At the beginning of 1940 the Russians produced a real monster with the KV-1 chassis as base, with a giant turret which holds the 152mm M-10 howitzer. Until October 1942 there were 334 of these, 52t weighting, tanks produced. Because of the heavy turret armor it was not easy to knock out this coloss, on the other hand it was hard for the crew to rotate that heavy turret, with inclined chassis it was nearly impossible. The combat value of this tank is doubtful. The diesel engine V-2k gave 600 hp to achieve a maximum speed of 34 km/h. There was a crew of 6 men, which had 3 DT machine guns besides the main gun. Some of the KV-tanks received the "light type" track which had guide teeth only on every second link.
The Germans captured some of the KV-2 and modified the with German accessories (commanders cupola, lighting, etc) and used them in special companies, like the Pz.Abt.66 for the invasion of Malta.
Tamiya kit with some upgrades was used for the model.
Below some additional original photos of KV-2 captured and modified by German forces
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