KV-1 Model 1941 Heavy Tank
When the Germans launched Operation Barbarossa in June 1941, the KV tanks were the most formidable in the Russian inventory. Unfortunately, they were unreliable and slow, nor were they (or other Soviet tanks) used well early in the war. A few modifications were made to the KV series but ultimately it was phased out after 1943, where the defensive battles it was better suited for were rare and the better IS heavy tanks (whose chassis were roughly based on those of the KV’s) were coming in to service and thousands of T-34’s were being built.
The KV (Klementi Vorishilov, the Soviet Defense Commissar) series was designed to replace the T-35 heavy tank. A few KV’s were used in the Winter War, including some prototype Model 1941’s in December of 1941. The main problem of the KV series was the weight, which generally got worse as the series progressed. Also, when the transmission wasn’t breaking down from the massive weight, the driver was having to beat the gear shift with a hammer to persuade it to shift. It is probable that far more KVs were lost to mechanical failure than to enemy fire.
Some 830 KV-1 Model 1941’s were built. Around 500 were in service at the time of the German invasion.
The KV-1/41 has a crew of five. The commander sits in the turret. Also in the turret is the gunner (who fires the cannon and coaxial MG) and the loader/radio operator, who also fires the rear turret MG. The driver/mechanic sits in the body, as well as the co-driver (who fires the hull MG). The commander manually traverses the turret at 1 degree per second. The KV-1/41 uses 20.2 gallons per hour at routine usage.
Subassemblies: Immense Tank chassis +4, full rotation
Medium AFV turret [Body:T] +2, tracks +4.
Powertrain: 448-kW diesel engine w/ 448-kW tracked drive
train and 158.5 gallons fuel in standard fuel tank [body]; 16,000-kWs batteries.
Occupancy: 2 CS Body, 3 CS Turret Cargo:
13.5 Body, 2 Turret.
| Armor | F | RL | B | T | U |
| Body | 5/450 | 4/300 | 4/300 | 4/140 | 4/140 |
| Tracks | 4/55 | 4/55 | 4/55 | 4/55 | 4/55 |
| Turret | 4/350 | 4/300 | 4/300 | 4/160 | 0/0 |
Weaponry
75mm Medium TG/76.2mm ZiS-5 [Tur:F] (111).
Ground LMG/7.62mm DT [Tur:F] (1449).
Ground LMG/7.62mm DT [Tur:R] (630).
Ground LMG/7.62mm DT [Body:F] (945).
Statistics
| Size: 22’¥11’¥9’ | Payload: 2.1 tons | Lwt: 51.1 tons |
| Volume: 212 | Maint.: 27 hours | Price: $53,500 |
HT: 9
HP: 2600 [Body], 135 [Turret], 900 [Each Track]
| gSpeed: 22 | gAccel: 4 | gDecel: 20 | gMR: 0.25 | gSR: 6 | GP: High (1/2) |
Design Notes
The design purchased 159 gallons of fuel tanks, 3,000 rounds of LMG
ammo and 108 rounds of tank gun ammo. The historical values have been used
instead. The design weight was reduced 12% to match historical weight,
as was the 28 mph design speed. Ground pressure is based on historical
off-road speed. Turret armor is Expensive. HT has been reduced by one to
represent unreliability.
Variants
The Model 1939 was essentially the same as the Model 1941, but used
the older L-11 cannon. HT was 7. Around 100 were built and were tested
in the Winter War.
The Model 1940 had extra armor bolted on. Increase frontal hull and turret DR by 140 and turret left and right DR by 140. Some tanks also added DR 70 to the hull sides. HT slightly improved to 8.
The KV-1S (‘skorostnoy’, speed) was lightened to improve speed and mobility. Unfortunately, this required reducing the armor, which made the KV-S less protected than the T-34 while still being slower. Main gun ammo was reduced to 102 and weight was 47 tons. Speed was 27 mph. Hull DR was F 360, RLB 240 and TU 120. Turret DR was F 320 (the rest as the Model 1941). HT remained 9. About 1300 were built.
The last major significant version of the KV was the KV-85, which used the turret of the prototype IS tanks. Armament was upgraded to the 85mm xxx (85mm Medium TG) with 71 rounds. Hull DR was F 450, RL 240, B 300, TU 120. Turret DR was RFL 390, B 300, T 160. Weight was 57 tons and speed was 22 mph. Only 130 were built.
The KV-2 was based on the KV-1. It had a monstrous slab-sided turret mounting a 152mm howitzer with 36 rounds. An extra loader was carried. MG ammo was increased to 3087 rounds (49 63-round drums). Armor was slightly different from the Model 1941; rear hull DR was 250 and turret DR was F 425, RLB 300, T 160. GM’s may wish to give gunners a +1 to hit the turret sides. One major limitation was that the turret could only be traversed on level ground. Speed was 17 mph. Some saw action in the Winter War. HT was 7. 330 built.
Sources:
http://www.wwiivehicles.com/html/ussr/kv.html
http://www.onwar.com/tanks/ussr/
http://www.battlefield.ru/kv1.html
Panzer Commander (computer game), SSI Inc., 1998
Armored Wargaming, Bruce Quarrie, 1988