Who invented the tank square. History of creation. The main characteristics of Soviet heavy tanks during the Great Patriotic War

Thanks to the creation of the KV ("Kliment Voroshilov") tanks, the Soviet Union became the only state in 1941 that had massive quantities of heavy tanks with anti-cannon armor. The Germans called the KV a monster.

Searches and experiments

The main drawback of most tanks of the second half of the 30s was weak armor, which was pierced by fire anti-tank guns and heavy machine guns.
KV-1 was different from them. It was created in 1939 under the leadership of J. Ya. Kotin. The tank had a 76 mm gun and three 7.62 mm guns. machine gun. The crew of the tank - 5 people.
The first KVs passed military tests during Soviet-Finnish war, which was the first conflict where heavy tanks with anti-cannon armor were used. At that time, Soviet heavy tanks KV and multi-turreted SMK and T-100, operating as part of the 20th tank brigade, were tested at the front.

If in tank battles who were in the Finnish war a rare occurrence, latest machines did not take part, they turned out to be indispensable in breaking through the enemy fortifications. KV-1 withstood hits from almost any anti-tank gun projectiles. At the same time, the 76-mm gun was not powerful enough to deal with enemy pillboxes. Therefore, already during the war, on the basis of the KV-1, the development of a tank with an enlarged turret and an installed 152 mm began. howitzer (future KV-2). At the same time, based on the experience of the Soviet-Finnish war, it was decided to abandon the creation of heavy multi-turreted tanks, which turned out to be expensive and difficult to manage. The choice was finally made in favor of KV.

Unmatched

As of June 1941, the KV could be considered one of the strongest heavy tanks in the world. In total, at the beginning of June 1941, there were 412 KV-1s in the Red Army units, very unevenly distributed among the troops.
There is a well-known case in June 1941 in the Rassenaya area, when one KV-1 fettered the actions of a German division for almost two days. This HF was part of the 2nd tank division, which delivered many troubles to the German troops in the first days of the war. Apparently having used up its fuel supply, the tank took up a position on the road near the swampy meadow. One of the German documents noted:

“There were practically no means to deal with the monster. The tank cannot be bypassed, around the swampy terrain. Ammunition could not be brought in, the seriously wounded were dying, they could not be taken out. An attempt to destroy the tank with fire from a 50-mm anti-tank battery from a distance of 500 meters led to heavy losses in crews and guns. The tank was not damaged, despite the fact that, as it turned out, received 14 direct hits. From them there were only dents on the armor. When the 88-millimeter gun was brought to a distance of 700 meters, the tank calmly waited until it was put into position and destroyed it. Attempts by sappers to undermine the tank were unsuccessful. The charges were insufficient for the huge caterpillars. Finally, he became a victim of cunning. 50 German tanks feigned an attack from all sides to divert attention. Under cover, they managed to advance and disguise the 88-mm gun from the rear of the tank. Of the 12 direct hits, 3 pierced the armor and destroyed the tank."

Unfortunately, most of the KV was lost not due to combat reasons, but due to breakdowns and lack of fuel.

KV-1s

In 1942, the production of a modernized version, the KV-1s (high-speed), was launched, which was put into service on August 20, 1942. The mass of the tank was reduced from 47 to 42.5 tons by reducing the thickness of the armor plates of the hull and the size of the turret. Tower - cast, acquired a slightly different appearance and equipped with a commander's cupola. The armament remained similar to the KV-1. As a result, speed and maneuverability increased, but decreased armor protection tank. A more powerful 85-mm cannon was supposed to be installed on the KV-1s (a similar prototype was preserved in Kubinka), but this tank did not go into production. Subsequently, on the basis of the Kv-1s with an 85 mm gun, the KV-85 was created, which, however, did not become massive due to the switch in production to IS tanks. The soldiers nicknamed the tank "kvass".

