KV-1 (L-11)

KV-1 (L-11)

T-28E

KV-2 (1939)

KV-1 (L-11)

T-28E

KV-2 (1939)

USSR

II Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
3.7	3.7	3.7

Class:

Heavy tank

Research:9 200

Purchase:16 000

Show in game

This page is about the Soviet heavy tank KV-1 (L-11). For other uses, see KV-1 (Family).

Description

The KV-1 (L-11) is a rank II Soviet heavy tank with a battle rating of 3.7 (AB/RB/SB). This tank was introduced during the closed beta testing for Ground Forces before Update 1.41. The KV-1 L-11 is the first unlockable Soviet heavy tank which boasts raw firepower and armour at the cost of mobility.

The first heavy tank available in the Soviet branch. It's slow, difficult to maneuver and heavily armoured, and mounts the same gun of the T-34 1940, sharing its awful penetration. In Rank II battles, this tank is tough to penetrate so you can lead the assault and absorb shots that will quickly destroy your lighter and better-armed teammates. It's better to prefer short-range engagements, and you must aim for weak spots, but your best weapon is other players, so act like a steel wall and cover other tanks with better guns.

General info

Survivability and armour

Armour type:

• Rolled homogeneous armour
• Cast homogeneous armour (Gun mantlet)

Armour	Front	Sides	Rear	Roof
Hull	75 mm (31°) Front plate 70 mm (72°) Front glacis 25 + 70 mm (7-71°) Joint plate 75 mm (26-51°) Lower glacis	75 mm	60 mm (13-89°) Top 70 mm (14-57°) Bottom	30 mm
Turret	75 mm (15°) Turret front 90 mm (1-52°) Gun mantlet shield 75 mm (15-57°) Gun mantlet	75 mm (14-15°)	75 mm (16°)	40 mm

Notes:

• Suspension wheels are 20 mm thick, tracks are 30 mm thick.
• Roof armour is quite excellent. 30 - 40 mm is nothing to ignore. It will reliably protect from most autocannons. Although aircraft with unique diving capability and +0 mm arms may still pierce it. More importantly, it makes the vehicle quite resilient against rocket strikes from vehicles such as the Calliope.
• The lower glacis, unlike most other tanks, is not a weak spot! It is including your own turrets height significantly better angled than the upper frontal plate. Further, neither the MG port nor the drivers view slit are weak points. Discard them as targets.
• Gun mantlet is an extra 75 mm bolted on to the turret, with some parts with an additional 90 mm added instead. This results in a spaced overlapped part with ~150 mm. Only the cheeks left, and right of the mantlet bulges should be shot! However, these areas are quite small and easily missed, if the turret is traversed.

Mobility

Game Mode	Max Speed (km/h)		Weight (tons)	Engine power (horsepower)		Power-to-weight ratio (hp/ton)
	Forward	Reverse		Stock	Upgraded	Stock	Upgraded
Arcade	39	7	46	775	1,145	16.85	24.89
Realistic	37	7		531	600	11.54	13.04

Armaments

Main armament

76 mm L-11
Capacity			Vertical guidance	Horizontal guidance	Stabilizer
111			-7°/+25°	±180°	N/A
Turret rotation speed (°/s)
Mode	Stock	Upgraded	Prior + Full crew	Prior + Expert qualif.	Prior + Ace qualif.
Arcade	9.7	13.4	16.3	18.0	_.__
Realistic	7.1	8.4	10.2	11.3	12.0
Reloading rate (seconds)
Stock	Prior + Full crew	Prior + Expert qualif.	Prior + Ace qualif.
9.3	8.2	7.6	7.1

Ammunition

Penetration statistics
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Penetration in mm @ 90°
		10m	100m	500m	1000m	1500m	2000m
BR-350A	APHEBC	78	76	69	61	53	47
BR-350SP	APBC	93	91	83	74	66	58
OF-350M	HE	10	10	10	10	10	10
Sh-354T	Shrapnel	37	35	29	25	20	17

