ASU-57 | |
---|---|
Type | Airborne Tank Destroyer / Assault Gun / Tankette |
Place of origin | USSR |
Service history | |
In service | 1951- late 1960s (USSR) |
Used by |
USSR Egypt Vietnam Yugoslavia Ethiopia |
Wars |
Six Day War Ogaden War |
Production history | |
Designer | Astrov Design Bureau |
Manufacturer | MMZ |
Produced | 1950-1962 |
Specifications | |
Weight | 3.4 tonnes |
Length | 3.48 m (11 ft 5 in) (hull) |
Width | 2.08 m (6 ft 10 in) |
Height | 1.18 m (3 ft 10 in) (shield up) |
Crew | 3+6 |
|
|
Armor | 6 mm |
Main
armament |
1x Ch-51 or Ch-51M L/73 57mm Gun |
Secondary
armament |
1x 7.62mm anti-aircraft machine gun |
Engine | one M-20E4 water cooled gasoline engine 50hp (37.29 kW) (55hp with later engine) |
Suspension | torsion bar |
Fuel capacity | 140 liters (37 gallons) |
Operational
range |
250 km (160 mi) |
Speed | 45 km/h (28 mph) |
The ASU-57 was a small, lightly constructed Soviet assault gun specifically designed for use by Soviet airborne divisions. From 1960 onwards, it was gradually phased out in favour of the ASU-85.
The task to develop a light-weight assault gun for the airborne troops (with either a 57mm gun or a 76mm gun) was given to two design bureaus, Astrov (OKB-40) in Mytishchi and Kravtsev in Moscow. Nikolaj Astrov's OKB-40 designed the ASU-76, based on components of the T-70 light tank and the SU-76 assault gun, and armed with the new 76mm gun D-56T. The ASU-76 turned out to be too heavy, even though the armour was only 3 mm thick, and the project was cancelled. Anatoly Kravtsev's team came up with the similar, amphibious K-73. This vehicle was armed with Charnko's 57mm anti-tank gun Ch-51 and was even more thinly armoured than the ASU-76. This project too was shelved.
In 1949, Astrov was instructed to continue with his project, but with reduced weight and with the Ch-51 gun as the main armament instead of the D-56T, since it offered better anti-tank performance. The redesigned Ob.572 was developed simultaneously with the Ob.561 (AT-P) light artillery tractor. After successfully passing the various test phases in 1949, it was accepted for series production from 1951 as the ASU-57.
The ASU-57 was designed to be a light-weight assault gun that could be air-dropped and deployed by rocket-assisted parachute (PP-128-500 or P-7) along with the troops. It was lightly armored and armed with a 57 mm gun Ch-51, a development of the World War II ZIS-2 but with some similarities to the Ch-26. From 1954, an improved 57mm gun Ch-51M with a much shorter double-baffle muzzle brake was fitted. The gun fired the standard caliber 57x480R ammunition of the ZIS-2 anti-tank gun, such as the BR-271 series and the O-271U, of which it had 30 on board. The ASU-57's engine was taken from the GAZ-M-20 "Pobeda" civilian car.
The ASU-57 was a successful design that saw service with Soviet airborne divisions for around 20 years before being replaced by the ASU-85. During its years of operation, 54 vehicles would have been assigned to each airborne division.