SU-100P

This page is about the Soviet tank destroyer SU-100P. For other uses, see SU-100 (Disambiguation).

SU-100P

ASU-85

BTR-80A

SU-100P

ASU-85

BTR-80A

USSR

IV Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
6.3	6.3	6.3

Class:

Tank destroyer

Research:71 000

Purchase:210 000

Description

The SU-100P (Object 105) was a Soviet prototype self-propelled howitzer. It was the main competitor to Object 416, which was being developed at the same time. One of its standout features was the D-50 anti-tank cannon, which was a modified D-10 with a higher muzzle velocity and was specifically designed for the vehicle. However, flaws in the design were discovered during testing. Notably, the gun, chassis, lifting mechanism, and a number of other components were discovered to be unreliable, causing numerous issues. As a result, the SU-100P faced significant challenges and required an overhaul in design to address these issues and improve its overall performance. Although the SU-100P was making significant progress, the project was ultimately canceled due to Khrushchev's views on the future of tank warfare, which did not see self-propelled guns as a viable option. But its potential wasn't fully wasted, as the chassis of the SU-100P was the basis of many other designs.

The SU-100P was introduced in Update 1.71 "New E.R.A.". Like most other Soviet tank destroyers, it is best used as a sniper. On the other hand, because of its mobility, it can easily access areas where other tanks might struggle, making it well suited for flanking. Those looking for a powerful and accurate gun will not be disappointed either, as this vehicle is equipped with a D-50 100mm anti-tank cannon, which is a modified D-10. Overall, the SU-100P is a highly capable and versatile vehicle.

General info

Survivability and armour

Armourfront / side / back

Hull25 / 15 / 8

Turret20 / 15 / 0

Crew5 people

Visibility81 %

The armour on the SU-100P is mediocre except against low-calibre machine guns. Due to being an open vehicle, any tank with machine guns is able to kill the crew (with exception of the driver). This has its benefits as it is considered a "glass cannon with paper armour", meaning it barely has armour but said armour is thin enough to not trigger APHE fuses or create any sort of spalling at all, making the survivability of the SU-100P an unreliable armour yet effective in some cases. The main issues with the tank's survivability are front shots. Rounds fired at the hull will not only destroy engine but will create enough spalling to take a considerable amount of crew members, not only the driver but also the loaders. The crew on the turret are somewhat safe due to the high elevation. This is also an issue as the spalling can over penetrate and hit the ammo rack which is located at the back of the tank. Side shots, on the other hand, will only take the engine, lit the tank on fire and kill the driver if the round is fired at the center of mass of the hull, leaving the turret fully operational. Due to the construction of the turret, most front shots will take 2 crew members at most (commander and a loader or gunner and a loader). Front shots (unless they are at an angle) will not disable your breech most of the times, side shots will destroy the breech and take the two turret members. Due to the way the turret is arranged, most of the players will kill your commander trying to disable your gunner (as gunner in most tanks is located at the left side of the turret if seen from the front, in this case the gunner is at the right side of the turret if seen from the front) leaving them defenceless while they reload and retreat and only being able to fire machine guns but the armour is enough to stop machine gun fire.

One of the most noticeable double-edged swords is the turret rotation mechanism. Due to being a manual guidance, the turret rotation and gun elevation is really slow but due to this, the SU-100P will not be affected if the tank loses all of its power compared to the rest of the tanks which have a hydraulic assisted rotation, this is an advantage if the engine is taken out.

Armour type:

• Rolled homogeneous armour (hull, gun shield, gun mantlet)
• Structural steel (gun breech, gun mount)

Armour	Front (Slope angle)	Sides	Rear	Roof
Hull	15 mm (74°) Front glacis 25 mm (31°) Radiator housing 25 mm (16°) Lower glacis - upper part 15 mm (49°) Lower glacis - lower part	15 mm 5 mm Radiator vent	8 mm (21°)	6 mm (86°) Front 6 mm (81°) Rear
Gun shield	20 mm (30°) Front 25 mm Gun mantlet (spheric)	15 mm	N/A	6 mm

Notes:

• Suspension wheels are 20 mm thick while tracks are 15 mm thick.
• Bottom of the hull is 6 mm thick.
• The engine is placed in front of the vehicle and can absorb shots to some extent.

