The 100 mm field gun M1944 (BS-3) (Russian: 100-мм полевая пушка обр. 1944 г. (БС-3)) is a Soviet 100 mm (3.9 in) anti-tank and field gun.
History
Development
The BS-3 was based on the B-34 naval gun. The development team was led by V. G. Grabin.
World War II
During World War II the Soviet Army employed the gun in the light artillery brigades of tank armies (20 pieces along with 48 ZiS-3) and by corps artillery. In the Second World War the BS-3 was successfully used as a powerful anti-tank gun. It was capable of defeating any contemporary tank at long range, excluding the Tiger II: to destroy that heavy tank the gun needed to shoot at less than 1,600 m (5,200 ft) from the target. The gun was capable of defeating the turret of Tiger II at a range of 800–1,000 m (2,600–3,300 ft). The gun was also used as a field gun. Though in this role it was less powerful than the 122 mm A-19, as it fired a smaller round, the BS-3 was more mobile and had a higher rate of fire.
During the Russo-Ukrainian War (2014-present) both sides employed towed anti-tank guns. The use of the 100 mm Rapira is well known, but the Ukrainian Army also used the older BS-3. Three Ukrainian BS-3s were destroyed by Russian military forces during the initial phase of their 2022 invasion of Ukraine.[2] In September 2023, Ukraine's State Border Guard Service released footage of a Ukrainian BS-3 crew firing on Russian positions.[3]
^ abcdefghInternational Institute for Strategic Studies (2021). The Military Balance. pp. 92, 188, 285, 309, 422, 458, 465, 479, 493. ISBN9781032012278.
^Schuster, Carl Otis; Coffey, David (May 2011). "Vietnam, Democratic Republic of, Army". In Tucker, Spencer C. (ed.). The Encyclopedia of the Vietnam War: A Political, Social, and Military History (2 ed.). p. 1251. ISBN978-1-85109-960-3.
References
Shunkov V. N. - The Weapons of the Red Army, Mn. Harvest, 1999 (Шунков В. Н. - Оружие Красной Армии. — Мн.: Харвест, 1999.) ISBN985-433-469-4