Soviet heavy tanks of the kv. Heavy tank kv See what "Heavy tank KV" is in other dictionaries

Main characteristics

Briefly

in detail

4.3 / 4.0 / 4.3 BR

5 people Crew

Mobility

49.0 tons Weight

5 forward
1 back checkpoint

Armament

111 shells ammo

5° / 25° UVN

1,890 rounds of ammunition

63 rounds clip size

600 shots/min rate of fire

Economy

Description

In order to strengthen the armor protection of the KV-1 heavy tank, an additional screening scheme was developed and approved on June 19, 1941. It was decided to shield the sides of the turret with 30 mm armor, the frontal part of the hull and some places on the sides with 25 mm armor. The gun mantlet and the forehead of the turret were not shielded in order to maintain the balance of the turret and artillery system, the thickness of the armor remained the same - 75 mm.

The first KV-1s used for screening differed somewhat from the tanks produced in the spring of 1941. The main difference was the turret, assembled according to a new technology - on goujons. According to the new technology, the frontal and stern sheets were attached to the side plates at the butt, with the help of goujons and welding. At the same time, the weld was on the sides, at a distance of 75 mm (thickness of the front and rear sheets) from the edge.

Enhanced protection of the sides of the hull and turret, as a rule, had vehicles shielded in late June - early July 1941. In addition to shielding the sides of the turret and hull, the frontal parts of the hull were additionally armored with welded armor plates.

The shielded tanks produced at the end of July 1941 had reinforced rollers with additional stiffeners; only the sides of the turret were shielded.

Main characteristics

Armor protection and survivability

Additional screens - 25-30 mm

Excellent armor is the main advantage of the KV-1E tank. In addition to the main armor, the protection of the tank was significantly enhanced by additional screens, which increased the thickness of the armor to 100 mm or more in some places.

Problem areas of the forehead of the tank

So, for example, the thickness of the sides of the tower was 105 mm, and the armor in this zone is almost continuous. The turret forehead joints are partially reinforced with screens, but the front itself and the gun mantlet have standard armor. This is done to maintain balance between the turret and the gun.

The weak point is the protective casing of the gun damping system, the thickness of the armor in this place is 75 mm, at an angle of only 4 °. Penetration of the casing with any projectile disables the gun. The mantlet of the gun is better protected, here the thickness of the armor is already 90 mm, while the mantlet has a rounded shape, which further increases the chance of ricochet. In general, the armor of the turret's forehead is worse than the armor of its sides, so it is better to "tank" enemy shots with the side of the turret, substituting under his shot at an effective angle of 35-45 °. This will significantly increase the reduced thickness of the armor, up to impenetrable 170-180 mm.

The forehead of the tank hull is reinforced unevenly, the lower frontal part is not completely covered by the screen, a fairly wide strip at the bottom of the NLD remains unprotected. The "shelf" of the forehead of the hull is protected by a screen in the area of ​​​​the observation devices of the driver and the machine-gun nest. The armor of the KV-1E has practically no rational angles of inclination, therefore, when playing on this tank, it is vital to be able to defend yourself with a "rhombus".

Mobility

Despite the fact that the weight of the tank, compared to the KV-1, increased by three tons and amounted to 49 tons (KV-1 weighs 46 tons), the KV-1E did not lose dynamics and mobility. On the contrary, the specific engine power was increased to 12.24 horsepower per ton against 11.52 for the KV-1. This was due to the installation of a more powerful 600-horsepower engine.

The tank is dynamic enough for its weight, quickly picks up the declared speed, responds well to control. It moves briskly over rough terrain at a speed of more than 24 km.h. But the reverse gear let us down, only 6 km.h., which can cause the death of the tank, since it may not have time to get away from the massive enemy fire in time. This must be remembered and properly planned retreat routes.

Armament

main gun

The 76 mm F-32 gun is no different from other Soviet tank guns from the beginning of World War II, players familiar with the guns of this period presented in the game will not have to relearn to play on this tank. The vertical aiming angles of the gun, traditionally for Soviet technology, have poor negative values, only -5 ° down. Up the gun is able to rise by 25 °. The ammunition load of the gun is 116 rounds, which is a lot. In the top, the tank's rate of fire is 6.3 seconds. In order to fire the entire ammunition load, it will take 12 minutes of firing without stopping. You don't have to worry about saving ammo.

Since the tank is premium, all types of ammunition are available immediately. Therefore the projectile BR-350A- an armor-piercing blunt-headed chambered projectile with an MD-5 fuse will never be used, even though the armor-piercing effect of a blunt-headed projectile is stronger than a sharp-headed projectile BR-350B. A dumb-headed projectile loses to its counterpart in armor-piercing, and when the armor is broken, the result for both types of projectile is the same - the complete destruction of the enemy. High-explosive fragmentation projectile OF-350M also not used, it is successfully replaced by a shrapnel projectile Sh-354T, which successfully destroys lightly armored vehicles, and at close range is capable of destroying a medium armored tank, which a landmine cannot do.

Available ammo:

• BR-350A- blunt with a ballistic tip, tracer;
• BR-350B- blunt-headed with a ballistic tip, with localizers, tracer;
• OF-350- steel high-explosive fragmentation projectile;
• Sh-354T- shrapnel with T-6 tube.

Machine gun armament

DT (Degtyareva tank) - Soviet tank machine gun of 7.62 mm caliber. It is a modification of the 7.62 mm DP light machine gun designed in 1927. It is practically useless in the game, it can only destroy the crew in non-armored anti-aircraft guns, as well as "raise dust" - shoot at the ground in front of the enemy, making it difficult for him to aim.

Use in combat

Fuel tanks are very vulnerable

The KV-1E is one of the most durable tanks in the entire Soviet tech tree. The presence of excellent armor, complemented by screens, good weapons and satisfactory dynamics, as for a heavy tank - all this allows you to go into the thick of battle without fear of serious damage. And all why? All because the rhombus. In this position, the tank is practically immortal. The main thing to remember is the only rule - be constantly in a rhombus, even when you are just driving.

It is very important not to expose the side of the tank to the shot, fuel tanks occupy the entire middle part of the hull, breaking through the tank is almost always a fire. When moving around the battlefield, you need to take into account that the tank's turret rotates very slowly, only 11.3 ° per second. Sometimes it's faster to turn the hull than to turn the tank turret, so plan your sector of fire in advance.

If you throw against strong opponents, play prudently, in the second line, trying to cover the rear of the allies, to mess with the opponents, knocking down the tracks and breaking their guns. If the enemy is weak, then you need to be at the epicenter of events, break into the forehead of the enemy and destroy everything that moves. What does not move, then push and destroy.

