- Yes
- No
- Future Arab League (or similar) tree
- Soviet tree
- Other
- I said no
TL;DR: Egyptian T-34-85 with modified turret housing a 100mm BS-3 cannon
History
The T-34-85 began production in the Soviet Union in 1944. Compared to the earlier T-34-76 variants, it featured a larger, redesigned turret, housing an 85mm cannon instead of a 76mm cannon, as well as some minor hull improvements. Soviet T-34-85 production ended after WWII, in 1946. In 1951, Poland and Czechoslovakia begun license production, constructing 1,380 and 3,185 by 1956 respectively.
Egypt was occupied by British forces as a protectorate from 1882 until 1952. Egypt remained officially neutral during WWII, but hosted British troops from the start of the war, and only declared war on the Axis in 1945. Egypt was the location of a number of key battles throughout the war, most notably the First and Second battles of El Alamein.
After the end of the war, the Egyptian Army consisted of British equipment, as well as small stocks of captured Italian or German weapons and vehicles, like the M13/40. Following the Israeli declaration of independence in Mandatory Palestine after the 1947-1948 civil war, Arab forces (Egypt, Syria, Iraq and Transjordan) invaded the territory of Mandatory Palestine, beginning the 9-month first Arab-Israeli War, ending in an Israeli victory.
Egypt was still militarily supported by Britain during this time, and received Archers, as well as Shermans from Italy (in a deal forced by Britain, as Italy wanted to send them to Israel, despite an embargo). In 1952, Egypt underwent a revolution, overthrowing King Farouk and the Kingdom of Egypt, replacing it with the Republic of Egypt under the control of Gamal Abdel Nasser. This shifted Egypt away from Britain and the West, and towards the Soviets and their allies.
This shift allowed Egypt to purchase 230 Czechoslovakian T-34-85s by 1956. After the Suez Crisis, to replace damaged or destroyed equipment, Egypt bought another 820 T-34-85s, as well as substantial numbers of Soviet IS-3Ms, and Czech T-54s.
- Egyptian T-34-85s in Cairo in 1957. The tank has kill marks on the barrel from the Suez Crisis
Egypt received deliveries of the Soviet 100mm BS-3 anti-tank cannon in the 1950s and early 1960s, around the same time they were leaving service in the Soviet Union. The BS-3 was a highly successful cannon during WW2, derived from the naval B-34. It still sees service today, most notably reactivated by Ukraine following Russia’s invasion.
At some time in the mid 1960s, before 1967, the T-100 was developed, entering service soon after, in unknown numbers. Information regarding its conception is very limited, but it appears to have been developed as a relatively simple way of upgrading the firepower of the now-obsolete T-34-85s. In 1967, the Six Day War (or Third Arab-Israeli War) occurred, seeing Israeli forces occupy the entire Sinai Peninsula. While regular T-34-85s did take part in combat, the T-100s did not.
- Egyptian T-34-85 destroyed during the Six Day War
The only conflict the T-100s definitively took part in was the Yom Kippur War in 1973 (or Fourth Arab-Israeli War), where Egypt and other Arab states attempted to reclaim the Israeli-occupied Sinai Peninsula. Reportedly, the T-100s were not very successful in combat, and all seem to have been destroyed during the war, or pulled out of service after the war ended. A limited number were captured by Israel and put into museums, where at least one still exists today.
- T-100 in 1973
- Two of the very few images of T-100s not in museums or storage. Dates are unknown, presumably 1973. The tank on the left may be captured.
Characteristics
The T-100 has a number of armour plates around the pre-existing turret to expand it to fit the breech of the 100mm cannon. While other T-34-100 proposals (Soviet and Czech) designed new turrets completely, Egypt simply cut out the rear of the turret, and expanded it by at least a metre. The centre of the turret is open-top, but the rear ‘bustle’ isn’t. The coaxial machine gun had to be removed in the process. The armour thickness is unknown, but appears relatively thin – the standard turret sides have a variable thickness of between 64 to 98mm.
- Turret rear
The main armament of the T-100 is its selling point. The 100mm BS-3 is a powerful anti-tank cannon, capable of firing the same rounds as the D-10T on the T-54/55 series – HE, APHE, APDS, APFSDS and HEAT-FS rounds. Later in the BS-3s life, around the 1980s, it was upgraded to be able to fire the 9M117 Bastion ATGM, but this was not available to Egypt. Egypt also wouldn’t have had APFSDS rounds, as these were introduced in the 70s and 80s for the 100mm cannons.
Other than the turret, the hull remains unchanged. The tank has 45mm of hull armour all around, sloped at 60°, 39° and 47° respectively. It is powered by a 500hp engine, and has a top speed of 55km/h. The tank normally weighs 32t, but the T-100 is said to weigh 35t, and has a lower power-to-weight and slower acceleration as a result. The T-34-85 has a crew of 5 – machine gunner and driver in the hull, and commander, gunner and loader in the turret. The T-100 has the same crew number and layout.
- T-100 at Yad La-Shiryon Museum, Latrun, Israel
Conclusion
The T-100 is a famous and unique tank destroyer, that deserves a place in-game. It could be added at 6.0 with BR-412/412B/412D, as a slightly worse T-34-100, or higher (~7.0) if given APDS and HEAT-FS rounds. It could be added as a tech-tree vehicle for a future Arab League tree, or as a premium or event vehicle for the Soviet tree.
Specifications
Armament
- 100mm BS-3
- BR-412 APHE
- 218mm at 0°
- BR-412B APHEBC
- 218mm at 0°
- BR-412D APCBC
- 239mm at 0°
- BR-412P APCR
- 224mm at 0°
- 3BM-8 APDS
- 336mm at 0°
- 3BK-5 HEAT-FS
- 350mm at 0°
- 3BK-5M HEAT-FS
- 380mm at 0°
- OF-412 HE
- BR-412 APHE
Armour
- Hull
- Front - 45mm at 60º
- Sides - 45mm at 39º
- Rear - 45mm at 47º
Mobility
- Speed
- 55km/h on land
- Weight
- 35t
- Engine power
- 500hp, ~15hp/t
Other
- Crew
- 5 (Commander, gunner, loader, driver, machine gunner)
Images
Sources