KV-1E KAO is a Soviet Artillery unit in Steel Division II.
Background[ | ]
One of the most fearsome tanks encountered by the Nazis during Fall Barbarossa, the Kliment Voroshilov was the result of a competition to replace the T-35 multiturreted heavy tank. Selected after extesnive testing during the Winter War in Finland, the KV was ordered into production in 1939, with an initial request for 50 KVs. A rush request for a self-propelled howitzer in 1940 resulted in the creation of the KV-2 152mm self-propelled howitzer on the KV chassis. The original tank was redesignated KV-1.
The tank was a thickly armored beast with a torsion-bar suspension, wide tracks, and capable armament for the time, capable of taking on any tank in the Nazi arsenal. However, it had several flaws: Although it was invulnerable to almost any anti-tank weapon of the time, save the 88mm anti-aircraft guns, it was quite vulnerable to itself: The tank was heavier than most tanks of the time, at 45 tons, had an unreliable transmission, was difficult to steer, and most importantly, had particularly poor ergonomics, even for Soviet tanks.
As such, when its advantage in armor was nullified circa 1943 and the T-34 proved to be just as good and much cheaper than it, the KV series was discontinued, replaced in regular roles by the T-34 and by the IS series as a heavy tank. Before that, though, over 5 000 tanks were produced.
The KV-1E was an up-armored version of the tank introduced in 1940, with applique armor applied. The E stands for "ekrany", a Soviet term for applique armor.