SU100Y - Soviet Premium Tank Destroyer Tier VI

History

In December 1939, the Northwest Command of the Red Army requested that the N°185 factory develop a vehicle based on the T-100. The vehicle had not only to operate as a self-propelled gun, but also to be used to lay bridges, transport explosives, and recover tanks destroyed or damaged on the battlefield. During the development of this vehicle, the ABTU proposed to mount the large, high velocity 152 mm cannon on the T-100 in order to give it the capacity to destroy bunkers and other strong fixed fortifications. The plant manager at N°185 proposed to stop the development of the prototype to use T-100 as a self-propelled gun armed with the 100 and 130 mm naval guns. This idea was accepted and on January 8, 1940, the plans of the T-100-X were finalized and sent to the Izhorskyi factory. The T-100-X had a box-shaped fighting compartment and was equipped with the 130 mm B-13 naval gun. For mobility, kept the torsion bar suspension system, as was the trend in modern tanks of the day. During the development of the prototype the shape of the fighting compartment was modified to reduce ammunition loading times. The new design was the SU-100Y. The designs of the SU-100Y were sent to the Izhorskyi factory on February 24, 1940 and assembly began on the first of the month. The self-propelled gun was tested for the first time on March 14. As the Winter War was finished, the SU-100Y never saw combat.

 

Pros and Cons

Pros

• The Gun - Its fairly accurate with a good crew and I don't need to mention that you can one shot most Tier 4 and 5 tanks...
• Speed - This TD moves surprisingly quickly for its size.  I was expecting KV like performance.  It moves more like an IS - not as fast mind you, but it seems fine for its size.  Backing speed is a little slow though.
• Fear factor.  There is nothing like blasting a KV-1 or 1S into oblivion with one or two shots and seeing some of the bigger tanks back away quickly.
• Excellent cannon with a good combination of accuracy, damage output and reload rate that is bolstered significantly by a great Premium round and a serviceable HE round
• Surprisingly mobile for such a large, heavy vehicle
• Mass of vehicle makes it a surprisingly good rammer
• Height of vehicle allows for shooting over certain obstacles
• Good HP pool, comparable to a tier 7 TD
• Earns well, even when using Premium ammunition
• Great crew trainer

 

Cons

• The armor - it does bounce a decent amount of shots from smaller tanks, but it’s definitely thin.  
• BIG - You are a good target for SPGs, I usually one hit SU100Y with my GW Panther.
• Aim time and reload - The gun is accurate enough, but takes a while to aim, and certainly the reload time is long, so don't fire unless you have somewhere to hide for a bit.  If you aren't used to big Russian guns, you will struggle
• Slow backing speed.  You will almost always take a hit after firing because you will not be able to back into cover fast enough... unless you one shot them - which is a big possibility.

 

Play style

The SU-100Y is generally quite satisfying to play. One-shot enemy never gets old and is also productive in general. However, it is rather easy to play the SU-100Y incorrectly and end up either dead with no damage dealt or alive with little damage dealt.
One would naturally assume that a huge, soft vehicle with reasonable accuracy would be best suited to functioning as a long-range support sniper, dishing out damage to enemy vehicles from as far away as possible. This assumption would be valid were it not for the abysmal Tier 4 71-TK-3U radio-set module; the hideous signal range of 440m the SU-100Y is unable to function well if it lags too far behind the vehicles it is supporting. As a result, attempting to play the SU-100Y as a long-range support sniper can often fail embarrassingly, and that is a very poor use for this vehicle.
Generally, the best use of the SU-100Y is as a mid-range support vehicle. When loosely attached to a group of friendly vehicles, the SU-100Y is capable of providing outstanding support, engaging enemies in the 200m to 300m range bracket easily; making use of the forward friendly vehicles for cover, support and spotting. When playing the SU-100Y in this role it is important to keep an eye on the mini-map utilize it’s mobility to get the big gun to where it is most needed.
A friendly group pushing should be accompanied by the SU-100Y; likewise, if a nearby flank is collapsing the 100Y could well save the day with a quick flex to provide support. Obviously, if the friendly group is eliminated then the SU-100Y should retreat carefully while dishing out as much damage as it can.
Played correctly, the SU-100Y should put out at least 1000 damage minimum while netting at least 2 kills in the process. Finishing a battle with less than 1000 damage is a good indicator of either too aggressively or too passively. 2000+ damage battles are quite manageable in the SU-100Y although 3000+ damage thrashings can be trickier due to the low hit-point pools of Tier 4 and 5 vehicles.

Crew

• Commander: Sixth Sense, BiA, Repairs, Jack-of-all-Trades, Signal Boosting, Camouflage
• Driver: Repairs, BiA, Clutch-Breaking, Off-Road Driving, Controlled Impact, Smooth Ride, Preventative Maintenance
• 1st Gunner: Repairs, BiA, Dead-eye, Designated Target, Camouflage
• 2nd Gunner: Repairs, BiA, Snap Shot, Armorer, Camouflage
• 1st Loader: Repairs, BiA, Safe Stowage, Adrenaline Rush, Camouflage
• 2nd Loader: Repairs, BiA, Adrenaline Rush, Safe Intuition, Camouflage, Safe Stowage

 

Equipment (Recommend)

• Rammer
• Enhanced Gun-Laying Drive
• Vents

Consumables (Recommend)

• Automatic Fire-Extinguisher
• Repair Kit/Large Repair Kit
• First-Aid Kit/Large First-Aid Kit

 

Conclusion
If you like to play TDs - this tank will be right up your alley.  Its a little different than your standard Soviet TD because of its crazy size, but its not that hard to play if you are good at TD.  I would say, like the SU-122-44, this tank borders OP and because of that, its a LOT of fun to play, though you will get a lot of rude comments from the dead and dying on the red team.  Take a thick skin with you when you run this tank