End of the road

In tank battles, at least until the middle of 1942, the German troops could do little to oppose the KV-1. However, during the fighting, the tank's shortcomings were also revealed - relatively low speed and maneuverability compared to the T-34. Both tanks were armed with 76 mm guns. True, the KV had more massive armor in comparison with the "thirty-four". Suffered from HF and frequent breakdowns. When moving, the tank broke almost any road, and not every bridge could withstand a 47-ton tank. The heavy tank "Tiger" appeared with the Germans at the end of 1942, surpassing any heavy tank at that time of the war. And the KV-1 turned out to be practically powerless against the "Tiger", armed with a long-barreled 88-mm cannon. "Tiger" could hit KB at great distances, and direct hit An 88-mm projectile disabled any tank of that time. So, on February 12, 1943, near Leningrad, three "Tigers" knocked out 10 KB without damage from their side.

Since the middle of 1943, the KV-1 has become less and less common on the fronts of the Great Patriotic War - mainly near Leningrad. Nevertheless, the KV-1 served as the basis for the creation of a number of Soviet tanks And self-propelled guns. So, on the basis of the KV, the SU-152 was created, armed with 152 howitzer-guns. Only a few KV-1 units have survived to this day in Russia, which have become museum exhibits.

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 put into service. 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)

First combat use dated 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 advent of the Tiger tank), the KV-1 was the most powerful tank, which played a significant role in containing the onslaught of German troops.

Soviet heavy tank KV-1 became a symbol of victory Soviet Union in World War II on a par with the T-34. When he first appeared on the battlefield, he perplexed the Germans, being completely invulnerable to their weapons.

The Achilles' heel of the steel monster was its unreliability, caused by hasty production without proper quality control. However, this tank did in an instant German technology almost helpless, forced in a hurry to develop a new one and gave impetus to Soviet tank building.

History of creation

At the end of 1938, the design bureau of the Kirov Plant in Leningrad began developing a heavy tank protected by anti-cannon armor. Initially, it was planned to create a multi-turreted machine with three turrets, as was customary at that time in world practice.

As a result, a multi-tower SMK appeared, named after Sergei Mironovich Kirov. On its basis, A.S. Ermolaev and N.L. Spirits created experimental tank with one tower, smaller weight and dimensions. It turned out to be cheaper and easier to manufacture than the QMS, while being more secure and faster.

In August 1939, the first tank, called the KV in honor of Klim Voroshilov, left the gates of the Leningrad Kirov Plant. The name remained so until the creation of the KV-2, after which the KV was renamed the KV-1.

Design and layout

The classic layout with one turret made the new vehicle lighter and smaller compared to multi-turreted heavy tanks from other countries. At the same time, armor protection turned out to be tough only for German anti-aircraft 8.8 guns used as anti-tank guns.

The KV became an innovative tank, combining in its design a classic layout, an individual torsion bar suspension, a diesel engine and anti-cannon armor. Separately, the above solutions were used on domestic and foreign tanks, but they were never combined all together.

Hull and tower

The hull of the Soviet tank consisted of rolled armor plates connected by welding. Armor sheets 75, 40, 30, 20 mm thick were used. All vertical plates had a thickness of 75 millimeters, the frontal ones were located at an angle to increase the reduced thickness of the armor.

The tower was also made using welded technology. From the inside, her shoulder strap was marked in thousandths, which made it possible to point the gun in a horizontal plane for firing from a closed position.

After its appearance, the KV-1 turned out to be invulnerable to all German guns with the exception of 8.8 cm anti-aircraft guns. After reports of the first losses caused by armor penetration in the second half of 1941, the engineers decided to experiment and installed 25 mm thick armor screens on the turrets and sides . Modernization brought the mass to 50 tons, which is why it was abandoned in August 1941.

In front of the hull were a driver and a radio operator gunner. Above the latter was a round hatch.

Additionally, an emergency hatch for the crew and small hatches for access to ammunition, fuel tanks and some components were placed in the bottom of the hull.

The commander, gunner and loader were located inside the tower, a round hatch was located above the commander.

Armament

Moving away from the concept of a two-turreted tank, the developers combined anti-tank and anti-personnel weapons in one tower.

To combat enemy equipment, a 76.2 mm L-11 cannon was installed. Later it was replaced by the F-32, then by the ZIS-5.

To combat enemy manpower, the KV received a 7.62 mm DT-29 machine gun. One of them is paired with a gun and is located in the gun mantlet, the other is in a ball mount. Provided and anti-aircraft machine gun, but most tanks did not receive them.

