Sau and anti-tank guns. SPG and anti-tank guns Self-propelled anti-tank gun

To combat the new medium and heavy tanks that appeared in the United States and Great Britain, several types of anti-tank self-propelled guns were developed in the USSR after the war.

In the mid-50s, the production of the SU-122 self-propelled guns designed on the basis of the T-54 medium tank began. The new self-propelled gun, designated as SU-122-54 to avoid confusion, was designed and manufactured taking into account previous combat experience in using self-propelled guns during the war years. A.E. was appointed the lead designer. Sulin.

The main armament of the SU-122 was the D-49 gun (52-PS-471D) - a modernized version of the D-25 gun, which was armed with post-war production tanks of the IS series. The gun was equipped with a wedge-shaped horizontal semi-automatic shutter with an electromechanical ramming mechanism, due to which it was possible to increase the gun's rate of fire to five rounds per minute. The lifting mechanism of the sector-type gun provides pointing angles of the gun from -3° to +20° vertically. When the barrel was given an elevation angle of 20 °, the firing range using HE ammunition was 13,400 m. With the advent of the early 1960s. the American M60 tank and the English Chieftain tank for the D-49 rifled gun, sub-caliber and cumulative shells were developed. Ammunition - 35 shots of a separate-sleeve type. Additional armament was two 14.5 mm KPVT machine guns. One with a pneumatic reloading system is paired with a gun, the other is anti-aircraft.

The hull of the self-propelled guns is completely closed and welded from armored rolled plates, the thickness in the frontal part is 100 mm, the side is 85 mm. The fighting compartment was combined with the control compartment. In front of the hull was the conning tower, which housed the gun.
In a rotating turret, located on the right on the roof of the cabin, a rangefinder was installed.

The SU-122-54 self-propelled guns would not have been equal on the battlefields of World War II. But the improvement of the tanks themselves, which became capable of hitting not only fire weapons and infantry, but also armored targets, as their weapons improved, and the appearance of ATGMs, made the production of specialized tank destroyers pointless.

From 1954 to 1956, the total number of cars produced was 77 units. Subsequently, after repairs, these vehicles were converted into armored tractors and technical support vehicles.

By the beginning of the 80s, in most armies of developed countries, self-propelled anti-tank artillery installations had practically disappeared. Their functions were taken over by anti-tank systems and partly by the so-called "wheeled tanks" - lightly armored universal vehicles with powerful artillery weapons.

In the USSR, the development of tank destroyers continued to provide anti-tank defense for airborne units. Especially for the Airborne Forces (VDV), several types of self-propelled guns were designed and produced.

The first model of armored vehicles designed specifically for the airborne troops was the ASU-76 armed with a 76-mm cannon, created under the leadership of N. A. Astrov. The design of the machine was developed in October 1946 - June 1947, and the first prototype of the self-propelled guns was completed in December 1947. The ASU-76 had a crew of three, minimized dimensions, light bulletproof armor and a power plant based on automotive units. After the completion of the tests carried out in 1948-1949, on December 17, 1949, the ASU-76 was put into service, however, its mass production, with the exception of two machines of the installation batch assembled in 1950, which did not pass field tests, was not carried out. Due to a number of reasons, first of all, the refusal to produce the Il-32 heavy transport glider, the only means of landing a 5.8-ton machine at that time.

In 1948, in the design bureau of plant No. 40, under the leadership of N. A. Astrov and D. I. Sazonov, an ACS-57 self-propelled gun was created, armed with a 57-mm Ch-51 semi-automatic cannon, with Grabinskaya ZiS-2 ballistics. In 1951, the ASU-57 was adopted by the Soviet Army.

The main armament of the ASU-57 was the 57-mm Ch-51 semi-automatic rifled gun, in the basic modification or the Ch-51M modification. The gun had a monoblock barrel with a length of 74.16 calibers. The technical rate of fire of the Ch-51 was up to 12, the practical sighting rate was 7 ... 10 rounds per minute. The horizontal guidance angles of the guns were ±8°, vertical guidance - from −5° to +12°. Ch-51 ammunition was 30 unitary shots with all-metal shells. The ammunition could include shots with armor-piercing, sub-caliber and fragmentation shells, according to the assortment of ammunition, the Ch-51 was unified with the ZIS-2 anti-tank gun.

For self-defense of the ASU-57 crew in the early years, it was equipped with a 7.62-mm SGM machine gun or RPD light machine gun transported on the left side of the fighting compartment.

ASU-57 had light bulletproof armor protection. The hull of the self-propelled guns, of a semi-closed type, was a rigid supporting box-shaped structure, assembled from sheets of armored steel 4 and 6 mm thick, connected to each other mainly by welding, as well as non-armored duralumin sheets connected to the rest of the hull with riveting.

The ASU-57 was equipped with an in-line 4-cylinder four-stroke carburetor automobile engine of the M-20E model manufactured by the GAZ plant, with a maximum power of 55 hp.

Before the advent of a new generation of military transport aircraft, the ASU-57 could only be transported by air using the Yak-14 towed transport glider. ASU-57 drove into the glider and left it under its own power through the hinged nose; in flight, the installation was fastened with cables, and to prevent rocking, its suspension units were blocked on the body.

The situation has changed significantly with the adoption of the new An-8 and An-12 military transport aircraft with increased payload capacity, which ensured the landing of the ACS-57 both by landing and by parachute. Also, a heavy military transport helicopter Mi-6 could be used to land the self-propelled guns.

The ASU-57 entered service with the USSR Airborne Forces in relatively small quantities. So, according to the staffing table, in the seven airborne divisions available by the end of the 1950s, not counting one training division, in total there should have been only 245 self-propelled guns. In the troops, the self-propelled guns, for their characteristic design features, received the nickname "bare-assed Ferdinand", previously worn by the SU-76, which the ACS-57 replaced in self-propelled artillery battalions.

