T-100 (T-34/100)

History

The T-100 (also known as "T-34/100") is an Egyptian-inspired tank destroyer modified from the famous Soviet T-34/85 medium tank of World War II. The T-34 quickly established itself as the standard Soviet tank during World War II (1939-1945) and appeared on the Eastern Front against the Germans in 1941. The original T-34 was a revolutionary design with heavy sloping armor, large wheels and a powerful 76mm main gun.

The series was improved in 1944 with the introduction of the "T-34/85" with a more powerful 85mm D-5T main gun in a new three-person turret. At the end of World War II, the inexpensive nature of the reliable and robust T-34 series made them war winners for the Red Army, and their wartime success subsequently made them ideal commodities for the postwar years.

More than 84,000 examples of the T-34 were produced, arming dozens of pro-Soviet nations in the ensuing Cold War era, and many were further developed to fill other battlefield roles depending on the needs of their operators. One of these customer countries was Egypt, which also used some post-war Soviet 100mm BS-3 (M1944) high-speed anti-tank/field guns.

In 1943, Egypt and the Soviet Union formally established bilateral relations, opening up channels in politics, tourism, and military procurement.

The Egyptian army faced the need for tank destroyers and decided to mount their Soviet BS-3 guns on modified T-34/85 turrets, while keeping the original T-34/85 tank chassis intact. The turret largely retains its original shape, save for sloping steel plate extensions welded to the front, top and rear fairings.

This resulted in a significant change in appearance from the original T-34/85, with a 100mm long barrel extending out of the fuselage nose (this feature is simply referred to as "barrel suspension") and combating the double-barreled muzzle brake baffle provided The inherent recoil effect of the weapon is eliminated. In addition, a special recoil mechanism was installed under the base of the barrel near the turret to further disperse the recoil effect. The turret was located in the original ring at the front of the hull, although the turret armor extensions forced the turret to spread over the top of the turret to some extent.

The resulting tank destroyer is an interesting - albeit unique - final product that even the Wehrmacht would be proud of, as the German army became an expert in converting outdated tank systems into effective tank killers.

Since the T-100 was essentially just a modification of the base T-34/85 medium tank, the hull carried most of what made the original a success. Five large wheels flanked one track, and the hull had heavily sloping armor that was thicker along the front.

Glacis slabs are low in the front and slope towards the bottom of the tower. A clip was added to the swash plate to hold the main gun while it was moving (the T-100's turret had to point back). External fuel tanks - common to many Soviet and Russian tank designs - were mounted on either side of the rear of the fuselage.

The T-100 crew consists of four people in a similar position to the T-34/85 series tanks. The driver remained in the front left position of the fuselage, while the engine was housed in a compartment in the rear of the fuselage.

The car features a 493-horsepower V-2 V-12 diesel engine, giving the T-100 a range of 223 miles and a top speed of 33 mph.

While the T-100 proved to be descended from the T-34 family, it soon became apparent that by the time of the Yom Kippur War against Israel in 1973, the system lacked the characteristics needed for the modern battlefield. At this point, the armor protection of the WWII-era T-34 tanks could not cope with the armor-piercing weapons available to the Israelis - these are the American medium 105mm M48 tanks and the British Centurion main battle tanks equipped with general anti-tank equipment.

As a result, the T-100 was forced to take on a more defensive role than initially anticipated, allowing it to deploy its 100mm main gun from a prepared position and hopefully against an unsuspecting enemy.

Later development of the T-100 (T-34/100) produced the T-122 (T-34/122), which was essentially a Soviet 122mm field gun with a wider Turret 34.

Specification

Basic

Roles

Dimensions

Performance

Performance

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Armor

Not available.

Changes