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Soviet KV's


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Oh gods what i'd do to play some rounds with Kotin's monster. For the most part by Operation Bagration there weren't many left. I don't think a single formation of them even existed by that point though they were still around occasionally as command vehicles for SU formations. Probably a good choice for a command vehicle because of the roomy turret. By 1944 all I can find is that one formation near Leningrad was still a KV-1 unit but they converted to IS-2s before the summer ended. If BF ever gets around to a Kursk or Barbarossa module for Red Thunder you'll certainly see em then and lord knows im holding out for it. 

Edited by SimpleSimon
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5 hours ago, Commanderski said:

Are the Soviet KV's in here anywhere?  I don't see them anywhere when I try to make a quick battle. 

if they aren't they should be.

As noted by @SimpleSimon by the timeframe of CMRT and it’s main focus on Bagration they had pretty much all been replaced by the IS series. 
 

http://tankarchives.blogspot.com/2018/03/kv-1s-from-temporary-to-permanent.html?m=1#more

Edited by George MC
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  • 4 weeks later...

Nope, the KV-85 is a different vehicle:

img161.gif

It is a KV-1S hull with a wider turret ring for the new turret, note the extensions to the hull sides, below the turret ring.

The IS-1 on the other hand had a newly designed hull, expressly intended for this turret:

IS_1_prototyp.jpg

Note the hull sides blend into the turret ring.  The configuration of the hull front is different too, as are many other features TBH.

Edited by Sgt.Squarehead
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There are websites that list Russian tank types and numbers in use within the OOB during the relevant time period and there's nary a KV to be seen. Steve had even been against including Valentine IX in the module but I was able to use that OOB info to show him Valentine was indeed available in significant enough numbers to war's end to warrant their inclusion. You may need to wait til a 1943 Kursk title before you see KV1-S pop up, and wait til a 1942 Stalingrad title before you see the earlier heavy KVs. The Eastern Front changed radically from year to year.

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I believe I've got accounts of KV-1S & KV-85s in use during (or immediately prior to) Operation Bagration.....I'd have to look for them though.

IIRC Valentine was only kept in production after 1943 to meet Soviet demands, apparently they really liked them, especially the 6pdr versions.....But then, they liked the Airacobra too!  ;)

16 minutes ago, MikeyD said:

You may need to wait til a 1943 Kursk title before you see KV1-S pop up, and wait til a 1942 Stalingrad title before you see the earlier heavy KVs. The Eastern Front changed radically from year to year.

Is the KV unique having armour that got progressively lighter (after a certain point, probably KV-1E m.1941)?

PS - Some interesting comments on the ineriority of the KV-85 (in comparison with the IS-1) are to be found here:

https://tanks-encyclopedia.com/ww2/soviet/soviet_KV-85.php

Edited by Sgt.Squarehead
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Yes. Mainly because if a way had not been found to lighten the KV-1 the entire chassis would've gone extinct much sooner than it did. The KV-1 was an excellent performer on defense during Barbarossa but it didn't take long into 1942 and the Red Army's increasing experience to realize it was extremely unwieldy and mostly superfluous on offense. (Many if not most of the KVs the Germans ran into during Barbarossa were immobilized.) The T-34 was far more practical and just as well armed. In spite of how many tanks everyone built, most of the time tanks did not fight other tanks. They fought infantry and machine guns as if little had changed from 1916, while having a heavily armed tank with good protection counted for a lot it counted even more that the tanks show up to begin with and the KV-1 was rather good at missing its curtain calls due to its issues with reliability and mobility...most of which were symptoms of its weight. 

One perk the KV-1S earned over the T-34 for a short time was a proper commander's cupola which most T-34s lacked for a bit until the /85 showed up. Once the T-34/85 showed up though it truly was curtains for the old KVs as the remainders were relegated to rifle divisions where their mobility issues were not an acute problem. 

Edited by SimpleSimon
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  • 1 month later...
Quote

Is the KV unique having armour that got progressively lighter

The early turret T34-76s were getting applique bow armor. One got type even thick enough bow plates to make it 88-proof! Then the new bigger 76mm turret showed up and the suspension began showing the strain of the extra weight. When the 85mm gun turret showed up extra bow armor was entirely out of the question.

MikeyMouseEkranami.jpg

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On 2/11/2020 at 1:11 AM, MikeyD said:

The early turret T34-76s were getting applique bow armor. One got type even thick enough bow plates to make it 88-proof! Then the new bigger 76mm turret showed up and the suspension began showing the strain of the extra weight. When the 85mm gun turret showed up extra bow armor was entirely out of the question.

Maybe just my own read but experience seemed to show the best thing you could do for your tanks was to arm them heavier instead of  armour them heavier. Protection was good for the crew of a tank but firepower was the best protection of all and a far better use of surplus weight than armor. 

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