WW2HeavyHeavy TankSoviet Union

KV-85

In service 1943 - 1944

Based onKV-1S (derived from)

A stopgap: the IS turret with an 85 mm gun fitted to the KV hull while the IS-1 got ready.

Built byChelyabinsk Kirov Plant

Photograph pending. No clearly licensed photograph of this vehicle was found.

Development history

After Tiger encounters proved the KV-1's 76 mm gun inadequate, designers dropped the new 85 mm-armed turret intended for the IS onto existing KV-1S hulls. The result reached units in autumn 1943 and fought through the Dnieper crossings and the liberation of Ukraine, giving heavy regiments a gun that could hurt German cats at last. Only 148 were built before IS-1 and IS-2 production took over, making it one of the rarer Soviet heavies.

Related vehicles

Separate records that derive from this vehicle, grouped by how they relate to it.

Successor to this vehicle

IS-1 (Object 237)WW2Production successor to the interim KV-85

Notable actions

Battle of the Dnieper
Liberation of Ukraine (1943-44)