The SU-100 self-propelled anti-tank artillery mount was created on the basis of the T-34-85 medium tank by the Uralmashzavod design bureau in late 1943 - early 1944 and was a further development of the SU-85. By that time, it had already become clear that the 85 mm SU-85 gun was not a worthy competitor in the fight against German heavy tanks.
SU-100 and SU-85. External difference in the commander's cupola protruding beyond the hull
Serial production of the SU-100 was launched at Uralmashzavod in August 1944 and continued until early 1948. In addition, in 1951-1956, the production of self-propelled guns under license was carried out in Czechoslovakia. A total of 4,976 SU-100s were produced in the USSR and Czechoslovakia.
The first combat use of the SU-100 took place in January 1945 in Hungary, 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. They just "did not have time for the war", like the same IS-3.
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 in the course of the Arab-Israeli wars.
The history of the self-propelled gun could be somewhat different, by the way. When the GKO decree was issued in 1943 on the prompt creation of more effective anti-tank weapons, Uralmashzavod, among a number of other self-propelled guns based on the T-34, had a project to install a 122-mm D-25 cannon in a slightly modified SU-85 hull.
The project was abandoned, and not only because of the increased weight of the car by almost 3 tons. The T-34 chassis was frankly rather weak. We decided to leave the chassis, but look in the direction of projects with a smaller caliber cannon and an increased conning tower.
As a result, the new combat vehicle was created on the basis of the aggregates of the T-34-85 tank and the SU-85 self-propelled gun. The engine, transmission and chassis remain completely the same. Since the installed D-10S cannon (self-propelled) was heavier than the 85 mm cannon, the suspension of the front rollers had to be strengthened by increasing the spring diameter from 30 to 34 mm.
The hull from the SU-85 has undergone a few, but very important changes: the frontal armor was increased from 45 to 75 mm, the commander's cupola and observation devices of the MK-IV type, copied from the English samples, were installed, two fans were installed for intensive cleaning of the fighting compartment from powder gases instead of one.
The gun's ammunition consisted of 33 rounds placed on racks in the rear (8) and on the left side (17) of the fighting compartment, as well as on the floor to the right of the gun (8).
The range of ammunition for the D-10S turned out to be extremely diverse:
UBR-412 - a unitary cartridge with an armor-piercing tracer sharp-headed projectile BR-412 and a fuse MD-8.
UBR-412B - a unitary cartridge with an armor-piercing tracer blunt-headed projectile BR-412B and a fuse MD-8.
UO-412 - a unitary cartridge with an O-412 marine fragmentation grenade and an RGM fuse.
UOF-412 - a unitary cartridge with an OF-412 high-explosive fragmentation grenade and an RGM fuse.
UOF-412U - a unitary cartridge with an OF-412 high-explosive fragmentation grenade with a reduced charge and an RGM fuse.
UD-412 - unitary smoke shot weighing 30, 1 kg with fuses RGM, RGM-6, V-429.
UD-412U - a unitary smoke shot weighing 30, 1 kg with a V-429 fuse.
UBR-421D - a unitary cartridge with an armor-piercing tracer projectile with a ballistic armor-piercing tip BR-412D.
UBK9 is a unitary cartridge with the BK5M cumulative projectile.
Unitary cartridge with an armor-piercing sub-caliber projectile.
The last three types of shells appeared in the SU-100 ammunition only after the end of the war, so after 1945 the standard equipment included 16 high-explosive fragmentation, 10 armor-piercing and 7 cumulative rounds.
Here it is quite possible to speculate that the SU-100 was more a universal assault weapon than a specialized anti-tank weapon, if we proceed from the ammunition layout.
Additionally, two 7.62 mm PPSh submachine guns with 1420 rounds of ammunition (20 discs), 4 anti-tank grenades and 24 F-1 hand grenades were stored in the fighting compartment.
To set a smoke screen on the battlefield, two MDSh smoke bombs were installed at the stern of the vehicle, which were ignited by the loader by turning on two toggle switches on the MDSh shield mounted on the motor partition.
Observation devices were few, but very well placed on the body of the self-propelled gun. The driver in the stowed position drove the car with an open hatch, and in the combat position he used optical viewing devices with armored covers.
In the commander's cupola, located on the starboard side, there were five observation targets with armored glass. An MK-4 observation device was mounted on the roof.
TTX SU-100
Crew, people: 4
Combat weight, t: 31, 6
Length, m: 9, 45
Width, m: 3
Height, m: 2, 24
Armament: 100-mm gun D-10S
Ammunition: 33 shots
Engine: V-2-34M 520 hp
Maximum speed, km / h: 50
Cruising in store, km: 310
Reservation, mm:
gun mask - 110
cutting forehead - 75
the forehead of the body - 45
side of the hull - 45
body feed - 40
bottom - 15
roof - 20
The control department was located in the bow of the ACS. It housed the driver's seat, the gearbox rocker, levers and pedals of control drives, instrumentation, two compressed air cylinders, front fuel tanks, part of the ammunition and spare parts, TPU apparatus.
The fighting compartment was located in the middle of the corps behind the control compartment. It housed weapons with sights, the main part of the ammunition, a radio station, two TPU devices and part of the spare parts. To the right of the gun was the commander's seat, behind him was the loader's seat, to the left of the gun was the gunner's seat. In the roof of the fighting compartment, under two armored caps, two exhaust fans were attached.
The SU-100 is undoubtedly the most successful and most powerful Soviet anti-tank self-propelled gun during the Great Patriotic War. Being 15 tons lighter than the German Jagdpanther self-propelled gun, identical in layout and purpose, the SU-100 had similar armor protection and better mobility.
The muzzle velocity of the 88-mm German Cancer 43/3 cannon with a barrel length of 71 caliber was 1000 m / s. Its ammunition load (57 rounds) was more than that of the D-10S. The use by the Germans of the PzGr 39/43 armor-piercing projectile with armor-piercing and ballistic tips provided the Jagdpanther cannon with better armor penetration at long distances. We have a similar projectile, the BR-412D, appeared only after the war.
Unlike the German self-propelled guns, the SU-100's ammunition did not contain sub-caliber and cumulative shells. The high-explosive effect of a 100-mm high-explosive fragmentation projectile was, of course, higher than that of an 88-mm one. In general, these two best medium-sized self-propelled guns of the Second World War did not have tangible advantages over each other. Well, quantitatively, "Jagdpanther" lost outright.
But comparing these outstanding cars is a topic for a separate article.
