10-2016 SU-100

The SU-100 is a Soviet self-propelled gun (tank destroyer) from the Second World War and the first years of the Cold War. The first prototypes of this vehicle were built in 1944, and serial production lasted from 1944 to 1946. The combat weight of this SPG in the basic version was up to 31.6 tons. The drive was provided by a single W-2-34 diesel engine with a power of up to 500 HP. The armament of the vehicle consisted of a 100mm D-10S gun. The SU-100 self-propelled gun was developed on the basis of the SU-85 vehicle, which in turn was structurally based on the T-34 medium tank. The new self-propelled gun was to retain the advantages of its predecessor (especially good maneuverability), but at the same time had a significantly increased firepower, allowing it to fight the German Pz.Kpfw V and VI tanks. Efforts were also made to simplify the entire structure and put it into production as quickly as possible. Finally, a tank destroyer was created, externally deceptively similar to the SU-85, but with a much greater firepower. The SU-100 entered the battle for the first time at the end of the summer of 1944 and served on the Eastern Front until the end of World War II. After 1945, relatively large amounts of the SU-100 were used by the Polish People's Army, but were also exported to other socialist countries, such as Hungary, Czechoslovakia and Romania.