Soviet KV-1 Recovered from River Bed

Russian soldiers of the 90th Special Search Battalion of the Western Military District, along with staff from the Museum of the Battle for Leningrad, have recovered a KV-1 tank from the Neva River near Leningrad. Thankfully no crew remains were found, thus meaning they likely escaped, and the tank itself is in relatively good condition. It is expected the tank will be able to be fully restored and be used in parades as a living historical artifact.

The KV-1 was the primary heavy tank in the Soviet arsenal when Hitler launched his attack on the Soviet Union in June of 1941. No German tank, not even the Panzer IV’s early marks, competed well with the outstanding armor and armament equipping the KV-1.  This 45 ton monster, in its 1941 version, featured a potent 76.2mm gun as its primary armament. For protection it could rely upon armor reaching 90mm in thickness in some places. The tank proved so tough to destroy that during the Battle of Raseiniai a single KV-1 held up elements of the German 6th Panzer Division for an entire day. Ultimately over 5,000 KV-1s, and its variants, were produced during the Second World War.