The armour on the SU-100P is best described as non-existent and although it may sometimes not trigger APHE fuses it would be unwise to rely on it in any way especially since most of your crew is exposed to MG fire and overpressure mechanics.

Mobility

Speedforward / back

AB69 / 26 km/h

RB and SB64 / 24 km/h

Number of gears5 forward

2 back

Weight21.6 t

Engine power

AB763 hp

RB and SB400 hp

Power-to-weight ratio

AB35.3 hp/t

RB and SB18.5 hp/t

The SU-100P has good mobility with a top speed of 70 km/h on a flat road capable of getting you into good firing positions early-on in the battle. It does benefit from neutral steering when idling but not while on the move (the unsolicited track just locks, making it more difficult to turn as you lose speed). The reverse speed is good enough to enable you to disengage easily and play peek-a-boo with the enemy.

Game Mode	Max Speed (km/h)		Weight (tons)	Engine power (horsepower)		Power-to-weight ratio (hp/ton)
	Forward	Reverse		Stock	Upgraded	Stock	Upgraded
Arcade	69	26	21.6	568	763	26.3	35.32
Realistic	64	24		354	400	16.39	18.52

Modifications and economy

Repair costBasic → Reference

AB3 895 → 4 818

RB4 375 → 5 411

SB5 938 → 7 345

Total cost of modifications61 400

102 200

Talisman cost1 800

Crew training61 000

Experts210 000

Aces890

Research Aces570 000

Reward for battleAB / RB / SB

130 / 200 / 250 %

178 / 178 / 178 %

Modifications

Mobility	Protection	Firepower
Tracks Research: 3 100 Cost: 5 200 150 Suspension Research: 3 500 Cost: 5 800 170 Brake System Research: 3 500 Cost: 5 800 170 Filters Research: 3 800 Cost: 6 300 185 Transmission Research: 6 600 Cost: 11 000 320 Engine Research: 6 600 Cost: 11 000 320	Improved Parts Research: 3 100 Cost: 5 200 150 Improved FPE Research: 3 500 Cost: 5 800 170 Crew Replenishment Research: 3 800 Cost: 6 300 185	Horizontal Drive Research: 3 100 Cost: 5 200 150 100mm_APHE_ammo_pack Research: 3 100 Cost: 5 200 150 Adjustment of Fire Research: 3 500 Cost: 5 800 170 Elevation Mechanism Research: 3 800 Cost: 6 300 185 100mm_APCBC_ammo_pack Research: 3 800 Cost: 6 300 185 100mm_ussr_Smoke_ammo_pack Research: 6 600 Cost: 11 000 320

Armaments

Main armament

100 mm D-50 cannon

Ammunition50 rounds

Reloadbasic crew → aces

9.8 → 7.5 s

Vertical guidance-4° / 37°

Horizontal guidance-77° / 77°

The main gun is a 100 mm rifled D-50 cannon, almost identical to the D-10T of the T-44-100 and T-54/55 only with a higher velocity. The armament is very powerful for its BR but lacks a fully traversable turret.

The open configuration of the turret gives the 100 mm an impressive 7.5 seconds reload time with an upgraded crew.

100 mm D-50					Turret rotation speed (°/s)					Reloading rate (seconds)
Mode	Capacity	Vertical	Horizontal	Stabilizer	Stock	Upgraded	Full	Expert	Aced	Stock	Full	Expert	Aced
Arcade	50	-4°/+37°	±77°	N/A	6.2	8.5	10.4	11.5	12.2	9.75	8.63	7.95	7.50
Realistic					4.2	4.9	6.0	6.6	7.0

Ammunition

The main ammunition of the SU-100P is the BR-412 with the BR-412D variant being the most deadly with the best penetration values especially at longer distances and with only a smaller TNT filler (93.94g equivalent) compared to the BR-412B (100.1g).

The 3D3 smoke round can be used to provide cover for your team and block the enemy's line of sight.

