100 took place in January 1945, and later the SU-100 was used in a number of operations of the Great Patriotic War and the Soviet-Japanese War, but in general their combat use was limited. After the war, the SU-100 was repeatedly modernized and remained in service with the Soviet army for several decades. SU-100s were also supplied to the allies of the USSR and participated in a number of post-war local conflicts, including the most active during the Arab-Israeli wars. By the end of the 20th century, the SU-100 was decommissioned in most of the countries that used it, but, nevertheless, in some of them, as of 2007, it still remains in service. The main weapon of the SU-100 was a 100-mm rifled gun. D-10S arr. 1944 (index "C" - self-propelled version), which had a barrel length of 56 calibers / 5608 mm. The gun provided the armor-piercing projectile with an initial velocity of 897 m/s. The cannon was installed in the front plate of the cabin in a cast frame on double trunnions, which allowed it to be aimed in the vertical plane in the range from -3 to +20° and in the horizontal ±8° (in the game we have ±12°). The technical rate of fire of the gun was 4-6 rounds per minute. During the Great Patriotic War, the armor penetration of the D-10S allowed it to hit the frontal armor of most German tanks and self-propelled guns. The D-10S proved to be capable of penetrating the frontal armor of the Tiger and Panther, including the latter's upper frontal plate, which penetrated at a distance of 1,500 meters, exceeding the calculated capabilities of the gun. The side armor of German tanks, even on the heaviest production samples, is vertical or located with insignificant angles of inclination and does not exceed 82 mm, as well as frontal armor the main mass medium tanks and self-propelled guns - Pz.Kpfw.IV and StuG.III / IV, made their way from a distance of 2000 meters or more, that is, almost at all real battle distances. A certain problem for the 100-mm gun was only the frontal armor of the Tiger II tank and the Ferdinand and Jagdtigr self-propelled guns produced in small series. At the same time, as shown by shelling tests of the armored hull of the captured "Tiger II", carried out in Kubinka, hitting the frontal armor with 3-4 armor-piercing or high-explosive fragmentation 100-mm shells from a distance of 500-1000 meters led to the formation of cracks, chips and destruction of welds, which ultimately led to the failure of the tank. Uralmash engineers L. I. Gorlitsky, A. L. Kizima, S. I. Samoilov; engineers of plant No. 9 A. N. Bulanov, V. N. Sidorenko and mechanical engineer P. F. Samoilov for the creation of self-propelled guns in 1946 were awarded the title of laureate of the Stalin Prize of the first degree.

(SU-100 with 100 mm D-10S gun)

pumping

Characteristics of guns:

Gun 85 mm D-5S

13.3-13.6 Rate of fire (rounds / min)
120/161/43 Medium armor penetration(mm)
160/160/280 Average damage (unit)
0.43 Spread at 100 m (m)
2.3 Aiming time (sec)

Gun 85 mm D-5S-85BM

10-10.5 Rate of fire (rounds / min)
144/194/44 Medium armor penetration (mm)
180/180/300 Average damage (unit)
0.34 Spread at 100 m (m)
2.3 Aiming time (sec)

Gun 100 mm D-10S

8.45 Rate of fire (rpm)
175/235/50 Average armor penetration (mm)
230/230/330 Average Damage (u)
0.4 Spread at 100 m (m)
2.3 Aiming time (sec)

Gun 122 mm D2-5S

4.69 Rate of fire (rpm)
175/217/61 Medium armor penetration (mm)
390/390/465 Average damage (pts)
0.43 Spread at 100 m (m)
2.9 Aiming time (sec)

Characteristics of radio stations:

Radio station 9R

325 Communication range (m)

Radio station 9RM

525 Communication range (m)

Characteristics of engines:

Engine V-2-34

500 Engine power (hp)

V-2-34M engine

520 Engine power (hp)
15% chance of fire on hit

Running characteristics:

Chassis SU-100

37.4 Maximum load (t)
34 Rate of turn (deg/sec)

Chassis SU-100-60

38.7 Maximum load (t)
36 Rate of turn (deg/sec)

Main performance characteristics:

580 Durability
50 Max speed(km/h)
75/45/45 Hull armor (forehead/side/stern in mm)
350 Overview (m)

Any gun is installed on the stock chassis. If you, while riding the SU-85, explored the 85 mm D-5S-85BM gun, then we ride with it, if not, then we suffer with the stock gun and save up 16,500 stars for the historic 100 mm D-10S gun (this gun is a worthy representative SU-100, but I will write about this below). Next, we research the 122 mm D2-5S gun for 17,000 experience. Well, at the end, the top engine, top suspension, and 85 mm D-5S-85BM (if not investigated). We get the top radio from the SU-85. I advise you to immediately research the SU-152 and SU-100M1 (even if your goal is any one branch of the Soviet tank destroyers, an open tank of the 7th level will never hurt).

