KV-1 World of Tanks Guide

Last update: 11 May 2016

General information

Name	KV-1
Type	Heavy tank
Tier	V
Armament	85 mm F-30: penetration 120mm; damage 160
Armor	Hull: 75mm/75mm/70mm, turret: 110mm/110mm/110mm
Durability	640 HP
Mobility	Maximum speed: 34km/h, engine: 500KM
Role	Medium range combat, fight in close combat

KV-1 is first heavy tank available for Soviet commanders. This tank I very slow and not maneuverable: the engine is very weak, thus reaching the maximum speed is very hard. On the other hand the armor is good enough to fight with all 5 tier tanks and range of available cannons should satisfy all players. After getting the elite status, this tank often gets its permanent place in the garage, while it is perfect to earn credits.

Development, equipment, crew

KV-1 has several development paths; the one proposed below allows us to quickly use the great firepower in order to gain experience.

First thing we should develop for KV-1 is 57 mm 413 cannon. Depending on our preferred gamestyle, this cannon can be sufficient till the end of our adventure with this tank. Next step should be researching M-17F engine and then suspension. With the increased capacity we will be able to mount a new turret, which will not only increase our HP, but is also so well armored that 5 tier guns will ricochet on it. At this point we should decide which gun we want to use. A 85 mm F-30 cannon has good penetration and 122mm U-11 howitzer allows us to shoot large shells. After developing suitable weapon, we research other modules and vehicles.

• Preferred equipment: Gun/Shell Rammer, Enhanced Gun Laying Drive, Improved Ventilation.
• Optional equipment: Binocular Telescope, Toolbox, Camouflage Net
• Skills and Perks: Sixth Sense for Commander, Repair for the rest of the tankers. Then Brothers in Arms for the whole crew.

Weak points

Despite the fact, that KV-1 is most armored 5 tier tank in the game, it still has some weak points. Most important of them is top front plate with driver sight and machine gun stand. Both these points are poorly armored and easy to penetrate. Top plate alone is quite resistant and to break through you need at least cannon of 100 mm penetration and shoot at right angle. Bottom plate armor is similar to one from the top plate and it is also to break through with cannon of 100 mm penetration. Middle front plate is almost impenetrable for 5 tier tanks and stronger tanks also can have problems with that. By shooting KV-1 from the side or rear try to attack at the right angle and hit above tracks. Since the armor at this point is 75mm/70mm thick, cannon of min. 80 mm penetration should inflict damage from time to time. By shooting at its rear we can set the tank on fire.

The KV-1 turret has 110 mm of armor on each side, thus we should never aim at it. In addition, on the front of the cannon, yoke is located, which increases its resistance.

How to play...

...as a driver of KV-1?

• For new drivers this tank could be traumatic experience. Where the T-28 was quite agile and nimble, KV-1 is slow and not very maneuverable. For this reason we should avoid riding to the open field, because then we become an easy target.
• Our gamestyle depends on the mounted cannon. Using the 57 mm 413 gun we can attack at medium distance (cannon is very accurate) and during close combat we can easily hit opponent's weak points.
• When using 122mm U-11 cannon we are big threat for all weakly armored 5 and 6 tier tanks. Unfortunately low rate of fire and much worse accuracy of this gun force us to take a very good aim before the shot. This gun loses its fire power advantage in fights with 7 tier tanks.
• The last available cannon for us is 85 mm F-30. This gun, despite its poor accuracy, has quite good penetration, allowing us to damage from the flank even 7 tier vehicles.
• In order to increase our durability, we should set the tank at the high angle to the enemy, thus increasing effective front armor, as well as side one. KV-1 set at the correct angle is impenetrable for same tier tanks.

...against KV-1?

• If we do not have proper cannon (of at least 80 mm penetration), we do not attack KV-1. Just continue our ride and try to support allies on the other part of the map.
• When attacking KV-1 at medium distance, we try to shoot at it at the right angle.
• When fighting at short distance from the front, we aim at weak points, such as driver sight. Attacking from the side or rear we shoot at the right angle at any point on the armor.
• Low tier artillery might have problems with damaging KV-1 but still can inflict critical damage which damage modules or injures the crew. If there is no other, more important target, we should try to hit this vehicle.