SU-100 (China)

Description

The SU-100 (Samokhodnaya Ustanovka 100) is a Soviet tank destroyer with a casemate superstructure and a 100 mm D-10S tank gun. It saw widespread action in the final year of World War II and was utilized for many years afterwards by Soviet allies' forces all over the world. After December 1, 1950, when Soviet forces left Dalian, formally concluding a ten-year military occupation, 99 SU-100s in Dalian were sold to China, and they were all assigned to the Chinese People's Liberation Army's newly formed 1st Mechanized Division. During the Korean War, the SU-100s were extensively deployed, particularly to ambush enemy armoured vehicles.

Introduced in Update 1.91 "Night Vision", the SU-100 was the last casemate tank destroyer for the Chinese Army ground forces. With a high-velocity 100 mm D-10S tank gun and a substantially faster reload rate than the ISU-152 and ISU-122 in the Chinese People's Liberation Army inventory, it offers much better offensive capabilities when fighting enemy armoured vehicles. With its low profile and heavily sloped frontal armour, it can hide behind tall vegetation and wait for enemies to come closer. This ultimate tank destroyer draws the Chinese Army's ground forces World War II-era equipment to a close, combining excellent firepower, speed, and adequate protection.

General info

Survivability and armour

• Rolled homogeneous armour (Casemate hull)
• Cast homogeneous armour (Gun mantlet, Driver's hatch)

Notes:

• Suspension wheels and tracks are 20 mm thick.
• The commander's cupola extends out of the right side of the casemate, presenting a protrusion that could be penetrated from the front.
• Driver's hatch maximum effective armour is 120 mm.

Mobility

Modifications and economy

Armaments

Main armament

Ammunition

Ammo racks

Ammo racks of the SU-100 (China)

Note:

• Shells are modeled individually and disappear after having been shot or loaded.

Usage in battles

The SU-100 can be effortlessly defeated by a majority of the enemies faced at the BR bracket. As such, it is most important that the SU-100 makes the first, damaging shot before the enemy could get a shot first. The SU-100 is a classical casemate tank destroyer and as such has a fixed forward gun for its main armament, not too unlike the SU-85 and SU-85M tank destroyers. This gives the SU-100 a preference towards a defensive playstyle than an offensive one. As such, it is best to play the SU-100 in a supporting role, firing at distant enemies and ambushing them rather than facing them head-on. The SU-100 boasts high firepower and long effective range due to its 100 mm armament. The gun is able to penetrate armour similar to the 122 mm on the IS-2, but also a faster reload rate while retaining suitable post-penetration damage to devastating enemy tanks. As such, the SU-100 can lay in wait hidden in an open field and confidently attack enemies up to 1,000 m away.

• Panther A, G, F - Though the Panther's 75 mm gun can penetrate the SU-100's front armour with little difficulty, the 100 mm gun can penetrate the Panther's front glacis plate at quite a distance (>500 m). Thus, getting the first shot off will turn the battle situation towards the SU-100's advantage.
• Tiger II (P) and Tiger II (H) - The front glacis of the Tiger II is impervious to the 100 mm, but the turret cheeks are still a major weak point that the gun can easily penetrate. At closer range, the lower glacis is also a weak point on the front area. If the Tiger II decides to traverse its turret slightly away from towards the SU-100, the 100 mm also has enough power to penetrate through the Tiger II turret side rather easily.
• IS-2, IS-2 (1944) - The IS-2 is easily disposable by a good firing on the front glacis, though the 1944 version requires careful aiming on the front glacis, thus it is better to aim at the lower glacis for an easier time at penetrating. The turret cheeks are also easy to penetrate like other heavy tanks.
• M4A3E2 - when the Jumbo isn't angling, the SU-100 can penetrate its frontal hull and turret with ease. However when it's angling the hull, it is best to shoot the rather vertical turret for better chances of penetration. The explosives can knock out almost all its crew even when exploding inside the turret.

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Powerful 100 mm gun to familiarize with before T-54 series of tanks
• Stock shells have high penetration and explosive filler
• Can easily penetrate and knock out heavily armoured tanks like the Panther, Jagdpanther and M4A3E2. Can penetrate the Tiger IIs' turret frontally
• Great top speed and manoeuvrability (56 km/h)
• Decent ammo count

Cons:

• Although the front armour is sloped, it's thin and easily penetrated by the long 88 mm
• Bad gun depression of 3 degrees
• Can be easily taken out in one shot due to the cramped internals
• Large profile and long cannon make the tank hard to conceal

History

PLA Service

The People's Republic of China (PRC) acquired 99 SU-100 self-propelled guns and other armoured vehicles from the Soviet Union in 1954, when the Soviet 39th Army withdrew from Lüda (now Dalian). Much of the armour, previously used by the Soviet 7th Mechanized Division, was used by the People's Liberation Army (PLA)'s 190th Division. The 190th Division was then renamed to the 1st Mechanized Division (第1机械化师), and among its materiel were 24 of the SU-100 tank destroyers.

Media

Skins

• Skins and camouflages for the SU-100 (China) from live.warthunder.com.

See also

Links to the articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example:

• reference to the series of the vehicles;
• links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.

External links

Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:

• topic on the official game forum;
• other literature.