KV-1: Soviet heavy tank with powerful armor
In the second half of the 30s, many countries were already preparing for a major war with might and main, as they were aware of its inevitability. A separate role in the future confrontation was assigned tanks, which were to be used not only as a means of covering the infantry, but also as weapons breakthrough.
It is worth noting that in terms of heavy tank building, the USSR, the USA and Germany lagged behind the same Britain, France and Italy. So, Soviet designers only by 1939 decided to abandon the multi-turreted concept of tanks as a heavy class of armored vehicles.
In particular, the USSR considered it inappropriate to use the 5-tower T-35, of which as many as 59 units were produced at that time. The guns of the vehicle had too much mass, which forced the designers to sacrifice its armor. In addition, the size and sluggishness of the T-35 made it a very easy target.
Already in 1939, by the beginning of the winter war with Finland, three models of promising tanks were created: the 47,5-ton KV-1, the 55-ton SMK and the 58-ton twin-turret T-100.
All of them went to undergo combat tests directly to the front. As a result, preference was given to the KV-1 (Kliment Voroshilov) with one caveat: the 76 mm gun had to be replaced with something more powerful. Actually, already in the KV-2 model (after its appearance, the tank was simply called KV) a 152-mm gun was installed.
However, the main feature of the new tank was its armor. The body of the combat vehicle was welded from rolled armor plates with a thickness of 75, 40, 30 and 20 mm, located at rational angles of inclination. At the same time, armor plates with a thickness of less than 75 mm were used only for horizontal armor.
The tank turret was produced in three versions: cast with a thickness of armor of 95 mm and two welded with a rectangular and rounded niche. The thickness of the armor of the latter was 75 mm.
Finally, from 1941, some tanks began to be reinforced with additional screens up to 25 mm thick.
Ultimately, the Soviet designers ended up with a very powerful and well-protected tank. In fact, in 1941, only the German 88-mm Flugabwehrkanone cannon, which was later installed on the Tigers, could penetrate our KV. The PAK-40 cannon could also effectively deal with a heavy tank of the Red Army, but it began to massively enter service with the Wehrmacht only in 1942.
At the same time, the PAK-36 was absolutely useless against the KV, and the PAK-38 and even the 105-mm howitzer could bring some result only from a distance of no more than 300-400 meters.
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