KV-85

KV-85

KV-1 (ZiS-5)

IS-1

KV-85

KV-1 (ZiS-5)

IS-1

USSR

III Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
5.0	5.0	5.0

Class:

Heavy tank

Research:13 000

Purchase:76 000

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Description

The KV-85 is a rank III Soviet heavy tank with a battle rating of 5.0 (AB/RB/SB). It was introduced during the closed beta testing for Ground Forces before Update 1.41. A KV-1 with a completely new and more powerful armament in its name, the 85 mm D-5, allows the Soviet heavy tank tree to have the firepower necessary to combat the other nation's Rank III vehicles.

The KV-85 is a heavy tank, specifically an up-gunned variant of the KV-1 and KV-1S models built with an emphasis of engaging hostile armoured vehicles as well as a breakthrough tank. Operational and visual characteristics of the KV-85 retain the visual and operational similarities to the previous KV-1 line of heavy tanks of which it is upgraded from. Players experienced in operating previous models of the KV or T-34 series of tanks should have little to no difficulty in adjusting to this vehicle. The KV-85 can be distinguished from its KV predecessors by its enlarged and rounded turret and turret ring mount. A quick glance at this vehicle may be mistaken for similar looking tanks such as the IS-1 which shares the same turret and cannon.

Although the armour thickness is the same as the KV-1S, this vehicle is notable for having a more powerful anti-tank gun shared by the IS-1 and T-34-85 (D-5T). At 5.3 Battle Rating, however, the tank armour will be of little protection against other hostile vehicles it will face. With just 75 mm front and 60 mm side armour, almost all tanks and the ammunition they fire (a significant number of which have double the penetration value of the thickness of the KV's armour) will penetrate with little to no issue. In comparison to other heavy tanks available in the USSR tree, such as the KV-2 models and SPG's, the KV-85's handling and combat style is very similar to the IS-1, being quite capable as jack-of-all-trades heavy tank: fast rate of fire, lighter weight compared to similar USSR heavy tanks of its Rank and Battle Rating, satisfactory mobility, fast turret traverse speed, fast targeting, good ammunition penetration and explosive filler. Although despite its limitations, a skilful and experienced player of this vehicle can tip the favour of balance on their side consistently regardless of the combat situation, be it long-range skirmishes or close-quarters combat.

General info

Survivability and armour

Armour type:

• Rolled homogeneous armour (Hull, Gun mantlet, Turret roof)
• Cast homogeneous armour (Turret,

Armour	Front	Sides	Rear	Roof
Hull	75 mm (30°) Front plate 75 mm (70°) Front glacis 25 mm (25-70°) Joint plate 75 mm (26-50°) Lower glacis	60 mm	75 mm (29-73°)	40 mm
Turret	100 mm (9-78°) Turret front 100 mm (4-58°) Gun mantlet	100 mm (8-20°)	100 mm (12-34°)	30 mm
Armour	Sides	Roof
Cupola	82 mm	35 mm

Notes:

• Suspension wheels are 20 mm thick, tracks are 30 mm thick.
• A 45 mm thick piece of armour lays on the boundary of the gun mantlet.

Mobility

Mobility characteristic
Weight (tons)	Add-on Armour weight (tons)	Max speed (km/h)
46.0	N/A	36 (AB)
		34 (RB/SB)
Engine power (horsepower)
Mode	Stock	Upgraded
Arcade	775	954
Realistic/Simulator	531	600
Power-to-weight ratio (hp/ton)
Mode	Stock	Upgraded
Arcade	16.85	20.74
Realistic/Simulator	11.54	13.04

Armaments

Main armament

85 mm D-5T
Capacity			Vertical guidance	Horizontal guidance	Stabilizer
70			-3°/+23°	±180°	N/A
Turret rotation speed (°/s)
Mode	Stock	Upgraded	Prior + Full crew	Prior + Expert qualif.	Prior + Ace qualif.
Arcade	8.3	11.5	_._	_._	_._
Realistic	8.3	9.8	_._	_._	_._
Reloading rate (seconds)
Stock	Prior + Full crew	Prior + Expert qualif.	Prior + Ace qualif.
9.6	_._	_._	_._

Ammunition

Penetration statistics
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Penetration in mm @ 90°
		10m	100m	500m	1000m	1500m	2000m
BR-365A	APHEBC	135	133	125	115	106	97
BR-365K	APHE	147	143	126	107	90	77
O-365K	HE	12	12	11	11	11	11

Shell details
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Velocity in m/s	Projectile Mass in kg	Fuse delay in m:	Fuse sensitivity in mm:	Explosive Mass in g (TNT equivalent):	Normalization At 30° from horizontal:	Ricochet:
								0%	50%	100%
BR-365A	APHEBC	792	9.2	1.2	15	164	+4°	48°	63°	71°
BR-365K	APHE	792	9.2	1.2	15	81.6	-1°	47°	60°	65°
O-365K	HE	780	9.5	0.1	0.3	646	+0°	79°	80°	81°

Ammo racks

Ammo racks of the KV-85.