Since the transport equipment in service with the Airborne Forces in the early 1950s did not have airborne landing equipment, self-propelled guns were also used as a light tractor, as well as for transporting up to four paratroopers on armor, the latter was used, in particular, for flank or rear detours of the enemy, when a quick transfer of forces was required.

The appearance of more advanced models in service with the Airborne Forces did not entail the removal of the ACS-57 from service; the latter only, after a series of reorganizations, were transferred from the divisional level of the Airborne Forces to the regimental level. ASU-57 for a long time remained the only model of armored vehicles of the Airborne Forces capable of providing fire support to the landing, capable of landing by parachute. As the airborne regiments were re-equipped in the 1970s with the new airborne BMD-1s, which provided anti-tank defense and fire support up to the squad level, the ASU-57 regimental batteries were gradually disbanded. The ASU-57s were finally decommissioned in the early 1980s.

The success of the light airborne self-propelled gun ASU-57 gave rise to the desire of the Soviet command to also have a medium self-propelled gun with an 85-mm cannon.

In 1959, the developed OKB-40 headed by N.A. Astrov
ASU-85. The main armament of the ASU-85 was the 2A15 gun (factory designation - D-70), which had a monoblock barrel, equipped with a muzzle brake and an ejector to remove residual powder gases from the barrel. The manual sector lifting mechanism provides elevation angles in the range from -5 to +15 degrees. Horizontal guidance - 30 degrees. A 7.62 mm SGMT machine gun was paired with the cannon

The portable ammunition load of 45 unitary shots included unitary shots weighing 21.8 kg each with several types of projectiles. These included high-explosive fragmentation grenades UO-365K weighing 9.54 kg, which had an initial speed of 909 m / s and were intended to destroy manpower and destroy enemy fortifications. When firing at mobile, armored targets - tanks and self-propelled guns - armor-piercing tracer sharp-headed projectiles Br-365K weighing 9.2 kg with an initial speed of 1150 m / s were used. These shells could conduct aimed fire at a distance of up to 1200 m. An armor-piercing projectile at a distance of 2000 m pierced an armor plate 53 mm thick, located at an angle of 60 °, and a cumulative projectile - 150 mm. The maximum firing range of a high-explosive fragmentation projectile was 13400 m.

The security of the ASU-85 in the frontal part of the hull was at the level of the T-34 tank. The corrugated bottom gave the body additional strength. In the bow on the right was the control compartment, which housed the driver's seat. The fighting compartment was in the middle of the car.

An automobile 6-cylinder, V-shaped, two-stroke 210-horsepower diesel engine YaMZ-206V was used as a power plant.

For a long time, the self-propelled gun could only land by landing. It was not until the 1970s that special parachute systems were developed.
ASU-85, as a rule, were transported by military transport An-12. The self-propelled gun was mounted on a platform to which several parachutes were attached. Before contact with the ground, special brake rocket engines began to work, and the self-propelled unit landed safely. After unloading the machine was transferred to a combat position within 1-1.5 minutes.

ASU-85 was in production from 1959 to 1966, during which time the installation was upgraded twice. First, a ventilated roof made of rolled steel sheets 10 mm thick with four hatches was installed over the fighting compartment. In 1967, the ASU-85 participated in the Arab-Israeli conflict, known as the "six-day war", and the experience of their combat use revealed the need to install a 12.7-mm DShKM anti-aircraft machine gun on the wheelhouse. Delivered to the GDR and Poland. She took part in the initial period of the Afghan war as part of the artillery units of the 103rd Airborne Division.

The bulk of the vehicles produced were sent to equip individual self-propelled artillery battalions of airborne divisions. Despite the cessation of mass production, ASU-85 remained in service with the airborne troops until the end of the 80s of the last century. ASU-85 was decommissioned by the Russian army in 1993.

In 1969, the BMD-1 airborne combat vehicle was adopted. This made it possible to raise the capabilities of the Airborne Forces to a qualitatively new level. The BMD-1 weapon system made it possible to solve the problems of combating manpower and armored vehicles. The anti-tank capabilities of the vehicles increased even more after the replacement of the Malyutka ATGM with the 9K113 Konkurs in 1978. In 1979, the self-propelled ATGM "Robot" created on the basis of the BMD was put into service. In 1985, the BMD-2 entered service with a 30 mm automatic cannon.

It would seem that air transport vehicles on a single chassis make it possible to solve all the tasks facing the Airborne Forces. However, the experience of participation of these vehicles in numerous local conflicts revealed an urgent need for airborne, amphibious armored vehicles with powerful artillery weapons.
Which would be capable of providing fire support to the advancing landing force, acting on a par with the BMD, as well as fighting with modern tanks.

The 2S25 Sprut-SD self-propelled anti-tank gun was created in the early 90s, on an extended (two rollers) base of the BMD-3 airborne combat vehicle by the Volgograd Tractor Plant joint-stock company, and the artillery unit for it was created at the N9 artillery plant (g . Yekaterinburg). In contrast to the Sprut-B towed artillery system, the new self-propelled guns received the name Sprut-SD ("self-propelled" - landing).

Self-propelled guns "Sprut-SD" at the firing position

The 125 mm 2A75 smoothbore gun is the main armament of the Sprut-SD self-propelled guns.
The gun was created on the basis of the 125-mm 2A46 tank gun, which is installed on the T-72, T-80 and T-90 tanks. When installed on a lighter chassis, the gun was equipped with a new type of recoil device, providing a recoil of no more than 700 mm. The high-ballistic smoothbore gun installed in the fighting compartment is equipped with a computerized fire control system from the commander's and gunner's workplaces, which are functionally interchangeable.

