100 mm field gun M1944 (BS-3)

100 mm field gun model 1944 (BS-3)
100 mm field gun model 1944 (BS-3)
	BS-3 at the Israel Defense Forces History Museum, Israel
Type	Field and anti-tank gun
Place of origin	Soviet Union
Service history
In service	1944-Present
Used by	Soviet Union
Wars	World War II; Vietnam War; Yom Kippur War; Russo-Ukrainian War
Production history
Produced	1944–1951
Specifications
Mass	3,650 kg (8,047 lbs)
Length	9.37 m (30 ft 9 in)
Barrel length	Bore: 5.34 m (17 ft 6 in) L/53.5; Overall: 5.96 m (19 ft 7 in) L/59.6; (with muzzle brake)
Width	2.15 m (7 ft 1 in)
Height	1.5 m (4 ft 11 in)
Crew	6 to 8
Shell	100 × 695 mmR; (R/147mm)
Caliber	100 mm (3.93 in)
Breech	Semi-automatic vertical sliding-wedge
Recoil	hydro-pneumatic
Carriage	Split trail
Elevation	-5° to 45°
Traverse	58°
Rate of fire	8 to 10 rpm
Muzzle velocity	900 m/s (2,953 ft/s)
Maximum firing range	20 km (12.42 mi)

The 100 mm field gun M1944 (BS-3) (Russian: 100-мм полевая пушка обр. 1944 г. (БС-3)) is a Soviet 100 mm anti-tank and field gun.

History[edit]

Development[edit]

BS-3 at the Israel Defense Forces History Museum

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

World War II[edit]

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 1600 m from the target. The gun was capable of defeating the turret of Tiger II at a range of 800–1000 meters. 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[edit]

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.^[2] In September 2023, Ukraine's State Border Guard Service released footage of a Ukrainian BS-3 crew firing on Russian positions.^[3]

Ammunition data[edit]

Ammunition
- AP: BR-412
- APBC: BR-412B, BR-412D
- HE/Fragmentation
Projectile weight
- AP/APBC: 15.88 kg (35 lbs)
- HE/Fragmentation: 15.6 kg (34.39 lbs)
Armor penetration (BR-412B, 30° degrees)
- 500 m : 190 mm
  (547 yds : 6.29 in)
- 1000 m : 170 mm
  (1,093 yds : 6 in)

Operators[edit]

Republic of the Congo: 10^[4]^[5]
Democratic Republic of the Congo^[5]
Cyprus: 10-20^[6]^[4]
Ethiopia^[5]^[4]
India: 350^[6]
Kyrgyzstan: 18^[5]^[4]
Mali: 6^[6]
Mongolia: 45^[6]
Mozambique: 20^[5]^[4]
Nicaragua: 24^[6]^[4]
North Korea: 500^[6]
Sudan: 20^[6]^[4]
Syria: 300^[6]
Timor-Leste^[4]
Ukraine: Reactivated during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.^[2]^[3]
Vietnam: 250^[6]^[7]
Yemen: 20^[5]

Former operators[edit]

Notes[edit]

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Foss, Christopher (1977). Jane's pocket book of towed artillery. New York: Collier. p. 59. ISBN 0020806000. OCLC 911907988.
^ ^a ^b "Attack On Europe: Documenting Ukrainian Equipment Losses During The 2022 Russian Invasion Of Ukraine". Oryx. 5 November 2022. Retrieved 5 November 2022.
^ ^a ^b "Border Guards Demonstrate Firing From 100-Mm BS-3 Gun Dating Back To The 1940s". Kyiv: The Sundries. 5 September 2023. Archived from the original on 7 September 2023. Retrieved 7 September 2023.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h International Institute for Strategic Studies (2021). The Military Balance. pp. 92, 188, 285, 309, 422, 458, 465, 479, 493. ISBN 9781032012278.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f "Future Artillery Systems: 2016 Market Report" (PDF). Tidworth: Defence IQ. 2016. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 January 2018. Retrieved 21 January 2017.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m "Trade Registers". Armstrade.sipri.org. Retrieved 2014-11-20.
^ Schuster, Carl Otis; Coffey, David (May 2011). "Vietnam, Democratic Republic of, Army". In Tucker, Spencer C. (ed.). The Encyclopedia of the Vietnam War: A Political, Social, and Military History (2 ed.). p. 1251. ISBN 978-1-85109-960-3.