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-350A	APHEBC	615	6.3	0.15	10.0	150	+4°	48°	63°	71°
BR-350SP	APBC	615	6.8	N/A	N/A	N/A	+4°	48°	63°	71°
OF-350M	HE	615	6.2	0.05	0.1	621	+0°	79°	80°	81°
Sh-354T	Shrapnel	615	6.2	0.5	8.0	85	+0°	62°	69°	73°

Ammo racks

Ammo racks of the KV-1 L-11

Full ammo	1st rack empty	2nd rack empty	3rd rack empty	4th rack empty	Visual discrepancy
111	107 (+4)	102 (+9)	82 (+29)	1 (+110)	Yes

Turret empty: 102 (+9)

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

The first thing to know about the tank, just because it's a heavy tank does not mean you should charge headfirst into the enemy. While it may look intimidating as you watch the enemy's shells deflect off your vehicle as you move slightly forward to their front lines, you risk getting flanked as moving forward gives the enemy enough space to get around and hit you in the vulnerable rear area. Try to avoid letting the enemy get close enough to catch your turret ring and destroy each of your crew from there. Thankfully, the turret ring is quite a small target, and will be difficult to hit from far away. Despite the 75 mm all-around armour, don't think for a second that you are invulnerable and play smart still. Also, angling is quite important, as many of the Axis long-barreled 75 mm will penetrate you.

Make sure that you have a few teammates that are with you when playing the KV-1, as your gun will struggle to penetrate common foes such as the M4 Sherman and the T-34 frontally. With only 78mm of penetration at point-blank, it is necessary to aim for your opponents weakspots. However, the post-penetration damage is amazing, and a shot that penetrates will most likely kill the enemy.

One of the more common and dangerous enemies this vehicle will face is the Pz IV F2. The Panzer IV F2 has thin armour, but the long 75 mm cannon can easily pierce the KV-1 armour if it is not angled properly. The penetration for the PzGr 39 Shell, which is an APCBC and the stock shell for the Panzer IV F2, at normal combat ranges of 100 meters and 500 meters has 133 mm and 121 mm respectively. Another dangerous enemy is the Stug III F. It has the same 75mm as the Panzer IV F2, but lacks a turret, making it harder to hit. Also, it is more well armoured compared to the Panzer IV F2, and has some sloped armour plates in the front. Try to hit the two non-sloped spots near the driver and the machine gunner, or flank around and hit their weak side armour.

Counter-tactics

Never charge into a KV-1 unless you are also playing as a heavy tank. The L-11 is a low-quality gun but can do devastating damage at short range. As a light tank, medium tank, or tank destroyer, always sneak around the KV-1 and get in shots from the back or side. The KV-1 has a slow turret traverse and flat side armour, making it especially vulnerable to flanking.It is not advised to engage with a KV-1 at all if you are playing as an SPAA.

As a heavy tank, if your gun is capable of penetrating the front of the KV-1's frontal armour, aim for the lower middle of the upper glacis, where the large ammo rack is located. If the shot penetrates, it almost guarantees a destroyed KV-1 as the ammo rack is huge.

As a light tank, medium tank or tank destroyer/SPG, use the advantage of cover (building, hill, trees, etc.) to flank or get behind a KV-1. It will be hard-pressed to turn quickly enough to angle its near-impervious frontal armour towards you. If you are not confident in your gun's ability to deal significant damage to the engine block or ammo racks, it is advised to fire at the tracks and disable the tank before rushing up to it and firing directly at the back. Shooting at the rear of the turret is also an option to attempt to hit one of the ammo racks on either side. However, smarter drivers will empty their turret of ammunition, so firing at the turret will not always work.