The gun without a muzzle brake is equipped with an ejector and a heat-insulating casing. Stabilization in the vertical and horizontal planes allows you to fire 125-mm cartridge-separate ammunition. Sprut-SD can use all types of 125-mm domestic ammunition, including armor-piercing piercing feathered shells and tank ATGMs. The ammunition load of the gun (40 125-mm rounds, 22 of them in the automatic loader) can include a laser-guided projectile, which ensures the destruction of a target located at a distance of up to 4000 m. The gun can fire afloat with waves up to three points in a sector of ±35 hail., maximum rate of fire - 7 rounds per minute.

As an auxiliary armament, the Sprut-SD self-propelled guns are equipped with a 7.62-mm machine gun coaxial with a cannon with an ammunition load of 2000 rounds loaded in one tape.

The Sprut-SD self-propelled guns are indistinguishable from a tank in appearance and firepower, but inferior to it in terms of security. This predetermines the tactics of action against tanks - mainly from ambushes.

The power plant and chassis have much in common with the BMD-3, the base of which was used in the development of the 2S25 Sprut-SD self-propelled guns. The multi-fuel horizontally opposed six-cylinder diesel engine 2V06-2S installed on it with a maximum power of 510 hp. interlocked with hydromechanical transmission, hydrostatic turning mechanism and power take-off for two jet propulsion. The automatic transmission has five forward gears and the same number of reverse gears.

Individual, hydropneumatic, with a clearance changeable from the driver's seat (in 6-7 s from 190 to 590 mm) chassis suspension provides high cross-country ability and smooth running.

When making marches up to 500 km, the car can move along the highway with a maximum speed of up to 68 km / h, on dirt roads - at an average speed of 45 km / h.

Sprut-SD self-propelled guns can be transported by BTA aircraft and landing ships, parachute with a crew inside the vehicle and overcome water obstacles without training.

Unfortunately, the number of these very popular vehicles in the army is not yet large, in total about 40 units have been delivered.

According to materials:
http://dic.academic.ru/dic.nsf/enc_tech/4200/SU
http://www.tankovedia.ru/catalog/sssr/su
http://voencomrus.ru/index.php?id=120

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Anti-tank self-propelled guns- partially specialized and lightly armored self-propelled artillery installation (self-propelled artillery installation) specialized for combating enemy armored vehicles. It is in its armor that an anti-tank self-propelled gun differs from a tank destroyer, which has full and good armor protection.

USA

American anti-tank self-propelled guns were officially classified as "tank destroyers", however, incomplete and partial armor does not allow them to be classified as full-fledged tank destroyers. A characteristic feature of American vehicles was the placement of weapons in an open top rotating turret with a developed counterweight on its aft side.

• The M10 Wolverine is a highly mobile and technologically advanced anti-tank self-propelled gun based on the M4 Sherman medium tank.
• M18 Hellcat - A version of the M10 with reduced armor protection but higher mobility. In addition, it was armed with a Browning M2HB heavy anti-aircraft machine gun to protect against air attacks and combat enemy manpower.
• M36 Jackson (or Slugger) - slow-moving, but very powerfully armed anti-tank self-propelled guns based on the M4 Sherman medium tank; had good frontal armor, but the side armor still remained bulletproof.

Great Britain

• Archer - slow-moving, but very powerfully armed anti-tank self-propelled guns based on the Valentine medium tank;

Layout features

Anti-tank self-propelled guns "Archer"

In terms of their layout, anti-tank self-propelled guns (with the placement of a gun in the wheelhouse) are quite typical - the wheelhouse with the gun is located in the stern, the engine is in the middle, and the control compartment is in the bow of the vehicle. An interesting exception is the Archer self-propelled guns, which outwardly resemble all other vehicles of this class, but in fact are similar in layout to the Soviet SU-85 tank destroyer - the fighting compartment and the control compartment are located in the nose of the vehicle, and the engine is in the stern. The difference lies in the fact that the SU-85 gun is directed in the direction of the self-propelled gun, while the Archer is directed against it. In the combat position, the Archer turned stern forward, and her driver did not see the battlefield. However, this made it possible to quickly leave the firing position moving forward without turning the car.

Literature

• Latukhin A. N. Self-propelled anti-tank installation // Soviet military encyclopedia / Ed. A. N. Kiselev. - M ., 1980. - T. 7. - S. 234.
• Latukhin A. N. Anti-tank weapons. - M., 1974.

Self-propelled artillery pieces in World War II performed a wide variety of roles - from infantry support during defense to mobile anti-tank weapons capable of conducting an offensive in conjunction with other units.

The main weapons of the self-propelled guns, depending on their type, were anti-tank guns with a caliber of 47 to 128 millimeters or howitzers with a caliber of up to 380 millimeters. Depending on the power of the gun, the armor and the mass of self-propelled guns changed. At the "Sturmtigr" it reached 68 tons, and at the anti-tank self-propelled gun "Jagdtigr" - 70 tons, this self-propelled gun was the heaviest vehicle of the Second World War. Most often, self-propelled guns were designed on the chassis of various tanks, sometimes obsolete, but preserved in large numbers (like the German Pz-I and Pz-II by 1941). The main difference between self-propelled guns and tanks was the absence of a rotating turret, which reduced the height (and, accordingly, vulnerability) of the vehicle, but also reduced its combat characteristics. Most often, self-propelled guns were used in mobile units, especially in tank divisions when breaking through enemy defenses, as well as when repelling tank attacks. They showed their high efficiency, although heavy self-propelled guns with powerful guns (Ferdinand, Nashorn, Jagdpanther) were vulnerable to aviation and much more mobile medium tanks.
Assessing the successes of German troops in Africa, Millentin wrote:
“How, then, should the brilliant successes of the Afrika Korps be explained? In my opinion, our victories were determined by three factors: the qualitative superiority of our anti-tank guns, the systematic application of the principle of interaction between military branches and, last but not least, our tactical methods. while the British limited the role of their 3.7-inch anti-aircraft guns (very powerful guns) to fighting aircraft, we used our 88-mm guns to shoot both tanks and aircraft.