Speaking of opponents. We have a fairly comfortable combat rating, but opponents are often not a gift at all. On combat ratings 3.3-4.3, you need to be afraid of opponents with high penetration, such as: M10 Wolverine, Pz.Kpfw. IV Ausf. F2, Sturmgeschütz III Ausf. F. But thanks to the excellent F-32 gun, they are not a big problem for us. If we got to 5.0-5.3, then we are afraid of everyone, absolutely. We live in an eternal rhombus, we hesitated a bit and did not finish the hull with the tower - hello hangar.

Advantages and disadvantages

The KV-1E is a powerful tank with good armor and a killer gun. Very tenacious with the skillful use of the tactical technique "rhombus". Dislikes hilly terrain due to poor elevation angles. A storm against opponents of his battle rating and below, but weak against opponents with a battle rating above 5.0.

Advantages:

• Powerful weapons
• Fast gun reload (6.3 seconds in the top)
• Good mobility for a heavy tank
• Additional armor (shielding)

Flaws:

• Insufficient reservation of the forehead of the tower
• Low turret traverse
• Vulnerable location of fuel tanks
• Bad UVN

History reference

Penetration of the KV-1E armor by an 88-mm anti-aircraft gun projectile

Serial production of KV tanks began in February 1940 at the Kirov Plant. In accordance with the decree of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR and the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks dated June 19, 1940, the Chelyabinsk Tractor Plant (ChTZ) was also ordered to start producing KV. On December 31, 1940, the first KV was assembled at ChTZ. At the same time, the construction of a special building for the assembly of HF began at the plant.

In 1941, it was planned to produce 1200 KV tanks of all modifications. Of these, at the Kirov Plant - 1000 pcs. (400 KV-1, 100 KV-2, 500 KV-3) and another 200 KV-1 at ChTZ. However, only a few tanks were assembled at ChTZ before the start of the war. In 1940, 243 KV-1 and KV-2 were built (including 104 KV-2), and in the first half of 1941 - 393 (including 100 KV-2). On May 13, 1941, the directors of the Kirov and Izhora plants, who were to participate in the modernization of the KV-1, were considered and approved by the directors of the shielding drawings for the KV-1 tanks.

On June 19, 1941, a protocol was signed for the final approval of the shielding scheme for KV tanks. It said: "Tank KV-1 shield the sides of the tower with armor 30 mm thick, the frontal part and places on the sides of the hull with armor 25 mm thick in accordance with the drawings signed for prototypes" and further - "To maintain the balance of the towers and artillery systems of KV tanks -1 and KV-2 (part 57-70) and do not shield the movable armor of the guns, leaving a thickness of 75 mm.

Apart from the essentially experimental use of HF in the Finnish campaign, the tank went into battle for the first time after the German attack on the USSR. The very first meetings of German tankers with KV put them into a state of shock. The tank practically did not make its way from German tank guns (for example, a German sub-caliber projectile of a 50-mm tank gun pierced the side of the KV from a distance of 300 m, and the forehead only from a distance of 40 m).

The Germans evacuate the wrecked KV-1E

Anti-tank artillery was also ineffective: for example, the armor-piercing projectile of the 50-mm Pak 38 anti-tank gun made it possible to hit the KV in favorable conditions at a distance of only less than 500 m. Only 105-mm howitzers and 88-mm anti-aircraft guns were more effective.

However, the tank was "raw": the novelty of the design and the haste of introducing it into production affected. The transmission, which could not withstand the loads of a heavy tank, caused especially a lot of trouble - it often failed. And if in open combat the KV really had no equal, then in the conditions of retreat, many KVs, even with minor breakdowns, had to be abandoned or destroyed. There was no way to repair or evacuate them.

Several KVs - abandoned or knocked out - were recovered by the Germans. However, captured HFs were used for a short time - the lack of spare parts affected them with the same frequent breakdowns.

HF caused conflicting assessments of the military. On the one hand - invulnerability, on the other - insufficient reliability. And with cross-country ability, not everything is so simple: the tank could hardly overcome steep slopes, many bridges could not withstand it. In addition, he destroyed any road - wheeled vehicles could no longer move behind him, which is why KV was always placed at the end of the column.

In general, according to contemporaries, the KV did not have any special advantages over the T-34. The tanks were equal in firepower, both were less vulnerable to anti-tank artillery. At the same time, the T-34 had the best dynamic characteristics, was cheaper and easier to manufacture, which is important in wartime.

Media

see also

• reference to the family of technology;
• links to approximate analogues in other nations and branches.

And the like.

Links

· KV family
With 75 mm gun	▀Pz.Kpfw. KW I C mit 7.5 cm KwK L/48
With 76 mm gun	KV-1 with L-11 gun KV-1E▀KV-1B (Ps. 272-1) KV-1 with ZiS-5 gun KV-1S
With 85 mm gun	KV-85 KV-220
With 107 mm gun	KV-2 with ZiS-6 gun
With 122 mm gun	KV-122
With 152 mm gun	KV-2 arr. 1939 KV-2 mod. 1940 · ▀Pz.Kpfw. KW II-754(r)
ACS	SU-152

· Soviet heavy tanks
HF	KV-1 with L-11 gun KV-1E ·

KV-1 is a Soviet heavy tank of the second half of the 30s - early 40s of the last century, which took part in the Soviet-Finnish and Great Patriotic War. "KV" - denotes a series of produced vehicles and stands for "Klimenty (Klim) Voroshilov", 1 - the serial number of the line of modifications of the Soviet heavy tanks of the KV series. At the very beginning of the war, the Germans nicknamed the KV-1 Gespenst, which translates as "ghost".

History and background of creation.

In the second half of the 30s of the last century, the Red Army was in dire need of a heavy tank capable of performing tasks that were beyond the power of the heavy five-turreted tank then in service. , having a sufficiently large mass, did not differ in reliable armor and was vulnerable to enemy anti-tank artillery. In fact, commander D. G. Pavlov became the initiator of the start of development and the creation of a new heavy tank.

At the end of the 30s, Soviet designers made numerous attempts to create a tank similar to, but with reduced dimensions, while significantly increasing the tank's armor. The created prototypes were developed according to the multi-tower principle. The most famous of them are SMK (Sergey Mironovich Kirov) and T-100, which had two towers each and were armed with 76 and 45 mm guns. As a smaller version of the SMK, a prototype with one turret was produced, while the mass and length of the tank were significantly reduced, which increased maneuverability. It is generally accepted that it was this prototype, called the experimental tank, that was subsequently sent as the prototype of the future KV tank. Produced at the Leningrad Kirov Plant (LKZ) in early August 1939, the single-turret prototype of the SMK tank was equipped with a diesel engine. Subsequently, it received its name KV-1. At the initial stages of the development of documentation and assembly of the prototype, the lead designer was A. S. Ermolaev, and then - N. L. Dukhov.