(guns from top to bottom: 85 mm D-5S, 85 mm D-5S-85BM, 100 mm D-10S, 122 mm D2-5S)

Crew and perks

Commander, gunner, driver, loader.
The first perk to the commander is a light bulb, the rest are repairs. Repairs for the second commander, disguise for the rest, and then we drop it and take it for everyone the Brotherhood of War. The third is downloading what was originally the second. The fourth perk is for the radio interception commander, the sniper gunner, the virtuoso mech-water, which charges the non-contact BC.

Modules

Naturally, we put the horns, rammer and drives / ventilation to choose from.

tank in game

The SU-100, like its predecessor the SU-85, is a classic example of a tank destroyer. There are no features that allow this machine to do "unusual" things in combat. And how to play this technique, I think, any tanker who has from 1k battles knows. We find a bush and work on someone else's light. Naturally, you need to know all the bushes where you can inflict damage and the principles of disguise, which will allow you not to receive unnecessary damage (all this comes with growth combat experience). The safety margin of the SU-100 is 580 units, so remember the rule of "three splashes". Contrary to the armor, the upper frontal part is 75 mm. and a slope of 50 degrees, the level tanks pierce us without problems. If you put the body in a rhombus, thereby increasing the reduced armor, you can avoid damage. NLD has 45 mm. and a slope of 55 degrees, i.e. I'll get us there for sure. The strongest place in the forehead is the junction of armor plates (120 mm) and the gun mantlet (75 mm). Well, the well-known hatch in the VLD, where 65 mm., And where everyone who gets through breaks through us.

(taken from the WOT Tank Viever program)

(taken from the WOT Tank Viever program, hatch)

The entire back of the tank is the engine and tanks, if they fire at the sides or stern, then there is a high probability of a crit or fire. Also often "pleased" ammo rack, located in front of the tank.
But in this section, I would like to pay more attention to the topic of gun selection for the SU-100. Which is better: 100 mm. historical gun or 122 mm.? I warn ardent fans of this birdie: all of the following is purely IMHO. Let's start.

As a result, we get that 122 mm. the gun won only in one indicator: average damage. But without a doubt, this is enough to surpass all the advantages of 100 mm. tools. Imagine a situation: you are standing in the bushes, and a KV-1S with 350 HP is driving at you, he does not see you. If you shoot with a 122 mm gun, then the KV-1Ca will probably shoot. With a 100 mm gun. You'll need a second shot to finish off the KV-1Ca, but the KV-1C will spotlight you and finish you off by then. But it is worth remembering that the enemy’s rep is not next to you, but on the other side of the map, and while he is coming towards you, you will work on him from long and medium distances, standing in the bushes and staying out of light. With the role of a sniper 100 mm. the tool works better. Penetration of 175 units. both guns have enough bbs for level 6 and 7, but if you get thrown into level 8, then it is very difficult to penetrate the same Lowe in the NLD with a penetration of 217 mm., provided that it stands in a rhombus. But 235 is enough to punish the entire 8th lvl. After interviewing 20 of my friends who rode the SU-100, I found out: 16 of them drove all the battles with 122 mm. gun and not about any 100 mm. the guns did not even want to hear. But the other 4 friends claimed: “Everyone who rides with 122 mm. tool - noobs. Personally, having skated a couple of battles with the top gun, I noticed that my average damage on the tank had dropped sharply, and the rest of the battles went through with 100 mm. cannon. And, of course, the conclusion: 122 mm. and 100 mm. guns are equally good. Yes, in some specific game situation 122 mm. the tool will perform better, and in the other - vice versa. But in general, the choice of weapons should depend on the style of play. To do this, you need to play with that weapon, and with another, and then just compare the results. Where the results are better, there is your tool . And finally, according to tradition, I suggest you familiarize yourself with this WOD:

SU-100 - Soviet self-propelled guns of the period of the Second World War, belongs to the class of tank destroyers, medium in weight. The self-propelled gun was created on the basis of the T-34-85 medium tank by the designers of Uralmashzavod in late 1943 and early 1944. At its core, it is further development SAU SU-85. It was developed to replace the SU-85, which had insufficient ability to deal with German heavy tanks. Serial production of the SU-100 self-propelled guns began at Uralmashzavod in August 1944 and continued until March 1946. In addition, from 1951 to 1956, the self-propelled guns were produced in Czechoslovakia under license. In total, according to various sources, from 4,772 to 4,976 self-propelled guns were produced in the USSR and Czechoslovakia of this type.

