D-10 tank gun
Encyclopedia
The D-10 is a Soviet antitank gun developed in late World War II
, and installed in tank destroyer
s and tank
s. Versions of the 100 mm gun were installed on new T-55
tanks as late as 1979, and continue to be in active service in many countries.
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 with its D-5T 85 mm gun, it could no longer be considered a specialist antitank vehicle superior to the more flexible medium tank. F. F. Petrov
's Design Bureau at Artillery Factory No. 9 was assigned the task of producing a 100 mm antitank gun 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, with a barrel length of 53.5 calibres. Its muzzle velocity of 895 m/s gave it good antitank performance by late-war standards. It could penetrate about 160mm of steel armor plate angled by 30 degrees at 1,000 m range, making it superior to the German 75 mm KwK 42 mounted on the Panther tank
and the original 88 mm guns such as the Tiger I
's KwK 36
, but not as good as the Tiger II
's longer KwK 43 L/71
gun. The larger 100 mm shell allowed it to fire a heavier high-explosive round.
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, vertical-plane STP-1 Gorizont stabilizer and a bore evacuator
were added to a new D-10TG version of the gun. In 1956, a new 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.
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.
In 1964, the NII-24 research bureau started design work on an improved 3UBM6 antitank 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 antitank 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:
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, and installed in tank destroyer
Tank destroyer
A tank destroyer is a type of armored fighting vehicle armed with a gun or missile launcher, and is designed specifically to engage enemy armored vehicles...
s and tank
Tank
A tank is a tracked, armoured fighting vehicle designed for front-line combat which combines operational mobility, tactical offensive, and defensive capabilities...
s. Versions of the 100 mm gun were installed on new T-55
T-55
The T-54 and T-55 tanks were a series of main battle tanks designed in the Soviet Union. The first T-54 prototype appeared in March 1945, just before the end of the Second World War. The T-54 entered full production in 1947 and became the main tank for armored units of the Soviet Army, armies of...
tanks as late as 1979, and continue to be in active service in many countries.
History
At the beginning of 1944, the T-34T-34
The T-34 was a Soviet medium tank produced from 1940 to 1958. Although its armour and armament were surpassed by later tanks of the era, it has been often credited as the most effective, efficient and influential design of World War II...
tank's F-34 76.2 mm tank gun
F-34 tank gun
The 76 mm tank gun M1940 F-34 was a 76.2 mm Soviet tank gun used on the T-34/76 tank. A modified version of the gun, the 76 mm tank gun M1941 ZiS-5 was used on KV-1 tanks during World War II...
was replaced by a more powerful 85 mm gun. This rendered the year-old SU-85
SU-85
The SU-85 was a Soviet self-propelled gun used during World War II, based on the chassis of the T-34 medium tank. Earlier Soviet self-propelled guns were meant to serve as either assault guns, such as the SU-122, or as mobile anti-tank weapons; the SU-85 fell into the latter category...
tank destroyer effectively obsolescent, since with its D-5T 85 mm gun, it could no longer be considered a specialist antitank vehicle superior to the more flexible medium tank. F. F. Petrov
Fyodor Petrov
Fyodor Fyodorovich Petrov was a Soviet artillery designer....
's Design Bureau at Artillery Factory No. 9 was assigned the task of producing a 100 mm antitank gun for the proposed SU-100
SU-100
The SU-100 was a Soviet tank destroyer. It was used extensively during the last year of World War II and saw service for many years afterwards with the armies of Soviet allies around the world.- Development :...
. 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, with a barrel length of 53.5 calibres. Its muzzle velocity of 895 m/s gave it good antitank performance by late-war standards. It could penetrate about 160mm of steel armor plate angled by 30 degrees at 1,000 m range, making it superior to the German 75 mm KwK 42 mounted on the Panther tank
Panther tank
Panther is the common name of a medium tank fielded by Nazi Germany in World War II that served from mid-1943 to the end of the European war in 1945. It was intended as a counter to the T-34, and to replace the Panzer III and Panzer IV; while never replacing the latter, it served alongside it as...
and the original 88 mm guns such as the Tiger I
Tiger I
Tiger I is the common name of a German heavy tank developed in 1942 and used in World War II. The final official German designation was Panzerkampfwagen Tiger Ausf. E, often shortened to Tiger. It was an answer to the unexpectedly formidable Soviet armour encountered in the initial months of...
's KwK 36
KwK 36
The 8.8 cm KwK 36 L/56 was an 8.8 cm electrically fired tank gun used by the German Wehrmacht, during World War II. This was the primary weapon of the Pzkw VI Tiger I tank. It was developed and built by Krupp.-Design:...
