ASU-57

ASU-57

T-80

PT-76B

ASU-57

T-80

PT-76B

USSR

III Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
3.7	4.3	4.3

Class:

Tank destroyer

Research:18 000

Purchase:47 000

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Description

The ASU-57 is a rank III Russian tank destroyer with a battle rating of 3.7 (AB) and 4.3 (RB/SB). It was introduced in Update 1.59 "Flaming Arrows". It was designed as an airborne self-propelled gun to provide fire support and anti-tank capability for the VDV (Vozdushno-Desantnye Voyska), the Soviet airborne forces.

General info

Survivability and armour

Due to the weight restrictions necessary for air portability, the ASU-57 has nearly no armour to speak of, and the side armour can be penetrated by even rifle-calibre machine guns. It has no armoured roof, and is thus extremely vulnerable to strafing runs by aircraft.

Armour type:

• Rolled homogeneous armour

Armour	Front (Slope angle)	Sides	Rear (Slope angle)	Roof	Belly
Body	6 mm (21-65°) Front Plate 6 mm (38°) Lower glacis	4 mm	6 mm (9°)	5 mm	6 mm

Notes:

• Suspension wheels are 10 mm thick, tracks are 15 mm thick

Mobility

Game Mode	Max Speed (km/h)		Weight (tons)	Engine power (horsepower)		Power-to-weight ratio (hp/ton)
	Forward	Reverse		Stock	Upgraded	Stock	Upgraded
Arcade	50	6	3.4	78	105	22.94	30.88
Realistic	46	6		49	55	14.41	16.18

While the ASU-57 has a top speed below 50 km/h, it has an excellent power/weight ratio that allows the vehicle to accelerate very quickly to reach its top speed. It is thus very mobile and turns very quickly. However, it has a poor reverse speed of only 5 km/h, which makes it hard to back up into cover or away from a threat.

Armaments

The ASU-57 is armed with the 57 mm Ch-51M, a derivative of the 57 mm ZiS-2 anti-tank gun encountered previously on the ZiS-30. The mounting has a very limited amount of gun depression and traverse due to the small size of the ASU-57. The gun itself has a fairly fast reload, which is a good thing since it is not uncommon for the first penetrating hit to not completely destroy the target.

The gun starts off with the BR-271SP APBC shot. This round has no explosive filler, but has a respectable amount of penetration and surprisingly decent post-penetration damage due to spalling. The BR-271M APCBC shell does have an explosive filler, but at the cost of lower penetration than the stock APBC round. The BR-271N APCR shot has the best penetration, but also does a pitiful amount of damage upon penetration and also performs very poorly against sloped armour.

57 mm ch-51M
Capacity			Vertical guidance	Horizontal guidance	Stabilizer
30			-4°/+12°	±7°	N/A
Turret rotation speed (°/s)
Mode	Stock	Upgraded	Prior + Full crew	Prior + Expert qualif.	Prior + Ace qualif.
Arcade	10.57	14.63	17.76	19.64	20.89
Realistic	7.14	8.4	10.2	11.28	12
Reloading rate (seconds)
Stock	Prior + Full crew	Prior + Expert qualif.	Prior + Ace qualif.
6.50	5.75	5.30	5

Ammunition

Penetration statistics
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Penetration in mm @ 90°
		10m	100m	500m	1000m	1500m	2000m
BR-271SP	APBC	162	158	144	129	115	103
BR-271M	APCBC	146	142	127	110	96	83
O-271	HE	5	5	5	5	5	5
BR-271N	APCR	159	155	140	123	108	94

Shell details
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Velocity in m/s	Projectile Mass in kg	Fuse delay in m:	Fuse sensitivity in mm:	Explosive Mass in g (TNT equivalent):	Normalization At 30° from horizontal:	Ricochet:
								0%	50%	100%
BR-271SP	APBC	1020	3.4	N/A	N/A	N/A	+4°	48°	63°	71°
BR-271M	APCBC	975	2.8	1.2	9	20.02	+4°	48°	63°	71°
O-271	HE	695	3.7	0.4	0.01	220	+0°	79°	80°	81°
BR-271N	APCR	1125	2.4	N/A	N/A	N/A	+1.5°	66°	70°	72°

Ammo racks

Ammo racks of the ASU-57.

