|
The KV-4 was the designation given to a series of designs for a 92 ton tank armed with a 107mm tank gun that were produced before the German invasion of the Soviet Union, but none entered production.
Work on the KV-4 and the even heavier KV-5 began because Grigory Kulik, head of the GAU, mistakenly believed that the Germans were working in super-heavy tanks with much thicker armour that would have been proof against existing Soviet anti-tank guns. In response the Soviets began to design very heavy tanks of their own, causing delays to the KV-1. Work also began on very heavy tanks capable of carrying the new 107mm tank gun then being developed.
The KV-4 designation (Obiekt 224) was given to designs in the 92 ton ton category (although some were heavier). The basic design would have been armed with the 107mm F-39 gun (ZiS-6 in some sources). It would have had 170-180mm frontal armour and 125mm side armour. There were to be seven road wheels on each side. At least 20 different designs were submitted for the KV-4 and KV-5. This included versions with the engine in the centre behind the driver or with a second 45mm anti-tank gun turret on top of the main turret.
In the end all of these projects were abandoned after the Kirovsky Plant had to be evacuated from Leningrad in August 1941. Even before that doubts had been raised about the practicality of such heavy designs, which would have been difficult to move by rail. The 107mm gun did enter production as a field gun, the 107mm divisional gun M1940 (M-60) but production of this ended soon after the German invasion.