As I mention we work on another KV-4 – Schaschmurin’s proposal, last time i write that it take 3rd place, but I was wrong, it was second. I thing I mention it before but for me it is fun or challenge (which for me is equal to fun) to reverse engineer “paper” or “what if” tank. Mainly because we try to make them not just “look good” but realistic. The last one require two things:
– good knowledge about engineering practice in the current country and period.
– how a tank work.
And today’s fun moment is around the mounting of the 107 mm gun. As you can see from the blueprint it is very interesting mounting, the gun shield is internal, like on British tanks. But the main question is “how to remove the gun from the tank?”, which is required firs in order to assemble the tank, then to maintain/repair the tank and the gun. Easiest solution is to use the opening for the 76mm turret (in green), but it is too small and then there is no space for the barrel to go don so the breech to go up and out. Second option is to make removable the rear plate of the fight compartment (in orange), usually it is thin. But as you can see it is too small. And removing the engine first and then the gun is too pervert, not to mention that in that era connecting g the engine to the transmission was not that easy as it is today (when they are removed together). So we have front plate left (in red). BTW this was used on some other KV-4 proposal too. If only the part between the driver and radio man cabins is remover it will be way easier that any acrobatic that other options will require. And the plate that will go with the gun is relatively light, my calculation show that with 150 mm thick armor the plate will be less that 600 kg, which compare to gun’s weight is very little. And just as I write this it come to me that removing small portion of the roof will make extraction of the gun even easier…and the model look more detailed:) But I must relocate the ventilator… the question is where, on the side there is ammo rack, may be on the orange plate. There must be two of them, the on eon the 76 mm turrets is not enough , and far away from the 107 mm gun.
