Rare photo of SU-100 self-propelled artillery protecting the northern border
The SU-100 self-propelled anti-tank gun of the Vietnam People's Army was used quite limitedly on the battlefield, so images of it are very rare.
The SU-100 is a self-propelled tank destroyer that was born in the late stages of World War II. It is essentially an upgraded version of the previous generation SU-85, which used the chassis of the T-34-85 medium tank.
The SU-100's weapon consists solely of a 100mm D-10S twisted barrel gun (similar to the type mounted on the T-54/55 tank), which can penetrate 125mm thick armor perpendicular to the ground at a distance of 2km, and penetrate the 85mm sloped armor of a Panther tank (Germany) at a distance of 1.5km.
Vietnam received an unknown number of SU-100s from the Soviet Union in the mid-1960s.
However, the SU-100's combat record is extremely meager. Its disadvantage is that it does not have a turret, so shooting at flank targets requires rotating the entire vehicle body.
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| Vietnam's SU-100 self-propelled anti-tank gun in the combat component of the Marine Corps. |
Today, the SU-100 self-propelled artillery is still in service with the Armored Corps, but most of them are in storage and ready for combat.
Others are part of the Marine Corps' combat component, tasked with coastal defense.
The D-10S gun, although not very effective against modern tanks, can still penetrate the armor of light tanks, infantry fighting vehicles, armored personnel carriers and other vehicles.
With the pre-loaded firing element, the SU-100 will overcome the disadvantage of not having a turret. Moreover, when defending the coast, its combat targets all have very fragile armor, unable to withstand the destructive power of 100mm bullets, so it is predicted that it will be a long time before the SU-100 officially receives its retirement book.
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| SU-100 self-propelled tank destroyer in a joint arms exercise. |
However, very few people know that in the 1980s, when the situation at the northern border was still very tense, the SU-100 self-propelled artillery was also one of the vehicles brought to the front line for defense missions.
The photo above captures the SU-100 self-propelled artillery of the 203rd Armored Brigade - 2nd Corps during a joint military exercise in the 1980s.
Similar to its current role in the Marine Corps, for defensive operations in mountainous terrain, this vehicle is very suitable for ambush combat with pre-emptive firing elements.
The SU-100's combat target at the northern border at that time was mainly the Type 62 light tank, which also had very weak armor and the D-10S cannon was completely capable of penetrating it.