During the Soviet-Finnish War, all three prototypes of Soviet heavy tanks, SMK and KV-1, were tested in combat conditions. The government commission recognized the combat test of the new tank as satisfactory and on December 19, 1939, the tank was accepted into service with the Red Army.

The launch of the KV-1 tank into mass production took place in early February 1940 at the Kirov Plant. Also in the same year, the assembly of the tank began at the Chelyabinsk Tractor Plant. In total, during the period of serial production, which lasted until the middle of 1942, more than 2,700 tanks were produced.

Layout.

The KV-1 tank was the first Soviet heavy tank built according to an innovative scheme, which later became a classic for heavy and medium single-turret tanks. In this case, the armored hull was sequentially divided from bow to stern into three main compartments, which had clear separation boundaries. In the bow of the hull there was a control compartment, which housed the driver and gunner-radio operator. In the middle part of the hull and the turret there was a fighting compartment, in which the tank commander, gunner and loader were located. In the rear of the hull in the engine compartment was the engine with cooling radiators and part of the fuel tanks.

Armor protection of the hull and turret.

The armor protection of the KV-1 heavy tank was developed according to a differentiated anti-projectile principle, which protected the tank and its crew from being hit by medium-caliber shells and other means of fighting tanks.

The armored hull of the KV-1 tank was assembled from rolled armor plates by welding them together. The plates had a thickness of 75, 40, 30 and 20 millimeters, which depended on the direction. For example, in the anti-projectile direction (top and bottom of the frontal and aft parts of the hull), the thickness of the armor was 75 millimeters. The aft armor plates had a thickness of 70 millimeters at the bottom and 60 at the top. The bottom and roof of the hull were assembled from armor plates with a thickness of 20 to 40 millimeters. All armor plates had rational angles of inclination to the vertical, except for the sides of the hull, which increased the armor resistance of the structure.

The turrets of the serially produced KV-1 were of three types: a one-piece cast turret, a welded turret with a developed rectangular niche, and a welded turret with a small rounded niche. The thickness of the armor in a circle for welded turrets was 75 millimeters, and for solid cast ones - 95. In the second half of 1941, welded turrets and side parts of the hulls on some tanks began to be reinforced with bolted 25-mm screens, which significantly increased armor resistance when tanks were hit enemy artillery, but this adversely affected the chassis of the vehicle, and this idea was abandoned.

The connection of the frontal part of the tank with other structural parts was provided by welding them together. The turret of the tank was quite streamlined and was a cast part of a complex three-dimensional shape. At the same time, to increase the stability of the armor when shells hit it, it had a thickness of 90 millimeters and was located at an angle to the vertical normal. The frontal part of the turret with an opening for the gun mantlet was cast separately and then welded to the rest of the structure. The mask of the gun was made in the form of a cylindrical segment of a curved rolled armor plate, in which three holes were made, intended for the conclusions of the gun, the sight and the coaxial machine gun. The KV-1 tower itself was mounted on a shoulder strap with a diameter of 1800 millimeters in the armored roof of the fighting compartment. When installing the tower, it was fixed, which prevented the detachment of the tower during a strong roll and tipping the tank on its side.

The landing and disembarkation of the crew was carried out through three main hatches: two round ones - in the tower above the location of the tank commander and in the roof of the hull above the gunner-radio operator and the bottom hatch for emergency evacuation in the event of a tank being knocked out.

Armament.

The main armament of the Soviet heavy tank KV-1 was a 76.2 mm rifled gun. At various stages of the production of the tank, various modifications of guns were used for its armament. For all the time there were four of them: L-11, F-32, F-34 and ZIS-5. According to their characteristics, the first three were almost identical, but the ZIS-5 was significantly superior to them. Ammunition for the gun consisted of 111 unitary loading shots, which were placed in stacking along the sides of the tower, in its aft niche, in cassettes and containers installed on the rotary mechanism plate in the bottom of the hull.

In addition to the cannon, the KV-1 tank was armed with three 7.62 mm DT-29 machine guns. One of them was paired with the gun, the second was the course and the third was installed in the aft niche in ball mounts. Ammunition for DT machine guns consisted of 2772 rounds, which were loaded into disk magazines.

Some copies of the KV-1 were armed with a DT anti-aircraft machine gun, which was mounted on an anti-aircraft turret and equipped with a collimator sight.

Chassis, engine and transmission.

The KV-1 heavy tank was equipped with a V-2K V-shaped four-stroke twelve-cylinder liquid-cooled diesel engine, which was capable of developing 500 horsepower, which allowed the tank to reach a maximum speed of 34 kilometers per hour when driving on the highway. In the second half of 1941, KV-1 tanks began to be equipped with M-17T diesel engines with a capacity of 500 horsepower. This happened due to the loss of Kharkov, where the V-2K engine was produced before the war. The engine and cooling radiators were installed in the aft part of the hull. Fuel tanks with a capacity of 600 to 615 liters were located both in the combat and in the engine compartment.

The heavy tank KV-1 had a mechanical transmission, which consisted of:

the main (main) multi-plate friction clutch, operating on the principle of dry friction "steel according to Ferodo";

five-speed tractor-type gearbox;

two onboard multi-plate clutches operating on the principle of steel-on-steel friction;

two planetary final drives;

band floating brakes.

Transmission control drives were mechanical.

The suspension type of the KV-1 heavy tank is individual torsion with internal shock absorption for each road wheel. Six road wheels of small diameter were stamped and had a gable shape. For each track roller to the armored body by welding, the travel stops of the suspension balancers were mounted. The drive wheels, equipped with removable lantern gears, had a rear arrangement, and sloths - a front one. The upper part of the caterpillar rested on three small rubber stamped support rollers for each side. In 1941, track and support rollers began to be produced by casting and without rubber tires, which was explained by the lack of rubber.

Each caterpillar was assembled from 86-90 single-ridge type tracks, which had a width of 700 millimeters with a step of 160 millimeters.

Combat use.

The heavy tank KV-1 received its baptism of fire on December 17, 1940 during the Soviet-Finnish war in the operation during the breakthrough of the Hottinensky fortified area of ​​the Mannerheim line. In these battles, the KV-1 tank proved to be the best. Not a single enemy anti-tank gun could penetrate his armor, however, the power of the L-11 gun was sometimes not enough to destroy enemy pillboxes, which subsequently prompted the development of one armed with a more powerful gun.

