A photograph of a tank named kv 6. Exposing! What do Americans know about our tanks? The last pre-war LKZ project

The KV-6 tank was created as a heavy assault tank, equipped with various weapons and good armor. Tank "KV-6" was called "Behemoth", he received this nickname after a conversation with I.V. Stalin with the designers of this tank. The designers said that they wanted to equip this tank with three turrets, but because of this, the speed of its turn would be greatly reduced, to which Stalin replied, we do not need to turn it around, it will go straight to Berlin. The tank was developed in 1941.

Armament

Tank "Hippopotamus" had excellent weapons, it was so different that he could fight off almost any attack. Armament "KV-6" consisted of two 152-mm anti-tank howitzers that could penetrate any tank and fortification of the Wehrmacht. Further on the tank were 2 F-34 tank guns with a caliber of 76 mm and one 20k gun with a caliber of 45 mm.

But that's not all, the tank also had 18 machine guns, of which: 14 DT machine guns with a caliber of 7.62 mm, 2 Maxim machine guns with a caliber of 7.62 mm and 2 machine guns with a caliber of 12.7 mm.

Even on this, the designers decided not to stop and equipped "KV-6" two flamethrowers and a rocket launcher "Katyusha"

Movement

In order for a tank weighing 138 tons to be able to move independently, it was equipped diesel engine capacity 1800 Horse power. With this engine "KV-6" moving along the highway at a speed of 21 km / h.

On tanks "KV-6" like there was a curse. First tank which they were able to collect, immediately went to the front, to defend Moscow, when he arrived on the battlefield, there was heavy fog, and there was absolutely no view, because of this, the rear tower accidentally shot through the middle one, which led to an explosion of ammunition, and the tank was destroyed.

Second tank assembled in 1942, systems were installed on it showing neighboring towers to exclude the possibility of hitting them. And he, too, immediately went to the front, once moving across the moat, the tank simply broke in half, which led to the detonation and destruction of the entire tank.

Third tank was also created in 1942 and sent to the front, this version was already strengthened from fractures when driving through ditches. This time the tank fought a very inspiring battle, shot down several planes, fired continuously for more than three hours. But the 152-mm howitzers had a very strong recoil, which caused the ammunition to detonate and the tank was destroyed.

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Pz.Kpfw. KV-1A 753(r) "Flamm". He is also a flamethrower KV-6, manufactured by the Kirov plant in Leningrad. The village of Strelna. Winter 1941 12.Pz.Div.?

KV-6 ("Object 226") is a heavy sapper-chemical tank. Experienced.

It was distinguished by the installation of an ATO-41 flamethrower in the front plate on the right, while maintaining the course machine gun on the left. Gun F-32.

In August 1941, the Kirov Plant in Leningrad produced 8-10 KV-6 tanks from the latest vehicle kits. Moreover, the flamethrowers were enough for 4 tanks, and the rest of the KV-6 came out of the gate "with patches", at the place of the proper installation of the flamethrower.

From the personnel and mat. parts of the 24th Panzer Division and the 146th Tank Regiment of the 198th Motor Rifle Division, on September 24, 1941, the 124th Separate Tank Brigade was formed. All KV-6s entered the 124th tank regiment of the 124th separate tank brigade. In total, together with the KV-6, the 124th TP consisted of 32 units. KV-1, several , and a couple of armored vehicles.

KV-6 without a flamethrower, "with a patch" in place of a box for a flamethrower, lost in the battles near Leningrad. 1941






Repaired Pz.Kpfw. KV-1A 753(r) "Flamm". Strelna. 1942
The same Pz.Kpfw. KV-1A 753(r) "Flamm" in white camouflage. The drips show that the Germans were testing a flamethrower. Strelna. 1942
Another refurbished, former KV-6, Pz.Kpfw. KV-1A 753 (r) "with a patch".

In the reports of the headquarters of the 42nd army, no difference was made between the KV-1 and KV-6. The tactics of application also did not differ, because the armament differed only in the presence of a flamethrower and due to the lack of training of crews and officers in the use of flamethrower tanks.

