CHAPTER 4.
A Personal Order from Stalin
On November 28, 1941, a report from P. F. Solomonov on his trip to Chelyabinsk reached the desk of Military Engineer 2nd Class Anisimov, chief of the Field Artillery Armament Directorate’s 2nd Department. The purpose of his trip was to look into the availability of the KV-1 tank’s armament. The report addressed development in addition to gun supplies. In November 1941, A. N. Bulyshev was managing development of the U-11 and U-12 systems, which involved mounting the M-30 122 mm howitzer and the 52-K 85 mm antiaircraft gun in the KV-1’s turret. The report’s third paragraph is of much greater interest to us.
By order of Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin, the Kirov Factory is developing a triple mount for the KV: One F-34 gun and two 45 mm guns (barrels without recoil mechanisms), with the recoil mechanisms for the triplex taken from the ZIS-5. No 360° field of fire; angle of traverse +/-15° or +/-7.5°, as allowed by the installation; basic load 300 rounds (100 for each weapon); in addition, the triplex to have 3–4 machine guns.
In December, the factory must equip 1/5 of all KV tanks with these triplex systems.
The factory urgently needs the drawings and engineering analysis of the 45 mm tank guns, drawings and engineering analysis of the F-34 (they can make do with on-hand blueprints of the F-34, but the engineering analysis is necessary), and drawings for the ZIS-5 cradle (ruggedized).
The factory also urgently needs four 45 mm tank gun barrels together with their breech mechanisms and, in preparation for testing the triplex, a location, ammunition, and a test program. It is crucially necessary to solve the problem of sights for the triplex.{1}
A note dated November 29, 1941, attached to the report reiterated the identity of the person who initiated development of the vehicle:
By personal order of People’s Commissar of Defense Comrade Stalin, the Kirov Factory (ChTZ in Chelyabinsk) is developing a triple mount for the KV tank (two 45 mm tank guns and one F-34 76 mm gun).
Urgently deliver four 45 mm tank guns to the Kirov Factory for development of these mounts.
To support the planned total production of KV tanks equipped with triple mounts, by December 1941 the Kirov Factory needs to take delivery of 180 45 mm tank gun barrels with breech mechanisms minus the cradle, recoil mechanisms, semiautomatic mechanisms and optics; and it needs 260 such items by January 1942.{2}
This unconventional vehicle, which was assigned the factory code 227 and the designation KV-7, was dictated by a desire to increase the KV-1’s firepower. The ZIS-5 76 mm gun fitted to the Chelyabinsk KV-1 was sufficient to defeat enemy tanks, but requests came from the fronts to increase firepower for combating non-armored targets, including light field fortifications. Conceptually, the triple mount would enable the guns to be fired both separately and simultaneously.
A group of SKB-2 designers led by G. N. Moskvin that had been evacuated to Chelyabinsk was assigned to solve this non-trivial problem. Because the triple mount did not fit into the standard KV-1 turret, a decision was made to install a superstructure in its place (in correspondence, this superstructure was called a “non-rotating turret”). To provide normal working conditions in the fighting compartment for the crew, the superstructure was given the shape of a prism, and its bottom extended over the tracks. In constructing the superstructure, maximum use was made of parts from the KV-1 turret, including the rear machine gun’s ball mount, turret hatch covers, and vision blocks. Recovery tank No. 5161, which had been produced in September 1941, was used to build a KV-7. According to the records, the vehicle was initially equipped with an M-17T engine, and it had seen action on the Leningrad front.
Development of the artillery portion of the triple gun system was assigned to UZTM special design bureau OKB-3. Work on the system, which was developed by engineers N. N. Yefimov and K. N. Ilyin, began in November 1941 and was finished by December 10. The chief designer of the system, which was assigned the factory designation U-13, was F. F. Petrov. L. I. Gorlitsky, who arrived from Leningrad in October 1941, played an important role in developing the U-13. At the time, he was chief of the Kirov Factory’s artillery design bureau. Gorlitsky became deputy chief designer at his new location. The U-13 system was shielded by a common mantlet, which was protected against penetration from beneath by an armor plate.
A test program for the “triple artillery system mounted on a KV tank” was signed on December 17, 1941. Testing was scheduled to last 10 days, but in reality the KV-7 was not tested until December 27, and then it was done at the factory. Capt. P. Solomonov sent a report to the GAU and GABTU based on the test results:
A number of flaws need to be corrected and proving-ground tests urgently performed on the triple mount for the KV-7, which underwent factory testing on December 27, 1941.
Without proving-ground tests, the artillery system cannot be equipped with the necessary sights and vision devices. The TMFD-8 supplied is simply a placeholder for the sight, but modifications are needed for servicing the tank, particularly new scales for aiming. Attachment of a sight at a single point is undesirable.
The Kirov Factory performed proof firing for durability using regular service ammunition. No supercharged rounds were available. No punching, marking, or measurement of the installed parts had been done. The strength of the installed parts must be checked by firing.
The design of the screw-type traversing mechanism with two pivot joints is poor, which causes scattering of shots; in other words, unsatisfactory accuracy. In addition, the traversing mechanism will require constant special monitoring and maintenance. The slightest maladjustment and weakening or wear of the joints will degrade accuracy.
It is necessary and desirable to modify the traversing mechanism. The ideal solution would be to replace it with a sector-type traversing mechanism. The traversing and elevation mechanisms should be equipped with stops. The spent case catcher needs to be modified. Its left and right branches need to be extended forward at least one half the length of the breech, otherwise there is nothing protecting the crew from the recoil. The overall width of the spent case catcher can be reduced, but its sides (right and left) should be somewhat higher.
The position of the headrest needs to be changed; it is not in the right position for the gunner to rest his head on.