View source for Engineering:SU-100

{{Infobox weapon
| name=SU-100
| image=Su-100 - TankBiathlon2013-07.jpg
| image_size=300
| caption=Russian SU-100 at a 2013 [[Engineering:Tank biathlon|tank biathlon]].
|origin=[[Place:Soviet Union|Soviet Union]]
|design_date=1944
|service=October 1944 – present
|number=4,976
|type=[[Engineering:Self-propelled anti-tank gun|Self-propelled anti-tank gun]]
|is_vehicle=yes
|       length={{convert|9.45|m|ft|abbr=on|sigfig=1}}
|        width={{convert|3.00|m|ftin|abbr=on}}
|       height={{convert|2.25|m|ftin|abbr=on}}
|       weight=31.6 tonnes (69,665 lbs)
|   suspension=[[Engineering:Christie suspension|Christie]]
|   speed=48 km/h (30 mph)
|        vehicle_range=Road: <br />{{convert|250|km|mi|abbr=on}}<br />{{convert|320|km|mi|abbr=on}} (with additional fuel tanks) <br /> Cross-country: <br /> {{convert|140|km|mi|abbr=on}}<br />{{convert|180|km|mi|abbr=on}} (with additional fuel tanks) <ref> Soviet Tanks and Combat Vehicles of World War Two (Steven J. Zaloga, James Grandsen) page 179.</ref>
|      primary_armament=100 mm [[Engineering:D-10 tank gun|D-10S]] gun
|       armour='''front:''' 75 mm (3 in)<br/>'''sides:''' 45 mm (1.77 in)<br/>'''rear:''' 45 mm (1.77 in)<br/>'''roof:''' 20 mm (.78 in)
|       engine=Kharkiv  Model V-2 V-12 diesel engine
|         crew=4 (Commander/Radio Operator, Gunner, Loader, Driver)
|    engine_power=500 hp (370 kW)
|        pw_ratio=15.8 hp/tonne
}}
The '''SU-100''' (''Samokhodnaya Ustanovka'' 100) is a [[Place:Soviet Union|Soviet]] [[Engineering:Tank destroyer|tank destroyer]] armed with the [[Engineering:D-10 tank gun|D-10S 100&nbsp;mm]] [[Engineering:Anti-tank gun|anti-tank gun]] in a [[Engineering:Casemate#Armoured vehicles|casemate]] [[Earth:Superstructure|superstructure]]. It was used extensively during the last year of [[Social:World War II|World War II]] and saw service for many years afterwards with the armies of Soviet allies around the world.<ref name=Osprey>{{cite book|first=David R. |last=Higgins|title=Jagdpanther vs SU-100. Eastern Front 1945|year=2014|publisher=Osprey Publishing}}</ref>

== Development ==

The [[Engineering:SU-85|SU-85]] was developed from the chassis of the [[Engineering:T-34|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 [[Engineering:SU-85|SU-85]] was quickly rendered obsolete as a new tank design featured the same gun on the [[Engineering:T-34#Design|T-34-85]].<ref name=Osprey />

This prompted the design of a more advanced turretless tank destroyer with an even more powerful cannon.  Development was conducted under supervision of L. I. Gorlitskiy, chief designer of all medium Soviet self-propelled guns. The work started in February 1944 and the first prototype of the SU-100, "Object 138", was delivered in March. After intensive testing with different models of 100&nbsp;mm gun Soviet engineers approved the [[Engineering:D-10 tank gun|D-10S]] gun for mass production.<ref name=Osprey /> This gun was developed in Constructors Bureau of Artillery Factory No. 9 under the guidance of F. F. Petrov. After the Second World War this gun was installed on T-54 and T-55 tanks; these vehicles and their derivatives were in service forty years after initial development.

It was built at the UZTM (Russian abbreviation УЗТМ for Уральский Завод Тяжелого Машиностроения – Ural Heavy Machinery Factory, also called ''Uralmash'') in Yekaterinburg. The SU-100 quickly proved itself to be able to penetrate around {{convert|125|mm|abbr=on}} of vertical armor from a range of {{convert|2000|m|mi|abbr=on}} and the sloped {{convert|80|mm|abbr=on}} front armor of the German Panther from {{convert|1500|m|mi|abbr=on}} (with APCBC round).<ref name=Osprey />