On October 8, 1941, the command of the 42nd Army, saving the bleeding Strelna landing force (a rifle battalion of 431 bayonets under the command of Senior Lieutenant A. Chelidze from the 20th rifle division operational troops NKVD of the USSR), threw the 124th tank regiment of the 124th separate tank brigade into the raid along the Primorsky highway. The choice in favor of the regiment mentioned above was not accidental: firstly, this military unit was armed with thirty-two heavy tank brand "KV-1", and secondly, it was headed by such an experienced and skilled officer as Major I.R. Lukashik is a participant in the battles at Khalkhin Gol and the Soviet-Finnish war.
On the armor of these formidable machines, in addition, a landing force was planted, consisting of Baltic Fleet sailors sent to fight in the infantry.

For three days of fighting, the 42nd army was unable to contact the landing force.

October 8, 1941:

7-00:
The 124th Tank Regiment 124TBR took on armor 300 infantry troops and launched an offensive along the Peterhof Highway from the area of ​​the fork with the Krasnoselskoye Highway.
15-00:
124TP advanced 8 tanks in the direction of the village of Lenin, the tanks are fighting, communication with the landing ("Swallow") has not been established. The main forces of the regiment are located north of the state farm "Proletarsky Trud" (western).
Tanks were advanced from the regiment to eliminate the enemy in the Pishmash area.
The infantry cover of the tanks takes up all-round defense in the area railway crossing to the Pishmash plant.
At the same time, a sapper company and a rifle company of a motorized battalion (124 St. Petersburg) of 124 TBR are moving west from the "Hunting Lodge".
Petrov's brigade (6th Marine Rifle Brigade) got stuck north of Ivanovka and Uritsk: the 2nd battalion, which was ordered to move behind the tanks, did not move anywhere, the 3rd battalion north of the 8.7 mark is slowly moving west. The 1st battalion, together with the tanks of the 51st separate tank battalion, passed the northwestern outskirts of Uritsk and flows around Hill 8.7 from the east. But even he is behind the 51 OTB tanks, which are fighting on the western outskirts of Uritsk.
2 tanks and 2 armored vehicles were thrown into contact with the tanks of the 124th tank regiment in the area of ​​​​the village of Lenin, but did not break through.
5 tanks at the Peterhof-Ligovo junction are refueling.
3 shot down north of Ivanovka, 1 burned out, 1 in a ditch north of Ivanovka.

The tanks left without infantry cover did not stop moving forward. Immediately behind the front line of the German defense, one KV separated from the column and turned left into the streets of the village of Uritsk. Suppressed enemy firepower that cut off infantry. He did not fight his battle for long, and being shot down on the village street, he became the first loss of 51 OTB.

Unfortunately, the raid did not work out from the very beginning: when the enemy defense was broken through, the oncoming lead tornado from the armor was swept away by the landing force. The surviving marines tried to move behind the tanks on foot, but the KV crews, not seeing this, increased their speed to the limit, thereby trying to bypass the area under fire as quickly as possible. As a result, behind enemy lines, including soon in the Strelna area, they, the tankers, broke through no longer having infantry escort with them.
October 8, 1941
19-00:
124 TP is located 1 km north of the Proletarsky Trud state farm, 5 tanks are combat-ready, 8 tanks require repair, 6 were sent to the regiment after minor repairs, 7 tanks were loaded with shells at the 124 TBR command post for delivery to the regiment’s concentration area, 2 tanks were sent to the factory, 3 tanks burned down, 2 armored vehicles burned down.
Infantry landing on the armor of 124 TP, due to heavy enemy fire, landed near the "Hunting Lodge" and took up defense.
23-30:
The sapper and rifle companies of the 124th SPB are located 300-400m west of the Hunting Lodge, 30 infantrymen hold the defense south of the Pishmash plant.
Rifle units are advancing through the swamp to the west to the "Hunting Lodge" under enemy fire from Ivanovka and Uritsk.

To the report of Major I. Lukashik that no amphibious assault was found in a given square ("cornflower blue caps" by that time, almost all were killed in unequal battle), from the brigade commander-124 Colonel A. Rodin, after his report to higher headquarters, an order followed to remain in place in order to continue the search. This, alas, became a fatal circumstance: taking advantage of the moment, the Germans pulled up reserves to Strelna, including tanks, self-propelled guns and large-caliber anti-aircraft guns, which were immediately made for direct fire. At the same time cutting Soviet tankmen escape routes, the Nazi sappers began to mine the surrounding roads with anti-tank land mines.

