KV-2 Heavy Tank |
| Written by Marcia Malory | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The KV-2 was designed to break through fortifications. It had an enormous turret which carried a gigantic 5.98 inch howitzer. Anti-concrete shells the size of garbage cans were fired from the howitzer. These shells were used to knock down pillboxes and bastions.
Because an extra hand was needed to operate the weapons, an additional crewmember stayed in the turret. This meant that the KV-2 had six crewmembers, while the KV-1 had five. Even though it had a much heavier main gun, the KV-2 kept the same chassis and engine as the KV-1. This meant that it was even slower than the KV-1. The Germans found that they could easily destroy the KV-2 by first aiming for its tracks, so that the tank could no longer move.
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As a specialized version of the KV-1, the KV-2 played a role similar to that of the British Funnies.