By the middle of 1944, it became completely clear that the means available to the Red Army to combat modern German tanks clearly not enough. It was necessary to qualitatively strengthen the armored forces. They tried to solve this issue by using a 100-mm gun with the ballistics of the B-34 naval gun on the self-propelled guns. The draft design of the vehicle was presented to the People's Commissariat of Tank Industry in December 1943, and already on December 27, 1943, the GKO decided to adopt a new medium self-propelled gun armed with a 100-mm gun. The place of production of the new self-propelled gun was determined by "Uralmashzavod".

The development deadlines were very tight, however, having received the drawings of the S-34 gun, the factory was convinced that this gun was not suitable for self-propelled guns: it has very impressive dimensions, and when pointing to the left it rests on the second suspension, not allowing it to be placed on the former place the driver's hatch. In order to install this gun on a self-propelled gun, serious changes in its design were required, including its sealed hull. All this entailed a change in production lines, a displacement of the driver's workplace and controls by 100 mm. to the left and change the suspension. The weight of the self-propelled guns could increase by 3.5 tons compared to the SU-85.

In order to cope with the problem that had arisen, Uralmashzavod turned to plant No. 9 for help, in which, at the end of February 1944, under the guidance of designer F.F. Petrov, a 100-mm D-10S gun was created, developed on the basis of anti-aircraft gun B-34. The created gun had a lower mass in comparison with the S-34 and was freely mounted in a serial self-propelled gun body without any significant changes and an increase in the mass of the machine. Already on March 3, 1944, the first prototype of the new self-propelled gun, armed with the new D-10S gun, was sent for factory testing.

The performance characteristics of the new SU-100 self-propelled guns allowed it to successfully fight modern German tanks at a distance of 1500 meters for Tigers and Panthers, regardless of the point of impact of the projectile. Self-propelled guns "Ferdinand" could be hit from a distance of 2000 meters, but only if it hit the side armor. The SU-100 possessed exceptional firepower for Soviet armored vehicles. Her armor-piercing projectile at a distance of 2000 meters pierced 125 mm. vertical armor, and at a distance of up to 1000 meters it pierced most German armored vehicles almost through and through.

Design features

The SU-100 self-propelled guns were designed on the basis of the units of the T-34-85 tank and the SU-85 self-propelled guns. All main components of the tank - chassis, transmission, engine were used unchanged. The thickness of the front armor of the cabin was almost doubled (from 45 mm for the SU-85 to 75 mm for the SU-100). The increase in armor, combined with an increase in the mass of the gun, led to the fact that the suspension of the front rollers was overloaded. They tried to solve the problem by increasing the diameter of the spring wire from 30 to 34 mm, but it was not possible to completely eliminate it. This problem reflected the constructive heritage of the backward suspension of the Christie tank.

ACS SU-100 had a classic for Soviet self-propelled guns layout. The fighting compartment, which was combined with the control compartment, was located in front of the hull, in a fully armored conning tower. Here were located the controls for the mechanisms of the self-propelled guns, the main armament complex with sights, gun ammunition, tank intercom (TPU-3-BisF), radio station (9RS or 9RM). The bow fuel tanks and part of the useful tool and spare parts (SPTA) were also located here.

In front, in the left corner of the cabin, there was workplace driver, opposite which there was a rectangular hatch in the frontal hull sheet. In the cover of its hatch, 2 prismatic viewing devices were mounted. To the right of the gun was the seat of the vehicle commander. Immediately behind the driver's seat was the gunner's seat, and in the left rear corner of the conning tower, the loader. In the roof of the cabin there were 2 rectangular hatches for the landing / disembarkation of the crew, a fixed commander's cupola and 2 fans under the caps. The commander's turret had 5 viewing slots with armored glass, the MK-IV periscope viewing devices were located in the hatch cover of the commander's turret and the left wing of the gunner's hatch cover.

The main armament of the self-propelled gun was a 100-mm rifled gun D-10S mod. 1944. The length of the gun barrel was 56 calibers (5608 mm). The initial velocity of the armor-piercing projectile was 897 m/s, and the maximum muzzle energy was 6.36 MJ. The gun was equipped with a semi-automatic horizontal wedge gate, as well as mechanical and electromagnetic descent. To ensure smooth aiming in the vertical plane, the gun was equipped with a compensating spring-type mechanism. The recoil devices consisted of a hydropneumatic knurler and a hydraulic recoil brake, which were located above the gun barrel on the right and left, respectively. The total mass of the gun and recoil mechanisms was 1435 kg. The SU-100 self-propelled guns included 33 unitary shots with BR-412 armor-piercing tracer and OF-412 high-explosive fragmentation rounds.