Engine, transmission, chassis

The tank was powered by a V-2K diesel engine developing 500 hp. Later, the power was increased by 100 hp.

Mechanical transmission has become one of the main drawbacks. Very low reliability, moreover, there are frequent cases when new equipment, just released from the factory, already turned out to be defective.

6 road wheels on each side received an individual torsion bar suspension, the course of which was limited by special limiters acting on the balancers.

From above, each caterpillar rested on three support rollers. Initially, they were rubberized, later, due to a lack of rubber, they became all-metal.

The mobility of the HF turned out to be clearly insufficient, the car developed 34 km / h on the highway, noticeably less off-road due to the power density of 11.6 hp / t.

Later, a lightweight KV-1S appeared, designed to correct the shortcomings of the KV-1 in the form of low reliability and poor mobility.

Modifications

Following the KV, tanks began to appear, created on the basis of solutions worked out on it. In addition, the designers tried to reduce the number of critical flaws.

• The KV-2 is a heavy tank from 1940 with a huge turret, memorable only for its appearance. Armed with a 152 mm M-10 howitzer, designed to destroy enemy engineering structures such as pillboxes. The howitzer easily broke through the armor of all German tanks.
• T-150 - a prototype of 1940 with armor increased to 90 mm.
• KV-220 - a prototype of 1940 with armor increased to 100 mm.
• KV-8 - a flamethrower tank of 1941, equipped with an ATO-41 or ATO-42 flamethrower, placed in place of a ball mount for a course machine gun. Instead of the usual 76 mm cannon, he received a 45 mm cannon.
• KV-1S - a 1942 tank weighing 42.5 tons with reduced armor thickness and better mobility.
• KV-1K - tank 1942 with missile weapons in the form of the CARST-1 system.

Combat use

In 1941 Soviet troops suffered defeat after defeat, suffered huge losses and retreated. However, the Klim Voroshilov tanks were an unpleasant surprise for the German troops, who were practically unable to hit them.

The invulnerability of Soviet heavy tanks allowed experienced and courageous crews to perform miracles. The most famous battle can be called the one that took place on August 19, 1941. Then 5 KV were able to destroy 40 enemy tanks with their fire, and 3 more with a ram. The company was commanded by Z. G. Kolobanov, together with his crew, he destroyed 22 tanks, while his tank received 156 hits from enemy cannons.

In parallel, extreme unreliability, poor mobility and blindness of the crew, caused by poor visibility, were noted, which forced Soviet designers create new tanks. With the advent of the German heavy Tiger tanks, the KV armor suddenly lost its invincibility and the slow, clumsy, half-blind tank turned into an easy target, often unable even to snap back.

Epilogue

Not only Russians, but also Germans highly appreciated the characteristics of the KV at the time of its appearance. The tank became the ancestor of single-turreted heavy tanks with a classic layout, both well-protected and armed.

Obviously, domination could not continue throughout the war as more advanced equipment appeared, but the KV-1 made a significant contribution to the victory in the Great Patriotic War and deservedly stands next to the T-34 in the list of legendary equipment.

KV-1 manufactured by LKZ model 1939 (weapon - gun L-11, installed in a welded turret)

Produced since April 1940, the first production vehicles were in many ways similar to prototypes with the L-11 gun (project 1939), installed in a “pig snout” mask, which is very similar to the German “Saukopfblende”. True, the latter appeared somewhat later.

Practice has shown the extreme unreliability of this gun and the lack of its power. The gun barrel was suspended under its cradle, which significantly reduced the accuracy of firing. It was almost impossible to get into the same place twice.

On experimental machines, a turret was installed, which had a bent stern sheet. On serial it was replaced with a flat armor plate. The design of the tower became riveted and welded and received a box-shaped shape, which greatly facilitated its manufacture. The real serial production of tanks began in November-December 1940.

KV with a small turret of the 1939 project had an embrasure in the frontal armor plate of the hull for firing from the crew’s standard weapons, which was located next to the driver’s (viewing) hatch .. On later tanks, a DT machine gun of caliber 7 was mounted in a ball mount .62 mm. All KVs in the future retained this placement of the machine gun.

The first KVs had a turret-mounted machine gun mounted aft, mounted according to a simplified version. This mount was later replaced with a standard ball mount.