The main means of anti-tank defense were considered tanks and artillery fire, primarily anti-tank in combination with the engineering equipment of the area and natural obstacles, aviation and minefields. The charters required the creation of anti-tank defense along the lines (battalion, regimental and divisional) and, first of all, in front of the front line. Defensive combat was required to begin on the distant approaches to the main strip, inflicting, on the enemy, air strikes and long-range artillery. In the supply zone, forward detachments entered the battle. And then the units allocated to combat guards. The main forces and firepower of rifle units and formations were introduced into the battle for the main line of defense. When enemy tanks break through into the depths of the main line of defense, the formation commander must organize a counterattack in order to delay the advance of the enemy.

Before the war in the USSR, numerous attempts were made to create various self-propelled artillery installations (ACS). Dozens of projects were considered, and prototypes were built for many of them. But the matter never came to mass adoption. The exceptions were: 76-mm anti-aircraft gun 29K on the chassis of the YAG-10 truck (60 pcs.), Self-propelled guns SU-12 - 76.2-mm regimental gun of the 1927 model on the chassis of the Morland truck or GAZ-AAA (99 pcs. ), self-propelled guns SU-5-2 - 122-mm howitzer installation on the T-26 chassis (30 pcs.).

SU-12 (based on the Morland truck)

Of greatest interest in anti-tank terms was the SU-6 self-propelled guns, which were not adopted for service, on the chassis of the T-26 tank, armed with a 76-mm 3-K anti-aircraft gun. Installation tests took place in 1936. The military was not satisfied that the crew of the SU-6 in the stowed position did not fit completely on the self-propelled guns and the installers of remote tubes had to go by escort vehicle. This led to the fact that the SU-6 was recognized as unsuitable for escorting motorized columns as a self-propelled anti-aircraft gun.

Although the possibility of using it to fight tanks was not considered, self-propelled guns armed with such guns could be an excellent anti-tank weapon. The BR-361 armor-piercing projectile fired from the 3-K gun, at a distance of 1000 meters, pierced 82 mm armor normally. Tanks with such armor became massively used by the Germans only from 1943.

In fairness, it should be said that in Germany at the time of the invasion of the USSR there were also no serial anti-tank self-propelled guns (PT self-propelled guns). The first versions of the Artshturm StuG III self-propelled guns were armed with short-barreled 75-mm guns and did not have significant anti-tank capabilities.

German SAU StuG III Ausf. G

However, the availability of a very successful vehicle in production made it possible to turn it into an anti-tank one in a short time by increasing the frontal armor and installing a 75-mm gun with a barrel length of 43 caliber.

During the very first battles of the Great Patriotic War, the question arose of the need to develop an anti-tank self-propelled artillery installation as soon as possible, capable of quickly changing positions and fighting German tank units, which were significantly superior in mobility to units of the Red Army.

As a matter of urgency, a 57-mm anti-tank gun model 1941 was installed on the chassis of the Komsomolets light tractor, which had excellent armor penetration. At that time, this gun confidently hit any German tank at real combat distances.

The ZIS-30 tank destroyer was a light open-type anti-tank gun.
The combat crew of the installation consisted of five people. The upper machine tool was mounted in the middle part on the machine body. The vertical aiming angles ranged from -5 to +25 °, along the horizon - in the 30 ° sector. Shooting was carried out only from a place. The stability of the self-propelled unit during firing was ensured with the help of folding openers located in the aft part of the vehicle hull. For self-defense of the self-propelled unit, a regular 7.62-mm DT machine gun was used, which was installed in a ball joint on the right in the frontal sheet of the cab. To protect the calculation from bullets and shrapnel, an armored shield cover for the gun was used, which had a folding top. In the left half of the shield for observation there was a special window, which was closed by a movable shield.

Tank destroyer ZIS-30

Production of the ZIS-30 continued from 21 September to 15 October 1941. During this period, the plant produced 101 vehicles with a ZIS-2 cannon (including an experimental vehicle) and one installation with a 45-mm cannon. Further production of installations was stopped due to the lack of discontinued "Komsomol" and the cessation of production of 57-mm guns.

Self-propelled guns ZIS-30 began to enter the troops at the end of September 1941. They were equipped with anti-tank batteries of 20 tank brigades of the Western and Southwestern fronts.

In the course of intensive use, the self-propelled gun revealed a number of shortcomings, such as poor stability, congestion of the undercarriage, a small cruising range, and a small ammunition load.

By the summer of 1942, there were practically no tank destroyers ZIS-30 left in the troops. Some of the vehicles were lost in battles, and some were out of order for technical reasons.

Since January 1943, mass production of the created by N.A. Astrov based on the T-70 light tank, self-propelled 76-mm SU-76 (later Su-76M) mounts. Although this light self-propelled gun was very often used to fight enemy tanks, it cannot be considered anti-tank. Armor protection SU-76 (forehead: 26-35 mm, side and stern: 10-16 mm) protected the crew (4 people) from small arms fire and heavy fragments.

SAU SU-76M

When used correctly, and this did not come immediately (self-propelled guns are not a tank), the SU-76M showed itself well both in defense - in repelling infantry attacks and as mobile, well-protected anti-tank reserves, and in the offensive - in suppressing machine-gun nests, destroying pillboxes and bunkers, as well as in the fight against counterattacking tanks. The ZIS-3 divisional gun was mounted on an armored vehicle. Her sub-caliber projectile from a distance of 500 meters pierced armor up to 91 mm, that is, any place in the hull of German medium tanks and the side of the "Panther" and "Tiger".