The hull of the SU-100 had major improvements over the [[Engineering:SU-85|SU-85]]; the thickness of the front armour was increased from {{convert|45|to|75|mm|abbr=on}} with a constructional armour slope of 55 degrees,<ref>{{cite web |title=A Different Angle |url=https://www.tankarchives.ca/2019/02/a-different-angle.html |website=Tank Archives |access-date=February 5, 2019}}</ref> making armour as effective as 125 mm, which forced the [[Engineering:Panzer IV|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 workplace, as it now was made in a small [[Engineering:Sponson|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 [[Engineering:Jagdtiger|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 [[Engineering:Tiger II|Tiger II]].  The gun was excellent, being able to penetrate the [[Engineering:Tiger I|Tiger I]] at 2&nbsp;km with APCBC rounds while its APHE rounds could penetrate a max of 218&nbsp;mm of armour.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Bird |first1=Lorrin Rexford |last2=Livingston|first2=Robert D.|title=WWII Ballistics: Armor and Gunnery|date= 2001 |publisher= Overmatch Press|page=59}}</ref>  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.<ref name=Osprey/> And although not intended for it, the SU-100 was also used in the Battle of Berlin because its gun could deal with heavy fortifications. However, its lack of a machine gun made it need aircraft and infantry support. By July 1945, 2,335 SU-100s had been built.

The vehicle remained in service with the Red Army well after the war; production continued in the Soviet Union until 1947 and into the 1950s in [[Place:Czechoslovakia|Czechoslovakia]]. It was withdrawn from Soviet service in 1967 but many vehicles were transferred to reserve stocks. Some exist to this day in the Russian Army holding facilities.

Many [[Organization:Warsaw Pact|Warsaw Pact]] countries also used the SU-100, as did Soviet allies such as Egypt, Angola and Cuba. A few SU-100 were delivered to Yugoslavia after the war, under the designation M-44.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://members.multimania.co.uk/oklop/su100.htm |title=Lovac tenkova SU-100 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120202222134/http://members.multimania.co.uk/oklop/su100.htm |archive-date=2 February 2012 |url-status=dead |website=members.multimania.co.uk |access-date=14 April 2012}}</ref> The SU-100 saw service in the fighting that accompanied the 1956 Suez Crisis, in which the Egyptians used SU-100s against Israel's [[Engineering:M4 Sherman|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 {{Citation needed|date=November 2016}}. 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 [[Social:Yemeni Civil War (2015–present)|the ongoing conflict]].<ref>{{Cite web| website=Uskowi On Iran | url = http://www.uskowioniran.com/2015/04/wwii-era-soviet-armor-engaged-in-yemen.html | title = WWII era Soviet armor engaged in Yemen conflict |date=4 April 2015 |last=Uskowi |first=Nader}}</ref> Video evidence uploaded to YouTube in November 2016 showed an apparent SU-100 being knocked out by an anti-tank guided missile in Yemen.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CoOtxFB8eWQ| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20161201132321/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CoOtxFB8eWQ| archive-date= 1 December 2016 | url-status=dead|title=YouTube | website=[[Company:YouTube|YouTube]] |access-date= 19 April 2018}}</ref>

==Operators==
[[File:Su-100 spatg.jpg|thumb|SU-100 at the Museum of the Great Patriotic War, Kyiv, {{wipe|Ukraine}}]]
<!--READ FIRST: This section is for cited entries only. Please do not add entries into this list without a citation from a reliable source. All entries without a citation will be removed. Thank you.-->
* {{flag|Algeria}}: 50 in reserve.<ref name=Cordesman2016>{{cite book|last=Cordesman|first=Anthony|title=After The Storm: The Changing Military Balance in the Middle East|date=October 2016|pages=112–124, 701|publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing|location=London|isbn=978-1-4742-9256-6}}</ref><ref name=Maghreb1>{{cite book|last1=Nerguizian|first1=Aram|last2=Cordesman|first2=Anthony|title=The North African Military Balance: Force Developments in the Maghreb|date=2009|pages=44–46|publisher=Center for Strategic and International Studies Press|location=Washington DC|isbn=978-089206-552-3}}</ref>
* {{flag|North Korea}}: 100<ref name="trade">{{cite web|url=http://armstrade.sipri.org/armstrade/page/trade_register.php |title=Trade Registers |publisher=Armstrade.sipri.org |access-date=2013-06-20}}</ref>
* {{flag|Morocco}}: 25;<ref name="trade"/> 8 operational.<ref name="Cordesman2016"/>
* {{flag|Vietnam}}: 100<ref name="trade" />
* {{YEM}}: 70<ref name="Cordesman2016" />

