ASU-85

ASU-85
ASU of the Polish 6th Air Assault Division
Type	Self-propelled gun
Place of origin	Soviet Union
Service history
In service	1959 - 1993
Used by	Soviet Union
Wars	Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia, Soviet War in Afghanistan
Production history
Designer	Astrov Design Bureau
Designed	1951-1959
Manufacturer	MMZ and PMZ
Produced	1959-1966
Specifications
Weight	15.5 tonnes (34,171 lbs)
Length	6 m (19 ft 8 in)
Width	2.8 m (9 ft 2 in)
Height	2.1 m (6 ft 11 in)
Crew	4
Armor	40-45 mm
Main armament	85mm main gun D-70 (2A15)
Secondary armament	7.62mm PKT or SGMT coaxial machine gun
Engine	YaMZ-206V V-6 inline water-cooled diesel 210hp (154 kw)
Transmission	mechanical
Suspension	torsion bar
Fuel capacity	400 l
Operational range	230 km (161 mi)
Speed	45 km/h (28 mph)

The ASU-85 (Russian: Авиадесантная самоходная установка, АСУ-85, Aviadesantnaya Samokhodnaya Ustanovka, 'airborne self-propelled mount') is a Soviet-designed airborne self-propelled gun of the Cold War Era. From 1959, it began to replace the open-topped ASU-57 in service. It was, in turn, replaced by the BMD-1 beginning in 1969.

Development of a new assault gun for the armed forces started at the OKB-40 design bureau of the Mytishchi Machine Building Plant (MMZ), under the supervision of chief designer Nikolaj Aleksandrovich Astrov. The first Ob'yekt 573 prototype was ready for factory tests in the second half of 1953. This first vehicle was followed by a small batch of three improved vehicles that were evaluated by the armed forces in 1956-1957. The improved vehicles were powered by a new, horizontal six cylinder diesel engine, the YaMZ-206V, instead of the original V-6 of the PT-76. In 1958, the order to start series production of the SU-85 - as it was initially known (although there was already a vehicle with that same name, based on the T-34) - was given. However, as a result of an order from the Ministry of Defense to add an armoured roof (the initial vehicles were still open-topped), series production could only begin in 1961. By then, the configuration was already out of date and in the second half of the 1960s, the VDV became the main operator of the SU-85 and renamed it the ASU-85.

The SU-85/ASU-85 is based on the PT-76 tank chassis, but without the amphibious capabilities and fitted with a new engine. The vehicle has three compartments: the driver's in front, the combat compartment in the center, and the engine compartment at the rear.

The armament consists of a D-70 (2A15) 85 mm gun, derived from F.F. Petrov's D-48. The L/67 ordnance has a total weight of 1,865 kg and an elevation range from -4.50° to +15°. Traverse is 15° either side. The D-70 fires the same ammunition as the D-48 (3BK-7 HEAT, BR-372 HVAP-T and OF-372 HE), the combat load is 45 rounds. The gun has an effective range of 1,150 m and a maximum range of 10 km. It can penetrate 192 mm (7.6 in) of steel armor from an angle of 60° at a maximum distance of 1 km. The coaxial machine gun is either the SGMT or the PKT with a combat load of 2,000 rounds.