D-10 tank gun

D-10 tank gun

D-10S gun on an SU-100 tank destroyer
Type rifled tank/antitank gun
Place of origin  Soviet Union
Service history
In service 1944 – present
Wars see SU-100 and T-54
Production history
Designer F. F. Petrov
Variants D-10S, D-10T, D-10TG, D-10T2S
Specifications
Barrel length L/53.5
Calibre 100 mm (3.93 in)
Breech horizontal sliding wedge (semi-automatic)
Recoil hydraulic buffer and hydropneumatic recuperator
Carriage vehicle mount
Elevation +18°, –3°
Rate of fire 4 rounds/min avg
5–6 rounds/min max.
Muzzle velocity 1,000 m/s (3,281 ft/s)
Maximum firing range 14,600 m[1] (16,000 yds), or
16,000 m[2] (17,500 yds)
Sights stadiametric or laser
Versions of the D-10 were mounted on new T-54 and T-55 tanks until at least 1979, as well as on Chinese Type 59s. This is a German T-55AM2B.

The D-10 is a Soviet 100 mm tank gun developed in late World War II. It originally equipped the SU-100 tank destroyers and was later selected for the T-55 tank, equipping these as late as 1979. On the T-55 the D-10 continues to be in active service in many countries.

History

At the beginning of 1944, the T-34 tank's F-34 76.2 mm tank gun was replaced by a more powerful 85 mm gun. This rendered the year-old SU-85 tank destroyer effectively obsolescent, since its D-5T 85 mm gun was now also fielded by a more flexible medium tank. F. F. Petrov's Design Bureau at Artillery Factory No. 9 was assigned the task of producing a 100 mm Anti-tank gun that could be used on the SU-85 chassis, for the proposed SU-100. Petrov's team modified the S-34 naval gun for use in an armoured fighting vehicle.

The D-10 is a high-velocity gun of 100 mm bore diameter, with a barrel length of 53.5 calibres. Muzzle velocity of 895 m/s gave it good anti-tank performance by late-war standards. Initially it could penetrate about 149 mm of steel armor plate at 1,000 m range, superior to the German 75 mm KwK 42 mounted on the Panther tank and the Tiger I's 88 mm KwK 36 gun. Testing against Panther tanks at Kubinka, showed the D-10T could penetrate the Panther's glacis at its maximum range of 1500 m. By comparison the 8.8 cm KwK 43 L/71 was only able to do so at 650 m.[3] This margin of superiority grew when APDS and more modern ammunition types were developed. A more effective high-explosive shell was developed, taking advantage of the larger 100 mm bore.

It was originally designed to equip the SU-100 tank destroyer as the D-10S (for sаmokhodnaya, 'self-propelled'), and was later mounted on the post-war T-54 main battle tank as the D-10T (for tankovaya, 'tank' adj.). There was no significant difference in functionality or performance. It was also tested on the T-34-100, T-44-100, KV-100, and IS-2 (obyekt 245).

In 1955 a stabilizer (vertical-plane STP-1 Gorizont) and bore evacuator were added to the new D-10TG version of the gun. In 1956, the subsequent D-10T2S version of the gun began production for T-54B and T-55 tanks, equipped with two-plane Tsyklon gun stabilization. Versions of the D-10 were installed on new tanks as late as 1979, and thousands still remain in service in various countries.

Returning to its naval roots, a version of the D-10 was installed as a coastal artillery piece in Finland in the 1960s. This weapon is designated 100 56 TK in Finnish Navy service and consists of a complete T-55 tank turret without the stabilizer but furnished with a manually operated ammunition lift, a chute for used cases, and gun laying apparatus allowing indirect fire directed by remote fire control. The maximum elevation of the barrel was also increased and the turret was furnished with new aiming optics, in some cases including a thermographic camera for night use.[4]

Ammunition

During World War II, UOF-412 round carried the 15.6 kg (34.39 lbs) F-412 high-explosive fragmentation shell. Anti-tank ammunition available from World War II until the late 1960s was based on the UBR-412 round, including the BR-412 armour-piercing high-explosive projectile, with the ballistic-capped BR-412B and BR-412D ammunition becoming available in the late 1940s. There was also a D-412 smoke shell.

In 1964, the NII-24 research bureau started design work on an improved 3UBM6 anti-tank round. In 1967 the 3BM6 hyper-velocity armour-piercing discarding-sabot round (HVAPDS) entered service, which could penetrate 290 mm of armour at 2,000 m, or 80 mm of armour angled at 60 degrees from the vertical. It was later replaced by the 3BM8 HVAPDS projectile, with a tungsten carbide penetrator. High-explosive anti-tank (HEAT) rounds, which penetrate armour with the focussed explosion of a shaped charge, included the 3UBK4 with 3BK5M warhead, later replaced by the 3UBK9 with 3BK17M warhead.

In the 1980s, 3UBM11 antitank rounds were introduced, with 3BM25 armour-piercing fin-stabilized discarding-sabot (APFSDS) tungsten carbide penetrator, which increased its armor penetration.

In 1983, the T-55M and T-55AM tank upgrade program also added the ability to some tanks to fire the 9K116-1 Bastion guided missile system (NATO reporting name AT-10 Stabber), for long-range engagements of tanks and low-flying helicopters. The anti-tank missile is encased in the 3UBK10-1 shell, which is handled, loaded, and fired exactly like a conventional tank gun round. 1.5 seconds after firing, a laser guidance window in the tail of the round is uncovered, and its rocket engine ignites to burn for up to six seconds, with a total missile flight time of up to 41 seconds. The missile is very expensive, about half the price of a T-55M tank, but allows the venerable 100 mm gun to engage modern main battle tanks.

Missile ammunition includes:

Performance

D-10S 100 mm ammunition (Zaloga & Grandsen 1984:225)
Round BR-412 APHE F-412 HE
Weight (kg) 15.6 15.8
Muzzle velocity (m/s) 895 900
Penetration at 500 m (mm) 160 –
Penetration at 1,000 m (mm) 150 –

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Foss (2005), p 110
  2. ↑ Battlefield.ru
  3. ↑ Tolochkov; Volosatov. "Kubinka Proving Grounds". The Russian Battlefield. Retrieved 27 October 2014.
  4. ↑ Enqvist (1999), pp.217-219

References

External links