The tanks of the 1939 project were distinguished by a fairly high quality of workmanship and processing of almost all parts and clarity of form. The track rollers (double) were steel and equipped with rubber bushings, and the support rollers were equipped with rubber bands, which greatly contributed to the smooth running of the machine.

Problems with rubber led to the fact that after 1941 the tanks lost all rubber parts.

KV project 1939 was produced only by the Kirov plant. In the documentation of the People's Commissariat of the tank industry and the KV tank manufacturing plants of the period 1939 - 1941, there is practically no difference between the produced versions of the vehicle. All tanks were called "heavy tank KV", or "KV with a small turret". Only in the summer of 1941 did the KV-1 and KV-2 gradation appear. But the latter also did not take into account significant changes in their production and design.

Therefore, in this material, in order to distinguish between various modifications of the tank and the manufacturer of the latter, the year of development of a particular project (not to be confused with the year of launch into series) and its main manufacturer will be indicated. LKZ, for example.

KV-1 manufactured by ChTZ and LKZ, model 1940 (weapon - F-32 gun mounted in a welded turret)

At the end of 1940, a decision was made on the need for a radical redesign of the entire design of the KV-1 tank. The motive for this was the installation of new weapons on the tank and the establishment of its mass production.

The tank of the 1940 project of the year began to be mass-produced from January 1941. Initially only on LKZ. Unlike the previous project, this machine received a new turret (a modified turret of the 1939 project), in which the F-32 gun was installed, which had a barrel length of 31.5 calibers. To install it, a new mask was developed, similar to that used on the T-34 tank.

The F-32 gun was a modernization of the F-22 type tank gun, which was tested on the BT-7A. although at the same time, the F-34 gun, more powerful and efficient than the F-32, was already installed on the T-34. The result is a paradoxical situation where medium tank was armed more powerfully than the heavy one.

In order to change the existing imbalance, experimental work on arming the KV-1 tank with 85 or 95 mm guns, but the practical result could not be achieved. The F-27 gun, with better ballistic characteristics, also did not fit into the design.

Starting from 07/01/1941, in order to increase the number of produced KV-1 tanks, the KV-2 was removed from production at the LKZ. The next step was to simplify the design of the tower installed on the KV-1 and install new reinforced road wheels.

An analysis of the participation of the KV in the first battles with the Wehrmacht showed that it was not sufficiently protected from 57 mm anti-tank fire and, especially, anti-aircraft guns 88 mm caliber, which were in service with the German army. Therefore, despite the overloaded transmission of the tank, its weak engine and suspension, it was decided to strengthen the armor of the KV-1, as a temporary measure to increase its security.

On tanks of the 1940 project, produced since the end of 1941 (October), armor plates with a thickness of 20 mm were additionally welded onto the front wall of the control compartment and the front inclined hull plates. The turret shoulder strap was protected by additionally installed armor plates 50 mm thick.

After the plant was evacuated from Leningrad to the Urals (to Chelyabinsk), the KV-1 of the 1940 project began to be produced here as well. The first car rolled off the assembly line in February 1941. Tank production of this type continued until October 1941, until the available F-32 tank guns ran out.

Chelyabinsk designers, reducing labor costs, made many changes to the project. For example, only in July 1941 there were 349 of them, and in August already 1322. The Leningrad plant, under the siege, could not afford this. Therefore, until the end of September 1941, they produced a tank according to the old documentation.

Tank KV-1 with M-17 engine

The mass evacuation of enterprises led to disruption and irregularity in the supply of the required equipment and materials. In this regard, in order not to reduce the number of produced tanks, the designers had to quickly solve engineering problems "with what is." This explains the appearance of several very unusual modifications of the KV-1.

Moreover, the differences concerned not only the shape of the hull, turret or weapons, but also the engine. Kharkov Plant No. 75, which produced the V-2 diesel engine, began evacuation to the Urals in July 1941. There was a sharp shortage of engines for newly produced tanks. which the LKZ designers solved by installing on 35 KV machines (project 1940) manufactured in September 1941, the M-17 engine, designed for the T-35, instead of the missing V-2 diesel engine.