Full ammo	1st rack empty	2nd rack empty	3rd rack empty	4th rack empty	5th rack empty	6th rack empty	Visual discrepancy
70	67 (+3)	63 (+7)	51 (+19)	41 (+29)	25 (+45)	1 (+69)	yes

Turret empty: 51 (+19)

Machine guns

7.62 mm DT
Coaxial mount
Capacity (Belt capacity)				Fire rate (shots/minute)	Vertical guidance	Horizontal guidance
1,890 (63)				600	N/A	N/A

Usage in the battles

At its Rank and Battle Rating, the KV-85's armour is no longer up to par against newer and more powerful weapon systems of opposition vehicles it will face. Although unlike the IS-1 successor of which is unable to protect itself by angling due to the rounded turret mount causing a vulnerability, the KV-85 has less of this issue as the entire front portion of the front and lower-plate is designed to be straight and rectangular and allowing it to deflect or ricochet some shots when angled optimally. The tactical usage and efficiency sit somewhere between the IS-1 and the T-34-85 (D-5T); it is almost as armoured to par as the IS-1 in some aspects but is not as fast as the T-34-85 whilst still retaining the same armaments. Although of an older design, the KV-85 makes a crude, yet still effective jack-of-all-trades vehicle sufficient in holding its own on the battlefield in many situations by experienced users.

Another significant note of this vehicle is its considerably fast reverse rate, the second highest of its Rank and Battle-Rating for the nation's heavy tank line, topping at 14 km/h behind the IS-1's 17 km/h. Players can use this advantage to cross from cover to cover whilst engaging hostile targets or to make a tactical retreat. During situations where close-quarters engagement is expected, an unorthodox strategy can be utilized when the operator of the KV tank re-positions the vehicle 180 degrees and drive in reverse towards the enemy. By driving in reverse with the rear facing the opposition, the engine blocks make a crude yet somewhat effective shield and protecting the more delicate crew. Many opponents the KV-85 will face will fire APHE as its main ammunition armament; the engine blocks and fuel tanks act as spaced-armour and causing APHE to detonate prematurely prior to reaching the crew compartment. In situations where the operator want's the best chance of victory in a 'round-the-corner' head on engagement, the surviving crew after a first-shot volley may be given the opportunity for a retaliatory strike and second-volley after being hit. This tactic should only be utilized in a case-by-case situation basis where it is an absolute necessity, as the engine compartment will almost certainly catch fire when struck. This is of little consequence if the user has Fire Extinguisher equipped. Be aware that this tactic is not suitable against opponents who fire solid-shot armour piercing shells such as certain British and American vehicles, as these will go straight through the rear, into the crew compartment and out the other side without stopping.

Although equally capable and effective in operating alone, the KV-85 also operates efficiently with other friendly vehicles. Of note are vehicles that act as bullet magnets such as the Churchill Mk.VII with its heavy armour and large target to act as a distraction or to soak up shots, whilst the user of the KV-85 or other friendly vehicles may trail behind it and fire off shots 'over-the-shoulder' to dispatch more powerful opponents of which the guns of the Churchill may have difficulty dealing damage against.

Japanese tanks faced by the KV-85 are of little concern as their armour protection is largely inferior, as well as being relatively rare to tanks of other nations. Vehicles of American and British of the same Rank and Battle Rating are also less of a concern as their weapons and armour (excluding the Churchill Mk VII) are also generally inferior to some extent. When situation persists, hostile vehicles of German and Soviet origins should be prioritized first. Tiger tanks should be targeted 'between-the-eyes' of the front plate between the MG and driver's viewport, or to the left or right side of the same front plate to set off ammunition racks. All Panzers models IV and below are of little concern - a single shot anywhere and everywhere will almost always guarantee to penetrate and destroy them. The Panther of which it may occasionally face will be invulnerable in its sloped front plate. Target instead of the turret, or flank to the side and destroy with a single APHE shot.