According to the characteristics of weapons, the SU-76I self-propelled guns, created on the basis of captured German tanks Pz Kpfw III and StuG III self-propelled guns, were very close to the SU-76M. It was originally planned to install a 76.2-mm ZIS-3Sh (Sh - assault) cannon in the fighting compartment of the self-propelled guns, it was this modification of the gun that was installed on the serial self-propelled guns SU-76 and SU-76M on a machine fixed to the floor, but such an installation did not provide reliable protection of the gun embrasure from bullets and fragments, since when lifting and turning the gun, gaps invariably formed in the shield. This problem was solved by installing a special self-propelled 76.2-mm S-1 gun instead of the 76-mm divisional gun. This gun was designed on the basis of the design of the F-34 tank gun, which was equipped with T-34 tanks.

SAU SU-76I

With the same firepower as the SU-76M, the SU-76I was much more suitable for use as an anti-tank due to better security. The forehead of the hull had anti-shell armor with a thickness of 50 mm.

The production of the SU-76I was finally stopped at the end of November 1943 in favor of the SU-76M, which had already got rid of "childhood diseases" by that time. The decision to stop production of the SU-76I was due to a reduction in the number of Pz Kpfw III tanks used on the Eastern Front. In this regard, the number of captured tanks of this type decreased. A total of 201 SU-76I self-propelled guns were produced (including 1 experimental and 20 commanders), which took part in the battles of 1943-44, but due to the small number and difficulties with spare parts, they quickly disappeared from the Red Army.

The first specialized, domestic tank destroyer capable of operating in combat formations on a par with tanks was the SU-85. This vehicle became especially in demand after the appearance of the German tank PzKpfw VI "Tiger" on the battlefield. The Tiger's armor was so thick that with great difficulty and only at suicidally close distances, the F-34 and ZIS-5 guns mounted on the T-34 and KV-1 could penetrate it.

Special firing on a captured German tank showed that the M-30 howitzer mounted on the SU-122 had an insufficient rate of fire and low flatness. In general, it turned out to be poorly suited for firing at fast-moving targets, although it had good armor penetration after the introduction of cumulative ammunition.

By order of the GKO dated May 5, 1943, the design bureau under the leadership of F.F. Petrov launched work on installing an 85-mm anti-aircraft gun on the SU-122 chassis.

Tank destroyer SU-85 with D-5S gun

The D-5S gun had a barrel length of 48.8 calibers, the direct fire range reached 3.8 km, the maximum possible - 13.6 km. The range of elevation angles was from −5° to +25°, the horizontal firing sector was limited to ±10° from the longitudinal axis of the vehicle. The ammunition load of the gun was 48 rounds of unitary loading.

According to Soviet data, the 85-mm armor-piercing projectile BR-365 normally pierced an armor plate 111 mm thick at a distance of 500 m, at twice the distance under the same conditions - 102 mm. The BR-365P sub-caliber projectile at a distance of 500 m normally pierced an armor plate 140 mm thick.

The control compartment, engine and transmission compartments remained the same as those of the T-34 tank, which made it possible to recruit crews for new vehicles with virtually no retraining. For the commander, an armored cap with prismatic and periscopic devices was welded in the roof of the cabin. On later-produced self-propelled guns, the armor cap was replaced by a commander's cupola, like the T-34 tank.
The general layout of the vehicle was similar to the layout of the SU-122, the only difference was in armament. The security of the SU-85 was similar to that of the T-34.

Cars of this brand were produced at Uralmash from August 1943 to July 1944, in total 2337 self-propelled guns were built. After the development of a more powerful self-propelled gun SU-100 due to the delay in the release of 100-mm armor-piercing shells and the cessation of the production of armored hulls for the SU-85 from September to December 1944, a transitional version of the SU-85M was produced. In fact, it was a SU-100 with an 85-mm D-5S gun. The upgraded SU-85M differed from the original SU-85 in more powerful frontal armor and increased ammunition capacity. A total of 315 of these machines were built.

Thanks to the use of the SU-122 hull, it was possible to very quickly establish mass production of the SU-85 tank destroyer. Acting in battle formations of tanks, they effectively supported our troops with fire, hitting German armored vehicles from a distance of 800-1000 m. The crews of these self-propelled guns were especially distinguished during the crossing of the Dnieper, in the Kyiv operation and during the autumn-winter battles in Right-Bank Ukraine. Except for the few KV-85s and IS-1s, before the advent of the T-34-85 tanks, only the SU-85s could effectively deal with enemy medium tanks at distances of more than a kilometer. And at shorter distances, and pierce the frontal armor of heavy tanks. At the same time, already the first months of the use of the SU-85 showed that the power of its guns was not enough to effectively deal with heavy enemy tanks, such as the Panther and Tiger, which, having an advantage in firepower and protection, as well as effective aiming systems, imposed a fight from long distances.

Built in the middle of 1943, the SU-152 and the later ISU-122 and ISU-152 hit any German tank in the event of a hit. But due to the high cost, bulkiness and low rate of fire, they were not very suitable for fighting tanks.
The main purpose of these machines was the destruction of fortifications and engineering structures and the function of fire support for advancing units.

In the middle of 1944, under the leadership of F.F. Petrov, using shots from the B-34 naval anti-aircraft gun, an even more powerful 100-mm D-10S gun was designed. Gun D-10S arr. 1944 (index "C" - self-propelled version), had a barrel length of 56 calibers. The armor-piercing projectile of the cannon from a distance of 2000 meters hit armor 124 mm thick. A high-explosive fragmentation projectile weighing 16 kg made it possible to effectively hit manpower and destroy enemy fortifications.