The external difference between these tanks and other vehicles was expressed in the appearance of five fuel tanks on the fenders, with a capacity of 160 liters. Tanks were required to compensate for the increased fuel consumption of the M-17 (4.7 - 9.5 liters per km, versus 2.7 - 5.0 liters for the B-2). It was also necessary to resolve the issue at ChTZ in November-December 1941. During this time, 130 KV-1s were shipped to the troops this project equipped with M-17 engines.

KV-1E. KV-1 manufactured by LKZ and ChTZ project 1941, armed with an F-32 gun installed in a welded turret with additional armor (screens).

This modification was considered as a temporary measure, used until the creation and launch of a model that had better protection.

For these purposes, specially designed screens (armor modules) were used, which were mounted on the sides of the hull and turret of the KV-1 tank. This made it possible to use existing tanks, practically without changing their design. Moreover, the Izhora plant located in Leningrad did not have the appropriate machine park for processing thicker armor and producing heavier tanks.

The decision to put screens on tanks was made at the end of June 1941. The additional booking kit consisted of armor screens of various thicknesses (from 20 to 35 mm). The screens were mounted on metal booms, pre-welded to the hull and turret of the tank. To the latter they were attached with bolts. That is, there was an air gap between the additional armor and the main one. Such tanks began to be called shielded or tanks with hinged armor.

There are quite a lot of photographs of the KV-1 project 1941 modified in this way. But there are no official documents on which enterprises carried out such modernization.

Already by August, the program was curtailed due to the fact that the mass of the tank, which had increased to 50 tons, was an unacceptable overload for the power plant and chassis of the vehicle. The front track rollers began to fail, unable to withstand the sharply increased loads.

From the photographs that have come down to us, we can make a preliminary conclusion that only machines manufactured in July 1941 of the year (before the simplified turret was introduced) were shielded, shielding kits did not always come “assembly”. Therefore, some KV-1s have additional screens only on the turret. Moreover, the shape of the screens, made in a hurry, was very diverse.

It is worth noting that shielded KV-1s are found only on the Leningrad and North-Western fronts.

Modification of the KV-1 of the 1941 project, produced by ChTZ. The tank was armed with F-32 or ZiS-5 guns mounted in a welded turret with a simplified design.

In September 1941, the Izhora Plant was actively working on the creation of a project for a new welded turret, which was planned to replace all turrets previously produced for the KV-1 tank.

From the end of October 1941, ChTZ began to produce the KV-1 Project 1941 (ChTZ), which has a welded turret with improved rear shoulder armor. It differed from the "detail No. 157" turret by a number of simplifications that made it possible to increase the production of tanks. in this design, it was possible to eliminate almost all the design flaws that were inherent in previously released projects.

Visually, the difference between the tower was expressed in the fact that the back of the epaulette was fully integrated into the armor. As a result, the aft niche began to look noticeably shorter. The observation devices used by the rear gunner were moved closer to the rear of the tower, thereby eliminating the dead zone that previously existed above the MTO.

These tanks were mainly equipped with a modified F-34 (ZiS-5) gun. But in the early releases, they still installed the F-32 (Until the release of the ZiS-5 began to completely cover the need for tank guns for the KV-1).

On the last released batches of these tanks, the use of hulls of the 1942 model of the year, which had straight armor plates at the stern, is already visible.

Modification of the KV-1 (ChKZ) of the 1941 project, armed with a ZiS-5 gun mounted in a cast turret.

Work on the creation of a cast tower for the KV has been going on since the KV-1 of the 1939 project was put into mass production. In June 1940, LKZ created several of its prototypes. But they could not launch the series, which was explained serious problems of a technical nature that arose during the large-scale production of a tank with such a turret.

They also failed to prepare a pilot production of these towers at the Izhora plant in 1941.

The next version of such a tower was made in March 1941 already at factory number 78. But they could not debug technological process casting parts of such dimensions. N The problem was exacerbated by the evacuation of the LKZ. Serial production was again postponed.

LKZ and ChTZ at the end of 1941 constantly increased the production of the KV-1 tank with a welded turret. At the same time, ChKZ continued to work on improving the manufacturing technology of the cast turret, since the possibility of producing “detail No. 257” (that was the name of the cast turret with 100 mm armor) made it possible to obtain a number of serious advantages. Having received the opportunity to use the design potential of several tank design bureaus at once, Tankograd could start producing a turret with better ballistic shapes and increased projectile resistance with the same armor thickness as welded turrets. Even when shelling a tank from 88 mm anti-aircraft guns of the Wehrmacht.