The gun was installed in the frontal slab of the cabin in a special cast frame on double trunnions. Pointing angles in the vertical plane ranged from -3 to +20 degrees, in the horizontal 16 degrees (8 in each direction). The aiming of the gun on the target was carried out using two manual mechanisms - a rotary screw-type mechanism and a sector-type lifting mechanism. When firing from closed positions, the Hertz panorama and the side level were used to aim the guns; when firing direct fire, the gunner used the TSh-19 telescopic articulated sight, which had a 4x magnification and a field of view of 16 degrees. The technical rate of fire of the gun was 4-6 rounds per minute.

The SU-100 self-propelled guns began to enter the troops in November 1944. In December 1944, the troops began to form 3 separate self-propelled artillery brigades of the RGVK, each of which consisted of 3 regiments armed with SU-100 self-propelled guns. The staff of the brigade included 65 self-propelled guns SU-100, 3 self-propelled guns SU-76 and 1492 people of the average composition. The brigades, which received the numbers 207th Leningradskaya, 208th Dvinskaya and 209th, were created on the basis of existing separate tank brigades. In early February 1945, all the formed brigades were transferred to the fronts.

Thus, brigades and regiments armed with SU-100 self-propelled guns took part in the final battles of the Great Patriotic War, as well as in the defeat of the Japanese Kwantung Army. The inclusion of ACS data in the advancing mobile groups significantly increased their strike power. Often SU-100s were used to complete the breakthrough of the tactical depth of the German defense. The nature of the battle at the same time was similar to an attack on the enemy hastily prepared for defense. The preparation of the offensive took a limited time or was not carried out at all.

However, the SU-100 self-propelled guns had a chance not only to advance. In March 1945, they took part in defensive battles near Lake Balaton. Here, as part of the troops of the 3rd Ukrainian Front, from March 6 to March 16, they participated in repelling the counterattack of the 6th SS Panzer Army. All 3 brigades formed in December 1944, armed with SU-100s, were brought in to repel a counterattack, and separate self-propelled artillery regiments armed with SU-85 and SU-100 self-propelled guns were also used in defense.

Without a doubt, the SU-100 self-propelled guns were the most successful and powerful Soviet anti-tank self-propelled guns of the Great Patriotic War period. The SU-100 was 15 tons lighter and at the same time had comparable armor protection and better mobility compared to an identical one. German tank destroyer"Jagdpanther". Wherein German self-propelled guns, armed with an 88-mm German Cannon Pak 43/3, surpassed the Soviet one in terms of armor penetration and the size of the ammo rack. The Jagdpanther gun, due to the use of a more powerful PzGr 39/43 projectile with a ballistic tip, had better armor penetration at long distances. A similar Soviet projectile BR-412D was developed in the USSR only after the end of the war. Unlike the German tank destroyer, the SU-100 had no cumulative and sub-caliber ammunition in its ammunition load. At the same time, the high-explosive fragmentation action of a 100-mm projectile was naturally higher than that of a German self-propelled gun. Overall, both top averages anti-tank self-propelled guns World War II did not have any outstanding advantages, despite the fact that the possibilities of using the SU-100 were somewhat wider.

Tactical and technical characteristics: SU-100
Weight: 31.6 tons
Dimensions:
Length 9.45 m, width 3.0 m, height 2.24 m.
Crew: 4 people
Reservation: from 20 to 75 mm.
Armament: 100 mm D-10S gun
Ammunition: 33 rounds
Engine: twelve-cylinder V-shaped diesel engine V-2-34 with a power of 520 hp.
Maximum speed: on the highway - 50 km / h
Power reserve: on the highway - 310 km.

They call a simple gun mounted on a wheeled or tracked self-propelled chassis and designed exclusively for shooting from closed positions. Therefore, to be legally accurate, the design designated as SU-100 should be called either an assault gun or an anti-tank self-propelled gun. But let's not find fault with the names, but consider the history of the creation of an artillery mount.