Penetration statistics
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Penetration @ 0° Angle of Attack (mm)
		10 m	100 m	500 m	1,000 m	1,500 m	2,000 m
BR-412	APHE	218	212	189	164	142	124
BR-412B	APHEBC	218	215	201	184	169	155
BR-412D	APCBC	239	236	220	202	185	170
OF-412	HE	27	27	26	24	23	21

Shell details
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Velocity (m/s)	Projectile mass (kg)	Fuse delay (m)	Fuse sensitivity (mm)	Explosive mass (TNT equivalent) (g)	Ricochet
							0%	50%	100%
BR-412	APHE	895	15.88	1.2	19	100.1	47°	60°	65°
BR-412B	APHEBC	895	15.88	1.2	19	100.1	48°	63°	71°
BR-412D	APCBC	887	15.88	1.2	19	100.1	48°	63°	71°
OF-412	HE	900	15.6	0.2	0.1	1,460	79°	80°	81°

Smoke shell characteristics
Ammunition	Velocity (m/s)	Projectile mass (kg)	Screen radius (m)	Screen deploy time (s)	Screen hold time (s)	Explosive mass (TNT equivalent) (g)
3D3	880	15.6	16	5	25	50

Ammo racks

Ammo racks of the SU-100P

Full ammo	1st rack empty	Visual discrepancy
50	1 (+49)	No

Notes:

• Each row of shells is depleted from left to right. Rows are then depleted from front to rear.
• As they are modeled by sets of 2 or 3, shells disappear from the rack only after you've fired all shells in the set.

Usage in battles

The SU-100P is never to be played as a frontline vehicle as the open hull structure is the main weakness which will make enemy team get a free kill by just using their machine guns, this is why the SU-100P should perform the support role. Support role has a wide variety of tactics and course of action, going from a simple cap defender to the enemy's worst flanking nightmare. The tank is one of the most agile, versatile and fast tanks at the battle rating with a really powerful cannon, able to knock out practically any vehicle it faces, most of them even frontally.

As a sniper:

As expected, the SU-100P has no place in the frontlines and thus it must be used as a support vehicle. Its high speed, relatively low profile, and powerful gun make it one of the best "Hit N' Run" snipers in the BR. This means the SU-100P should stay at a spot, strike as much as possible and relocate in order to avoid detection and enemy engagements. It is not to be used as an extreme long range sniper as it lacks high velocity ammunition (APCR or APDS) and powerful zoom optics (only x8).

As a flanker:

Whenever the situation feels like being an urban map, a closed and tight spaced place, etc. The SU-100P has all the requirements of being an amazing flanker specially when facing the sluggish and slow German and British tanks such as the Panther and Centurion. Be aware as the SU-100P has no machine guns or smoke grenades, it has a relatively slow reload speed and it is not able to strike as fast if tanks are aware of your presence. Due to the fast speed, it is able to poke-fire-retreat as many times as needed in a continuous way with relative high frequency.

Arcade mode

Since many opponents will see the SU-100P immediately due to Arcade markers, it is necessary to either avoid general sightlines or use cover and/or solid sight obstructions to shield the SU-100P from immediate destruction. Whenever you have to leave the cover to move, aim the gun in direction of the presumable enemy position, as otherwise they will machine gun the entire crew in a single swipe. The constant airstrikes of AB will likely destroy the SU-100P, as players tend to aim for vulnerable tanks or for the tanks of the top players on the enemy team. In the case if you match both criteria the entire enemy team might just focus on strafing your tank and there isn't much you can do, but try to destroy every fighter on the enemy team by calling one yourself. For the same reason, the SU-100P is not easy to use in a losing team or as a third tank in a lineup.

The stock performance of the SU-100P is not enough to get into position fast or fight most opponents fair and square, so more obscure arcade aim assist functions should be abused. For example, it is possible to fire through many buildings with kinetic shells, and with high keen vision it is possible to find enemy tanks and briefly mark them while standing behind a house. After that, even though the SU-100P can't scout and make markers remain active for a while, it still can select the tank and fire at its silhouette into presumable weak part semi-blindly before it disappeared. Generally, enemies do not expect such trickery and do not respond to such shots, because they do not see who fires at them, or because they use HEAT projectiles and can't fire through obstacles, or even do not understand how that works. Even though this strategy is only available on certain maps, it can allow for some RP gain to unlock the best shell, which can penetrate most down-tier tanks head-on, including panthers, without much issue.

