SU-57B

SU-57B

ZiS-30

SU-122

SU-57B

ZiS-30

SU-122

USSR

II Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
2.7	2.7	2.7

Class:

Tank destroyer

Research:4 600

Purchase:16 000

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Description

SU-57B

The SU-57B is a rank II Russian tank destroyer with a battle rating of 2.7 (AB/RB/SB).

This tank destroyer utilises a 57 mm SIS-4 for its main gun. It features a low profile, good speed (40 km/h) and great penetration for its tier, but a very weak armour on all angles. It is the first Tank destroyer (TD) available at Tier 3.

History

October 29 1943, the MVTU USSR design bureau proposed the design of a tank hunter of the class of the 11 tons, propelled by a diesel GMC-71 engine and armed of the 76 mm S-1 or the 57 mm S-1-57 but no instruction concerning its production was not given. To the same moment GAZ continued its work on the hunters of tanks and proposed a GAZ-74b equipped with the 57 mm gun with long barrel, as well as an improved vehicle armed with a 76 mm gun. The model with canon of 57 mm factory GAZ was renamed SU-57b while the one of the factory n°38 was renamed SU-57a to avoid the confusions. The SU-57b passed all the tests with successes but finally was not accepted for the service because of its price and obligation to produce a new diesel engine. The design office of NATI proposed equally its own model of tank hunter armed of the gun of 57 mm strong similar to the GAZ-74, that as it was not accepted for the service.

In 1944, one modernized the GAZ-74 whit the the gun of 76 mm S-1 (GAZ-74d or SU-76d). Frontal armor of this model was of 60 mm. The GAZ-74d was sent to pass governmental tests under the designation SU-80. It was not accepted for the service because of the few improvements that it brought in comparison with the SU-76 already produced in mass and usage of an imported engine.

Credits: [1]

General info

Survivability and armour

Describe armour protection. Note the most well protected and key weak areas. Appreciate the layout of modules as well as the number and location of crew members. Is the level of armour protection sufficient, is the placement of modules helpful for survival in combat?

If necessary use a visual template to indicate the most secure and weak zones of the armour.

Armour type:

• Rolled homogeneous armour

Armour	Front	Sides	Rear	Roof	Tracks
Hull	25mm for Front plate Front glacis Lower glacis	16mm for Top and Bottom	16mm(72°)	10mm (85°)	15mm(11°)
Gun shield	15mm (15°)	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

Mobility

The SU-57B is sluggish at backwards speed and you will have a hard time countering an opponent behind you. Your best bet is to flee when spotted. Fortunately thanks to its great speed (43 km/h maximum) it can flee quite easily.

Mobility characteristic
Weight (tons)	Add-on Armour weight (tons)	Max speed (km/h)
9.5	N/A	43 (AB)
		40 (RB/SB)
Engine power (horsepower)
Mode	Stock	Upgraded
Arcade	148	164.4
Realistic/Simulator	92	98
Power-to-weight ratio (hp/ton)
Mode	Stock	Upgraded
Arcade
Realistic/Simulator

Armaments

Main armament

It's pretty good reload speed (6.5 seconds) allows this tank to shoot with efficiency, however, with 72 rounds of ammunition, the SU-57B has much more ammo than the ZIS-30, allowing it to shoot freely without restriction. However, keep in mind the 6.5 seconds initial reload time can be quite long when facing an opponent at close range.

57 mm ZiS-4
Capacity			Vertical guidance	Horizontal guidance	Stabilizer
72			-5°/+14°	±30°	N/A
Turret rotation speed (°/s)
Mode	Stock	Upgraded	Prior + Full crew	Prior + Expert qualif.	Prior + Ace qualif.
Arcade	4.2		__.__	__.__	__.__
Realistic	4.2	4.95	__.__	__.__	__.__
Reloading rate (seconds)
Stock	Prior + Full crew	Prior + Expert qualif.	Prior + Ace qualif.
6.50

Additional armament

N/A

Machine guns

N/A

Usage in the battles

The SU-57B is purely a tank hunter. With its 57mm ZIS-4 gun, and at a BR of 3,3 it can easily pierce almost any opponent in the game. Because of its weak armour, it was not capable of engaging too close and had to stay at a medium to long range.

Its APHEBC initial ammunition is effective at piercing enemy armour, but the nest ammo modification is even better with the APHE round (BR-271K).

It also features a HE round that can be unlocked later, but it is preferable to stick with BR-271 or BR-217K rounds as they offer up to 142 mm of penetration which is excellent for its use and BR.

The SU-57B is best played as a sniper, preferably taking advantage of its very low profile (still not as good as the ASU-57 but almost). It excels at shooting from high vantage points or from the sides but must be repositioned after each shot to avoid retaliation fire.

With only 25 mm frontal armour at best and 16mm on the side and virtually none on the rear, a single shot would be fatal and leave the crew disabled at best. It is even susceptible to Heavy MG fire from the sides and rear

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Great forward speed
• Great 57mm ZIS-4 main gun
• Very low profile ideal for sneak attacks and sniper attacks, similar to ASU-57
• Good reload time (6,5 seconds)

Cons:

• Sluggish acceleration
• Very weak rear speed
• Poor side mobility. Don't expect to be able to turn around quickly
• Weak armour (25/16/16) and susceptible to rear and side shots or even Heavy MG

Sources

Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:

• topic on the official game forum;
• other literature.