The SU-100 (Russian: самоходная установка-100, СУ-100 <small>romanized</small>: Samokhodnaya Ustanovka-100) is a Soviet tank destroyer armed with the D-10S 100&nbsp;mm anti-tank gun in a casemate superstructure. It was used extensively during the last year of World War II and saw service for many years afterwards with the armies of Soviet allies around the world.

Development

The SU-85 was developed from the chassis of the T-34 tank replacing the turret with a larger, fixed superstructure that allowed a larger gun to be fitted: the 85&nbsp;mm D-5 gun, providing dramatically upgraded firepower compared to the T-34's 76.2&nbsp;mm models. Introduced to service in 1943, the SU-85 was quickly rendered obsolete as a new tank design featured the same gun on the T-34-85. making armour as effective as 125 mm, which forced the Panzer IV and StuG III to all but the closest ranges and the Tiger I having to close in at less than 1 km. Additional improvements were the commander's station, as it now was positioned in a small sponson on the right side of the hull; combined with the commander's cupola this improved the commander's effectiveness. Its German Jagdpanzer-family counterparts — the Jagdpanzer IV, Jagdpanther and Jagdtiger, by comparison, lacked this key piece of observational equipment. On the other hand, the SU-100's optics were a little inferior (4x optics vs German 5x optics). For better ventilation two ventilator units were installed, instead of only one as in the SU-85. Mass production began in September 1944.

Service history

The SU-100 was introduced in October 1944 and quickly became popular with Soviet tank crews as its gun could penetrate virtually any German tank then in service until being outmatched by the Tiger II. The gun was excellent, being able to penetrate the Tiger I at 2&nbsp;km with APCBC rounds while its APHE (armour-piercing, high-explosive) rounds could penetrate a max of 218&nbsp;mm of armour. The SU-100 especially saw extensive service during the last year of the war. It was used en masse in Hungary in March 1945, when Soviet forces defeated the German Operation Frühlingserwachen offensive at Lake Balaton. The SU-100 saw service in the fighting that accompanied the 1956 Suez Crisis, in which the Egyptians used SU-100s against Israel's M4 Sherman tanks. The vehicle was also utilized in the 1967 Six-Day War and the 1973 Yom Kippur War. It was modified slightly to adapt it to the sandy conditions of the Middle East, thus creating the SU-100M variant . Exported SU-100s continued in service until the 1970s, and in some countries, even later. The Su-100 saw service during the Yugoslav Wars, but was quickly retired due to a lack of spare parts, despite its satisfactory performance. The SU-100 remains in use by the Vietnam People's Army and the Korean People's Army Ground Force.

SU-100s entered service with the People's Liberation Army (PLA) of China after 1 December 1950 when Soviet forces left Dalian. The armaments in Dalian were sold to China, including 99 SU-100s, 18 IS-2 heavy tanks, and 224 T-34s, with which PLA formed its 1st Mechanised Division.

In April 2015, a SU-100 self-propelled gun was photographed being used in Yemen as part of the ongoing conflict. Video evidence uploaded to YouTube in November 2016 showed an apparent SU-100 being knocked out by an anti-tank guided missile in Yemen.

Operators

thumb|SU-100 at the [[Museum of the Great Patriotic War, Kyiv, Ukraine]]

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  • : 50 in reserve storage.
  • : 100
  • : 25; 23-47 were in reserve storage as of 2022. Photographs show one being used for target practice during the Dacian Fall 2025 NATO multinational exercise.
  • : 100
  • : 40;
  • : 100
  • : 80<!---->

See also

  • List of armored fighting vehicles of the Soviet Union
  • T-34
  • SU-85
  • SU-100Y

Tanks of comparable role, performance and era

  • Jagdpanther
  • M36 GMC

References

  • The SU-100 Tank Destroyer at Battlefield.ru
  • SU-100 at WWIIvehicles.com
  • SU-100 data at OnWar.com