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The KV-1 was the Soviets' foray into the heavy tank arena. Its credentials were impressive. It utilized the M-1939 85 mm anti-aircraft gun as armament on a 43-ton chassis. It boasted numerous technological improvements that allowed the crew to be reduced to just four in number: a Commander, Gunner, Driver, and Loader. The turret was a huge cast-piece, utilizing a new, improved ballistic shape designed to deflect hits. The armor of the hull was 60-65 mm thick, which compared favorably with the German Tiger tank, its main opponent. It was produced in far fewer numbers, though. The total production run of only 130 units was quickly ground up in the Winter Campaigns of 1943 and 1944.
Just after the KV-1 first served on the field, it was upgraded and improved to the IS-1 (the IS stood for Iosef Stalin, in homage to the Soviet leader). It was fitted with an 85 mm L/53 gun. The main improvements were a modified hull, better transmission, and a suspension for coping with rough terrain. The gun was later upgraded to 122 mm. A total of 3,483 of these variants were produced - almost all lost in the meat-grinder of the Winter Campaigns of 1943 and 1944, where the Soviet tank losses were huge. Tank for tank, the Germans usually outfought the Soviets but were overwhelmed by the sheer number of Soviet tanks.
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