The history of the creation of the SU-100

The SU-85 self-propelled gun was already in production. Her main task there was a fight with a TIGER tank. The fact is that the appearance of this tank on the battlefield caused panic among commanders our army. Only an 85 mm anti-aircraft gun and a 57 mm anti-tank gun, which were not produced at that time, could fight him. Quickly put the barrel away anti-aircraft gun into the T-34 tank did not work. It needed an oversized turret, and the famous sloping side armor of the tank (which is always presented as an ingenious invention of Soviet tank builders) did not allow this. Another bottleneck was the machine, or rather the lack of it, which could cut the gear ring on the oversized tower. There were only two such machines, not at the factory, but throughout the Soviet Union. Both machines were either English or American (another hello to those who think that we won the war ourselves) and they were fully loaded with the manufacture of towers for tanks of the IOSIF STALIN series. But in a self-propelled unit with a box-shaped conning tower, the barrel from an anti-aircraft gun was installed without problems. But the problem with the TIGER tank was not completely solved. The fact is that the armor-piercing projectile of an anti-aircraft gun pierced the side armor of a tiger with a thickness of 82 millimeters from a distance of 1500 meters. And he pierced frontal armor a hundred millimeters thick from a distance of a thousand meters. But the armor-piercing projectile of the tiger with a caliber of 88 millimeters pierced EVERYTHING from a distance of one and a half kilometers. For those who are especially meticulous, I will explain. ALL of this (we go from bottom to top) is not a hardened nose beam 150 millimeters thick, frontal inclined armor, a gun mask - this is for the T-34 and for the SU-85. For the KV tank, ALL is frontal armor with a screen with a total thickness of one hundred and five millimeters.
So I wanted something more powerful. In their publications on the armament of the SU-100, many authors simply state that a decision was made to create a tank gun with the ballistics of the B-34 naval gun. Can you imagine what the ballistics of the B-34 (that is, 900 meters per second for a caliber projectile) is for the forty-third year? It's a little bit easier than going to the moon today. It is easier for a naval gun there are no weight restrictions; one barrel with a bolt in the B-34 weighed four tons. Attempts to create a land version of a hundred-millimeter cannon with a high muzzle velocity in the form of an anti-aircraft gun dragged on from about the thirty-third year. Closest to success was the model K-73. So there were many options, but the D-10S tank gun of the ninth factory was installed on the SU-100. Which became a long-liver and was installed on many models of tanks, but was already called D-10T. The weight of the barrel with the shutter was about one and a half tons. Wedge gate semi-automatic. That is, when a projectile is sent, the bolt wedge closes itself, folding the arm of the loader. After firing, it opens to eject the cartridge case. On the street healthy man can fire fifteen times a minute from a gun with such a bolt. But in a tank there are no more than six, and on average four shots are obtained. It all depends on whether the tank is standing or moving and from which stack you need to get the shells.

Device SU-100

To create a new self-propelled unit, the SU-85 hull was used with minimal changes. The main difference was the presence of a new commander's cupola, which went beyond the dimensions of the conning tower.

Comparison of two self-propelled guns, the new one has a cylindrical commander's cupola on the starboard side.

The SU-100 self-propelled gun had slanted armor made of rolled armor plates of various thicknesses. The forehead of the conning tower had a thickness of 75 millimeters at the top sheet and 45 at the bottom. The upper armor plate had a slope of fifty degrees and the lower fifty-five. The sides of the hull and cabin were assembled from armor plates 45 mm thick. Side surfaces the cabins had a slope of twenty degrees, and the sides of the hull were vertical. And holes were made in all sides of the fighting compartment (the hand does not rise to call them holes) for firing a pistol. Carefully look at the photos, these holes look good, although sometimes they are plugged with armor plugs.

The photograph clearly shows that due to the fan protruding beyond the dimensions of the engine, the engine itself is raised from the floor of the case by thirty centimeters, greatly increasing the height and weight of the case. An unhardened bow beam is visible in the bow. In the stern, sloping armor infuriates, if in front it doesn’t help much, then why hang it on the stern of an inclined one? There directly asks for direct armor (in the upper part) and a triangular gas tank of three hundred liters. And so it (the gas tank) was placed in the fighting compartment so that if it hit, the crew had absolutely no chance.

Pay attention - from the side of a well-fed man, above and to the right of the headlight is the gas tank neck. On the other hand, above the driver's hatch, there is a hole for firing a pistol. In the mask of the gun there is a hole for the sight.