On the morning of October 9, 1941, Major I. Lukashik, having coordinated in detail with the command of the 42nd Army the place and time of the breakthrough to his own, led the surviving tanks in the direction of Staro-Panov and Ligov.
Anxious hours of waiting dragged on for the command of the 42nd Army. But our HF did not appear in the designated area. The walkie-talkie of Major I. Lukashik's tank, as well as the walkie-talkies of other vehicles of his regiment, did not respond to requests to report the situation.

October 9, 1941

2-45
The 124th Tank Regiment is being fired upon from the area of ​​the Proletarsky Trud State Farm and Volodarsky by the enemy's large-caliber artillery.
There is a telephone connection (!) with the regiment commander, but the radio commands given to the tanks and tank groups at the brigade's command post are not known.
The task assigned to the regiment commander: to advance to the area of ​​​​the village of Lenin and Strelna to communicate with the Lastochka landing force.
7 tanks with food and ammunition were sent to the regiment.
51 OTB fought on the northern outskirts of Uritsk, did not encounter anti-tank defense, only enemy machine-gun and mortar fire, without infantry support, deepened 200-300 meters deep into the village. 2 tanks knocked out, sent to the factory. The battalion performed well, but without infantry.
Request from Fedyuninsky:
in battle there were 32 tanks of 124 TBM and 8 tanks of 51 OTB, what happened to them?
Answer:
3 tanks burned down, 1 KV - in the sowing. Outskirts of Uritsk, 2 KV - on the highway southeast of the "Hunting Lodge", 1 KV sat down there in a swamp, 2 KV sent to the factory, 5 KV - combat-ready, 8 KV - in need of repair, 6 KV - sent to the location of the regiment after repair, 7 KV (of which 5 after repair) - sent with ammunition to the location of the regiment.
16-50
Lieutenant Colonel Rodin, deputy commander of the 124th Tank Brigade, reports: the infantry reached the line 1 km east of the Hunting Lodge,
tanks: 5 KV - combat-ready, 11 KV - require engineering evacuation,
7 tanks sent from the command post did not reach: 4 were blown up by land mines 200m east of the hunting lodge, 1 was disabled by a heavy projectile, 1 was returned, 3 of them (?) were evacuated.
Moving back is impossible, the enemy has laid land mines, we need sappers.
Major Lukashik has 4 tanks and 17 tanks in reserve.

In the evening, an order was received from the Leningrad Front:

"Take all the boxes of the Moon to your territory."
21-30
Information from Rodin, Petrov (6 MSBR?), Artyushenko (44 SD?):
4 serviceable boxes
8 and 4 faulty
2 landing companies at the hunting lodge.
We ask for a reserve for evacuation, because. we can only take out 4 tanks at a time.

Only in the late evening of October 10, three wounded tankers in overalls burned in many places were delivered to the location of the command post of the 124th separate tank brigade, located in the area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe Forel hospital: this is the company commander I.P. Mashkov charging I.P. Rozhnov and an unknown radio operator. They left the encirclement on foot, without cars, along the coastal reeds and thin ice Gulf of Finland. These were the only soldiers from the one hundred and twenty-fourth tank who were lucky enough to escape from the enemy trap from under Strelna ...

