D-10 tank gun

D-10 tank gun
D-10S gun on an SU-100 tank destroyer
Type	rifled tank/antitank gun
Place of origin	Soviet Union
Service history
In service	1944 – present
Wars	see SU-100 and T-54
Production history
Designer	F. F. Petrov
Variants	D-10S, D-10T, D-10TG, D-10T2S
Specifications
Barrel length	L/53.5
Calibre	100 mm (3.93 in)
Breech	horizontal sliding wedge (semi-automatic)
Recoil	hydraulic buffer and hydropneumatic recuperator
Carriage	vehicle mount
Elevation	+18°, –3°
Rate of fire	4 rounds/min avg 5–6 rounds/min max.
Muzzle velocity	1,000 m/s (3,281 ft/s)
Maximum firing range	14,600 m (16,000 yds), or 16,000 m (17,500 yds)

The D-10 is a Soviet 100 mm tank gun developed in late World War II. It originally equipped the SU-100 tank destroyers and was later selected for the T-55 tank, equipping these as late as 1979. On the T-55 the D-10 continues to be in active service in many countries.

At the beginning of 1944, the T-34 tank's F-34 76.2 mm tank gun was replaced by a more powerful 85 mm gun. This rendered the year-old SU-85 tank destroyer effectively obsolescent, since its D-5T 85 mm gun was now also fielded by a more flexible medium tank. F. F. Petrov's Design Bureau at Artillery Factory No. 9 was assigned the task of producing a 100 mm anti-tank gun that could be used on the SU-85 chassis, for the proposed SU-100. Petrov's team modified the S-34 naval gun for use in an armoured fighting vehicle.

The D-10 is a high-velocity gun of 100 mm bore diameter, with a barrel length of 53.5 calibres. Muzzle velocity of 895 m/s gave it good anti-tank performance by late-war standards. Initially it could penetrate about 164 mm of steel armor plate at 1,000 m range, superior to the German 75 mm KwK 42 mounted on the Panther tank and the Tiger I's 88 mm KwK 36 gun. Testing against Panther tanks at Kubinka showed the D-10T could penetrate the Panther's glacis up to 1500 m. This performance grew when APDS and more modern ammunition types were developed after the war. After the war a more effective high-explosive shell was also developed, taking advantage of the larger 100 mm bore.

It was originally designed to equip the SU-100 tank destroyer as the D-10S (for sаmokhodnaya, 'self-propelled'), and was later mounted on the post-war T-54 main battle tank as the D-10T (for tankovaya, 'tank' adj.). There was no significant difference in functionality or performance. It was also tested on the T-34-100, T-44-100, KV-100, and IS-2 (obyekt 245).