The driver’s seat was to the left of the gun, the self-propelled gun commander was located in the turret to the right of the gun, the loader was located behind him, and the gunner was located behind the driver to the left of the gun. For the landing and disembarkation of the crew in the armored hull of the self-propelled gun, there were: a hatch in the roof of the commander's cupola and a driver's hatch in the upper frontal plate and a hatch in the aft part of the roof of the conning tower. In addition, there was a landing hatch on the right side of the bottom of the SU-100 hull. A double hatch in the front left part of the roof of the fighting compartment served to install a gun panorama. In addition, in the frontal plate above the driver's hatch, as well as in the sides and stern of the cabin, there were openings closed by armored plugs for firing from personal weapons. That is, even at the design stage, it was predicted that fighting machine will be abandoned by the infantry to their fate. The ventilation of the fighting compartment was carried out using two fans installed in the roof of the fighting compartment. Access to the engine and transmission units of the SU-100, like the T-34 tank, was through hatches in the roof of the engine compartment and a folding upper aft plate.

The running gear is completely taken from the T-34 tank with all its shortcomings. The weight of the self-propelled gun increased to 31 tons, and due to the frontal armor plate and the length of the gun, it was shifted forward. Therefore, the springs on the ancient candle-type suspension began to be made of thicker wire. The long gun made maneuvering difficult, especially on the battlefield.

The photo clearly shows that although the height of the engine compartment of the T-34-85 and SU-100 is the same, the overall height of the self-propelled gun is significantly less due to the lack of a turret.

Armament and ammunition SU-100

The self-propelled unit was armed with a D-10 gun with a length of fifty-six calibers. starting speed high-explosive projectile weighing 15.6 kilograms was 900 meters per second. Armor-piercing caliber shells from behind more weight developed slightly slower speed. The projectile yield was just over six million joules. His blow did not pierce, but broke through high-hardness armor, so armor against projectiles large calibers becomes more ductile but correspondingly less rigid. A new phenomenon was noted, the crews often abandoned tanks that did not have through lesions. It turned out that the sound of a powerful projectile hitting the armor causes the crew to experience a condition similar to shell shock.

The gun was attached to the frame, and the frame itself was attached to the front plate. The angle of rotation was very limited. Twenty degrees up, three down, and sixteen degrees horizontal.

Self-propelled ammunition was thirty-three shells. Pay attention - the sharp-headed armor-piercing projectile (far left) outwardly looks much dumber than the dumb-headed one (far right). On this external discrepancy, many losers of the tank school were pierced. The pointed projectile is very prone to ricochet, but much easier to manufacture.

The photographs show post-war shells for guns of 100 mm caliber. Sub-caliber with a detachable pallet, not rotating, with arrow-shaped lethal elements.

self-propelled artillery mount SU-100 in battle

The production of the SU-100 began at the end of 1944 at a rate of two hundred vehicles per month. And then SUDDENLY it turned out that armor-piercing shells for the D-10S gun were not produced (hello to those who believe that there was order under Stalin). Therefore, self-propelled guns entered the battle only in early spring forty-fifth year. The SU-100 took their main battle in the area of ​​​​Lake Balaton against the best German tank divisions. From ambushes, they acted perfectly, but they lost an open battle because the armor did not help and the one who hit first won. The Germans had the best optics and the training of calculation at a higher rate of fire - I already wrote that the TIGER was the best anti-tank self-propelled gun. Of the minuses, we had a small angle of rotation of the gun.

In the first half of the Great Patriotic War, the Red Army experienced an acute shortage of anti-tank self-propelled guns. The first Soviet anti-tank self-propelled gun was the ZiS-30, created on the basis of the Komsomolets artillery tractor and a powerful 57-mm anti-tank gun ZIS-2. Adopted for service in the fall of 1941, this self-propelled gun proved to be a fairly successful anti-tank weapon. However, due to the shortage of the base chassis, only 101 copies of the ZiS-30 were built. Therefore, by the summer of 1942, there were practically no self-propelled guns of this type left in the troops, and until August forty-third, the only self-propelled guns that could at least be called anti-tank to some extent was the SU-122. However, the 122-mm M-30 howitzer mounted on this self-propelled gun had insufficient rate of fire and a low flatness of the projectile flight path, as a result of which it was not well adapted for firing at fast moving targets, although it had good armor penetration.

By August 1943, a new self-propelled gun SU-85 was developed. It used the D5S gun, created in a design bureau headed by F.F. Petrov, based on an 85-mm anti-aircraft gun. Its 53-BR-365 armor-piercing projectile pierced 102 mm thick armor at a kilometer distance, and the 53-BR-365P coil-type sub-caliber projectile with a five-kilogram mass and an initial speed of 1050 m/s pierced 103 mm. However, by the time of its appearance, the SU-85 did not fully satisfy the requirements that had increased due to the appearance of the enemy tanks Pz.Kpfw.V Panther, Pz.VI Tiger, which were soon joined by Pz.VIB Royal tiger. Therefore, almost immediately after the adoption of the SU-85, a search began for ways to increase the firepower of the SU-85.