As sad as it is to admit, very often significant events, which influenced the course of world history, are behind the scenes and only a few specialists know about them. Domestic tank building was no exception, known for amazing experiments like remote-controlled or jumping tanks.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, new facts about developments appeared on the surface secret weapon created in the USSR during the 2nd World War.
... In July 1941, Stalin learned about the heroic confrontation of one of the KV-2 tanks with units of the 6th Panzer Division a few days before. Given the huge success that accompanied this single KV-2, Stalin ordered work to begin on the development of a new “land battleship based on it. The tank received three turrets and very heavy armament and armor, which would allow it to successfully repel all types of attacks. The project was developed by a joint design team led by Kotin and Barkov. When the designers complained to Stalin that the installation of three turrets made it too long and the tank's turning radius would be too large, Stalin replied: “Don't turn around, point it straight at Berlin.
The latest version of the project became known as the KV-6 Begemot.
The KV-6 was a multi-turret tank consisting of components from the KV-1, KV-2, BT-5, T-60 and T-38 tanks. The use of existing structures was conditioned by the German invasion and the hard work of Soviet industry. Due to its enormous weight, the tank was equipped with a special device that allowed it to cross rivers up to 9 feet (2.74 m) deep. The design team also developed a retractable observation tower, which was to be used to control howitzer fire and rocket launchers.
Technical data KV-6
Crew: 15 people and one commissar
Height: 15 feet 3 inches (4.65 m)
Width: 10 feet 10 inches (3.07 m)
Length: 37 ft 8 in (11.58 m)
Weight: 138 tons
Engines: three V-2s with 600 hp each
Max speed: 13 mph (21 km/h)
Maximum range: 98 miles (157 km) road and 43 miles (69 km) country
Booking: from 7 to 160 mm
Armament: two 152 mm howitzers, two 76.2 mm guns, one 45 mm gun, two 12.7 mm guns DShK machine gun, two 7.62 mm Maxim machine guns, 14 7.62 mm DT machine guns, 16 BM-13 missiles, two flamethrower turrets of the 1933 model.
The first prototype was completed in 1941 and urgently sent to the defense of Moscow. In the very first attack, which took place in dense winter fog, the rear turret accidentally shot through the central one. After the resulting explosion, the tank was completely destroyed.
The second prototype was completed in January 1942 and sent to the Leningrad Front. Special indicators were installed on it to avoid shooting through the central tower. In the first attack on the German positions, the tank, overcoming the ditch, broke in half. The resulting spark ignited the leaked fire mixture, and as a result of the resulting explosion, the tank was completely destroyed.
The third prototype received a reinforced hull and was also sent to the Leningrad front in early 1942. He managed to shoot down three German aircraft. Then, during the first battle, the tank fired continuously for three hours. The huge recoil gradually pushed the tank away and eventually led to the detonation of 152-mm shells, after the explosion of which the tank was completely destroyed.
After such a failure, Stalin closed the project, and many of the KV-6 designers spent the rest of their lives in the Siberian Gulag. The KV-6 tank was called by the few surviving Germans "Stalin's Orchestra", because of the variety of weapons hung on it.
Based on declassified materials published on foreign resources

The KV-5 tank begins with an unexpected decision by the Council of People's Commissars Soviet Union and the Central Committee of the CPSU (b) under the number 827-345 ss, according to which it is necessary to expand work on the creation of the latest super-heavy tank. The tank gets the name KV-5. This decision was born out of incomprehensible information received about the creation in Germany of a super-heavy tank with very powerful armor, which began to enter the tank units of the Wehrmacht.

In the order received by the designers of the Kirov Plant, there were specific figures regarding the design of the KV-5:
- On November 10, 1941, the project should be created and a prototype ready for testing;
- KV-5 must have armor parameters not less than: onboard - 15 cm, turret - 17 cm, frontal - 17 cm;
- to be armed with a powerful gun (ZiS-6 caliber 107 mm);
- high power diesel engine (1.2 thousand hp);
- opening width 42 cm.

Provide the possibility of transporting a tank product to any place using railway solutions.
July 15 - readiness to provide ready-made drawings of the hull and turret of a super-heavy tank to the Izhora plant.
August 1 - be ready to approve the technical design and prototype, taking into account the completion of the hull and turret by the Izhora Plant by October 1 and further submission to the Kirov Plant for assembly of the finished product.

The serial number of the super-heavy tank project is "object 255". The main design work began in June 1941.
The work on the KV-5 was headed by the designer N. Zeits. The design team under his leadership managed to design a tank unique for that time. The power and armor of the tank suggests that at that time the KV-5, if it had gone into mass production, would have become the most powerful and protected tank in the world. No country in the world had analogues at that time.

The hull of the tank turned out to be quite low - the height of 92 centimeters is indicated in the project. Due to their small size, the driver and machine gunner were placed in special towers, which provided these crew members with a decent overview.

