FYI, for those of us who don't speak Russian (which is most of us), the books pictured above are "History of KV Tanks, Part 1, and Part 2" (published in 2001) respectively, by author and tank collector, Mr.Maxim Kolomiets.
As to the issues discussed, here's my findings...and proof.
The so called "mistake" on the Avtovo, St. Petersburg Kv-85 appears to be a genuine mistake on a restoration and is discussed in the following:
The firstKV-85s were re-worked from excess KV-1S hulls, welding up the hole for the ball-mounted hull machine gun. The incorrect opinion has appeared in Western literature that there was a "second version" of the KV-85 with a flexible front machine gun. This confusion most likely arose as a result of study by Western experts of the onlyKV-85 tank that has been preserved to this day (monument in Avtovo, St.Peterburg), where a mistake was made in the restoration process.
Taken from website
http://www.battlefield.ru/index.php?...&Itemid=50 . Sources for this information are given in the website.
As to the "test" status of the Kubinka KV-85, it appears that it may or may not be a real KV-85 depending on who you believe. It does seem to be THE prototype that led to the KV-85 series:
Four tanks (two
JS and two KV-1S) armed with the 85 mm S-31 and D-5T guns were tested jointly. This test demonstrated the great operational superiority of the D-5T gun and it was accepted for armament. For these tests the S-31 gun was mounted in the standard KV-1S turret with minimal reworking. The crew had been reduced to four men. This tank (
Object 231, serial number 30751-51) is now preserved at the VIM BTVT at Kubinka.
(<u>See id.</u>) Sources for this information are given in the website.
So...it appears that the ball mounted MG existed on at least one example. Whether you call the Kubinka specimen a KV-1S (which it appears to be...mostly) or a KV-85 (which the museum calls it) is up to you. Looks like the only difference between the early KV-85s (i.e. the early ones based on the KV-1S chassis) and the one in Kubinka is that production models had the MG removed and plugged. As I said before, if Kubinka says its a KV-85, then that's good enough for me.
Unfortunately, I couldn't find any sources that seemed to quote Mr. Kolomiets (or his above mentioned books) on this subject...but that doesn't mean he hasn't discussed it in his writings (which are extensive).
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