After the German attack on the USSR, the KV-1 heavy tank from the first hours of the war showed its superiority over enemy tanks and self-propelled guns. Its thick armor was not penetrated by more than one enemy tank gun, as well as conventional field anti-tank guns. It was possible to hit the KV-1 at that time only with an 88-mm anti-aircraft gun or a 105-mm howitzer. Large losses in KV-1 tanks in the initial stages of the Great Patriotic War are explained only by the low training of personnel and the inability to make quick repairs in combat conditions, which led to the abandonment of almost combat-ready vehicles during the retreat.

Heavy tanks KV-1 fought on almost all fronts, but the largest number of them were still used on the Karelian and Leningrad fronts, which is explained by the territorial location of the manufacturer. The KV-1 tanks took an active part in the defense of Moscow, Leningrad and Stalingrad, where, according to some experts, they made an almost decisive contribution, in the offensives of the Red Army near Rzhev and in the Battle of Kursk. Gradually, the KV-1s fell out of action due to combat losses and were replaced by newer heavy and medium tanks. The KV-1 ended its combat career where it started, in Finland. During the assault on the Mannerheim Line in 1944, the commander of the Karelian Front, Meretskov, insisted on using only KV-1 tanks in operations to break through the enemy defense line, which had to be collected from all fronts.

In addition to the Red Army, the captured KV-1 tanks were used by the armies of Germany and Finland. In the Wehrmacht, several dozen captured KV-1s were named Panzerkampfwagen KV-IA 753(r). In Finland, the KV-1 tanks were used by its army until the conclusion of the armistice, and the surviving copies were in service even until the end of 1958.

In the hands of skilled crews, the heavy KV-1 tank became a formidable and irresistible force for the Germans. An unknown crew of the KV-1 near Raseiniai (Lithuania) fettered the action of an entire army group for two days, on the KV-1 tank, Senior Lieutenant Zinoviy Kolobanov, in a battle near Krasnogvardeysk (Gatchina) in August 1941, set a record for the destruction of enemy tanks in one battle, shooting from an ambush, 22 tanks and two guns, finding themselves in a practically similar situation, in the battles in the Stalingrad direction, Lieutenant Semyon Konovalov knocked out 16 tanks and 2 armored vehicles of the Germans on a damaged KV-1. The famous Soviet ace also fought on the KV-1 tank, whose tank in the first hours of the war made the first tank ram in its history, overturning a German one. It was Pavel Gudz who, during the defense of Moscow on December 3, 1941, on the KV-1 almost single-handedly recaptured the village of Nefedovo from the Nazis, destroying 10 enemy tanks and crushing two batteries of anti-tank guns.

According to many experts, the Soviet heavy tank KV-1 was the best tank of the first stage of the Great Patriotic War and lost its positions only when other new tanks appeared with more powerful armor and fire characteristics.

Soviet heavy tank of World War II. Usually called simply "KV": the tank was created under this name, and only later, after the appearance of the KV-2 tank, the KV of the first sample retrospectively received a digital index. Produced from August 1939 to August 1942. Participated in the war with Finland and the Great Patriotic War.

History of creation

The need to develop and create a heavy tank carrying anti-cannon armor was well understood in the USSR. Based on domestic military theory, such tanks were simply necessary to break through the enemy’s front and ensure a breakthrough or overcome fortified areas. Most of the armies of the developed countries of the world had their own theories and practices of overcoming the powerful fortified positions of the enemy; experience in this matter was acquired during the First World War. Such modern fortified lines as, for example, the Maginot Line or the Mannerheim Line were considered even theoretically impregnable. There was even an erroneous opinion that the KV tank was created during the Finnish campaign specifically to break through the Finnish long-term fortifications (the Mannerheim line). In fact, the tank began to be created at the end of 1938, when it became completely clear that the concept of a multi-turreted heavy tank like the T-35 was a dead end. It was obvious that having a large number of towers was not an advantage. And the gigantic dimensions of the tank only make it heavier and do not allow the use of sufficiently thick armor. The initiator of the design of the tank was the head of the ABTU of the Red Army commander D. G. Pavlov.

At the end of the 1930s, attempts were made to create a tank of reduced (compared to the T-35) size, but with thicker armor. However, the designers did not dare to completely abandon the use of several towers: it was assumed that one gun would fight infantry and suppress firing points, and the second must be anti-tank - to fight armored vehicles.

The new tanks designed under this concept (SMK and T-100) were double-turreted, armed with 76 mm and 45 mm guns. And only as an experiment, they also created a smaller version of the QMS - with one tower. Due to this, the length of the machine was reduced (by two road wheels), which had a positive effect on the dynamic characteristics. Unlike its predecessor, the KV (as the experimental tank was called) was equipped with a diesel engine. The first copy of the tank was built at the Leningrad Kirov Plant (LKZ) in August 1939. Initially, the chief designer of the tank was A. S. Ermolaev, then - N. L. Dukhov.

On November 30, 1939, the Soviet-Finnish war began. The military did not miss the chance to put the new heavy tanks to the test. The day before the start of the war (November 29, 1939), the SMK, T-100 and KV were sent to the front. They were handed over to the 20th heavy tank brigade armed with T-28 medium tanks.

The KV tank took its first battle on December 17 during the breakthrough of the Khottinensky fortified area of ​​the Mannerheim line.

KV crew in the first battle:

Lieutenant Kachekhin (commander)
-AND. Golovachev military engineer 2nd rank (driver)
- Lieutenant Polyakov (gunner)
-TO. Ladle (driver, tester of the Kirov plant)
-BUT. I. Estratov (mechanic / loader, tester of the Kirov plant)
-P. I. Vasiliev (transmission operator / radio operator, tester at the Kirov Plant)
The tank passed the battle test with honor: not a single enemy anti-tank gun could hit it. The military was upset only by the fact that the 76-mm L-11 gun was not strong enough to deal with pillboxes. For this purpose, a new KV-2 tank, armed with a 152-mm howitzer, had to be designed.

On the recommendation of the GABTU, by a joint resolution of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks and the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR of December 19, 1939 (already a day after the tests), the KV tank was put into service. As for the SMK and T-100 tanks, they also showed themselves quite well (however, the SMK was blown up by a mine at the very beginning of hostilities), but they were never accepted into service, since they were equipped with higher firepower less thick armor, had significant size and weight, as well as worse dynamic characteristics.

Production

Serial production of KV tanks started in February 1940 at the Kirov Plant. In accordance with the decree of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR and the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks dated June 19, 1940, the Chelyabinsk Tractor Plant (ChTZ) was also ordered to begin production of KV. On December 31, 1940, the first KV was built at ChTZ. At the same time, the plant started the construction of a special building for the assembly of HF.

