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ASU-57

1951 COLD WAR SELF-PROPELLED ARTILLERY

History

The ASU-57 is a Soviet designed system to provide airborne troops with self-propelled anti-tank guns. The ASU is armed with a 57mm main gun (hence the name "57"), but is lightly armored and provides basic crew protection. The ASU-57 was in large numbers during production, but was later relegated to training service with the arrival of the more capable ASU-85.

The main gun had 30 rounds of projectiles and reportedly achieved an optimal rate of fire of 10 rounds per minute.

The crew quarters of ASU-57 consist of three people. The driver and loader were stationed on the right side of the carriage, the commander was stationed on the left. The hull is constructed of welded aluminum and is only 0.24 inches thick at its thickest point. The crew sat in an open-air compartment with only a tarpaulin to protect them from bad weather. In addition to the 57mm main gun, the crew also received a 7.62mm machine gun for self-defense.

This machine gun can also be disassembled for ground service.

The ASU-57 self-propelled system weighs 3.5 tons and can parachute from the air, landing with a missile buffer. The system was first transported externally under the wing of the Tupolev Tu-4 bomber, and later transported and palletized inside the Antonov An-12 aircraft.

Despite its compact size, the ASU-57 offered little protection to the crew. The 57mm gun is also underrated compared to the similar US M56 version with the 90mm gun. The ASU-57 was eventually replaced by the ASU-85, which had better armor protection and a larger caliber gun.