SU-100 - Soviet self-propelled gun during the Second World War, belongs to the class of tank destroyers, average 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. In essence, it is a further development of the SU-85 ACS. Developed to replace the SU-85, which lacked the ability to fight German heavy tanks. Serial production of the SU-100 ACS 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 of this type were produced in the USSR and Czechoslovakia.
By the middle of 1944, it became finally clear that the means of fighting modern German tanks available to the Red Army were clearly insufficient. A qualitative strengthening of the armored forces was necessary. They tried to solve this issue by using a 100-mm gun with ballistics of the B-34 naval gun on the ACS. The draft design of the vehicle was presented to the People's Commissariat of the Tank Industry in December 1943, and already on December 27, 1943, the State Defense Committee 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 terms of development were set very tough, however, having received the drawings of the S-34 gun, the factory was convinced that this gun was not suitable for an SPG: it has very impressive dimensions, and when pointing to the left, it rests against the second suspension, not allowing it to be placed on the same driver's hatch place. In order to install this gun on a self-propelled gun, serious changes were required in its design, including its sealed hull. All this entailed a change in production lines, a shift in the driver's workplace and controls by 100 mm. left and change the suspension. The mass of the ACS could increase by 3.5 tons compared to the SU-85.
In order to cope with the problem, "Uralmashzavod" turned to plant No. 9 for help, where at the end of February 1944, under the leadership of designer F. F. B-34. The created gun had a lower mass in comparison with the C-34 and was freely mounted in the serial self-propelled gun body without any significant changes and an increase in the weight of the vehicle. Already on March 3, 1944, the first prototype of the new self-propelled gun, armed with the new D-10S gun, was sent to undergo factory tests.
The performance characteristics of the new SU-100 ACS allowed it to successfully fight modern German tanks at a distance of 1,500 meters for Tigers and Panthers, regardless of the point of impact of the projectile. ACS "Ferdinand" could be hit from a distance of 2000 meters, but only when it hit the side armor. The SU-100 had an exceptional firepower for Soviet armored vehicles. Its armor-piercing projectile penetrated 125 mm at a distance of 2000 meters. vertical armor, and at a distance of up to 1000 meters pierced most of the German armored vehicles almost through and through.
Design features
ACS SU-100 was designed on the basis of units of the T-34-85 tank and ACS SU-85. All the main components of the tank - chassis, transmission, engine - were used without changes. The thickness of the frontal armor of the wheelhouse was almost doubled (from 45 mm for the SU-85 to 75 mm for the SU-100). The increase in armor, coupled with the increase in the mass of the gun, led to the fact that the suspension of the front rollers came out 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 issue reflects the constructive legacy of the Christie's backward suspension.
The hull of the self-propelled gun, borrowed from the SU-85, has undergone, albeit few, but very important changes. In addition to the increase in frontal armor, the commander's cupola with MK-IV observation devices (a copy of the British) appeared on the ACS. Also, 2 fans were installed on the machine for better cleaning of the fighting compartment from powder gases. In general, 72% of the parts were borrowed from the T-34 medium tank, 7.5% from the SU-85 ACS, 4% from the SU-122 ACS, and 16.5% were redesigned.
ACS SU-100 had a classic layout for Soviet self-propelled guns. 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 of the ACS mechanisms, the main armament complex with sights, the gun ammunition, the tank communication device (TPU-3-BisF), the radio station (9RS or 9RM). It also housed bow fuel tanks and part of a useful tool and spare accessories (spare parts).
In front, in the left corner of the wheelhouse, there was a driver's workplace, opposite which there was a rectangular hatch in the frontal sheet of the hull. 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 wheelhouse there were 2 rectangular hatches for embarkation / disembarkation of the crew, a fixed commander's cupola and 2 fans under the hoods. The commander's turret had 5 viewing slots with bulletproof glass, MK-IV periscope viewing devices were located in the commander's cupola hatch cover and the gunner's left flap of the gunner's hatch cover.
The engine compartment was located immediately behind the fighting one and was separated from it by a special partition. In the middle of the MTO, a V-2-34 diesel engine was mounted on an under-engine frame, developing a power of 520 hp. With this engine, the ACS weighing 31.6 tons could accelerate along the highway to 50 km / h. The transmission compartment was located in the stern of the self-propelled gun body, there were the main and side clutches with brakes, a 5-speed gearbox, 2 inertial oil air cleaners and 2 fuel tanks. The capacity of the internal fuel tanks of the SU-100 ACS was 400 liters, this amount of fuel was enough to complete a 310-km march along the highway.
The main armament of the self-propelled gun was the 100-mm rifled gun D-10S mod. 1944 of the year. 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 semiautomatic horizontal wedge breechblock, as well as a mechanical and electromagnetic release. To ensure smooth aiming in the vertical plane, the gun was equipped with a spring-type compensating 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. ACS SU-100 ammunition included 33 unitary rounds with armor-piercing tracer shells BR-412 and HE-412 high-explosive fragmentation.
The gun was installed in the frontal deckhouse plate in a special cast frame on double pins. The pointing angles in the vertical plane were in the range from -3 to +20 degrees, in the horizontal 16 degrees (8 in each direction). The aiming of the gun at the target was carried out using two manual mechanisms - a screw-type rotary mechanism and a sector-type lifting mechanism. When firing from closed positions, the Hertz panorama and the side level were used to aim the gun; 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.
Combat use
ACS SU-100 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 SU-100 self-propelled guns, 3 SU-76 self-propelled guns and 1,492 average personnel. The brigades, numbered 207th Leningradskaya, 208th Dvinskaya and 209th, were created on the basis of the existing separate tank brigades. In early February 1945, all 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 striking power. Often the SU-100 was used to complete the breakthrough of the tactical depth of the German defense. At the same time, the nature of the battle was similar to an offensive against the enemy, hastily preparing for the defense. Preparations for the offensive took limited time or were not carried out at all.
However, the SU-100 SPG had a chance not only to attack. 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 16, they participated in repelling the counterstrike of the 6 SS Panzer Army. All 3 brigades, armed with the SU-100, formed in December 1944, were involved in repelling the counterstrike, and separate self-propelled artillery regiments armed with the SU-85 and SU-100 self-propelled guns were also used in defense.
In battles from 11 to 12 March, these self-propelled guns were often used as tanks, due to the large losses of armored vehicles. Therefore, on the front, an order was given to equip all self-propelled guns with light machine guns for better self-defense. Following the results of the March defensive battles in Hungary, the SU-100 earned a very flattering assessment from the Soviet command.
Without a doubt, the SU-100 ACS was the most successful and powerful Soviet anti-tank ACS during the Great Patriotic War. The SU-100 was 15 tons lighter and at the same time had comparable armor protection and better mobility in comparison with the identical German tank destroyer Yagdpanther. At the same time, the German self-propelled gun, armed with an 88-mm German Cancer 43/3 cannon, surpassed the Soviet one in terms of armor penetration and the size of the ammunition rack. The Jagdpanthers cannon, due to the use of the 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 ammunition did not contain cumulative or sub-caliber ammunition. At the same time, the high-explosive fragmentation effect of the 100-mm projectile was naturally higher than that of the German self-propelled gun. In general, both of the best medium anti-tank self-propelled guns of the Second World War did not have any outstanding advantages, despite the fact that the possibilities of using the SU-100 were somewhat wider.
Performance 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 gun D-10S
Ammunition: 33 shells
Engine: twelve-cylinder V-shaped diesel engine V-2-34 with a capacity of 520 hp
Maximum speed: on the highway - 50 km / h
Progress in store: on the highway - 310 km.
