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By 1938 Soviet tank designers had realizedthat the T-35 heavy tank wouldneed replacement and set about thedesign of its successor. Several designbureaux were involved and manyproposed designs with multiple turrets,but by the time prototypes wereproduced most had just two turrets.This approach still did not appeal toone of the teams, which designed aheavy tank with only one turret andnamed it after Klimenti Voroshilov,who was defence commissar at thetime. Known as the KV-1, the new designwas far more mobile than theother submissions and was field-testedduring the campaign in Finland in1940. This first variant was armed witha short 76.2-mm (3-in) gun and three orfour 7.62-mm (0.3-in) machine-guns,and armour up to 100-mm (3.94-in)thick was provided.The KV-1 was ordered into productionin two main forms: one was theKV-1 A armed with a long 76.2-mm (3-in) gun, while the other version was theKV-2, a marriage of the KV-1 hull, chassisand suspension with a large slabsidedturret mounting a 152-mm (5.98-in) howitzer (originally a 122-mm/4.80-in howitzer). Thus the KV-2 did not lackin firepower, but the high turret was aponderous load for the vehicle and theKV-2 (and improved KV-2B) did notshine in action.With the KV-1 the future for Soviettank design was established for sometime to come. The old multi-turret conceptwas finally set aside, and the KV-1emerged as a formidable heavy tankthat was to serve the Red Army foryears. It was used often as an assault orbreak-through tank, forming thespearhead of many attacks, and as thewar against Germany progressed thebasic design was gradually improved.High on the list of improvements werearmour increases, achieved with theKV-IB that had an extra 25-35 mm(0.98-1.38 in) added to the hull frontand sides. Other changes were madein the turret which progressed frombeing a mainly plated affair to a fullycast component, which on the KV-1Calso gave an increase in protection.Much of the extra armour was simplybolted onto existing armour.For its size the KV-1 was undergunned,but a scheme to increase theThe KV-1 heavy tank originallymounted a 76.2-mm (3-in) main gunon a chassis that was tobe adaptedfor la ter models of Soviet heavytanks. Several versions existed asprogressive production changeswere in troduced to speedmanufacture and improve protectionfor the crew of five.armament to a 107-mm (4.2-in) weaponnever came to anything other thantrials. Instead the 76.2-mm (3-in) gunwas lengthened and the 152-mm (5.98-in) gun in its clumsy turret was withdrawn.After 1943 numbers of 85-mm(3.34-in) guns were fitted, and thismodel was known as the KV-85.The KV-1 was a sound design, buthad some serious automotive problems,On early models it was almostimpossible to change gear because ofclutch problems, and there were othertransmission difficulties. Many of themwere eventually eliminated but thenumerous increases in armour protectionwere usually carried out with noincreases in engine power, though theKV-1C had an extra 75 kW (100 hp), somany examples were quite unable toA KV-I rolls through snowy Moscowstreets to the front in December 1941.The heavy tank had a 76-mm maingun (later to be replaced by an 85-mm weapon) and was used by theRed Army as a breakthrough tankwhere its lack of speed was not ahandicap.reach their expected performance.One solution attempted in a small numberof KV-IS (skorostnoy, or fast) tankswas the omission of applique armour toreduce weight and so raise speed.One serious problem tactically wasthat the turret was so arranged internallythat the tank commander had todouble as gun loader, a situation thatoften put him out of touch with the tacticalsituation for critical periods. Laterversions had the usual angled armourof most other Soviet tank designs, andoverall the KV-1 was a bit of a problemfor German anti-tank units.SpecificationKV-85Crew: 5Weight: 43 tonnesPowerplant: one V-2K V-12 dieseldeveloping 448 kW (600 hp)Dimensions: length 6.68 m (21 ft 11 in);width3.32 m (10 ft 10.7 in); heightOn the vast open spaces of theRussian plain, the lack of mobilityinherentin theKV-1 wasadetinitehandicap. In the campaigns of 1942many KV-1 s were lost due tomechanical failure. The tank wasimproved, however, and was to leadto the powerful Josef Stalin tanks.2,71 m(8 ft 10.7 in)Performance: maximum (rarelyachieved) road speed 35 km/h(21.75 mph); maximum road range150 km (93.2 miles); fording not known;vertical obstacle 1.20 m (3 ft 8 in);gradient 36°; vertical obstacle 1.20 m (3 ft 11,25 in); trench 2.59 m (8 ft 6 in)
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