In January 1941, the KV-1 variant with such a turret was put into serial production and produced by ChKZ until August 1942. But they could not solve the issue of working out the technology for manufacturing cast hulls of the KV-1 at that time. It could be solved only in 1943, already on tanks of the IS series (IS-2).

Modifications of the KV-1 tank manufactured by ChKZ, 1942 issue, equipped with a reinforced cast turret and armed with a ZiS-5 cannon.

The designers of plant number 200 in December 1941 created Alternative option cast turret for the KV-1, which received the designation "part number 957". All places of the tower, which in the previous design were considered insufficiently protected, were protected by armor reinforced to 120 mm. At the same time, the mass of the new tower did not increase. The tank in official documents became known as the "KV of the 1942 project with a reinforced cast turret." The machine was in serial production from January to August 1942.

Outwardly similar to the previous one, the new turret had thicker armor in the epaulette area, a collar (annular tide) of the armor in the area of ​​attachment of the ball mount of the machine gun installed in the aft niche. The last tanks of this project received a new type of hull with a straight armor plate in the stern. On the first buildings new form they still kept a convex hatch cover, through which access to the engine was provided (on the roof of the MTO), then it became flat. The machines of this project have already begun to be equipped with reinforced cast track rollers with an improved design.

Visually cast turrets made at UZTM look wider in the frontal projection, while factory #200 turrets are narrower and have clearly visible casting parts.

During the Great Patriotic War, heavy armored vehicles made a significant contribution to the defense capability and victory of the Soviet Union over Nazi Germany. The military industry of the USSR created a line of heavy tanks. According to experts, the KV tank (Klim Voroshilov) posed a particular threat to the Nazis. This model, as military experts are convinced, already at the beginning of hostilities proved to be one of the best. An overview of the KV-1S tank is presented in this article.

Acquaintance

The KV-1S tank (a photo of the combat unit can be seen below) is one of the models of heavy armored vehicles produced by the USSR defense industry. Soviet heavy tanks produced from 1940 to 1943 are abbreviated KV. What does the Klim Voroshilov 1C mean in the tank? This index indicates that the combat unit is fast-moving and the first model of the entire series of tanks.

Start of creation

Already by 1942, the military noticed that the KV tanks were not perfect. Due to the large mass, it was difficult to operate them, which adversely affected the combat efficiency of the equipment. Also, the tank did not work at full engine power. The reason for this is problems in the system that cools the motor. As a result, to prevent overheating of the power unit, it had to be used in low speed mode. In addition, the tank was not equipped with a commander's cupola, which significantly limited all-round visibility. The military was not satisfied with the inconvenient location of viewing devices. Some components in the diesel engine had defects. These shortcomings were reported to the State Defense Committee, which in February 1942 issued Decree No. 1334ss. According to this document, the designers of ChTZ (Chelyabinsk Tractor Plant) were faced with the task of designing a tank weighing 45 tons and with an engine whose power should be 560 horsepower. Three days later, the People's Commissariat of Defense signed Decree No. 0039 on the start of work on the creation of the KV-1S tank.

Initially, it was decided to reduce the permissible weight of 45 tons by reducing the width of the track to 60 cm, the thickness of the armor in the bottom and in the frontal part. In addition, the changes should have affected the ammunition load - it was decided to reduce it to 90 shells. The KV-1S tank (photo of the model is in the article) was produced without additional fuel tanks.

About production

Design work was carried out in the design bureau of the tractor plant in the city of Chelyabinsk. Soon a prototype tank with a V-2K engine with 650 hp was ready. With. and new final drives. However, during testing it turned out that the power unit was inefficient. The opposite situation was observed with the final drives, which it was decided to leave. Later, their serial production was established. In April, they tested a new gearbox, designed for 8 speeds, and a 700 hp engine. With. According to experts, it was not possible to test the engine to the end, and the gearbox soon began to equip the KV-1S tank. In total, the Soviet defense industry produced 1120 combat units.