Modules

Tier	Mobility		Protection	Firepower
I	Tracks		Parts	Horizontal Drive
II	Suspension	Brake System	FPE	Adjustment of Fire	BR-350SP
III	Filters		Crew Replenishment	Elevation Mechanism
IV	Transmission	Engine

As usual, Parts and FPE first. Tracks is a good additional choice, a frequently targeted module. Also, it increases your turning capability a lot. After these, research Adjustment of fire and Brake System, because the accuracy of the L-11 cannon is slightly increased, even though it is still subpar. The suspension is useful for firing on the move, something particularly useless for a slow, heavy tank. Braking quickly and being able to fire a more accurate shot proves to be much more efficient. The BR-350SP does not see any use. The small gain in penetration is offset by the lack of any HE filler, and the round should be ignored entirely. Afterwards, all Tier III & Tier IV upgrades are equally useful.

Pros and cons

Pros:

• All points of armour are better than good at its rank
• Angling your hull makes it virtually immune to most guns it faces
• Virtually no weak spot except the small turret ring
• Gun does decent damage upon penetration
• Heavily armoured for a Rank II tank
• One of the few Russian tanks that have a crew of five
• Excellent rate of fire, useful for short-range engagements
• Quicker and better armed than the other first-rank II heavy tank; the Matilda II

Cons:

• L-11 gun is very inadequate for its battle rating
• Low speed, typical for heavy tanks
• Slow turret traverse, if you need to change targets quickly you must rotate both the turret and the hull
• No neutral steering - making turns, especially when playing as the stock KV-1, will decrease your speed dramatically
• Penetration shots from the sides and below the turret are typically catastrophic
• Heavy and slow, you can't relocate quickly, and you are vulnerable when climbing hills
• Later variant of the Panzer IV can easily penetrate your armour, even from the front
• Large fuel tanks lined up on the side
• Cannot reliably compete with other heavy tanks in its BR range
• Most British tanks can penetrate your armour even from long range
• Trying to knock out another KV-1 L-11 is just a waste of shells and time

History

Development

The start of the KV-1 heavy tanks began after the heavy tank T-35's flaws came to light. Designers were ordered to draw up new designs to become the basis of a breakthrough heavy tank needed for the Soviet doctrine. This made for a tank that was heavily armoured, but not very mobile as it was to be for siege warfare. The designs offered all had heavy armour, wide tracks, and used the torsion-bar suspension. The designs were the SMK, T-100, and what would be the KV tank, which was named after the then Soviet Defense Commissar Kliment Voroshilov.

During the developmental progress, the prototypes of all these heavy tanks were made, and the Winter War with Finland was on its way. The Soviets sent these tanks into Finland for combat testing, to which the KV design outperform in every way with its superior armour and firepower. The armour on the KV tank was impenetrable by a tank cannon in service and most anti-tank guns as well; the 76.2 mm cannon also gave it a colossal firepower boost compared to the usual 37 mm in use by other countries. However, the design was found to be challenging to steer, the transmission was unreliable, ergonomics were weak, and vision was limited, plus with its 45-ton weight, it was a weighty tank for its time. In truth, while formidable in power and protection, courageous crew member willing to curse the name would speak out about the trouble the KV tank was. The first variant of production before World War II broke out was the KV-1 model. The first model production was equipped with the L-11 cannon, but this was deemed insufficient in performance and was later replaced in subsequent production models by the improved F-34, or the ZiS-5 cannon.

Combat usage

When Germany invaded the Soviet Union in 1941, the Red Army had 508 of the KV tanks. With that many KV tanks available, the Russians shocked the German forces as their anti-tank and tank forces had few weapons capable of defeating it, having to rely mostly on the 88 mm Flak guns and the 5 cm Pak 38 with APCR rounds. But by 1942, Germany fielded large amounts of long barreled 50mm and 75mm cannons in both tanks and towed format, making the KV lose much of its armour advantage.