After gaining some upgrades to douse fires, increase accuracy and penetrate its opponents easier, the SU-100P can imitate the YaG-10 (29-K)'s playstyle by firing broadside to the right, as many opponents will either hit the engine, which shields the driver, or hit one or several of the turret crew members. For better results, some temporary cover can be chosen as to avoid being fired at by an entire squad and to disallow better players to hit the ammo rack directly, as it could easily happen with aim assist on. After the mobility upgrades were unlocked, the SU-100P can finally flank like a light tank and play super aggressively, as often it only loses non-critical crew when first shot. The rest is up to luck, as each shot can end the SU-100P or do almost nothing depending on enemy aim quality and ammo choice.

List of opponents important notes when facing frontally:

• Panther/M48/Pershing: all front can be penetrated with BR-412D
• Tiger II: gun mantlet can be penetrated by BR-412D, hull is impenetrable (aim at the left side of the turret to take gunner, commander and possibly breech. Aim at right side of the turret if the tank is facing at you for a safe reload as this will take his loader out in case he fired)
• Centurion: all front can be penetrated with BR-412D
• Jagdtiger: everything except lower frontal plate is impenetrable
• Leopard 1/AMX-30: all front can be penetrated with BR-412D and higher penetration rounds
• T95: gun mantlet and hull are impenetrable, cupolas can be penetrated with APHE

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Hard-hitting and accurate gun
• Reloads as fast or faster than the 85 mm, while using the 100 mm gun
• Decently mobile hull, reasonably high average and maximum speed when spaded (same as on the Object 120 but without the extra weight of the turret)
• It has a turret unlike other SU SPGs, although it can only turn 77 degrees in either side and will not save from a flank by itself
• Very stable hull, shooting on the move and while stopping is easy
• Low silhouette
• Can fight like YaG-10 (29-K) to prolong its existence for as long as possible if enemy only uses kinetic shells
• There is no reason to not take full ammo load, since if its ammo rack was hit the situation was already unsalvageable

Cons:

• Any shell capable of overpressure damage will annihilate it in one hit, and many tanks at a BR range have HEAT as their top (or even only) shell
• Crew is exposed to MG fire even from the front due to a poorly placed gun shield, tank can be strafed from the sky with no effort
• Sometimes, APHE hitting the gun shield will detonate the ammo rack as well
• Gun traverse is very slow
• Really awful stock performance, it needs every single upgrade to be good at combat

History

The SU-100P was a project for an artillery piece in 1945 as well as provide anti-armour capabilities and counter battery (against enemy artillery positions). The main objective was to make it capable of destroying enemies with direct fire. As Europe and the United States were developing Self Propelled Howitzers (SPH) which could fire at close positions and relocate with speed, this was a big concern as towed artilleries were being removed and counter battery started to become a harder task. The Russian artilleries at the time did not have the enough gun elevation to accurately provide artillery support even with towed guns, thus, the main focus was to create a gun which had almost a +40° elevation. The gun chosen for it was the D-50 100 mm rifled bore cannon, a derivation from the widely used D-10 100 mm cannon, the main gun used on the SU-100 tank destroyer.

The SU-100P chassis with this turret configuration proved a wide variety of errors and it never saw mass production but it was the base of many prototype and serviced vehicles at the time, pre Cold War and during Cold War, this being the following:

• SU-152 "Taran" SPG (Object 120)
• SU-152P SPH
• ZSU-37-2 SPAA
• 2S3 Akatsiya SPH
• 2S4 Tyulpan SPH
• 1K17 Szhaite SPL
• 2K11 Krug SAM
• 2K10 Ladoga TBMC

Media

Skins

• Skins and camouflages for the SU-100P from live.warthunder.com.

Videos

The Shooting Range #396 - Pages of History section at 03:30 discusses the SU-100P.

SU-100P - Just a Bit Controversial - Napalmratte

SU-100P, Soviet, Tier-4, Tank Destroyer - Angry Nerd Gaming

See also

Vehicles equipped with the same chassis

• ZSU-37-2
• Object 120
• 2S3M

Other vehicles of similar configuration and role

• VFW
• Waffenträger

External links

• [Wikipedia] SU-100P
• [GlobalSecurity] SU-100P (Obiekt 105)