Using this gun and the base of the T-34-85 tank, the designers of Uralmash quickly developed the SU-100 tank destroyer - the best anti-tank self-propelled gun of the Second World War. Compared to the T-34, the frontal armor was increased to 75 mm.
The gun 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 °. The aiming was carried out using a sector-type manual lifting mechanism and a screw-type rotary mechanism. The ammunition load of the gun consisted of 33 unitary shots, placed in five stacks in the wheelhouse.

The SU-100 possessed exceptional firepower for its time and was capable of fighting enemy tanks of all types at all ranges of aimed fire.
Serial production of the SU-100 began at Uralmash in September 1944. Until May 1945, the plant managed to produce more than 2,000 of these machines. The production of the SU-100 at Uralmash was carried out at least until March 1946. Omsk Plant No. 174 produced 198 SU-100s in 1947, and 6 more at the beginning of 1948, producing a total of 204 vehicles. The release of the SU-100 in the post-war period was also established in Czechoslovakia, where in 1951-1956 another 1420 self-propelled guns of this type were produced under license.

In the post-war years, a significant part of the SU-100 was modernized. They received night observation devices and sights, new fire-fighting and radio equipment. A shot was introduced into the ammunition load with a more effective armor-piercing projectile UBR-41D with protective and ballistic tips, and later with sub-caliber and non-rotating cumulative projectiles. The standard ammunition load of self-propelled guns in the 1960s consisted of 16 high-explosive fragmentation, 10 armor-piercing and 7 cumulative shells.

Having the same base with the T-34 tank, the SU-100 has spread widely around the world, being officially in service in more than 20 countries, they were actively used in numerous conflicts. In a number of countries they are still in service.
In Russia, the SU-100 could be found "in storage" until the end of the 90s.

According to materials:
http://dic.academic.ru/dic.nsf/enc_tech/4200/SU
http://www.tankovedia.ru/catalog/sssr/su
http://voencomrus.ru/index.php?id=120

Anti-tank self-propelled guns- a self-propelled artillery mount (ACS) specialized for combating enemy armored vehicles with incomplete bulletproof armor. Sometimes fighting vehicles of this type were classified as self-propelled anti-tank guns. Anti-tank self-propelled guns should be distinguished from tank destroyers similar in purpose, which have full and at least frontal projectile protection.

For the first time, self-propelled guns of this type appeared during the Second World War as a mobile means of anti-tank defense, which makes it possible to dramatically increase the mobility of powerful anti-tank guns by mounting them on a self-propelled base. Initially conceived as a temporary measure, before specialized tank destroyers entered the troops, anti-tank self-propelled guns, due to their low cost and manufacturability, were produced and used until the end of the war. Subsequently, as the armies of various countries were saturated with modern models of tanks and tank destroyers, anti-tank self-propelled guns were withdrawn from service. A significant role in this was played by their unsuitability for the conditions of hostilities using weapons of mass destruction. Currently not applicable.

Story

During the Second World War, the massive use of tanks raised the question of creating effective countermeasures for all the warring parties. Before the war, the main means of combating tanks were towed anti-tank guns of 20-47 mm caliber. These guns had a small mass, did not require powerful tractors, could roll across the battlefield only by the forces of their calculation, were easily camouflaged on the ground, and easily turned to any threatened direction. They were effective against most tanks of the mid-1930s, but even before the start of World War II, new models of armored vehicles appeared in a number of countries that were not vulnerable to their fire. To combat them, new models of anti-tank guns of 50-76 mm caliber were developed and put into service. However, the price for increased penetration was their increased weight and size. As a result, they rolled across the battlefield with difficulty, requiring powerful tractors for transportation over long distances and greater efforts to dig in and camouflage. The cost of both the guns themselves and the ammunition for them has also increased. The high recoil force led to such deepening of the coulters of powerful anti-tank guns into the ground that the crew could no longer turn the gun on their own to hit targets outside the current sector of fire. Thus, the exit of enemy tanks to the flank or to the rear became a deadly threat, which became impossible to fend off on their own.

Under such conditions, even powerful and long-range anti-tank guns represented only a partial solution to the problem. Towed anti-tank artillery, as a rule, was effective in the case of pre-prepared defense, saturated with a large number of engineering defensive structures, obstacles and minefields. Their presence, to some extent, made it possible to protect the crews of guns from rifle and machine-gun fire and deprive the enemy of freedom of maneuver. However, even with the presence of a sufficient number of tractors, towed anti-tank guns were not a highly mobile anti-tank defense (ATD). Outside the defensive structures, the crews and materiel of towed anti-tank guns in combat position are extremely vulnerable to enemy rifle and machine-gun fire, artillery and mortar shelling with fragmentation ammunition, as well as any air attacks. For the most effective action, towed anti-tank guns require well-functioning tactical interaction with their infantry and anti-aircraft gunners, which is far from always possible.

The solution to the problem was the development and launch into mass production of specialized tank destroyers, but this required time and significant resources, while the acute issue of organizing a mobile anti-tank gun was urgent. A good way out of this situation was the installation of field anti-tank guns on the chassis of obsolete or captured tanks, rather powerful tractors or armored personnel carriers. As a rule, both the gun and the tank base were subjected to the least possible alterations in order to speed up the conversion production processes. To ensure the convenience of the calculation, the cabin or tower of the anti-tank self-propelled guns were made open, in the vast majority of cases, the armor of the vehicle was bulletproof.

Anti-tank self-propelled guns could be equipped with very powerful (and therefore heavy) guns, up to such samples as the German 128-mm gun with anti-aircraft ballistics. Thus, the problems of their tactical and operational mobility, as well as a quick turn in a given direction, were solved. Cheapness in production often led to the fact that initially conceived as a temporary measure, anti-tank self-propelled guns were produced and fought until the end of the war.

