New additions to the RO arsenal; the KV-1B (1941) and KV-2 heavy tanks.
Expect to see the KV-1B in MinionWorkz's Elnya map.
Both tanks will be implemented to the game courtesy of TT33 and the guys that Minionworkz. Since both tanks share the same chasis, it should save alot of work implementing them into the game. Both tanks will also share the same driver interiors, and have similiar turret interiors.
Now, both tanks were very powerful, particularly the KV-2. When they made their debuts on the battlefield, the Wehrmacht did not have many weapons which could destroy these Soviet beasts. There has been discussion on the forums before about implementing such tanks, and how their use in the game would mean a clear Soviet advantage due to their power (if their operational capacity was accurately reflected in the game). All were valid points, but I hope the discussion about the tanks revolves not on whether or not they should be implemented, but rather on what we can do to make their implementation work. It will take skill on the part of mappers to put these tanks in situations where their use will not mean a decisive tactical advantage for the Russian side.
Here is some techinical info on the KV-2[1]:
-334 KV-2s were built.
-The KV-2 had a combat weight of 52-54 tons, almost as heavy as that of the Tiger I.
-The KV-2 could rotate it's turret 360 degrees in 36 seconds.
-Rate of fire was 2-3 shots per minute with an experienced crew (36x round capacity).
-It had four machine guns (bow, turret rear, co-axial, and an MG for air defense).
-The armor thickness of the front of the turret was 110 mm.
-Max speed was 34 km/h.
An important weakness of the KV-2 was that, due to its immense size, it was only capable of accurate fire on nearly level ground, and turret rotation was impossible if the tank was sloped. So even a relatively small tilt of the tank rendered it useless. This would be an interesting feature to have implemented into the game, as only certain areas on a map could be used as an idea spot for the KV2 to conduct combat.
It also should be made known that after Early 1942, hardly any KV-2s were in active serivce. However, this is complicated by the fact that Russian sources did not distinguish between the KV-1 and KV-2 in their reports[1]. There is atleast one report of the KV-2 seeing action in 1943, but not confirmed. Most of the battles involving this tank took place during Operation Barbarossa. Only one KV-2 survived the war and is currently on display in Moscow.
Hopefully the introduction of these tanks will encourage more early war maps. Alot of thanks should go out to Minionworkz and TT33 for helping to get these new vehicles into the game for the community to enjoy.
[1]: KV-2: Soviet Heavy Breakthrough Tank of WW2 by Jochen Vollert (Tankograd Publishing)
