Light Airborne artillery unit class tank destroyer was developed in the late 40-ies. especially for the arms airborne troops. And in 1951 g. plant adopted a mass-produced, and to 1962 g. ASU-57, semi-closed system with front-MTO, had the fighting compartment, combined with the control compartment, and disposed in the rear part of the housing. It housed the crew, consisting of three people, and instrument. Bulletproof body armor protection was made of steel and aluminum armor plates, are welded together.
ACS ACS-57 – video
Through the use of aluminum alloys in the construction of the designers have made reducing the size of the machine, as well as reducing its weight. The nose portion has been manufactured from two sheets of armor, welded together with the housing sides. The front part of the bottom attached to the bottom sheet. The sides of the body were vertical bronelisty, which have been welded to the sides of the suspension and niches, as well as the frontal shields. The bottom of the housing and feed defended duraluminium sheets. For the convenience of the crew of the upper portions of the front and side plates made folding.
Chassis machine consisted of three rubber road wheels, rubber-coated idler, and the support being, with integrated tension screw type mechanism, two support rollers and sprockets on each side, having two toothed rim with an asymmetrical tooth profile. High mobility and cross-machine received through a crawler gear. car suspension has tubular-torsion rod with hydraulic shock absorbers in the front units. Metal Melkozvenchataya caterpillar chain width 204 mm consisted of 80 Trakov.
Vehicle with a course could overcome the ditch or trench width to 1,4 m and a vertical height of the obstacle 0,5 m. The maximum lead angle reached 30 °. ASU-57 could overcome obstacles and water, but only waded, as it was not equipped with a floating equipment. Fording depth should not exceed 0,7 m. Specific pressure of the machine on the ground was only 0,35 kg / cm2, which is equal to the pressure on the ground of an adult. Transporting performed using heavy gliders Yak-14 and IL-32, and to avoid the buildup of the housing at this point there was a special device in the car, fixing the extreme nodes suspension on the body.
Carburetor 4-cylinder liquid-cooled engine M-20E located in the housing block transversely to the gearbox and a belt friction clutches brakes. The whole unit rests on four elastic supports and fastened by only four bolts, provided that, if necessary, its easy and quick replacement. In the front part of the housing are water and oil radiators, as well as to drive the fan.
Self-propelled unit ASU-57 had powerful weapons. In a long-established conning tower 57mm cannon 4-51. Here batteries placed on the shelves nadgusechnyh, of ammunition and spare parts. The gun was equipped with a two-chamber muzzle brake and an ejector. It had a vertical wedge gate with semi-automatic mechanical type and trough cradles, mounted on the frame. Firing from the closed position by using artillery panorama. When used direct fire telescopic sight OP2-50 illuminated at night and poor visibility. Ammunition guns included 30 unitary, or connected to the sleeve, three types of shells: piercing armor, cumulative and fragmentation grenades. Rate was 6-10 rounds per minute.
FROM 1955 g. ASU-57 were equipped with a new upgraded gun H-51M with a slotted brake, wherein the shutter opening and hood liners was carried out at the end of the overrun, a rotary mechanism was equipped with a braking device. In the ACS-57 was found to tank intercom TPU-47 on three local, 10-RT-12 radio, located in the fighting compartment and allows communication at a distance 20 km, and night vision device.
On the basis of AMS-57 was created by two more cars. ASU-57P - floating Airborne self-propelled artillery. The car appeared in 1954 g. Its powertrain included PTO driven propeller, located in a recess of the bottom. First, the designers have equipped the car with two propellers driven by the guide wheels. It provides excellent maneuverability on the water, but tracks it does not shut down, when leaving the shore the engine is running in low gear, so he did not have enough traction. More successful was an option, already tested on a light pre-war tank T-40, wherein the screw with a thread wheel located in the tunnel. Cooling system additionally equipped with a heat exchanger, providing the motion afloat removal of heat from the coolant sea water, extending from the propeller.
Besides, on the ASU-57P was established gun W-51P, improved version of the H-51M, wherein the tube was connected to a technologically active muzzle brake, design breech, semi automatic mechanism and lifting device.
This improved version of the ASU-57P is not so was adopted by the. Not the least role in this played a fairly weak protection, satisfaction of the needs of the armed forces in this kind of machinery due to have been produced commercially ASU-57, as well as the appearance by that time had more powerful machines SU-85.
ASU-57 crank parachuted using glider Yak-14, and for several years was the world's only self-propelled, discharged parachute.
Performance characteristics ASU-57
| Crew | 3 people. |
| Weight | 3,3 t |
| Length | 5,75 m |
| Height | 1,46 m |
| Width | 2,08 m |
| Clearance | 300 mm |
| frontal armor | 6 mm |
| Armor board | 4 mm |
| Maximum road speed | 45 kmh |
| Cruising on the highway | 250 km |
| weaponry | 57-mm gun 4-51 or T-51M, 7,62-SG-43 mm or SGM |
| gun ammunition | 30 |
| Engine | M-20E |
| Engine power | 55 HP. |
Foto SAU ASU-57
ACS ACS-57 in Czechoslovakia. 1968 year.
ACS ACS-57 to PP-platform parachute 127-3500