In 1941, it was planned to produce 1200 KV tanks of all modifications. Of these, at the Kirov Plant - 1000 pcs. (400 KV-1, 100 KV-2, 500 KV-3) and another 200 KV-1 at ChTZ. However, only a few tanks were built at ChTZ before the start of the war. In total, 243 KV-1 and KV-2 were produced in 1940 (including 104 KV-2), and in the first half of 1941 - 393 (including 100 KV-2).

After the start of the war and the mobilization of industry, the production of tanks at the Kirov plant increased significantly. The production of KV tanks was given priority, so the Leningrad Izhora and Metal Plants, as well as other plants, joined the production of many components and assemblies for heavy tanks.

But already starting from July 1941, the evacuation of the LKZ to Chelyabinsk began. The plant is located on the territory of the Chelyabinsk Tractor Plant. On October 6, 1941, the Chelyabinsk Tractor Plant was renamed the Chelyabinsk Kirov Plant of the People's Commissariat of Tank Industry. This plant, which received the unofficial name "Tankograd", became the main manufacturer of heavy tanks and self-propelled guns during the Great Patriotic War.

Despite the difficulties associated with the evacuation and deployment of the plant in a new location, in the second half of 1941, the front received 933 KV tanks, in 1942, 2553 of them were already produced (including KV-1s and KV-8).

In addition, in besieged Leningrad, at factory No. 371 in 1942, at least 67 more KV-1s armed with both F-32 and ZIS-5 cannons were built from unused backlogs of hulls and turrets and units supplied from ChKZ. Since these machines were only for the needs of the Leningrad Front, cut off from the "mainland", they were not included in the reports of the GABTU. The total production of KV tanks, therefore, today can be estimated at 3539 tanks.

tank design

For 1940, the serial KV-1 was a truly innovative design that embodied the most advanced ideas of that time: an individual torsion bar suspension, reliable anti-ballistic armor, a diesel engine and one powerful universal gun in a classic layout. Although individually solutions from this set were often implemented earlier on other foreign and domestic tanks, the KV-1 was the first combat vehicle to embody their combination. Some experts consider the KV tank to be a milestone in world tank building, which had a significant impact on the design of subsequent heavy tanks in other countries. The classic layout on a serial Soviet heavy tank was used for the first time, which allowed the KV-1 to obtain the highest level of security and a large modernization potential within this concept compared to the previous serial model of the T-35 heavy tank and experimental SMK and T-100 vehicles (all - multi-tower type). The basis of the classic layout is the division of the armored hull from bow to stern into the control compartment, the fighting compartment and the engine-transmission compartment. The driver and gunner-radio operator were located in the control compartment, three other crew members were placed in the fighting compartment, which combined the middle part of the armored hull and the turret. The gun, ammunition for it and part of the fuel tanks were also located there. The engine and transmission were equipped in the stern of the machine.

Armored corps and turret

The armored hull of the tank was welded from rolled armor plates 75, 40, 30 and 20 mm thick. Equal-strength armor protection (armor plates with a thickness other than 75 mm were used only for horizontal armor of the vehicle), anti-cannon. The armor plates of the frontal part of the machine were mounted at rational angles of inclination. The serial KV tower was produced in three versions: cast, welded with a rectangular niche and welded with a rounded niche. The thickness of the armor for welded turrets was 75 mm, for cast ones - 95 mm, since cast armor was less durable. In 1941, the welded turrets and side armor plates of some tanks were additionally reinforced - 25-mm armor screens were bolted onto them, and there was an air gap between the main armor and the screen, that is, this version of the KV-1 actually received spaced armor. It is not entirely clear why this was done. The Germans began to create heavy tanks only in 1941 (a heavy tank in the German theory of blitzkrieg did not find its application), therefore, for 1941, even the standard KV-1 armor was, in principle, redundant (KV armor was not affected by regular 37-mm and 50-mm anti-tank guns Wehrmacht, but still could be pierced by 88-mm, 105-mm and 150-mm guns). Some sources erroneously indicate that the tanks were produced with rolled armor 100 mm or more thick - in fact, this figure corresponds to the sum of the thickness of the tank's main armor and screens.

The decision to install "screens" was made at the end of June 1941, after the first reports of losses from German anti-aircraft guns, but already in August this program was discontinued, since the undercarriage could not withstand the mass of the vehicle, which increased to 50 tons. This problem was later partially solved by the installation of reinforced cast road wheels. Shielded tanks were operated on the North-Western and Leningrad fronts.

The frontal part of the turret with an embrasure for the gun, formed by the intersection of four spheres, was cast separately and welded with the rest of the turret armor. The gun mask was a cylindrical segment of bent rolled armor plates and had three holes - for a cannon, a coaxial machine gun and a sight. The tower was mounted on a shoulder strap with a diameter of 1535 mm in the armored roof of the fighting compartment and was fixed with grips to avoid stalling in case of a strong roll or capsizing of the tank. The shoulder strap of the tower was marked in thousandths for firing from closed positions.

The driver was located in the center in front of the armored hull of the tank, to the left of him was the workplace of the gunner-radio operator. Three crew members were housed in the turret: the gunner and loader's jobs were equipped to the left of the gun, and the tank commander's to the right. The landing and exit of the crew was carried out through two round hatches: one in the tower above the workplace of the commander and one on the roof of the hull above the workplace of the gunner-radio operator. The hull was also equipped with a bottom hatch for emergency escape by the crew of the tank and a number of hatches, hatches and technological openings for loading ammunition, access to fuel tank fillers, other units and assemblies of the vehicle.

Armament

On the tanks of the first issues, the L-11 cannon of 76.2 mm caliber was equipped with 111 rounds of ammunition (according to other information - 135 or 116). It is interesting that the original project also provided for a 45 mm 20K cannon paired with it, although the armor penetration of the 76 mm L-11 tank gun was practically in no way inferior to the anti-tank 20K. Apparently, strong stereotypes about the need to have a 45 mm anti-tank gun along with a 76 mm were explained by its higher rate of fire and large ammunition load. But already on the prototype, aimed at the Karelian Isthmus, the 45-mm cannon was dismantled and a DT-29 machine gun was installed instead. Subsequently, the L-11 cannon was replaced with a 76-mm F-32 gun with similar ballistics, and in the fall of 1941, with a ZIS-5 gun with a longer barrel length of 41.6 calibers.

The ZIS-5 gun was mounted on trunnions in the turret and was fully balanced. The turret itself with the ZIS-5 gun was also balanced: its center of mass was located on the geometric axis of rotation. The ZIS-5 gun had vertical aiming angles from -5 to +25 degrees, with a fixed position of the tower, it could be aimed in a small sector of horizontal aiming (the so-called "jewelry" aiming). The shot was carried out by means of a manual mechanical descent.