Perhaps the most memorable moment of glory for the KV-1 was at Krasnogvardeysk near Leningrad on the 19th of August 1941 when 5 KV-1s, led by Lt Zinoviy Kolobanov, ambushed the German 8th Panzer Division (a light panzer division consisting mainly of Panzer II, III and 38(t)). But there are some contradicting stories about what happened, and even if it indeed did happen. One story that supports the claim goes like this: each of the five KV-1s was hiding at different locations, came out one by one to fire at the incoming German tanks, then retreat before the next tank could come out. Such tactic boxed an entire tank and ended with 43 tanks destroyed before the KV-1 tanks retreated from running out of ammo, all in a span of about half an hour. During this battle, one of the KV-1 tanks was struck 135 times with no penetration. For their feat, Lt Z. Kolobanov and a few officers were decorated with the Order of Lenin and Order of the Red Banner medal.

The KV-1 continued to serve until the end of the war, though in dwindling numbers as they were lost due to mechanical failures, combat, and being superseded by more modern tanks. Some KV-1s built in 1941 still saw service in 1944 at the Leningrad front before being replaced by IS-2 tanks, then they saw service in Manchuria in 1945 before retired altogether at the end of World War II.

Variants

Many variants of the KV tank would be produced in the span of World War II as the Soviet try to keep it in production as long as possible, the initial version was called the KV-1 and remained most part as the main Soviet heavy tank for the first part of World War II. A bunker-buster variant mounting a 152 mm howitzer after experiences in Finland brought the monster KV-2 assault tank, which is very turret heavy that it must be on a flat surface to properly rotate. After complaints of its mechanical issues and lack of performance compared to the lighter T-34 medium tank was heard, the factory updated the tank, thinning its armour, and adding a commander's cupola with all-around vision blocks, so in 1943 it was designated as the KV-1S. But the KV-1S introduction was a little too late as then the better German tanks such as the Panther tanks could knock them out with ease. An attempt to up-gun the KV-1S was to give it the 85 mm D-5T gun then in use on the SU-85. This variant was called the KV-85. Though it was seen favourable for a nice increase in firepower among the armoured forces, soon even the lighter T-34 began mounting the 85 mm gun as the T-34-85. It was determined that the heavy tank would have a much bigger gun than the medium tanks, but at the time the KVs were falling out of favour in preference to the newer IS-1 and IS-2 heavy tanks coming into service, which was based off the KV-13 prototype tanks developed in 1942 as a medium tank.

Survivors

Several KV-1s survive after the war, most as monuments, but also in museums. Only one genuine KV-1 was restored to running condition in Russia after it was found in the bottom of the Neva River.

In-game description

The first clashes with Spanish nationalists armed with light anti-tank weapons made it clear that a new heavy tank with cannon proof armour had to be created. The heavy tank's design began at the end of 1938.

For 1940, the mass-produced KV-1 was a truly pioneering innovation, embodying the most advanced ideas of its time: individual torsion-bar suspension, reliable cannon proof armour and a single powerful universal weapon within a classic layout. This was the first time such an arrangement was used on a Soviet mass-produced heavy tank, which meant that the KV-1 received the strongest defences and most potential for modernisation. The tank's armoured hull was welded from 75, 40, 30 and 20 mm thick rolled armour plates. The KV-1 was equipped with a 500 hp B-2K diesel engine and a 76.2 mm L-11 cannon with an ammunition complement of 111 shots, in addition to three 7.62 mm DT machine guns. One was paired with the cannon, while the others were placed on the bow and stern in ball mounts. When necessary, the machine guns could be removed and used outside the tank. The KV-1 tanks made their debut on the Winter War front. The tank successfully passed its trial by fire. No enemy anti-tank cannon was able to destroy it. Many times, the new vehicles survived battle not only with several but with several dozen German tanks.

The tank had some serious drawbacks: it's poorly designed transmission and air filter, insufficiently durable tracks and road wheels, a crowded fighting compartment and poor vision. The engine and transmission often broke down during intensive use. The tank's 7-tonne turret also caused many problems. Its weight lead to rotation issues related to the high force placed on the aiming mechanism levers and the low power of the electric motors.

Media

Skins and camouflages for the KV-1 L-11 series from live.warthunder.com.

Read also

Official War Thunder article: [Historical] Tanks of Kliment Voroshilov

Sources

Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:

• topic on the official game forum;
• other literature.