References[edit]

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

External links[edit]

Armor penetration table

[:0-1] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Foss, Christopher (1977). Jane's pocket book of towed artillery. New York: Collier. p. 59. ISBN 0020806000. OCLC 911907988.

[Oryx-2] "Attack On Europe: Documenting Ukrainian Equipment Losses During The 2022 Russian Invasion Of Ukraine". Oryx. 5 November 2022. Retrieved 5 November 2022.

[UA-3] "Border Guards Demonstrate Firing From 100-Mm BS-3 Gun Dating Back To The 1940s". Kyiv: The Sundries. 5 September 2023. Archived from the original on 7 September 2023. Retrieved 7 September 2023.

[Balance2021-4] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h International Institute for Strategic Studies (2021). The Military Balance. pp. 92, 188, 285, 309, 422, 458, 465, 479, 493. ISBN 9781032012278.

[Arty2016-5] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f "Future Artillery Systems: 2016 Market Report" (PDF). Tidworth: Defence IQ. 2016. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 January 2018. Retrieved 21 January 2017.

[trade-6] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m "Trade Registers". Armstrade.sipri.org. Retrieved 2014-11-20.

[7] Schuster, Carl Otis; Coffey, David (May 2011). "Vietnam, Democratic Republic of, Army". In Tucker, Spencer C. (ed.). The Encyclopedia of the Vietnam War: A Political, Social, and Military History (2 ed.). p. 1251. ISBN 978-1-85109-960-3.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

v t e Soviet artillery of World War II (naming convention)
Anti-tank guns	37 mm anti-tank gun M1930 (1-K) 45 mm anti-tank gun M1932 (19-K) 45 mm anti-tank gun M1937 (53-K) 45 mm anti-tank gun M1942 (M-42) 57 mm anti-tank gun M1943 (ZiS-2) 100 mm field gun M1944 (BS-3) 100 mm D-10 tank gun
Mountain guns	76 mm mountain gun M1909 (76-09) 76 mm mountain gun M1938
Regimental guns	76 mm regimental gun M1927 76 mm regimental gun M1943 (OB-25)
Divisional guns	76 mm divisional gun M1902/30 76 mm divisional gun M1933 76 mm divisional gun M1936 (F-22) 76 mm divisional gun M1939 (USV) 76 mm divisional gun M1942 (ZiS-3) 85 mm divisional gun D-44 107 mm divisional gun M1940 (M-60) 122 mm howitzer M1909/37 122 mm howitzer M1910/30 122 mm howitzer M1938 (M-30) 152 mm mortar M1931 (NM)
Corps and army level guns	107 mm gun M1910/30 122 mm gun M1931 (A-19) 122 mm gun M1931/37 (A-19) 152 mm howitzer M1909/30 152 mm gun M1910/30 152 mm gun M1910/34 152 mm howitzer M1910/37 152 mm howitzer M1938 (M-10) 152 mm howitzer M1943 (D-1) 152 mm howitzer-gun M1937 (ML-20)
Very heavy guns	152 mm gun M1935 (Br-2) 203 mm howitzer M1931 (B-4) 210 mm gun M1939 (Br-17) 280 mm howitzer M1914/15 280 mm mortar M1939 (Br-5) 305 mm howitzer M1939 (Br-18)
Air defense guns	25 mm automatic air defense gun M1940 (72-K) 37 mm automatic air defense gun M1939 (61-K) 45 mm anti-aircraft gun (21-K) 76 mm air defense gun M1931 76 mm air defense gun M1938 85 mm air defense gun M1939 (52-K)