By the autumn of 1943, Plant No. 9 had produced the 85 mm D-5S-85BM gun with an initial velocity of 9.2 kg armor-piercing projectile of 900 m/s (against 792 m/s for the D5S), which increased the penetration of German cemented armor by 20 %. The dimensions of the mounting parts of the new gun remained the same. like the D-5S. and no major changes e self-propelled did not require. Since the barrel of the D-5S-85BM was 1068 mm longer than that of the D-5S, it was pulled back by 80 mm to balance it in the trunnions. In early January 1944, a prototype self-propelled gun passed factory tests, after which it was sent to Gorokhovets for state tests, which it passed, but was not accepted into service. The fact is that by this time the issue of increasing firepower had been resolved through the use of guns with the ballistics of the 100-mm B-34 naval gun on self-propelled guns.
The draft design of the machine in December 1943 was transferred to the People's Commissariat of the Tank Industry and the Self-Propelled Artillery Directorate. On December 27, 1943, the State Defense Committee adopted Decree No. 4651 on arming a medium self-propelled gun with a 100-mm gun. In pursuance of this resolution, the NKTP, by order No. 765 of December 28, 1943, ordered Uralmashzavod to create a new self-propelled gun with a 100-millimeter gun.

The deadlines for the implementation of the decision were very short. The situation was also complicated by the fact that the S-34 cannon had impressive dimensions in width, when pointing to the left rested against the second suspension, and did not allow the driver's hatch to be placed. Consequently, it was necessary to make significant changes in the serial SU-85 armored hull, including its geometric scheme, which entailed a change in the stands for welding and assembly. It was required to switch to a torsion bar suspension, shift the driver's workplace and all machine control units by 100 mm to the left, expand the upper part of the hull to the dimensions of the tracks, which would cause an increase in the weight of the self-propelled guns by 3.5 tons compared to the SU-85. Therefore, Uralmashzavod again turned to Petrov at plant No. 9, and they created a 100-mm D-10S gun, which was lighter than the S-34 and was installed in a serial building without significant changes and without an excessive increase in the mass of the machine.
The SU-100 was created on the basis of the units of the T-34-85 tank and the SU-85 self-propelled gun. All the main units of the tank - engine, transmission, running gear - remained unchanged. Only due to some overload of the front rollers, their suspension was strengthened by increasing the diameter of the spring wire from 30 to 34 mm. The hull, borrowed from the SU-85, underwent a few but very important changes: the thickness of the frontal armor was increased from 45 to 75 mm, a commander's turret and viewing devices of the MK-IV type were introduced, and two fans were installed to intensively clean the fighting compartment from powder gases. In general, 72% of the parts were borrowed from the T-34, 4% from the SU-122, 7.5% from the SU-85, and only 16.5% were redesigned.

The SU-100 had a classic layout for that time. The fighting compartment, combined with the control compartment, was located in front of the hull, in the conning tower. It housed the controls for the mechanisms of the self-propelled gun, weapons with sights, ammunition, a radio station with a tank intercom, bow fuel tanks and part of the tool and spare accessories. In the front left corner of the cabin there was a driver's seat, against which a rectangular hatch was located in the front sheet. Two prismatic viewing devices were installed in the hatch cover. The vehicle commander's seat was to the right of the gun, behind the driver's seat was the gunner's seat, and in the left rear corner of the fighting compartment was the loader's seat. For the entry and exit of the crew in the roof of the fighting compartment there were two rectangular hatches. in the same place, on the roof, two fans under caps and a fixed commander's cupola were mounted.

The D-10S gun with a barrel length of 56 calibers provided initial speed armor-piercing projectile 895 m / s. The ammunition consisted of 33 unitary shots with armor-piercing tracer shells BR-412 and BR-412B, high-explosive fragmentation grenades OF-412 and fragmentation-sea grenades. Armor-piercing blunt-headed projectile with a ballistic tip BR-412B at a distance of 1500 m at a meeting angle of 60 ° pierced 110-mm armor.
In February 1944, the first prototype passed factory tests, which consisted of 30 shots and 150 km of run. From March 9 to March 27, state tests were carried out at the ANIOP in Gorokhovets, where the self-propelled gun fired 1040 shots and traveled 864 km. In its conclusion, the commission noted that the prototype passed the test and could be adopted by the Red Army after some changes were made. On April 14, the plant was ordered to immediately prepare for mass production of the SU-100 self-propelled gun.