The ammunition load of the gun was 111 rounds of unitary loading. The shots were stacked in the turret and along both sides of the fighting compartment.

Three 7.62-mm DT-29 machine guns were mounted on the KV-1 tank: coaxial with a gun, as well as course and stern in ball mounts. Ammunition for all diesel engines was 2772 rounds. These machine guns were mounted in such a way that, if necessary, they could be removed from the mounts and used outside the tank. Also, for self-defense, the crew had several F-1 hand grenades and was sometimes equipped with a pistol for firing flares. On every fifth KV, an anti-aircraft turret for diesel fuel was installed, however, in practice, anti-aircraft machine guns were rarely installed.

Engine

The KV-1 was equipped with a four-stroke V-shaped 12-cylinder V-2K diesel engine with a capacity of 500 hp. With. (382 kW) at 1800 rpm, subsequently, due to a general increase in the mass of the tank after the installation of heavier cast towers, screens and the elimination of shavings from the edges of the armor plates, the engine power was increased to 600 hp. With. (441 kW). The engine was started by a ST-700 starter with a capacity of 15 liters. With. (11 kW) or compressed air from two tanks with a capacity of 5 liters in the fighting compartment of the vehicle. The KV-1 had a dense layout, in which the main fuel tanks with a volume of 600-615 liters were located both in the combat and in the engine compartment. In the second half of 1941, due to a shortage of V-2K diesel engines, which were produced at that time only at plant No. 75 in Kharkov (the process of evacuating the plant to the Urals began in the autumn of that year), KV-1 tanks were produced with four-stroke 12-cylinder carburetor engines M-17T with a capacity of 500 liters. With. In the spring of 1942, a decree was issued on the conversion of all KV-1 tanks with M-17T engines back into service with V-2K diesel engines - the evacuated plant No. 75 set up their production in sufficient quantities at a new location.

Transmission

The KV-1 tank was equipped with a mechanical transmission, which included:

Multi-disc main friction clutch of dry friction "steel according to Ferodo";
- five-speed tractor-type gearbox;
-two multi-plate friction clutches with "steel on steel" friction;
-two onboard planetary gears;
- tape floating brakes.
All transmission control drives are mechanical. When used in the army, the greatest number of complaints and complaints against the manufacturer were caused precisely by defects and the extremely unreliable operation of the transmission group, especially for overloaded wartime KV tanks. Almost all authoritative printed sources recognize the low reliability of the transmission as a whole as one of the most significant shortcomings of the KV series tanks and vehicles based on it.

Chassis

Suspension of the machine - individual torsion bar with internal shock absorption for each of the 6 stamped dual-slope road wheels of small diameter on each side. Opposite each track roller, suspension balancers were welded to the armored hull. Drive wheels with removable lantern gears were located at the rear, and sloths at the front. The upper branch of the caterpillar was supported by three small rubber stamped support rollers on each side. In 1941, the technology for the production of track and support rollers was transferred to casting, the latter lost their rubber tires due to the general shortage of rubber at that time. Caterpillar tension mechanism - screw; each caterpillar consisted of 86-90 single-ridge tracks with a width of 700 mm and a pitch of 160 mm.

electrical equipment

The electrical wiring in the KV-1 tank was single-wire, the armored hull of the vehicle served as the second wire. The exception was the emergency lighting circuit, which was two-wire. The sources of electricity (operating voltage 24 V) were a GT-4563A generator with a RRA-24 relay-regulator with a power of 1 kW and four 6-STE-128 batteries connected in series with a total capacity of 256 Ah. Electricity consumers included:

Turret slewing electric motor;
- external and internal lighting of the machine, illumination devices for sights and scales of measuring instruments;
- an external sound signal and an alarm circuit from the landing party to the crew of the vehicle;
- instrumentation (ammeter and voltmeter);
- means of communication - a radio station and a tank intercom;
-electrics of the motor group - starter ST-700, starting relay RS-371 or RS-400, etc.

Means of observation and sights

The general visibility of the KV-1 tank back in 1940 was assessed in a memorandum to L. Mekhlis from military engineer Kalivoda as extremely unsatisfactory. The commander of the machine had the only viewing device in the tower - the PTK panorama. The driver in battle carried out observation through a viewing device with a triplex, which was equipped with an armored shutter. This viewing device was mounted in an armored plug hatch on the frontal armor plate along the longitudinal centerline of the vehicle. In a calm environment, this plug hatch moved forward, providing the driver with a more convenient direct view from his workplace.

For firing, the KV-1 was equipped with two gun sights - a telescopic TOD-6 for direct fire and a periscope PT-6 for firing from closed positions. The head of the periscope sight was protected by a special armor cap. To ensure the possibility of fire in the dark, the scales of the sights had illumination devices. Forward and aft DT machine guns could be equipped with a PU sight from a sniper rifle with a threefold increase.

Means of communication

The means of communication included the radio station 71-TK-3, later 10R or 10RK-26. On a number of tanks, 9R aviation radio stations were equipped from shortages. The KV-1 tank was equipped with an internal intercom TPU-4-Bis for 4 subscribers.

Radio stations 10R or 10RK were a set of a transmitter, a receiver and umformers (single-arm motor-generators) for their power supply, connected to an on-board electrical network with a voltage of 24 V.

10P simplex tube shortwave radio station operating in the frequency range from 3.75 to 6 MHz (respectively, wavelengths from 80 to 50 m). In the parking lot, the communication range in the telephone (voice) mode reached 20-25 km, while in motion it slightly decreased. A longer communication range could be obtained in the telegraph mode, when information was transmitted by a telegraph key using Morse code or another discrete coding system. Frequency stabilization was carried out by a removable quartz resonator, there was no smooth frequency adjustment. 10P allowed communication on two fixed frequencies; to change them, another quartz resonator of 15 pairs was used in the radio set.

The 10RK radio station was a technological improvement of the previous 10R model, it became easier and cheaper to manufacture. This model has the ability to smoothly select the operating frequency, the number of quartz resonators has been reduced to 16. The characteristics of the communication range have not undergone significant changes.

The TPU-4-Bis tank intercom made it possible to negotiate between tank crew members even in a very noisy environment and connect a headset (headphones and throat phones) to a radio station for external communication.

