The KV-1 Tank Blundered Its Way Into History

War is Boring ^ | October 17, 2016 | Robert Beckhanusen

[C19fan]

A day after the German blitzkrieg into the Soviet Union in June 1941, more than 200 Nazi tanks were powering through Lithuania on a race northward to Leningrad. The Luftwaffe knocked out the Soviets’ nearby air bases, leaving counter-attacking armored columns easy prey for German bombers. Desperate to staunch the bleeding, on June 23 the Red Army sprang its KV-1 and KV-2 tanks — which at the time packed some of the heaviest tank armor in the world — on the advancing Germans near Raseiniai.

[C19fan]

KV-1 was flawed because it used the same gun as the T-34, although at the time an impressive gun, and it was more expensive to produce.

[WKUHilltopper]

Interesting. Thanks for posting.

[CondorFlight]

Which goes to show you never know how your weapons systems are going to work until they actually confront the enemy.

[mainestategop]

BKMRK and forwarded to my historian friend.

[nhbob1]

These were a nasty surprise for the Wehrmacht. I read one account where a single KV1 held up at least a battalion if not an entire panzer regiment for hours. They eventually were able to take it out after it got dark with infantry and satchel charges.

[bravo whiskey]

That was a KV-2 with a 152mm gun. It slid off the road, the ONLY supply road, for one of the panzer divisions. Took a couple of days to get it out. Some of the KVs didn’t even have ammo so they literally ran over German 37mm AT guns. Most were lost when they ran out of fuel.

[PLMerite]

KV-1:

KV-2:

[B4Ranch]

ping