ASU-57

ASU-57
Type	Airborne Tank Destroyer / Assault Gun
Place of origin	Soviet Union
Service history
In service	1951
Used by	USSR, Egypt, Vietnam, Yugoslavia, Poland
Wars	1967 in Egypt
Production history
Designer	uncertain
Manufacturer	uncertain
Produced	1951-1962
Specifications
Weight	3.4 tonnes
Length	3.48m (5.75 with gun)
Width	2.8 m
Height	1.18 m (1.46 shield up)
Crew	3+6
Armor	6 mm
Primary armament	1x Ch-51 or Ch-51M L/73 57mm Gun
Secondary armament	1x 7.62mm anti-aircraft machine gun
Engine	one M-20E4 cylinder water cooled gasoline engine 50hp (55hp with later engine)
Fuel capacity	140 liters
Operational range	250 km
Speed	45 km/h

The ASU-57 was a small, lightly-constructed Soviet assault gun specifically designed for use by Soviet airborne divisions.

History

The ASU-57 was designed to be a light-weight assault gun that could be air-dropped and deployed by rocket-assisted parachute along with the troops. It was lightly armored and armed with a 57 mm gun, a development of the WWII ZIS-2. Its engine was taken from the Pobeda civilian car. The ASU-57 was a successful design, and 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.

One main drawback was the vehicle's welded aluminum hull, which offers little protection for the crew. However for airborne troops such vehicles are invaluable, giving lightly armed soldiers who are isolated behind enemy lines mobile artillery support on the battlefield.

External links

• Sword of the Motherland Foundation
• Walkaround of ASU-57 presented in the Central Museum of Armed Forces (Moscow), part 1
• Walkaround of ASU-57 presented in the Central Museum of Armed Forces (Moscow), part 2

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