, but not as good as the Tiger II
Tiger II
Tiger II is the common name of a German heavy tank of the Second World War. The final official German designation was Panzerkampfwagen Tiger Ausf. B,Panzerkampfwagen – abbr: Pz. or Pz.Kfw. Ausführung – abbr: Ausf. .The full titles Panzerkampfwagen Tiger Ausf...
's longer KwK 43 L/71
KwK 43 L/71
The KwK 43 L/71 was an 8.8 cm calibre tank gun designed by Krupp and used by the German Wehrmacht, during the Second World War. It was the primary armament of the Panzerkampfwagen VI Ausf...
gun. The larger 100 mm shell allowed it to fire a heavier high-explosive round.
It was originally designed to equip the SU-100
SU-100
The SU-100 was a Soviet tank destroyer. It was used extensively during the last year of World War II and saw service for many years afterwards with the armies of Soviet allies around the world.- Development :...
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.
Adjective
In grammar, an adjective is a 'describing' word; the main syntactic role of which is to qualify a noun or noun phrase, giving more information about the object signified....
). There was no significant difference in functionality or performance. It was also tested on the T-34-100
T-34
The T-34 was a Soviet medium tank produced from 1940 to 1958. Although its armour and armament were surpassed by later tanks of the era, it has been often credited as the most effective, efficient and influential design of World War II...
, T-44-100
T-44
The T-44 was a medium tank first produced towards the end of the Second World War by the Soviet Union. It was the successor to the famous T-34...
, KV-100
Kliment Voroshilov tank
The Kliment Voroshilov tanks were a series of Soviet heavy tanks, named after the Soviet defense commissar and politician Kliment Voroshilov. The KV series were known for their extremely heavy armour protection during the early war, especially during the first year of the invasion of the Soviet...
, and IS-2
Iosif Stalin tank
The Iosif Stalin tank , was a heavy tank developed by the Soviet Union during World War II and first used in the Kursk area in September 1943...
(obyekt 245).
In 1955, vertical-plane STP-1 Gorizont stabilizer and a bore evacuator
Bore evacuator
A bore evacuator is a device on the gun barrel of an armoured fighting vehicle which helps prevent poisonous propellant gases from venting back into the vehicle's fighting compartment when the gun breech is opened to load another round. Bore evacuators are most often used on large-calibre tank...
were added to a new D-10TG version of the gun. In 1956, a new 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.
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
Finnish Navy
The Finnish Navy is one of the branches of the Finnish Defence Forces. The Navy employs 2,300 people and about 4,300 conscripts are trained each year. Finnish Navy vessels are given the ship prefix "FNS" simply short for "Finnish Navy Ship"...
service.
Ammunition
During World War II, UOF-412 ammunition carried the 15.6 kg (34.39 lbs) F-412 high-explosive fragmentation shell. Antitank 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 antitank 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
Shaped charge
A shaped charge is an explosive charge shaped to focus the effect of the explosive's energy. Various types are used to cut and form metal, to initiate nuclear weapons, to penetrate armor, and in the oil and gas industry...
, 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
9M117 Bastion
The 9M117 Bastion is a Russian laser beam-riding anti-tank missile. It is used in a number of separate weapon systems including the 9K116-1 Bastion missile system , 9K118 Sheksna , Kastet and the 3UBK12 fired from the BMP-3...
guided missile system (NATO reporting name AT-10 Stabber), for long-range engagements of tanks and low-flying helicopters. The antitank missile
Anti-tank guided missile
An anti-tank missile , anti-tank guided missile , anti-tank guided weapon or anti-armor guided weapon is a guided missile primarily designed to hit and destroy heavily-armored military vehicles....
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:
- 3UBK10-1 (9M117 Bastion), penetrating 600 mm at up to 4,000 m
- 3UBK10M-1 (9M117M Kan) tandem warhead, penetrating 650 mm at up to 4,000 m
- 3UBK23-1 (9M117M1 Arkan) extended-range tandem warhead, penetrating 750 mm at up to 6,000 m
- 3UBK23M-1 (9M117M2 Boltok) extended-range warhead penetrating 850 mm at up to 6,000 m
Performance
| Round | BR-412 APHE Armor-piercing shot and shell An armor-piercing shell is a type of ammunition designed to penetrate armor. From the 1860s to 1950s, a major application of armor-piercing projectiles was to defeat the thick armor carried on many warships. From the 1920s onwards, armor-piercing weapons were required for anti-tank missions... |
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 | – |
External links
- 100mm Tank Gun D-10 at battlefield.ru
- SU-100 Tank Destroyer at battlefield.ru
- Specification and Armor Penetration Values for the Soviet Main Guns at battlefield.ru
- T54/T55 Main Battle Tank