100 mm field gun M1944 (BS-3)
100 mm field gun model 1944 (BS-3) | |
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![]() BS-3 at the Israel Defense Forces History Museum, Israel | |
Type | Field gun and anti-tank gun |
Place of origin | Soviet Union |
Service history | |
In service | 1944–present |
Used by | Soviet Union |
Wars | World War II Vietnam War Yom Kippur War Russo-Ukrainian War |
Production history | |
Produced | 1944–1951 |
Specifications | |
Mass | 3,650 kg (8,047 lbs) |
Length | 9.37 m (30 ft 9 in)[1] |
Barrel length | Bore: 5.34 m (17 ft 6 in) L/53.5 Overall: 5.96 m (19 ft 7 in) L/59.6 (with muzzle brake) |
Width | 2.15 m (7 ft 1 in)[1] |
Height | 1.5 m (4 ft 11 in)[1] |
Crew | 6 to 8 |
Shell | 100 × 695 mmR[1] (R/147mm) |
Caliber | 100 mm (3.93 in) |
Breech | Semi-automatic vertical sliding-wedge[1] |
Recoil | hydro-pneumatic[1] |
Carriage | Split trail |
Elevation | -5° to 45° |
Traverse | 58° |
Rate of fire | 8 to 10 rpm |
Muzzle velocity | 900 m/s (2,953 ft/s) |
Maximum firing range | 20 km (12.42 mi) |
The 100 mm field gun M1944 (BS-3) (Russian: 100-мм полевая пушка обр. 1944 г. (БС-3)) is a Soviet 100 mm (3.9 in) anti-tank and field gun.
History
[edit]Development
[edit]![](http://178.128.105.246/content-http-upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e6/BS-3-batey-haosef-2.jpg/220px-BS-3-batey-haosef-2.jpg)
The BS-3 was based on the B-34 naval gun. The development team was led by V. G. Grabin.
World War II
[edit]During World War II the Soviet Army employed the gun in the light artillery brigades of tank armies (20 pieces along with 48 ZiS-3) and by corps artillery. In the Second World War the BS-3 was successfully used as a powerful anti-tank gun. It was capable of defeating any contemporary tank at long range, excluding the Tiger II: to destroy that heavy tank the gun needed to shoot at less than 1,600 m (5,200 ft) from the target. The gun was capable of defeating the turret of Tiger II at a range of 800–1,000 m (2,600–3,300 ft). The gun was also used as a field gun. Though in this role it was less powerful than the 122 mm A-19, as it fired a smaller round, the BS-3 was more mobile and had a higher rate of fire.
Post World War II
[edit]The BS-3 remained in service into the 1950s. As of 1955 it was getting replaced in Soviet service by the T-12 antitank gun and the 85 mm antitank gun D-48. A number of BS-3 pieces are still stored in Russian Ground Forces arsenals. In 2012, at least 12 BS-3 guns were still active with the 18th Machine Gun Artillery Division, located on the Kuril Islands, used as anti-ship and anti-landing guns.
During the Russo-Ukrainian War (2014-present) both sides employed towed anti-tank guns. The use of the 100 mm Rapira is well known, but the Ukrainian Army also used the older BS-3. Three Ukrainian BS-3s were destroyed by Russian military forces during the initial phase of their 2022 invasion of Ukraine.[2] In September 2023, Ukraine's State Border Guard Service released footage of a Ukrainian BS-3 crew firing on Russian positions.[3]
Ammunition data
[edit]- Ammunition
- AP: BR-412
- APBC: BR-412B, BR-412D
- HE/Fragmentation
- Projectile weight
- AP/APBC: 15.88 kg (35 lbs)
- HE/Fragmentation: 15.6 kg (34.39 lbs)
- Armor penetration (BR-412B, 30° degrees)
- 500 m : 190 mm
(547 yds : 6.29 in) - 1000 m : 170 mm
(1,093 yds : 6 in)
- 500 m : 190 mm
Operators
[edit]Republic of the Congo: 10[4][5]
Democratic Republic of the Congo[5]
Cyprus: 10-20[6][4]
Ethiopia[5][4]
India: 350[6]
Kyrgyzstan: 18[5][4]
Mali: 6[6]
Mongolia: 45[6]
Mozambique: 20[5][4]
Nicaragua: 24[6][4]
North Korea: 500[6]
Sudan: 20[6][4]
Syria: 300[6]
Timor-Leste[4]
Ukraine: Reactivated during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.[2][3]
Vietnam: 250[6][7]
Yemen: 20[5]
Former operators
[edit]Afghanistan: 250[6]
East Germany: 144[6]
Egypt: 100[6]
Somalia: 35[6]
Soviet Union
See also
[edit]- 100 mm vz. 53 - A similar Czech anti-tank gun using the same ammunition.
- D-10 tank gun
- 8.8 cm Pak 43- A contemporary German tank gun with similar performance
Notes
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f Foss, Christopher (1977). Jane's pocket book of towed artillery. New York: Collier. p. 59. ISBN 0020806000. OCLC 911907988.
- ^ a b "Attack On Europe: Documenting Ukrainian Equipment Losses During The 2022 Russian Invasion Of Ukraine". Oryx. 5 November 2022. Retrieved 5 November 2022.
- ^ a b "Border Guards Demonstrate Firing From 100-Mm BS-3 Gun Dating Back To The 1940s". Kyiv: The Sundries. 5 September 2023. Archived from the original on 7 September 2023. Retrieved 7 September 2023.
- ^ a b c d e f g h International Institute for Strategic Studies (2021). The Military Balance. pp. 92, 188, 285, 309, 422, 458, 465, 479, 493. ISBN 9781032012278.
- ^ a b c d e f "Future Artillery Systems: 2016 Market Report" (PDF). Tidworth: Defence IQ. 2016. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 January 2018. Retrieved 21 January 2017.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "Trade Registers". Armstrade.sipri.org. Retrieved 2014-11-20.
- ^ Schuster, Carl Otis; Coffey, David (May 2011). "Vietnam, Democratic Republic of, Army". In Tucker, Spencer C. (ed.). The Encyclopedia of the Vietnam War: A Political, Social, and Military History (2 ed.). p. 1251. ISBN 978-1-85109-960-3.
References
[edit]- Shunkov V. N. - The Weapons of the Red Army, Mn. Harvest, 1999 (Шунков В. Н. - Оружие Красной Армии. — Мн.: Харвест, 1999.) ISBN 985-433-469-4
- Christopher F. Foss, Artillery of the World
External links
[edit]![](http://178.128.105.246/content-http-upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)