| Re: New KV-2s coming!
Just been reading up on them in the new Tankograd volume by Jochen Vollert. It looks like all the early model 1939 U-series (U-1 - U-4) KV-2's were lost by late August 1941. With type production of the model 1940 being stopped in October 1941 this tanks life on the battlefield was truly limited. Some apparently survived to 1942, but there is no mention of how many in Russian records as they tended not to differentiate between the KV's when recording survivors from various actions. It looks like the vast majority had been lost by Autumn 1941. As you say, there was no opportunity for a tradition of slogan painting to evolve on the KV-2's due to their short time in action.
Of the 334 KV-2's only one has survived through to today at Kubinka, now loaned to the Armed Forces Museum in Moscow. Interesting that practically nothing is known of the wartime layout inside these tanks. The survivor cannot be accessed as the hatches are welded shut! |