Self-propelled artillery unit (SAU) is a self-propelled artillery gun capable of performing artillery fire missions from both closed and open firing positions.
After a radical change in the Great Patriotic War, self-propelled guns began to appear in all the belligerent armies. In the Red Army, the SU-100 and ISU-152 self-propelled guns appeared with a frontal combat compartment. The advantages of creating such a technique has its advantages - practically without transformation, only with the rearrangement of a more powerful gun to get ready-made military equipment. There was also a drawback. The modernized gun greatly reduced the driving performance due to the length of the barrel, while creating other inconveniences.
SU ISU-122 on the chassis of a heavy tank IS proved to be excellent in battles with enemy tank units. Therefore, in 1949, it was decided to introduce a new 122 mm SU based on the T-54. The project was approved in January 1950, and 4 years later the SU-122-54 was adopted by the USSR Armed Forces.
The 122-mm D-49 cannon (modernized D-25T) of the ejector type is structurally arranged in the armored fighting compartment in the frontal part of the SU. The armored plates of the cabin had angles of inclination, because of which the armor-piercing shells did not have the opportunity to cause significant damage to the control system.
Creation of SU 122-54
The new SU-122 self-propelled gun was designed and manufactured taking into account the previous combat experience of using self-propelled guns during the war years. This combat vehicle was manufactured in Omsk in 1949 on the basis of the undercarriage of the T-54 medium tank in the I. S. Bushnev. Work on the creation of this product received the code designation "Object 600". A. E. was appointed the leading designer. Sulin. The product entered service in the USSR Armed Forces in 1954 and was produced in series in Omsk in 1955–57. 77 combat vehicles rolled off the assembly line.
SU 122-54 device
The SU-122 was classified as a "closed" self-propelled gun. The control compartment was connected to the combat compartment. In the combat compartment were the commander of the self-propelled guns and the entire crew in the amount of 4 people. The D-49 cannon in terms of armor penetration was equal to the cannon of the IS-3 heavy tank, which had 16 degrees of elevation and rotation of the gun. For firing from closed firing positions, the gun was equipped with a sight with an optical panorama, and for direct fire, a sight - a telescope. The TKD-0, 9 rangefinder with a 900 mm base was installed on the commander's tower. The transportable part of the ammunition is represented by 35 separate-sleeve-type shots, and an electromechanical-type rammer was used to facilitate the loading of the projectiles. With a cannon in the "spark" there is a 14.5-mm KPVT machine gun with a pneumatic reloading system, the second KPVT machine gun was used as an air defense system. Machine gun ammunition was designed for 600 rounds. The power compartment, transmission and base were taken from the T-54 tank. For the first time, the AK-150V compressor was used in the engine starting system. The configuration of the internal fuel tanks has changed, the number of external fuel tanks has been reduced from three to two.
The barrel part of the 122-mm D-49 cannon included a barrel - a monoblock, a muzzle brake (first used on an ACS)), an ejector and a breech fastened to the monoblock with a screw connection.
The breechblock with a horizontal wedge is equipped with a semiautomatic lifting mechanism of the sector-type weapon, which provides gun pointing angles from -3 ° to + 20 ° vertically. When giving the barrel an elevation angle of 20 °, the firing range using HE ammunition was 13,400 m.
The recoil device consisted of a hydraulic retractable part and a hydropneumatic type recoil device, whose cylinders were named rigidly connected to the cradle and remained motionless during the firing of a shot.
The ammunition load of the gun consists of OF-471 high-explosive fragmentation grenades, Br-471 and Br-471B armor-piercing shells. In addition to them, grenades from M-30 howitzers of the 1938 model were used. and D-30 model 1960
The SU-122-54 went into production until the mid-50s, since the first generation of ATGMs appeared, and the classic approaches in the armies of many countries, and in our country, also changed. Many theorists - tactics believed that with the arrival of ATGM anti-tank weapons in the family, the constructive approach to the creation of combat vehicles would also change, they would be made maneuverable and light.
And more modern tanks, created in the early 60s, have become more versatile than their prototypes from the 40s and 50s. They became capable of striking not only fire weapons and infantry, but also armored targets, as their armament improved. Accordingly, the need for self-propelled guns has disappeared.
The performance characteristics of the 122 mm SU-122-54
Combat weight, t -35, 7
Crew, cap. - 5
Overall dimensions, mm:
length with a gun - 9970
body length - 6000
width - 3270
height - 2060
clearance, mm - 425
Reservation, mm '
forehead - 100
board - 80
feed - 45
cabin - 100
roof, bottom - 20
Armament 122-mm cannon D-49, two 14.5-mm machine guns KPVT
Ammunition 35 rounds
Rate of fire, rds / min - 5
B-54 engine. diesel, power 382 kW
Specific ground pressure, MPa - 0, 079
Maximum speed, km / h - 48