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Good firepower with the 85 mm gun
• Fast targeting and tracking
• High rate of fire
• Rectangular armour shape allows for good angling effectiveness
• Good mobility, very similar to the KV-1S
• Significantly fast reverse speed
• Player skill compatibility between older and newer T-34, KV and IS models

Cons:

• Insufficient flat armour that would be penetrated if not angled
• Poor gun depression of -3°
• Large gun turret silhouette and profile
• Max speed relatively slow and inferior compared to contemporary tanks
• Limited crew (4 maximum)
• Vehicle center hull is a mass of ammunition, fuel, and crew that can all be damaged with a shot to the area

History

Pretext

At its introduction, the KV-1 Heavy Tank in Soviet service was one of the most heavily armoured tanks in service in the world, it also has an outstanding firepower advantage over its contemporaries with the 76.2 mm gun. But as the war progressed, deficiencies in the KV designs were made to light; it was slow, not ergonomic for the crew, and was starting to become a setback due to the Germans being equipped with newer anti-tank guns. Plus, in a technical term, the T-34 medium tank could do basically everything the KV-1 could do (had similar armour ratings and same gun), but was more mobile and cheaper to produce.

Development

It was clear that if the KV tanks wanted to stay in service, it needed to be upgraded. First was the KV-1 Model 1942, which featured more armour, but still lacked mobility and had the same 76.2 mm gun. The first radical response to the tank design was the lighter KV-1S, which featured lighter armour, a smaller turret, a commander cupola, and a better transmission system. All this helped the KV-1 increase in mobility and speed, but it brought the question on why the tank was still being produced still as now it really had the same specifications as the T-34, but the T-34 was still a lot cheaper to produce than the KV tank. If this viewpoint didn't cause the Soviet heavy program to gradually die, then it was the appearance of the Panther tanks that convinced the Soviet command that their tanks need to have more armour and better guns.

In order to help introduce a better gun into the system quickly while better tanks were being developed, the 85 mm D-5T cannon commonly seen on the SU-85 at the time was attached to the KV-1S tank on a new turret from the developing IS-85 tanks. The new model, called KV-85, helped even the balance in tank firepower by being able to engage the Tiger I from a long distance. However, it was only a stopgap design and not many were produced due to the same 85 mm cannon equipping the standard T-34s to make the T-34-85, making the KV-85's firepower advantage a moot point. Plus, the development of the IS-2, featuring more armour and mobility caused the KV tanks to finally be declared obsolete. The KV-85 was produced from September 1943 to December 1943, with only 148 tanks produced.

Replacement

The KV tank series was succeeded by the Iosef Stalin heavy tanks, first with the IS-1, which featured an 85 mm cannon and effectively replacing the KV-85, then the IS-2 with its 122 mm gun that can kill most of the later German tanks easily.

In-game description

"This tank was created based on the KV-1S due to delays in the IS-1's development. It was equipped with the turret developed for the IS-1 with an enlarged traverse circle, strengthened armour and an 85 mm cannon. The new vehicle was the next step on the path to creating a heavy tank significantly different from a medium tank not only in its armour, but in its firepower as well. The new cannon required a new ammo rack, and the ammunition complement had to be reduced to 70 shells. The tank's main armament was an 85 mm D-5T-85 cannon with a rate of fire of up to 8 shots per minute. Standard ammunition for the 85 mm Mod. 1939 air defence gun was used in the cannon. Instead of a frontal machine gun, a fixed bow machine gun was installed in a socket mount to the right of the driver, which he used to lay down unaimed fire. This allowed the gunner/radio officer to be removed from the crew. Part of the ammunition complement and an additional fuel tank were installed in his place.

Owing to the fact that the tank was an intermediate model, it was manufactured for a relatively short time. In total, 130 of them were made. KV-85 tanks served in guards assault tank regiments. The first regiment of these new tanks reached the front as early as the first days of September 1943 during battles to liberate Left-bank Ukraine. Alongside other vehicles, the heavy tank was tasked with breaking through enemy positions and fighting armoured vehicles. When used correctly, it could oppose the newest German heavy tanks, which previously technically surpassed it. The tank had insufficient hull armour for the end of 1943, providing adequate defence only against German guns below with a calibre below 75 mm. The KV-85 was an important intermediate link between pre-war heavy tank designs and the powerful IS tanks built to replace them."

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Read also

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Sources

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