TTX KV-1 arr. 1940

Classification: heavy tank
- Combat weight, t: 47.5
-Layout scheme: classic
- Crew, people: 5

Dimensions:

Case length, mm: 6675
- Hull width, mm: 3320
-Height, mm: 2710
-Clearance, mm: 450

Booking:

Armor type: steel rolled homogeneous
- Forehead of the hull (top), mm / city: 75 / 30 degrees.
- Forehead of the hull (middle), mm / city: 60 / 70 degrees.
- Forehead of the hull (bottom), mm / city: 75 / 25 degrees
- Hull board, mm / city: 75 / 0 city
- Hull feed (top), mm / city: 60 / 50 degrees.
- Hull feed (bottom), mm / city: 75 / 0-90 degrees.
- Bottom, mm: 30-40
- Hull roof, mm: 30-40
- Forehead of the tower, mm / city: 75 / 20 degrees.
- Gun mantlet, mm/deg.: 90
- Tower board, mm/deg.: 75 / 15 deg.
- Tower feed, mm / city: 75 / 15 degrees
- Tower roof, mm: 40

Armament:

Gun caliber and brand: 76 mm L-11, F-32, F-34, ZIS-5
- Gun type: rifled
- Barrel length, calibers: 41.6 (for ZIS-5)
-gun ammunition: 90 or 114 (depending on modification)
- VN angles, deg.:? 7 ... + 25 deg.
-Sights: telescopic TOD-6, periscopic PT-6
-Machine guns: 3 x DT

Mobility:

Engine type: V-shaped 12-cylinder four-stroke liquid-cooled diesel
- Engine power, l. p.: 600
-Speed ​​on the highway, km / h: 34
- Cruising on the highway, km: 150-225
-Cruising range over rough terrain, km: 90-180
- Specific power, l. s./t: 11.6
- Suspension type: torsion bar
- Specific ground pressure, kg/sq.cm: 0.77

In 1938, the USSR needed a tank that would have heavy anti-cannon armor, capable of breaking through well-fortified enemy defense lines.

The first tanks applying for this role were heavy tanks SMK and T-100. These were tanks of a line of heavy multi-turreted vehicles that had similar features, namely a long tracked base, several turrets with guns of various calibers, huge dimensions and weight, and low maneuverability. After field trials, the SMK tank was preferred.

The development of the heavy tank KV-1 began on February 1, 1939 at the plant in Kirov under the leadership of N.F. Shashmurin.
The same SMK tank was taken as the basis. Although the KV was designed on the basis of the QMS, it had one huge difference - one tower. This made it possible to make the tank smaller, which had a positive effect on the chassis and armor characteristics, because. it was possible to install more durable armor plates on the tank without compromising its cross-country ability.

In April of the same year, the technical model of the tank was approved and sent to the production of a prototype. In September 1939, the KV and SMK tanks rolled out to the test site in Kubinka. After testing, the KV tank was chosen. Because of which? Firstly: because of one tower, with a good gun at that time, good armor, and, secondly, because of its mass of only 43 tons.

On December 19, 1939, the KV tank was adopted by the Soviet army. The tank was named after the People's Commissar of the USSR Klim Voroshilov.

Armament of the heavy tank KV-1

At the beginning, the KV-1 tank was equipped with two twin guns of 76.2-mm and 45-mm calibers. Later, after testing, instead of a 45-mm 20K gun, a DT ***-29 machine gun was installed. During the war with Finland, the 76.2 mm L-11 gun was replaced by the 76 mm F-34 gun. In the autumn of 1941, the KV-1 was re-equipped with the ZiS-5 cannon, because. it was more reliable than the F-34. The ZiS-5 gun had a long barrel length - this was also one of the reasons for the abandonment of the F-34.

Gun characteristics

• Gun weight, kg - 455
• The initial flight speed of an armor-piercing projectile, m / s, - 662
• The initial flight speed of a sub-caliber projectile, m / s, - 950
• The initial flight speed Oskol.-Fugas. projectile, m / s, - 680
• The maximum flight range Oskol.-Fugas. projectile, m - 1329
• Sighting range, m, - 1500
• Elevation angles, degrees: -5°…+25°

Armor penetration:

• Armor-piercing, At a distance of 500 m, mm/deg. — 84/90°
• Armor-piercing, At a distance of 1.5 km, mm/deg. — 69/90°
• Rate of fire, rds / min - From 4 to 8

Additional weapons:

Three DT machine guns, caliber 7.62 mm. One coaxial machine gun, the other course, installed in the forehead of the hull, and the third is installed in the stern of the tower.

Tactical and Technical Characteristics of the KV-1 tank

• Weight, t - 47
• Crew, hours - 5. Commander, Driver, Gunner, Loader, Gunner-radio operator.
• Case length, mm - 6675
• Hull width, mm - 3320
• Height, mm - 2710

Booking:

• Forehead of the hull (top), mm/deg. — 75 / 30°
• Forehead of the hull (middle), mm/deg. — 40 / 65°
• Forehead of the hull (bottom), mm/deg. — 75 / 30°
• Hull board, mm/deg. — 75 / 0°
• Hull feed (top), mm/deg. — 60 / 50°
• Hull feed (bottom), mm/deg. — 70 / 0-90°
• Bottom, mm - 30-40
• Hull roof, mm - 30-40
• Tower forehead, mm/deg. — 75 / 20°
• Gun mantlet, mm/deg. - 90
• Turret board, mm/deg. — 75 / 15°
• Tower feed, mm/deg. — 75 / 15°
• Tower roof, mm - 40

Ride quality:

• V-2K engine power, h.p. - 500
• Maximum speed on the highway, km / h - 34
• Power reserve on the highway, km - 150-225
• Specific power, l. s./t — 11.6
• Climbability, deg. – Unknown.

Modernization of the KV-1 tank

KV-1S – The dimensions and side armor of the tank have been reduced. Due to this, the speed and maneuverability of the tank have increased.
New gearbox.

A commander's cupola was also added, which was absent on the KV-1.
A more powerful 600 hp engine, as well as many, many small improvements and upgrades that can be listed for a very long time.

Combat use of the heavy tank Klim Voroshilov (KV-1)

The first combat use dates back to December 17, 1939, during the breakthrough of the Mannerheim Line. However, only a prototype tank participated. Serial production was launched only in 1940.

Great Patriotic War (1941-1944) - Actively took part in the Second World War. During 1940-1942, 2769 tanks were produced. True, he did not fight until the end of the war. Until 1943 (the appearance of the Tiger tank), the KV-1 was the most powerful tank, which played a significant role in holding back the onslaught of German troops.

The tank was created as a result of the modernization of the KV-1 tank, aimed at reducing its weight and increasing its speed. During the modernization, the body of the machine was lightened and somewhat reduced in height, the weight of the power transmission units and the undercarriage was reduced (caterpillars of a smaller width were used), and the cast tower was reduced. Due to an acute shortage of aluminum, a welded iron radiator was installed instead of an aluminum radiator. The ammunition load for the 76.2 mm ZIS-5 tank gun was increased by 24 rounds.