Full ammo	1st rack empty	2nd rack empty	3rd rack empty	Visual discrepancy
30	25 (+5)	19 (+11)	1 (+29)	No

Right side empty: 19 (+11)

Usage in battles

One of the smallest tracked vehicles in the game, weighing only 3.3 tons, the ASU-57's complete lack of armour makes it extremely vulnerable. Its only defense is its small size, making it extremely difficult to notice, let alone hit. It accelerates quickly and is very nimble for a turretless tank destroyer.

The ASU-57 is very difficult but can be very rewarding and fun to play. It is not recommended for arcade battles, as its primary advantage, stealth, is lost. The ASU-57 is a master of stealth, famed and beloved by the community for its ability to sneak up on tanks using its extremely small size. When using the ASU-57, objects that other tanks would ignore or simply drive over are capable of completely hiding the vehicle, making ambushes and surprise attacks the specialty of the ASU-57. This size comes at a cost, however, as the ASU-57 is extremely vulnerable to almost anything that can shoot at it. Aircraft are especially dangerous due to the open crew compartment.

The ASU-57 is best used as an ambusher/flanker, executing surprise attacks from unexpected locations other vehicles would struggle or be unable to reach. The ASU-57 is incredibly short, and by driving up next to an enemy it can render the enemy tank completely helpless, as almost no vehicle has enough gun depression to reach it. For this reason, it is recommended to only go after isolated vehicles, as an enemy teammate will be able to assist their ally by destroying the ASU-57. For the maximum efficiency of this tactic, knock out the driver of the enemy vehicle, then rush up to their side before they can bring their gun to bear.

It is also interesting to note that the ASU-57 is the lowest ranked vehicle in the game with access to night vision devices.

Modules

Tier	Mobility		Protection	Firepower
I	Tracks		Parts	Horizontal Drive
II	Suspension	Brake System	FPE	Adjustment of Fire	Airstrike	BR-271M
III	Filters		Crew Replenishment	Elevation Mechanism
IV	Transmission	Engine		Improved optics	BR-271N	NVD

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Tiny size; difficult to spot and hit
• Armour is too thin to trigger APHE fuzes
• Excellent mobility
• Most powerful 57 mm gun in the game
• Lowest ranked vehicle that has access to NVDs
• Given all the abilities of a light tank (scouting, help repair)
• Very short; so most tanks can't kill it with their main gun up close

Cons:

• Virtually no armour, can be hull-broken
• Low ammunition capacity
• Extremely vulnerable to aircraft
• 57 mm gun rarely destroys vehicles with one shot
• Prone to hull break
• Poor gun depression and horizontal traverse
• NVD's are only available in 3rd person or in the Commander's view

History

Development

In mid-1940s, sometime either late in World War II or post-war, a proposal was made to develop a vehicle for the airborne troops. The vehicle was to be a lightweight assault gun able to support the paratroopers by being transportable by air. The task was given to two design bureaus, OKB-40 headed by Nikolaj Astrov in Mytischi and the other to Anatoly Karvtsev in Moscow. Astrov designed his vehicle as the ASU-76, armed with a 76 mm D-56T gun. The design ended up being too heavy and its armour way too thin for adequate protection and was cancelled. Kartsev's project was the K-73 which was amphibious and used a 57 mm Ch-51 anti-tank gun as its armament. This was even more thinly armoured than the ASU-76 and was also cancelled.

In 1949, Astrov was able to continue work on his design, but with specifications that the vehicle be made lighter and use the 57 mm Ch-51 gun instead due to its anti-tank performances. The redesigned vehicle was labeled Object 572 and passed the test phases in 1949. It was formally accepted for service as the ASU-57 in 1951 and production lasted from 1950 to 1952 with amounts produced up to a thousand.

Usage

The ASU-57, as an airborne vehicle, was made to be air-dropped from planes and land via a rocket-assisted parachute. It was then crewed by its airborne crew and support the airborne troops in their operation. Each airborne division had 54 vehicles at its disposal. It proved successful despite its weak armour and small caliber as this type of vehicle was invaluable in the hands of airborne troops, able to use a mobile artillery vehicle behind enemy lines. The ASU-57 stayed in service in the Soviet Airborne Forces for around 20 years before being replaced by the ASU-85.

The ASU-57 was also given out to the Soviet Union's allies from 1960s to 70s. Such included Egypt, East Germany, North Korea, Poland, Sahrawi Republic, Vietnam, Yugoslavia, and Ethiopia.

Historical Footage

ASU-57 Soviet Airborne Tank Destroyer

Media

Skin and Camouflages for the ASU-57 in Warthunder Live.

See also

• [Devblog] ASU-57: Air Delivery

External links

• [Wikipedia] ASU-57