The State Commission recognized that the tactical and technical indicators of the SU-100 ensure the successful defeat of modern enemy armored vehicles at distances of 1500 meters for the Tiger and Panther tanks, regardless of the point of impact of the projectile, and for the Ferdinand self-propelled gun - only side armor, but from a distance of 2000 meters.
By GKO Decree No. 6131 of July 3, 1944, they were adopted by the Red Army.

Production of the SU-100 began in September 1944, and within three months it was carried out in parallel with the production of the SU-85. At the same time, at the suggestion of L. I. Gorlitsky, both artillery systems - D-10S and D-5S - were mounted in the most unified hulls, suitable for mounting any of the two guns, and any ammunition rack. The marching mount, swivel mechanism, sights and armor protection of the guns were changed. The design of the SU-85 especially benefited from this unification. Suffice it to say that the ammunition load has increased to 60 rounds. The first unified self-propelled guns were released in July. In August, the plant stopped manufacturing the SU-85 and switched to the production of hybrids that had the SU-85M index.
The first SU-100s were sent for front-line trials in September 1944 and received excellent marks from gunners for their high gun capabilities and good maneuverability. But since the development in the production of the BR-412B armor-piercing projectile dragged on until October of the same year, initially serial SU-100s were delivered only to military educational institutions, and only in November were the first self-propelled artillery regiments armed with them formed and sent to the front.

Since November 1944, the medium self-propelled artillery regiments of the Red Army began to re-equip with new self-propelled guns. Each regiment had 21 vehicles. At the end of the year, the creation of self-propelled artillery brigades SU-100, 65 self-propelled guns each, began. The first self-propelled artillery brigades armed with SU-100: 207th Leningrad, 208th Dvinskaya and 209th. Excluding front-line tests in the fall of 1944, according to the Office Self-propelled artillery, for the first time SU-100 were used in combat in January 1945 during the Budapest operation. In the conditions when Soviet troops conducted a strategic offensive, the SU-100s were often used to complete the breakthrough of the enemy’s tactical depth of defense in the role of assault guns, such as in the East Prussian operation, where the 381st and 1207th self-propelled artillery regiments were involved.
The first SU-100 self-propelled artillery brigades were sent to the front in early February 1945: the 207th and 209th to the 2nd Ukrainian Front, and the 208th to the 3rd Ukrainian Front. The SU-100s were used most massively during the Balaton operation, when they were used to repel the counterattack of the 6th SS Panzer Army on March 6–16, 1945.
The production of the SU-100 continued until March 1946, during which time 3037 were produced. self-propelled units. According to some reports, in 1947, production was resumed and another 198 self-propelled guns were produced.

After the end of World War II, the SU-100 was used Soviet army for several more decades. In 1960, during the modernization, they installed an improved V2-34M engine, an NK-10 fuel pump, VTI-3 air cleaners, a TPKU-2B commander's observation device and a BVN driver's night vision device, a 10RT-26E and TPU-47 radio station. In the second half of the 60s, the night vision device was replaced with a more advanced one, and the R-113 radio station was installed. The track rollers of the undercarriage were borrowed from the T-54.

But most importantly, the 3BM8 armor-piercing sub-caliber projectile that did not rotate in flight appeared in the gun's ammunition load. Its appearance again made the SU-100 a very effective anti-tank weapon. The projectile had an initial velocity of 1415 meters and a direct range of 1660 meters at a target of two meters in height. From a distance of up to 2000 meters, he could hit the forehead of the tower of all serial western tanks 1960s.
In this form, the SU-100 were in the army for a long time, took part in the exercises, and as new self-propelled artillery mounts arrived, they were put in long-term storage in parks, where a certain number of them, apparently, are still located.

The SU-100 was in service with the armies of almost all Warsaw Pact countries, as well as Albania, Algeria, Angola, Vietnam, Yemen, North Korea and Cuba. They were also supplied to China and Vietnam, but data on their combat use in Vietnam War inadequate and contradictory. After 1959, SU-100s were also delivered to Cuba, and in 1961 Cuban self-propelled guns were used to repel the invasion in the Bay of Pigs. A number of SU-100s were received by Algeria and Morocco, as well as Angola, where they were used during civil war. In Czechoslovakia, since 1952, SU-100s were produced under license and supplied to Egypt and Syria. They took part in the fighting during the Arab-Israeli wars of 1956 and 1967. And in the armies of some countries, these self-propelled guns are still available.