|
|
The KV-7 Assault Gun was a attempt to mount more than one assault gun on the chassis of the KV heavy tank.
Two different versions of the design were produced by the SKB-2 design bureau after it was moved to Chelyabinsk.
The first version (Object 227/ U-13/ KV-7) was armed with three guns in a single mounting. One 76mm gun with 93 rounds was in the centre, with two 45mm model 1932/34 guns on either side, sharing 200 rounds. The mounting could traverse 7 degrees to either side. The guns could fire individually or in a single salvo. It had 100mm of frontal armour.
The second version (KV-7-2/ U-14) was armed with two 76mm F-34 guns with 300 rounds of ammo. It had 85mm of frontal armour.
Work on the two designs began in 14 November and one prototype of each model was ready by 29 December 1941 when they were shipped to Moscow to be shown to Stalin. He was unimpressed with the design, and asked for one with a single better gun. Both designs suffered from the same technical problems. When the guns were fired individually the pressure could damage the mounting, knocking all of the guns out of line. The limited traverse of the guns limited their usefulness against tanks, while the 75mm gun was too small to act as a bunker buster. As a result neither type entered production.