KV-2 (Klimenti Voroshilov)

The KV-2 series of heavy tank was a mammoth follow-up to the successful KV-I. The idea behind this successor was a utilization of the KV-1 chassis with a marriage to a more potent main gun in the form of the M1938 122mm caliber. The result was the KV-I with an entirely new turret capable of fielding the massive gun, now designated on the whole as the KV-II.

The KV-2 was crewed by six personnel. The entire system already weighed in at more than six tons over the KV-1 with the new turret design coming in at 12 tons alone. Mobility was truly discarded in the design and led to a variety of very serious limitations including the fact that the main gun could not even be fired unless the system was purely stationary. Turret design - though heavily armored - also worked against the crew as it was high-mounted with straight faces, making the tank an inviting target to enemy ground personnel and tanks alike. Agility was marginal and road speed was a measly 16 miles per hour in the best of conditions. A massive 152mm main gun was fitted to later production models.

If the KV-2 had any saving grace, it lay within the main armament. Capable of firing either high explosive or armor piercing rounds from over 13,500 yards away, the KV-2 was a true battlefield support weapon. This type of range could keep the system safely away from any enemy defensive weapons that could train in on it. Despite this type of firepower, the KV-2 already fell out of favor by 1942. Plans for a KV-III version were drawn up but the idea fell to nothing as the German invasion of the Soviet Union was fully underway. Done in by ambition and immobility, the KV-2 proved to be an interim design at best, wielding the power of a heavy tank along with heavy armor at the expense of mobility and agility.

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Last Updated: 5/4/2009