100 mm field gun M1944 (BS-3)

History

Development

The BS-3 was based on the B-34 naval gun. The development team was led by V. G. Grabin.

World War II

During World War II the Soviet Army employed the gun in the light artillery brigades of tank armies (20 pieces along with 48 ZiS-3) and by corps artillery. In the Second World War the BS-3 was successfully used as a powerful anti-tank gun. It was capable of defeating any contemporary tank at long range, excluding the Tiger II: to destroy that heavy tank the gun needed to shoot at less than 1,600 m from the target. The gun was capable of defeating the turret of Tiger II at a range of 800-1,000 m. The gun was also used as a field gun. Though in this role it was less powerful than the 122 mm A-19, as it fired a smaller round, the BS-3 was more mobile and had a higher rate of fire.

Post World War II

The BS-3 remained in service into the 1950s. As of 1955 it was getting replaced in Soviet service by the T-12 antitank gun and the 85 mm antitank gun D-48. A number of BS-3 pieces are still stored in Russian Ground Forces arsenals. In 2012, at least 12 BS-3 guns were still active with the 18th Machine Gun Artillery Division, located on the Kuril Islands, used as anti-ship and anti-landing guns.

The gun also saw action during the Vietnam War, the Six-Day War, and the Yom Kippur War. The BS-3s also saw extensive use with the Indian Army alongside 25-pounders in the India–Pakistan war of 1971.

During the Russo-Ukrainian War (2014–present) both sides employed towed anti-tank guns. The use of the 100 mm Rapira is well known, but the Ukrainian Army also used the older BS-3. Three Ukrainian BS-3s were destroyed by Russian military forces during the initial phase of their 2022 invasion of Ukraine. In September 2023, Ukraine's State Border Guard Service released footage of a Ukrainian BS-3 crew firing on Russian positions.

Ammunition data

The BS-3 ammunition can also be fired by the KS-19 anti-aircraft gun, T-54/T-55 tanks, and the SU-100 assault gun.

• Ammunition
  • AP: BR-412
  • APBC: BR-412B
  • APCBC: BR-412D
  • HE/Fragmentation
• Projectile weight
  • AP/APBC: 15.88 kg (34.97 lbs)
  • HE/Fragmentation: 15.6 kg (34.39 lbs)
• Armor penetration (BR-412B, 30° degrees)
  • 500 m : 190 mm (547 yds : 7.48 in)
  • 1000 m : 170 mm (1,093 yds : 6.69 in)

Operators

Current

• Republic of the Congo − 10
• Cyprus − 6
• Kyrgyzstan: 18
• Mongolia − Unknown
• Mozambique − 20
• Nicaragua − 24
• Sudan − Unknown
• Ukraine − Reactivated during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.
• Vietnam − Unknown

Former

• Democratic Republic of Afghanistan − 250
• DR Congo
• East Germany − 144
• Egypt − 100
• Ethiopia
• North Korea − 500
• Mali − 6
• Somalia − 35
• Soviet Union
• Ba'athist Syria − Some were mounted on a modified T-34 chassis
• Timor-Leste
• Yemen − 20

Notes

References

• Shunkov V. N. - The Weapons of the Red Army, Mn. Harvest, 1999 (Шунков В. Н. - Оружие Красной Армии. — Мн.: Харвест, 1999.)

References

1. (May 2011). "Vietnam, Democratic Republic of, Army".
2. Foss, Christopher. (1977). "Jane's pocket book of towed artillery". Collier.
3. (5 November 2022). "Attack On Europe: Documenting Ukrainian Equipment Losses During The 2022 Russian Invasion Of Ukraine". Oryx.
4. . (5 September 2023). ["Border Guards Demonstrate Firing From 100-Mm BS-3 Gun Dating Back To The 1940s"](https://sundries.com.ua/en/border-guards-demonstrate-firing-from-100-mm-bs-3-gun-dating-back-to-the-1940s-video/). *The Sundries*.
5. "Trade Registers". Armstrade.sipri.org.
6. . (2016). ["Future Artillery Systems: 2016 Market Report"](http://www.ceptm.iue.edu.ar/pdf/futureAMarketReport.pdf). *Defence IQ*.
7. International Institute for Strategic Studies. (2021). "The Military Balance".