Figure 1.--This photograph looks to have been taken during the early phase of Barbarossa, probably July 1941. Notice that the photograph was taken on what passed for a highway in the Soviet Union. The KV-2 looks to be brand new and unscathed. Perhaps it ran out of fuel and was abandoned, but there may be more to the story. There seems to be a smashed German motor cycle at the front. Also notice that there is no radio antenna. Less obvious than the inadequacies of the Soviet KV-2, notice the Germans. Here they are using both horses and bicycles. And if this was not absurd enough, most of the German infantry was on foot. Invading the Soviet Union was a huge gamble, but doing it on foot and while still dependent on horses and bicycles proved to be suisidal.

Some of the Soviet heavy tanks proved virtually indestructable, but difficult to deploy and maneuver. The Kliment Voroshilov (KV) tanks were a series of Soviet heavy tanks named after the Soviet defense commissar Kliment Voroshilov. They were designed to address problems the Red army had encountered dirung the Winter war with Finland. The massive KVs had two types, KV-1s and KV-2s. They were not upgrades, but two very different tanks. The KV series were notable for their heavy armour protection. The KV tanks at first were a problem for the Germans during Barbarossa (June-December 1941). There were reports of a solitary KV-1 or KV-2 supported by infantry halting large German formations. The KV tanks were the work of tank designer Josef Kotin who competed with Mikhail Koshkin who develop the T-34. Kotin was a devotee that battlefield victory meant tanks with heaviest armor available. The German tanks used in Barbarossa were not equipped to deal with the heavy armor. The Germans dealt with them the same way that the Western Allies woild later deal with the German Tigers. The Germans fererred to them as the 'Russischer Koloss' (Russian Colossus). Each of theKV tanks had serious weaknesses. The KV tanks had many problems, primarily because they were rushed into production without adequate testing. Their legendary studiness, however, laid the groundwork for the more advanced Soviet heavy tanks, the IS series. The new turret and heavier guns of the IS series were essentially the KV-1s in origin. Most of the technology including the chassis, tracks, road wheels, suspensions, diesel engine, transmission and most of the equipment came from the KV-1. The KV-2 was a different mtter. It was a developmentl dead end.

The KV-1

Soviet KV-1 was a lumbering 47-ton monster. It soon developed a reputation for ruggedness and reliability, but not for their speed and manueverability. The KV-1 could easily deflect the shells from the German tanks used in Barbarossa (June 1941). A KV-1 with supporting infantry could hold up a German column. The Germns learned to maneuver on their flanks. The Germans after eliminating the supporting infanbtry had to knock out the KV-1 with explosive charges direct artillety fire. [Jones] There was no doubt that the KV-1 was the the toughest tank on the battlefield in 1941. The Germans had no answer for it. The flaws of the KV-1, however, meant that it failed to stop the Germans. The KV-1 was one of Kotin's best designs, but rushed because of the Winter war with Finland. [Sewell] The KV-1 had a single turret with a 76-millimeter main gun armament. There were three 7.62-millimeter machine guns. The most notable feature of the KV-1 was its thick armor, 90 mm thick in the front and around 70-mm on the side and rear. The Germans in 1941 had nothing like it. Kotin borrowed the KV-1’s transmission from a U.S.-made Caterpillar tractor, bit it was unequal to the nassive weight of the tank. The most serious problem, however, was that the Soviets tankers could barely see out of their massive behemoth. One historian reports, "Once the war broke out, the KV-1 was soon revealed to be a deathtrap. Fear of angering Kotin prevented many commanders from telling him how bad the tank really was. Finally, after many senior leaders complained about its failings, Kotin ordered the problems fixed.” [Sewell] The result would be the IS series.

The KV-2

The KV-2 was a different animal entirely. It was much larger--54-58 tons. The KV-2 kept the KV-1 chassis, but the turret and 76 mm gun as replaced with a massive 152-mm. It was a terrifying weapon meant to be a bunker buster, influenced by problems the Red Army had in penetrating Finnish defenses during the Winter Wwar. The problem was the weight and moving the unwiedly weapon in place. It was not as heavy as the German Tigers, but it was was more unwieldy. It had a towering presence on the battlefiels, a cardinal mistake in tank design. The KV-2 was the only tank ever built that had the potential of actually toppling over. This could not occur on a road of course, but off road in rough terraine it could. The KV-1 series was a standard tank designed to destroy enemy tnaks and spearhead armored advances. The KV-2 in contrast was designed to be a close-support/fire-support weapon capable of lobbing large-caliber, high-explosive shells against fortfied enemy emplacements. The poweful 152mm howitzer was located inside a vulnerable boxy turret. It proved unwieldy in practice, especially the heat of battle. One wonders what it was like inside that box turrent when the gun was fired. The tactical value of the design proved a failure. The KV-2 had some limited success against the Finns in the Winter War. The Finns had very limited artillery and low-powered anti-tank guns. The Germans prived a very diffeent opponent. The Germans had a much more powerful force and experienced fighting firce. They had the best anti-tank weapons of the war and and doctrine for using them. Even for the Germans, it would take some doing to put a KV-2 out of action, but the Germans proved up to the challenge.

Communications

As with the French tanks, few KV tanks in 1941 were equipped with radios. Thus not only vision, but communications was a serious problem. As in many other areas of the Soviet war effort. This was a problem that American Lend Lease would help solve.

Source

Jones, Michael. Leningrad: State of Siege.

Sewell, Stephen. In a history of Soviet heavy tanks, Armor Magazine.

Created: 8:34 AM 3/12/2017
Last updated: 4:19 PM 10/9/2017