About design

The Soviet heavy tank KV-1S is a modernization of the first original model, which is listed as KV-1. The main goal pursued by the designers was to make the new combat unit more reliable and faster. As a result, unlike its counterpart, the KV-1S tank, due to its weakened armor, has a less massive hull, is equipped with a new, more advanced turret and gearbox. The Chelyabinsk designers decided not to change the weapons and the engine group. The Soviet KV-1S tank came with a classic layout, typical for heavy and medium models produced at that time by the Soviet defense industry. The machine consists of three compartments: management, combat and motor-transmission. In the first one there is a place for the driver and gunner-radio operator, the second - for the crew members. The fighting compartment was combined with the middle part of the hull and the turret.

There is also a place for the main gun, ammunition for it and fuel tanks. The stern of the KV-1S tank was equipped with an engine and transmission.

About armor protection and tank turret

In the production of the Klim Voroshilov high-speed tank (a photo of this combat unit can be seen in the article), rolled armor plates were used, the thickness of which was 2, 3, 4, 6 and 7.5 cm. Vehicle with differentiated anti-ballistic armor protection. The turret in the tank has a complex streamlined shape and was made by casting. In order to increase its projectile resistance, the designers of the turret side were placed at an angle of 75 degrees in the vertical plane. The sides, according to experts, had the largest thickness - 75 mm. An embrasure for the gun was also placed in the frontal turret. This part was cast separately. Then they were connected to the rest of the armored parts by welding. The gun mantlet was made on the basis of a rolled armored plate, which was bent and equipped with three holes for a cannon, a coaxial machine gun and a sight. The result was a product in the form of a cylindrical segment 8.2 cm thick. The tower was placed on the lid in fighting compartment on a shoulder strap, the diameter of which was 153.5 cm. So that it would not fall off with a strong roll of the tank, it was securely fixed with special grips.

The driver's workplace is the front part of the hull in the center. Gunner-radio operator - to his left. The combat crew of three people was housed in the tower. To the left of the gun sat the gunner and the commander of the vehicle, to the right - the loader. The commander had a cast observation turret, the armor of which was 6 cm thick. Two hatches were provided for the landing and exit of the combat crew in the tank round shape. One of them was under the loader, the second - in the upper case cover above the gunner-radio operator. In addition, the KV-1S was equipped with a bottom escape hatch. Repair of components and assemblies of the machine was carried out through additional small technical hatches. Through them it was possible to get to the fuel tanks, as well as load ammunition into the tank.

About weapons

The battle on the KV-1S tank was fought from a 76.2 mm ZIS-5 cannon. The weapon was mounted on trunnions. The guidance was carried out in a vertical plane from -5 to 25 degrees. Shooting was carried out by mechanical and electric triggers. 114 shots could be fired from the main gun. Ammunition for him lay in the tower along the sides. In addition, it was possible to hit the enemy with three DT machine guns of 7.62 mm caliber. One of them was paired with the ZIS-5, the second - course, and the third was placed at the stern of the tank on a special ball mount. Combat kit small arms was represented by cartridges in the amount of 3 thousand pieces. The DT machine guns were mounted in such a way that the crew could at any time remove them and fire separately from the KV-1S. The crew also had several hand grenades F-1. The tank commander relied on a signal pistol.

About the power unit

The tank used a four-stroke V-shaped 12-cylinder V-2K diesel engine. The engine power was 600 horsepower. To start the unit, there was a ST-700 starter (15 hp). Also used for this purpose compressed air, contained in two 5-liter tanks in the combat compartment. The volume of the main fuel tanks was 600 and 615 liters. Their location was the combat and transmission compartments. In addition, the tank had four more external fuel tanks, not related to common system. Each container is designed for 360 liters of fuel.

About transmission

KV-1S was equipped with a transmission, which consisted of the following components:

• Multi-disc main friction clutch of dry friction.
• A four-speed gearbox using a demultiplier (8 forward and 2 reverse gears).
• Two multi-disc onboard clutches.
• Two onboard planetary gearboxes.

Tank with mechanical control drives. According to experts, a significant drawback of the Klim Voroshilov combat vehicles was that the transmission was not reliable enough. With a new gearbox, this flaw was corrected. Later it was decided to use it in the IS-2 model.

