100 mm field gun M1944 (BS-3)

{{Infobox weapon

| name = 100 mm field gun model 1944 (BS-3)

| image = BS-3-batey-haosef-1.jpg

| image_size = 300

| caption = BS-3 at the Israel Defense Forces History Museum, Israel

| origin = Soviet Union

| type = Field gun and anti-tank gun

| is_ranged =

| is_bladed =

| is_explosive =

| is_artillery = yes

| is_vehicle =

| is_UK =

| service = 1944–present

| used_by = Soviet Union

| wars = World War II
Vietnam War
Yom Kippur War
Lebanese Civil War
Russo-Ukrainian War

| designer =

| design_date =

| manufacturer =

| production_date = 1944–1951

| number =

| variants =

| weight = 3,650 kg (8,047 lbs)

| length = {{convert|9.37|m|ftin|abbr=on}}{{Cite book|title=Jane's pocket book of towed artillery|last=Foss|first=Christopher|date=1977|publisher=Collier|page=59|isbn=0020806000|location=New York|oclc=911907988}}

| part_length = Bore: {{convert|5.34|m|ftin|abbr=on}} L/53.5
Overall: {{convert|5.96|m|ftin|abbr=on}} L/59.6
(with muzzle brake)

| width = {{convert|2.15|m|ftin|abbr=on}}

| height = {{convert|1.5|m|ftin|abbr=on}}

| crew = 6 to 8

| cartridge = 100 × 695 mmR
(R/147mm)

| caliber = 100 mm (3.93 in)

| action =

| rate = 8 to 10 rpm

| velocity = 900 m/s (2,953 ft/s)

| range =

| max_range = 20 km (12.42 mi)

| feed =

| sights =

| breech = Semi-automatic vertical sliding-wedge

| recoil = hydro-pneumatic

| carriage = Split trail

| elevation = -5° to 45°

| traverse = 58°

| blade_type =

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| head_type =

| haft_type =

| diameter =

| filling =

| filling_weight =

| detonation =

| yield =

| armour =

| primary_armament =

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| engine =

| engine_power =

| pw_ratio =

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}}

The 100 mm field gun M1944 (BS-3) ({{langx|ru|100-мм полевая пушка обр. 1944 г. (БС-3)}}) is a Soviet {{convert|100|mm|abbr=on}} anti-tank and field gun.

History

= Development =

File:BS-3-batey-haosef-2.jpg

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 {{convert|1,600|m|abbr=on}} from the target. The gun was capable of defeating the turret of Tiger II at a range of {{convert|800-1,000|m|abbr=on}}. 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.

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.{{cite web |title=Attack On Europe: Documenting Ukrainian Equipment Losses During The 2022 Russian Invasion Of Ukraine |publisher=Oryx |url=https://www.oryxspioenkop.com/2022/02/attack-on-europe-documenting-ukrainian.html |date=5 November 2022 |access-date=5 November 2022 }} In September 2023, Ukraine's State Border Guard Service released footage of a Ukrainian BS-3 crew firing on Russian positions.{{cite web|title=Border Guards Demonstrate Firing From 100-Mm BS-3 Gun Dating Back To The 1940s|author=|url=https://sundries.com.ua/en/border-guards-demonstrate-firing-from-100-mm-bs-3-gun-dating-back-to-the-1940s-video/|location=Kyiv|publisher=The Sundries|date=5 September 2023|access-date=7 September 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230907065048/https://sundries.com.ua/en/border-guards-demonstrate-firing-from-100-mm-bs-3-gun-dating-back-to-the-1940s-video/|archive-date=7 September 2023}}

Ammunition data

Ammunition
AP: BR-412
APBC: BR-412B, 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

{{flag|Republic of the Congo}}: 10{{cite book |last=International Institute for Strategic Studies|date=2021|title=The Military Balance|pages=92, 188, 285, 309, 422, 458, 465, 479, 493|isbn=9781032012278}}{{cite web|title=Future Artillery Systems: 2016 Market Report|author=|url=http://www.ceptm.iue.edu.ar/pdf/futureAMarketReport.pdf|location=Tidworth|publisher=Defence IQ|date=2016|accessdate=21 January 2017|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20180122000524/http://www.ceptm.iue.edu.ar/pdf/futureAMarketReport.pdf|archivedate=22 January 2018}}
{{flag|Democratic Republic of the Congo}}
{{flag|Cyprus}}: 10-20
{{flag|Ethiopia}}
{{flag|India}}: 350{{cite web|url=http://armstrade.sipri.org/armstrade/page/trade_register.php |title=Trade Registers |publisher=Armstrade.sipri.org |access-date=2014-11-20}}
{{flag|Kyrgyzstan}}: 18
{{flag|Mali}}: 6
{{flag|Mongolia}}: 45
{{flag|Mozambique}}: 20
{{flag|Nicaragua}}: 24
{{flag|North Korea}}: 500
{{flag|Sudan}}: 20
{{flag|Syria}}: 300
{{flag|Timor-Leste}}
{{flag|Ukraine}}: Reactivated during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.
{{flag|Vietnam}}: 250{{cite encyclopedia|title=Vietnam, Democratic Republic of, Army|encyclopedia=The Encyclopedia of the Vietnam War: A Political, Social, and Military History|edition=2|editor-first= Spencer C.|editor-last= Tucker|isbn=978-1-85109-960-3|date=May 2011|ref={{harvid|Tucker|2011}}|page=1251|first1=Carl Otis|last1=Schuster|first2=David|last2=Coffey}}
{{flag|Yemen}}: 20

=Former operators=

{{flagcountry|Democratic Republic of Afghanistan}}: 250
{{flag|East Germany}}: 144
{{flag|Egypt}}: 100
{{flag|Somalia}}: 35
{{flag|Soviet Union}}

Notes

References

Shunkov V. N. - The Weapons of the Red Army, Mn. Harvest, 1999 (Шунков В. Н. - Оружие Красной Армии. — Мн.: Харвест, 1999.) {{ISBN|985-433-469-4}}
Christopher F. Foss, Artillery of the World