SU-57B
Contents
Description
The SU-57B is a rank II Russian tank destroyer
with a battle rating of 2.7 (AB/RB/SB). It was introduced in Update 1.83 "Masters of the Sea".
This tank destroyer uses a 57 mm ZIS-4 for its main gun. It features a low profile, good top speed (40 km/h in RB) and great penetration for its tier, but a weak to very weak armour on all angles. It is the first Tank destroyer (TD) available at Tier 3.
The overall design of the SU-57B allows for sneaky attacks, if possible from medium range on unsuspecting enemies. Because of its low profile, this TD can use bushes and terrain to hide its approach.
The main gun is ridiculously powerful for its tier and hull.It features a ZIS-4 57mm that has a penetration rate similar to higher 76mm gun, and better than the ZIS-30 main gun. To the contrary of the ZIS-30, the SU-57B has 72 rounds capacity, which makes it suitable for long battles and the player can affort to miss shots.The position of the main gun is quite low and enemies will have a hard time detecting the silhouette of the tank. However because of its long barrel, one must be careful not to stand out from cover or from the sides.
The recoil of the gun can be important and must be taken care of, as well as the dispersion effect.The relatively fast reloading rate allows for a comfortable targeting.
However the poor mobility hampers the effectiveness of the tank, especially in RB mode. This condems this TD as a long-range sniper only.
Regarding the crew protection, because of the number of crew members (4), the loss of 1 or 2 crew members is acceptable. But due to the thin armour (25mm front, 16mm sides and rear), the SU-57B can take one or two shots maximum before being put out of order. It is much better protected than the ZIS-30 and can sustain MG fire.
Overall, the only value of the Su-57B is its powerful and precise 57mm gun. The ZIS-30 does better in terms of mobility and speed and can reposition much faster. Despite all these limitations, when played right the SU-57B can score good scores, but only when properly positioned and not detected.
General info
Survivability and armour
The SU-57B has the best armour on the front (25mm), weaker armour on the sides (16mm) and weak on the rear (16mm).
Front Armour:
Side Armour:
Rear Armour:
Top 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 |
Crew Placement:
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.
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 |
Usage in 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
History
In 1943 the MVTU USSR design bureau proposed an 11 ton tank hunter prototype with two main gun variants:
1/ The 75mm S-1 main gun
2/ The 57 mm S-1-57 main gun
Both would be propelled with a diesel GMC-71 engine.
At the same moment, the GAZ design bureau was working on 2 designs. One named "GAZ-74b" which is the SU-57B with a long barrel, and an improved version with a 76 mm gun.The Su-57a was to be the tank hunter with the 76mm main gun. The Su-57B was not accepted for service because it was too costly pro produce and because of its newer diesel engine.
Later the GAZ-74d (SU-76d) would come out with a 76mm S-1 main gun and a frontal armor of 60mm. It will also be known later as "SU-80".
Media
A Youtube review on how to play the Su-57B: [1]
See also
Links to the articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example:
- reference to the series of the vehicles;
- links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.
External links
Great article about Russian Hetzers.: [2]
A great Russian webpage (also in English) avout WWII Russian tanks and their history: [3]
USSR tank destroyers | |
---|---|
SU-76M | SU-76M · SU-76M (5th Gv.Kav.Corps) · SU-85A |
SU-57B | SU-57B · SU-76D |
T-34 Derivatives | SU-122 · SU-85 · SU-85M · SU-100 · SU-122P |
Heavy Tank Derivatives | SU-100Y · ISU-122 · ISU-122S · SU-152 · ISU-152 · Object 268 |
SU-100P and Derivatives | SU-100P · Object 120 |
Wheeled | YaG-10 (29-K) |
Airborne | ASU-57 · ASU-85 |
Rocket | BM-8-24 · BM-13N · BM-31-12 |
ATGM | IT-1 · Shturm-S · Object 775 · Khrizantema-S |
Artillery | 2S1 · 2S3M |
Other | SU-5-1 · ZiS-30 · SU-122-54 |
USA | SU-57 |