===Former operators===
[[File:SU-100, Artillery museum, Saint-Petersburg pic1.JPG|thumb|SU-100 in the Military Historical Museum of Artillery, Engineering Troops and Signal Corps. St. Petersburg]]
* {{flaglist|Albania}}<ref name="Б 29">{{cite book |author=М. Барятинский. |title=Самоходные установки на базе Т-34 |page=29 |isbn=978-5-699-23790-6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ndXOAAAAQBAJ |publisher=Litres|date=2017}}</ref>
* {{flag|Angola}}: 40;<ref name="trade" /> all destroyed in the Angolan Civil War or decommissioned by the late 1980s.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.veteranangola.ru/upload/1291487849_FILE.pdf|title=The Oral History of Forgotten Wars|editor=Gennady Shubin|others=Translated by Peter Sidorov|date=16 June 2017|access-date=19 April 2018|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170616201822/http://www.veteranangola.ru/upload/1291487849_FILE.pdf|archive-date=16 June 2017|df=dmy-all}}</ref>
* {{flag|Bulgaria|1948}}: 100<ref name="trade" />
* {{flag|People's Republic of China}}: 300<ref name="trade" />
* {{flag|Cuba}}: 100<ref name="trade" />
* {{flag|Czechoslovakia}}: 200<ref name="trade" />
* {{flag|East Germany}}: 50<ref name="trade" />
* {{flag|Egypt}}: 150<ref name="trade" />
* {{flag|Hungary}}: 50<ref name="trade" />
* {{flag|Iraq}}: 250<ref name="trade" />
* {{flag|Mongolia|1945}}: 10<ref name="trade" />
* {{flag|North Yemen}}: 50<ref name="trade" />
* {{flag|Poland}}: 25 or 26. Withdrawn from service in late 1960s.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.2wojna.pl/encyklopedia-su-wb-003.html|title=SU-100, średnie działo pancerne|last=Jurek|website=www.2wojna.pl|access-date=19 April 2018}}</ref>
* {{flag|Romania}}: 85 acquired by 1957.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Sămușan |first=Alin |date=2017 |title=Contribuții la istoria dotării cu armament a armatei române între 1944 și 1959 |trans-title=Contributions to the history of the Romanian army's weaponry endowment from 1944 to 1959 |url=https://www.academia.edu/37411353 |language=ro |journal=National Military Museum |volume=15 |access-date=June 28, 2021}}</ref>    47 were in reserve as of 2016.<ref name="UN">{{cite web|title=United Nations Register of Conventional Arms: Report of the Secretary-General|author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->|url=https://disarmament-library.un.org/UNODA/Library.nsf/58dfc078552ad7c985257f5b006f7b34/4eec06e5e0bc75c1852580260051424a/$FILE/A%2071%20138%20UN%20Register.pdf|location=New York
|publisher=United Nations|date=14 July 2016|access-date=4 October 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161004010737/https://disarmament-library.un.org/UNODA/Library.nsf/58dfc078552ad7c985257f5b006f7b34/4eec06e5e0bc75c1852580260051424a/$FILE/A%2071%20138%20UN%20Register.pdf|archive-date=4 October 2016}}</ref> 
* {{flag|Soviet Union}}<ref name="CIA1">{{cite web|title=Soviet Ground Force Weapons And Armored Vehicles|author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->|url=https://www.cia.gov/library/readingroom/docs/DOC_0000380718.pdf|location=Langley|publisher=Central Intelligence Agency|date=August 1969|access-date=20 May 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170310120824/https://www.cia.gov/library/readingroom/docs/DOC_0000380718.pdf|archive-date=10 March 2017}}</ref>
* {{flag|Syria}}: 80<ref name="trade" />
* {{flag|Yugoslavia}}: 40<ref>{{cite magazine|first1=Iztok |last1=Kočevar|title=Micmac à tire-larigot chez Tito: L'arme blindée yougoslave durant la Guerre froide|trans-title=The Yugoslav armored arm during the Cold War|magazine=Batailles et Blindés|language=fr|date=August 2014|publisher=Caraktère|issn=1765-0828|issue=62|pages=66–79}}</ref><!--<ref name="CIA2">{{cite web|title=Central Intelligence Bulletin|url=https://www.cia.gov/library/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP79T00975A006800020001-4.pdf|location=Langley|publisher=Central Intelligence Agency|date=3 January 1963|access-date=20 May 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170224090708/https://www.cia.gov/library/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP79T00975A006800020001-4.pdf|archive-date=24 February 2017}}</ref>-->

==See also==
* List of armored fighting vehicles of the Soviet Union
* [[Engineering:T-34|T-34]]
* [[Engineering:SU-85|SU-85]]
* [[Engineering:SU-100Y|SU-100Y]]

===Tanks of comparable role, performance and era===
* Jagdpanther
* M36 GMC

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons|SU-100}}
* [http://www.battlefield.ru/su100.html The SU-100 Tank Destroyer] at Battlefield.ru
* [http://www.wwiivehicles.com/ussr/tank_destroyers/su100.html SU-100] at WWIIvehicles.com
* [http://www.onwar.com/tanks/ussr/fsu100.htm SU-100 data] at OnWar.com


[[Category:Tracked self-propelled artillery]]

{{Sourceattribution|SU-100}}