The disadvantages of anti-tank self-propelled guns are largely common with the disadvantages of towed anti-tank guns, with the exception of the low mobility of the latter: they are still vulnerable to fragments of shells and mines during shelling, high-explosive and cumulative shells due to the "leakage" of the shock wave from the explosion into the open combat squad, any attacks from the air, and are also weak in close combat against enemy infantry - to destroy the calculation of such self-propelled guns, it is enough to throw a hand grenade into its fighting compartment. Also, anti-tank self-propelled guns are relatively ineffective against unarmored targets. On the other hand, the open fighting compartment allows you to interact very closely with your infantry in battle and quickly leave the padded vehicle.

Despite all the advantages, in the post-war period, due to their inherent shortcomings, anti-tank self-propelled guns quickly disappeared from the scene. Not the last role in this was played by the orientation towards the use of equipment in the conditions of the use of weapons of mass destruction - the crew receives basic protection from the damaging factors of a nuclear explosion, air mixtures with toxic substances, toxins and formulations of infectious microorganisms only in a hermetically sealed combat vehicle with a filtering unit, which for anti-tank self-propelled guns is impossible in principle.

Below are considered particular features of the development of anti-tank self-propelled guns in various countries.

Third Reich

The combat experience of campaigns in Poland, France and the Balkans clearly showed the insufficiency of traditional towed anti-tank artillery in terms of mobility and security in joint operations with tank and mechanized units. The German military realized the benefits of having vehicles in tank groups armed with powerful anti-tank guns, with the same mobility and maneuverability as the tanks themselves. As a result, some of the obsolete Panzerkampfwagen I light tanks were converted into anti-tank self-propelled guns by dismantling the turret and turret box and installing a 47-mm captured Czech anti-tank gun with shield cover and aiming mechanisms in their place. The horizontal sector of fire, although not circular, turned out to be comparable to the aiming angles of towed anti-tank guns. This conversion received the designation Panzerjäger I and from 1941 was used quite successfully in North Africa and on the Eastern Front against numerous British and Soviet tanks with bulletproof armor. However, the heavily armored Matildas, Valentines, T-34s and KVs were less vulnerable to 47-mm shells. The problem of penetrating their armor was solved with the adoption of the 7.62 cm Pak 36(r) and 7.5 cm Pak 40 anti-tank guns, however, both of these artillery systems were heavy and limited mobility. The logical next step was to install them on a self-propelled base, which used the chassis of captured French tanks, Panzerkampfwagen II and Panzerkampfwagen 38 (t) . This is how the well-known anti-tank self-propelled guns of the Marder family (it. marten) - Marder I, Marder II and Marder III respectively. The latter was produced in two versions, differing in the installation of a gun in the middle or rear of the vehicle. "Marders" fought on all fronts of the Second World War until its end.

An interesting experiment in giving mobility to extremely powerful 128-mm guns with anti-aircraft ballistics was a pair of experienced Sturer Emil anti-tank self-propelled guns based on experienced DW2 breakthrough tanks. But it was not they who established themselves as powerful serial anti-tank self-propelled guns, but an 88-mm cannon with a barrel length of 71 calibers on a specialized chassis Geschützwagen III / IV, created on the basis of components and assemblies of two medium tanks Panzerkampfwagen III and . Initially, these self-propelled guns were called Hornisse (German. hornet), but on the personal instructions of the Fuhrer, they were renamed Nashorn (German. rhinoceros). Despite the weak bulletproof armor and high silhouette, these vehicles, due to their long-range and powerful guns, successfully hit heavily armored targets at a distance of more than 3 km (however, it should be borne in mind that such cases against the background of other clashes of the Second World War were very rare).

Toward the end of the war, when many Pak 40 guns were simply abandoned during the retreat of the Wehrmacht, anti-tank self-propelled guns began to appear on any suitable base: Sd.Kfz.234 armored vehicles, Sd.Kfz.251 armored personnel carriers, Ost. The latter can already be classified as an improvisation in the face of a shortage of more suitable chassis.

USSR

Before the Great Patriotic War, work was underway on self-propelled artillery installations of all classes, there were plans to create anti-tank self-propelled guns based on the released T-26 and BT after equipping mechanized and tank corps with new equipment. The attack of the Third Reich on the USSR did not make it possible to translate them into reality. However, the need for machines of this class turned out to be so acute that already in December 1941, the ZiS-30 self-propelled guns were developed - the installation of the rotating part of the 57-mm anti-tank gun mod. 1941 (ZiS-2) to the base of the light semi-armored artillery tractor T-20 "Komsomolets". The resulting car turned out to be a “clean” ersatz self-propelled gun, but in the conditions of that time it would hardly have been possible to achieve a better one. The ZiS-30 received a good rating for the armor penetration of its gun and an extremely unsatisfactory rating for its stability when firing and the reliability of the self-propelled base. By the summer of 1942, due to losses and failures, they disappeared from the ranks of the Red Army.

The further development of anti-tank self-propelled guns in the USSR was to a certain extent associated with the SU-76 light multi-purpose installation. After it acquired its final appearance with an open fighting compartment and a pair of GAZ-202 engines, in essence this vehicle became an anti-tank self-propelled gun, similar to the German Marders, but was also used extremely widely for direct infantry support (i.e. . performed the tasks of assault guns), and sometimes for firing from closed positions (that is, it was also used as a self-propelled howitzer). There was an experimental version of it, armed with a 57-mm ZiS-4 cannon, which was already a “clean” anti-tank self-propelled gun, but the Soviet leadership preferred full-fledged tank destroyers, and therefore, despite its full suitability for such combat work, it was not accepted into service with the Red Army. An additional reason was the existing "de facto" status of all Soviet self-propelled guns as multi-purpose vehicles, and the 57-mm anti-tank gun had significantly worse firepower against manpower and field-type fortifications compared to the 76-mm ZiS-3 division of the SU -76.