About the running gear

In the design of this unit, the developers used a walker from KV-1. However, in order to reduce total mass combat vehicle, the dimensions of some parts still had to be reduced. The KV-1S came with an individual torsion bar suspension provided for each solid-cast gable track roller. In total there are 6 of them from each side. The diameter of the skating rink was 60 cm. The defense industry of the USSR produced two types of skating rinks: with round holes and triangular ones. The first type was the most common. Each roller was equipped with a travel limiter, which was welded to the armored hull.

Running tank - with lantern gearing and removable rims. The tension of the caterpillar was carried out by means of a special screw mechanism. The caterpillar was equipped with 86 single-ridge tracks. Unlike the base model, the width of the track in the high-speed tank was 60 cm.

About means for observation and sights

According to experts, of all large-scale Soviet tanks, the high-speed KV-1S is considered the first to use a commander's cupola equipped with viewing slots. There were 5 of them in total, and they were covered with protective glasses. The driver had a viewing device. To protect the triplex there was a special armored flap. The location of this device was the manhole plug in the frontal part of the tank. In a non-combat situation, the driver could push this hatch a little forward to view a larger area. The KV-1S used two gun sights: the telescopic TOD-6, which provided direct fire, and the periscope PT-6. It was exploited if it was necessary to shoot from a closed position. The PT-6 was protected by a special armor cap. Thanks to the illumination devices that were equipped with the scales of the sights, firing was also possible at night. Sighting devices used in sniper rifles. Each such sight provided a threefold increase.

About means of communication

For communication between the combat crew and the command, the KV-1S was equipped with a 9R radio station and a TPU-4-BIS intercom. It could be used by four subscribers. The tanks were also equipped with 10R or 10RK radios. The kit included a transmitter, receiver and umformer. The latter was a single-armor motor-generator, through which the stations were powered from the on-board electrical network of 24 V. According to experts, telephone communication was provided at a distance of 20 to 25 thousand meters. During the movement of the tank, the communication range was lower. For negotiations inside the tank, TPU-4-Bis was used. If the environment was too noisy, the crew could use a headset, which was also connected to external radio communications.

performance characteristics

KV-1S has the following performance characteristics:

• Combat weight - 42.5 tons.
• The crew of the tank consisted of five people.
• The body length was 690 cm, width - 325 cm, height - 264 cm.
• On a flat surface, the KV-1S moved at a speed of 42 km / h, on rough terrain - 15 km / h.
• The specific power index is 14.1 s./t.
• The tank overcame slopes of no more than 36 degrees and 80-centimeter walls.
• The car could cross ditches, the dimensions of which did not exceed 270 cm.
• The index of the specific pressure on the ground was 0.79 kg/cm 2 .

Expert opinion

According to military experts, the design of the KV-1S was a response to the failures in the first stage of the war. Immediately after serial production was established, the tanks were transferred to the front. During the fighting, the command of the Red Army noted that the armor in the high-speed KV-1 is not enough to withstand the standard projectiles used by the T-3 and T-4. These tanks pierced the KV-1S from a distance of 200 m.

In addition, the patency of this combat vehicle over rough terrain left much to be desired. There were also complaints about the reliability of the transmission. If we consider the firepower of the KV-1S, then it was enough to destroy a fascist tank from a distance of 200 m. Improvement at the front was observed until the Germans began to produce Tigers and Panthers. Of course, the KV-1S could destroy such a tank, but due to the small caliber of the main gun, the Soviet crew had to come close to the Nazi armored vehicles for this. The KV-1S projectile pierced the Tigers and Panthers from a distance of less than 200 m.

About the virtual combat unit

Today, a Soviet high-speed tank can be "fought" in computer games. Fans of World of Tanks are familiar with the upgraded KV-1. Tank KV-1S W.O.T Blitz, judging by the numerous reviews of gamers, is considered the first serious example of armored vehicles at level 6.

Fans of virtual battles highly appreciated good speed characteristics. In Blitz, KV-1S tanks can inflict significant one-time damage. To do this, it is enough to use a premium 217 mm shell in the top D2-5T gun instead of the basic 175 mm shell. With an accurate hit, the enemy will lose at least 390 HP of durability. Up to 14 shots can be fired within one minute.