The KV-1S was put into service in August 1942 and immediately put into mass production. At the request of the US Embassy in Moscow, two copies of the tank were sent to the United States, where they were tested at the Aberdeen Proving Ground. The test report noted that the 76.2-mm gun of the tank is very good: simple, trouble-free, the ammunition is well located, that the Soviet tank, having powerful armor protection, has a torsion bar suspension, which functioned very effectively during tests. "Deficiencies were also noted : outdated transmission design, poor air cleaning devices, sloppy machining.The KV-1S tank was produced until September 1943, when it was replaced in production by the KV-85 tank.A total of 1230 KV-1S tanks were produced, which played an important role in Stalingrad and other battles of the initial period of the Great Patriotic War.

In the year that has passed since the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, enough information has accumulated to allow an objective assessment of the use of heavy tanks on the battlefields.
In 1940, Kotin and his subordinates, based on modifications of the KV-1, had actually already developed two prototypes of the KV-3, which would meet the requirements for a new heavy tank in 1942. "Object 220" had a longer hull, larger turret and 107 mm gun. "Object 222" retained the appearance of the KV-1, but had an improved turret. The car needed a new power plant, but to create it in the difficult period of 1941-1942. failed. GKO refused to put the KV-3 into production.

Until the beginning of 1942, the KV was undoubtedly the best heavy tank in the world. Thick armor made the vehicle practically invulnerable, and the 76 mm gun made it possible to effectively deal with any enemy armored vehicles. But negative information also accumulated. The excellent properties of the gun could not be fully used due to unimportant sights. All-round visibility from the tank was severely limited. But the main problem was an insufficiently powerful engine and an unreliable transmission. In addition, the tank was a bit heavy, which had a negative effect on patency and maneuverability.

Among tank commanders, the opinion voiced by M.E. Katukov: "... KV tanks are clumsy and slow, they overcome obstacles with difficulty, break bridges and generally bring a lot of trouble. And their armament does not differ from a medium tank - the same 76-mm gun". At a special meeting of the GKO with the participation of designers and industry representatives, held in June 1942, I. V. Stalin drew a line: "... We do not need such a tank. We should reduce its weight. If this is not possible, remove it from service".

Based on the order of the GKO, the main task of the designers was to reduce the mass of the tank, while increasing its maneuverability and reliability. The only way to complete the task was to radically lighten the armor. The thickness of the frontal armor was reduced to 75 mm. Reduced the size of the body (primarily height) and changed its configuration. A new cast lightweight turret was created, where for the first time (after the T-50) a commander's cupola was installed, which significantly improved visibility from the car. However, there was no hatch in the commander's turret, as a result of which three tankers, like on the KV, had to climb in and leave the tower through one narrow hatch.

Although the work on the new KV was led by N.L. Spirits, in fact, N.F. was the chief designer. Shashmurin, who designed a new gearbox. The new box radically improved driving performance, and its reliability was an order of magnitude superior to the old one.
Having set out to reduce weight, they changed everything that was possible. Lighter track rollers were installed, as well as lightweight tapered tracks (narrowed to 608 mm). At first, the ammunition load was also reduced to 90 rounds, later, however, it was again increased to 114 rounds.
With the help of such radical measures, the mass of the car was reduced by 5 tons, and the maximum speed was increased from theoretical 34 km/h to practical 43 km/h. In addition, many technological changes were made to the design, aimed at saving scarce grades of steel and imported materials, as well as simplifying the production of the machine.

The new tank received the designation KV-1S (high-speed). In mid-July 1942, successful tests began, and on August 20 the tank was put into service. Even earlier, before the vehicle was officially put into service, ChKZ began production of the KV-1S.

I must say that the improvement of a number of properties (increased speed, maneuverability and reliability of the tank) came at a high price. The armament of the KV-1S remained the same - a 76.2 mm ZIS-5 gun, and a decrease in the thickness of the armor (especially heavily on the side and turret) with an unsuccessful layout of the armor hull (armor plates were located vertically or with small angles of inclination) significantly reduced the projectile resistance of the tank. Thus, in terms of its combat qualities, the KV-1S is practically equal to the T-34.

Serial production of new tanks continued at ChKZ from August 1942 to September 1943. In the course of production, changes were made, mainly of a technological nature. A total of 1106 cars were produced. The first KV-1S tanks entered the troops during November-December 1942. These vehicles were equipped with special tank units - separate guards tank regiments of the breakthrough. The name of the "guards" of such a unit was assigned even when recruiting. Regiments were attached to reinforce infantry and tank formations.

Type of					T-34/85		KV-1S	IS-2M
Option	1942	1942	1941	1943	1944	1942	1943	1945
Range on the highway, km
Cross-country cruising range, km
Armor thickness, mm:
Frontal armor of the turret
Tower board
Rear of the tower
tower roof
Frontal part of the hull
Hull board
Aft hull
Top of the case
Case bottom

For the first time, KV-1S tanks were used on the Don Front in December 1942 during the liquidation of the Paulus army near Stalingrad.

Several of these regiments participated in the offensive on the Kursk Bulge in the summer of 1943. Most of the breakthrough regiments were dispersed along the entire extended front line, where they took part in local-scale operations.

However, the enemy also did not sit idly by. The Wehrmacht was increasingly saturated with anti-tank weapons of enormous power, cumulative and sub-caliber ammunition was introduced everywhere, new 75-mm Pz 40 anti-tank guns entered the troops, Pz.III and Pz.IV tanks began to be armed with long-barreled 50-mm and 75-mm guns.

In the 1st quarter of 1943, it was planned to install an improved commander's cupola of a new design, Lend-Lease periscopes, a modified engine lubrication and cooling system, and spare parts on the KB-1C. In terms of its combat properties, the KV-1S practically did not differ from the easier-to-manufacture, therefore, cheaper T-34. Producing two tanks of different design, but identical in properties, was considered overkill, and in September 1943, the production of the KV-1S was discontinued.

By the fall of 1944, all breakthrough regiments were disbanded. In its original form - a heavy battle tank - only a few units were used. According to some information, several KV-1 and KV-1S participated in the Berlin operation in April-May 1945. In the last period of the war, these tanks performed various support functions, for example, they were used as commanders in regiments of self-propelled artillery ISU-152, the use after dismantling the tower as tractors

After 1943, the basic hull and chassis design of the KV was used to build Soviet heavy tanks, which became some of the best of World War II.

	issue of 1940	issue of 1941	issue of 1942
Combat weight, t		47 (with additional armor - 47.5)
Crew, pers.
Case length, mm
with gun forward, mm		6750 (with ZIS-5 - 6850)
Width, mm
Tower roof height, mm
Clearance