Despite the "advanced age", the SU-100 is used in some armies of the world in about the same condition as they were almost 80 years ago when they left the factory, writes Wirtualna Polska. These machines participated in the battles for Berlin, where their powerful guns proved to be very effective.
Lukasz MichalikTime seems to have no power over some military vehicles.
An example of a particularly durable weapon is the SU-100 tank destroyers. They were designed to fight the German "Tigers" and "Panthers" and remain in service to this day.
As practice shows, some types of weapons are extremely durable. A good example is, in particular, the B-52 strategic bombers, which – after upgrades – have every chance of remaining in service longer than two generations of their successors – the B-1B Lancer and B-2 Spirit aircraft.
But aircraft, in order to remain in service, must undergo periodic, sometimes very deep modernization. Meanwhile, there are machines that are used in about the same condition as they were almost 80 years ago, it came out of the factory.
SU-100: a thunderstorm of German "cats"
This is a SU-100 tank destroyer, about the unusual fate of which the Defence24 portal tells. This type of equipment is still in service with the Vietnamese Navy, which uses these old self-propelled guns as mobile coastal artillery. Despite its age, the SU-100 still allows you to destroy everything that could theoretically land on Vietnamese beaches.
The SU-100 tank destroyer was developed in 1944 as a follow-up to the successful SU-85 self-propelled gun project, which it replaced. Thanks to the 100 mm D-10C cannon, the new fighter was able to effectively fight German heavy tanks, including at long distances – it could destroy the tiger even from a distance of 2 kilometers.
SU-100s are still in service
These vehicles also participated in the battles for Berlin, where their powerful guns proved very effective in destroying street fortifications. Weapons of this type also entered service with the Polish People's Army and remained in its arsenals until the end of the 60s.
Currently, the SU-100 is completely obsolete, but they are still used in various conflicts around the world. In addition to the Vietnamese Navy, the SU-100 has been used in combat in recent years, in particular in Yemen, a significant number of such installations are available, for example, in North Korea.