The 100 mm vz. 53 was a dual-purpose

field gun A field gun is a field artillery piece. Originally the term referred to smaller guns that could accompany a field army on the march, that when in combat could be moved about the battlefield in response to changing circumstances ( field artille ...

and

anti-tank gun An anti-tank gun is a form of artillery designed to destroy tanks and other armored fighting vehicles, normally from a static defensive position. The development of specialized anti-tank munitions and anti-tank guns was prompted by the appearance ...

designed and produced for the

Czechoslovak Army The Czechoslovak Army (Czech and Slovak: Československá armáda) was the name of the armed forces of Czechoslovakia. It was established in 1918 following Czechoslovakia's declaration of independence from Austria-Hungary. History In the fi ...

during the 1950s.

History

When

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

was created with the dissolution of

Austro-Hungarian Empire Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

after

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

it inherited a large and capable arms manufacturing industry. This allowed the new state to both design and produce its own weapons for domestic use and for export. After World War II this design and manufacturing experience allowed Czechoslovakia to not only produce Soviet designs under license but to produce equipment for its own use and for export to its

Warsaw Pact The Warsaw Pact (WP) or Treaty of Warsaw, formally the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance, was a collective defense treaty signed in Warsaw, Poland, between the Soviet Union and seven other Eastern Bloc socialist republic ...

allies. A consequence of its membership in the Warsaw Pact was that the military hardware it produced used Soviet caliber ammunition. This standardization was also pursued by

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

members, but with their own calibers of ammunition.

Design

Design and development of the vz. 53 began in 1948 at the

Škoda Works The Škoda Works ( cs, Škodovy závody, ) was one of the largest European industrial conglomerates of the 20th century, founded by Czech engineer Emil Škoda in 1859 in Plzeň, then in the Kingdom of Bohemia, Austrian Empire. It is the predece ...

in Pilsen under the company designation of A20. Problems with the design of ammunition lead to production being discontinued in 1950. It wasn't until 1953 that the problems were resolved and development resumed with designation vz.53. The vz.53 was designed to fill the same roles as the Soviet 100 mm field gun M1944 (BS-3) and used the same ammunition. Its performance was similar to that of the M1944 but since it was a unique design it had different dimensions. For night fighting it could be fitted with an infra-red sight. Similarities * Fixed QF 100 x 695 mm R ammunition * Split-trail carriage * Semi-automatic vertical sliding-wedge breech * Gun shield * Hydro-pneumatic recoil system * Double-baffle muzzle brake Differences * Weight * Length * Barrel length * Single tires * Elevation * Traverse

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:100 mm vz. 53 100 mm artillery Artillery of Czechoslovakia Anti-tank guns of the Cold War Field artillery of the Cold War Military equipment introduced in the 1950s