Another attempt to create an anti-tank self-propelled guns was the desire of "non-tank" commanders to have divisional artillery (which very often worked as anti-tank) on a self-propelled base. As a result, an experimental OSA-76 self-propelled guns based on the T-60 appeared, which in many respects looked preferable to the serial SU-76M, which were run by "clean" tankers. As a result, the latter considered themselves disadvantaged by such "partisanism" and took control of the development into their own hands, which resulted in the change of the index to OSU-76; however, the matter never reached mass production.

In the last months of the war and some time after it (until 1946, and in some cases possibly later), the captured Marders and Nashorns under the names SU-75 and SU-88, respectively, were officially in service with the Red Army.

USA

American anti-tank self-propelled guns were officially classified as "tank destroyers", however, incomplete and partial armor does not allow them to be classified as full-fledged tank destroyers. A characteristic feature of American vehicles was the placement of weapons in an open top rotating turret with a developed counterweight on its aft side.

• M18 Hellcat is a highly mobile and technologically advanced anti-tank self-propelled gun on a special base.
• M36 Jackson (or Slugger) - slow-moving, but very powerfully armed anti-tank self-propelled guns based on the M4 Sherman medium tank; had good frontal armor, but the side armor still remained bulletproof.

Great Britain

At the very initial stage of the Second World War, there were no self-propelled artillery in the troops of His Majesty, but in the course of hostilities in the North African theater of operations, the first samples of it had already appeared. With the landing of the German African Corps, the British were faced with a highly initiative enemy, who made full use of the mobility potential inherent in tank and motorized troops. Accordingly, there was a need for highly mobile anti-tank weapons capable of parrying the threat posed by German mobile tank groups. The British solved this problem by installing their 6-pounder anti-tank gun in the body of a semi-armored AEC Matador wheeled all-wheel drive artillery tractor. The resulting wheeled self-propelled gun was named Deacon. deacon) and has proven itself well in battles.

However, Britain's own forces were not enough to solve many of the problems that arose during the war with the development and production of military equipment. Therefore, US assistance under the Lend-Lease Act came in very handy. So in the British troops appeared, among other things, anti-tank self-propelled guns 3inch Gun Motor Carriage M10, to which the soldiers assigned the nickname Wolverine (eng. wolverine). However, the power of its 76-mm M7 cannon was found insufficient against German heavy tanks and some of the vehicles were re-equipped with their own 17-pounder guns of the same caliber, which had significantly greater penetration, especially using the latest armor-piercing sub-caliber shells with a detachable pallet at that time. This alteration was called "Achilles" (Eng. Achilles). Also, in connection with the end of the active career of the Valentine light infantry tanks, the same 17-pounder gun was installed on their base in a fixed wheelhouse open from above. The new self-developed anti-tank self-propelled gun also had its own name "Archer" (Eng. archer).

Kingdom of Italy

Prior to World War II, Italian troops did not have any self-propelled guns at all. However, the situation changed quite quickly after joining it. The battles in North Africa clearly showed the weakness, on the verge of becoming useless, of the main armament of the Italian armored vehicles - 20-mm and 47-mm guns against the English Matildas and Valentines. Even the more lightly protected Crusaders had frontal armor that was difficult to penetrate with 47 mm shells. The solution was found quickly enough - according to the results of the battles in France, the Italian military "peeped" the idea of ​​​​self-propelled artillery from the Germans. In particular, the Carro Armato L6/40 light tank recently adopted by the Royal Army was found to be a suitable base for a 47 mm anti-tank gun. As a result of the installation of this gun in a fixed cabin open from above, in place of the turret and turret box, a light anti-tank self-propelled gun Semovente da 47/32 was obtained. However, its firepower was only sufficient against light British and Soviet tanks, and the Matildas, T-34s and KVs remained little vulnerable to it. This turned out to be especially tragic for the Italian army in Russia (ARMIR), which, due to the lack of powerful anti-tank weapons, was utterly defeated during the Battle of Stalingrad. This weakness did not go unnoticed, the Italian designers on a modified chassis of the Carro Armato M14 / 41 tank installed a rotating part of a powerful 90-mm cannon with anti-aircraft ballistics. The small dimensions of the resulting Semovente da 90/53 self-propelled guns forced us to limit the transportable ammunition to 6 shots, and it is also difficult to recognize its protection as sufficient even against bullets and shrapnel. However, a special ammunition transporter was developed for it and it was supposed to be used as a long-range anti-tank weapon, when both of the mentioned negative factors were not, according to the Italian military, of particular importance. But they failed to test their ideas on the Eastern Front, the remnants of ARMIR "a were urgently recalled to Italy, and after the Anglo-American invasion of the Apennines, Semovente da 90/53 were confiscated by the Germans. The latter used them not so much as an anti-tank self-propelled guns (due to the mountainous terrain and the lack of plains where the 90-mm gun could best show itself), but as mobile field artillery.

Layout features

In terms of their layout, anti-tank self-propelled guns (with the placement of a gun in the wheelhouse) are quite typical - the wheelhouse with the gun is located in the stern, the engine is in the middle, and the control compartment is in the bow of the vehicle. An interesting exception is the Archer self-propelled guns, which outwardly resemble all other vehicles of this class, but are actually similar in layout to the Soviet SU-85 tank destroyer - the fighting compartment and the control compartment are located in the nose of the vehicle, and the engine is in the stern. The difference lies in the fact that the SU-85 gun is directed in the direction of the self-propelled gun, while the "Archer" - against. In the combat position, "Archer" turned stern forward and her driver did not see the battlefield. However, this made it possible to quickly leave the firing position moving forward without turning the car.