The turret of the KV-5 has a unique diamond shape. The dimensions of the tower for that time were very large. The tower housed the rest of the crew - commander, loader and gunner. By the way, the commander of this tank also received a separate tower - the commander's, which made it possible to obtain a fairly large viewing angle. Almost all tanks of the Second World War never had visibility in the pluses specifications.
The shoulder strap of the turret with a diameter of 185 centimeters provided ample opportunities for further modernization of the super-heavy tank. Inside the tower created good conditions to perform the tasks of any crew member. The execution of the tower eliminated another of the major shortcomings domestic tanks when constructive solutions prevailed over the creation normal conditions to perform the functional tasks of the crew military equipment.
Reservation of both the hull and the turret according to the project is 15-17 centimeters. Compare, the IS-2 had frontal armor of only 12 centimeters.

In the course of work on the project, new changes were made to the product. Designers refuse stamped towers. The towers, according to the project, were to be made by traditional welding.
Finished diesel engine domestic manufacturers did not have increased power, so another change was made to the project. The KV-5 is designed with two conventional V-2K engines with a total power of 1.2 thousand hp. They were placed in the tank in a parallel way.
The gun mounted on the projected tank was also another unique project. The grabina gave the KV-5 a huge combat power. A 107 mm caliber gun was capable of penetrating any armored vehicle at that time from a distance of one and a half kilometers.

On August 1, the designers completed the design work of the KV-5 tank completely.
However, it was prevented from translating the drawings into metal German troops, which at an accelerated pace moved towards Leningrad.
The plant suspends all work on the creation of prototypes of equipment and weapons and devotes all efforts to the production serial tank KV-1.
Last date on design work super-heavy tank, - August 15.

About KV-5

Apart from the obvious design advantages of the KV-5, we haven't talked about the shortcomings of the super-heavy tank. The main disadvantage of a super-heavy tank is its weight characteristics. well and this project, with the most powerful armor at that time, was supposed to weigh more than 80 tons. The numbers given in Wikipedia could be true. KV-5 could not be transported through small rivers, he would get bogged down in autumn and spring abysses, transporting the KV-5 to positions would also have many difficulties.

Could the tank appear in the theater of operations? Definitely could. The creation of the tank was completed, the first sample, if not for the approach of the front line, appeared already at the end of 41. Everything for the front, everything for victory - these are not just words, but a really existing ideology Soviet people. If we recall the pace at which other models of military equipment were created during the Second World War, we will get an unambiguous answer to this question.
And the modernization possibilities inherent in the tank design give reason to assume that further modification of the tank, armor and weapons in a few years would have created the most modern equipment from the KV-5, with which the enemy would have nothing to fight.

Quite well-known in military circles, the cannon of the IS-2 tank - D-25T - no problem and additional processing could have been used on the KV-5. A rather spacious KV-5 turret could significantly increase the rate of fire of the tank.
The overall characteristics of the KV-5 make it possible to install a gun with a caliber of 152-155 mm on it, and the tower would remain mobile, which at that time no one did with such guns.

By doing this, Soviet designers overtook the time of construction of such self-propelled guns and super heavy tanks for many years.

Modification of the KV-5, which never existed - the project KV-5 bis

In some documents, there are references to the incredible project of the KV-5 bis tank called "Begemot". Some sources mention it under the name "Stalin's project".

However, as discussed below, the project is clearly fictitious, perhaps for the purpose of misinforming the enemy or for other unknown reasons.
Based on the available descriptions and drawings, the tank is made as a kind of tank caterpillar train with three full-fledged turrets with guns of different calibers. This composite solution is found in A. Afanasiev, in his descriptions of military equipment, and in V. Shpakovsky in his book “Tanks. Unique and paradoxical.

According to available data, the KV-5 bis is a personal request of Stalin, which was developed in 1942.
In 1944, nine Begemot tanks were commissioned. Of these, a heavy tank unit was formed, to which the name of Stalin is added. According to the same data, 9 copies of the Begemot tank took part in at least four military operations.
Actually, the KV-5 bis tank is a ground cruiser on a tracked chassis. The entire "cruiser" had one powerful diesel engine. The towers of the Begemot tank are towers from KV tanks, the middle tower generally has two 152 mm guns. On top of the towers from the KV tanks, towers from the BT-5 were installed. The "Stalin Orchestra" provided for the installation of "Katyusha" and a flamethrower.

