KV-2 (Klimenti Voroshilov)

History

The KV-2 self-propelled artillery tank was developed from the KV-1 series of heavy tanks that appeared with the Red Army in 1939-1940. While the KV-1 family is intended as a direct combat tank, designed to counter enemy armor systems and advancements, the KV-2 is used more as a close support/fire support vehicle designed to fire high-caliber, high-explosive rounds at the enemy position during such advancement. The key to the KV-2's form and function is its 152mm main gun armament and solid armor protection, which make for a formidable combat system. However, the 152mm howitzer was housed in a bulky boxy turret, which proved quite bulky in the heat of battle and limited the tactical usefulness of the overall design.

As a result, production was limited to around 255 units, and production of this type never resumed until Soviet attention turned to other priorities. The KV-2 was obtained from the then-acting Soviet Minister of Defense - Klementi Voroshilov. It was designed using the same landing gear and fuselage as the KV-1, and design work took place from 1938 to 1939.

Production is handled by the Kirov factory and the heavy machinery tractor factory ChTZ.

For some time the Soviets tried to mount various large artillery pieces on the tracked hull. The KV-2 was successful in this regard and was successfully used against the Finnish army during the "Winter War".

However, when the tank was tossed to the Germans - a well-trained, experienced, and well-prepared soldier with excellent anti-tank weapons and doctrine - the limitations of the KV-2 system were quickly dismissed Highly exposed.

There are only two main production brands of KV-2 - "KV-2A" and "KV-2B". The KV-2A was the original production brand and was based on the KV-1A heavy tank chassis, while the KV-2B was based on the 152mm turret mounted on the KV-1B chassis. In addition, the B-model adds a new asymmetric turret and decal armor up to 35mm on the front turret fairing. Some KV-1B tanks were also converted to flamethrower tanks with the addition of flamethrowers and proper fuel storage in the turret.

The Soviets also had the idea of ??adding a high-speed 170mm artillery system to create a new "KV-3" brand, but this was all broken as production of a more viable KV-1 tank system continued until the arrival of the Die Mit The series of 122mm armed "Joseph Stalin" heavy tanks and T-34 medium tanks with more powerful 85mm guns continued to be produced. Additionally, with the introduction of the SU-152 assault gun in 1943, the large-caliber 152mm gun was more effectively combined with a flat, turretless tracked chassis.

As a result, the existing KV-2 system was withdrawn from front-line service for a short period of time, being phased out as early as 1942. All KV-2 systems still in service were converted back to their KV-1 status and put into war.

Like other Soviet war equipment, the German army did not shy away from rebuilding captured KV-2 tanks and renaming them with German nomenclature. Only a limited number of tanks saw this fate, and many were simply shut down until their mechanical systems failed.

Specification

Basic

Roles

Dimensions

Performance

Performance

for everyone else in our database)

Armor

36 x 152mm bullets

3,087x7.62mm ammo

Changes