Just imagining it in hardware, you understand that this "cruiser" will move only a very powerful diesel engine, which did not exist in the USSR at that time. The estimated mass of the Behemoth is unknown. Even assuming the presence of the move of this "monster", he simply could not make a turn on the spot. And the use in hostilities, and where else - on Kola Peninsula where conventional tanks got stuck seems unlikely.
In addition, there are no historical documents confirming the existence of this project and its use in hostilities.

Another obscure creation of the Italian tank industry is the “under-thirty-four” R-40. The program for the construction of a new medium-type tank, begun in 1940, meant the creation of a more advanced combat vehicle than the recently adopted “support tank” M.11 / 39. Work on such a project, which received the designation P26, began at the end of 1940 and progressed with varying degrees of success. As in the case of the M.13/40, a standard undercarriage was chosen for this tank, but the hull and turret had to be redesigned. According to the terms of reference, the mass of the tank was limited to 25 tons. It was supposed to use a 75-mm cannon as the main armament.
An additional topic for reflection was thrown up by familiarization with the design Soviet tank T-34, which the Italians managed to get acquainted with in the fall of 1941 during the stay of the CSIR in the USSR. First of all, the main attention was paid to the inclined booking of the "thirty-four", which was so lacking in the Italian and German tanks. In addition, the V-2 diesel engine aroused interest.
At the end of 1941, representatives of the General Staff were presented with a model of the P26. Outwardly, this vehicle still strongly resembled mass-produced medium tanks, differing from them in the frontal hull plates, installed at a significant slope, and in a squat turret. The military demanded that the project be finalized, without fail equipping it with a diesel engine similar to the T-34. the first prototype of a medium tank was ready at the beginning of 1942 and presented for testing in the summer, when Italy had already lost all its possessions in North Africa. The main enemy is now the American medium tank M4 "Sherman", which in terms of armor thickness surpassed all Italian cars, not only serial, but also experienced. However, Ansaldo had no special options, because otherwise the Italian army risked being left without new equipment at all.

The prototype was kept undercarriage from the M.13/40 tank, the hull of the Italian tank vaguely resembled the hull of the T-34. As on the Soviet car, the frontal armor plates were installed at significant angles of inclination, but the sides were almost vertical. In terms of armor thickness, the P26 was also almost the same as the T-34. But the layout was clearly borrowed from Germans. The transmission and control compartment were located in the front of the hull, the fighting compartment was in the middle, the engine compartment was in the rear. Due to the fact that the 420-horsepower diesel engine was not ready at the scheduled time, the tank had to install a SPA 342 gasoline 12-cylinder engine with a maximum power of 330 hp.
The armament of the R26 consisted of a 75 mm tank gun, which Italian army had the designation Cannone da 75/18 (i.e. 18 calibers long). An 8-mm machine gun Breda mod.38 was installed next to the gun. Compared to more early models ammunition for the gun was 65-66 shells, for machine guns - 567-600 rounds.
The crew of the P26 included 4 tankers: the commander (aka gunner), loader, radio operator and driver. After testing the first prototype it was decided to equip the second prototype with a 75-mm cannon with a barrel length of 34 caliber. The same artillery system was installed on self-propelled guns Semovente da 75/34, which performed very well during the fighting in the desert. The rate of fire of the Cannone da 75/34 was 6-8 rounds per minute.

Serial production of the P26\40 tank (by this time they were simply designated P40) began in the spring of 1943, but by the time Italy surrendered, not a single tank had left the plant. The Germans were able to capture 5 pre-production vehicles and about 200 kits for serial production. At a meeting with Hitler on September 23, 1943, where the topic of captured Italian vehicles was discussed, it was noted that among other tanks, the P40 has the best armor, but its gun will not be effective enough to fight the Allied tanks. The engine was also planned to be replaced by the German Maybach. The converted tanks were to be put into service with four assault artillery regiments of 36 tanks each. An order for 75 P40s was immediately issued, and on October 5, the same number was ordered. In the Wehrmacht italian tank received the designation Panzerkampfwagen P40 737(i).
According to the latest data, in 1943 the Italian industry produced 24 P40 tanks (11 of them without an engine), and during 1944-1945. according to the German order, another 48 tanks were assembled with engines and 11 without them. In this way, total P40 medium tanks built during the war amounted to 101 copies, the last of which was received on March 30, 1945.