Lore

By the bitter winter of 1942, the Soviet Union was reeling from the sheer brutality of the German invasion. Cities burned, steel twisted in the snow, and the KV-1—once a symbol of unstoppable Soviet might—was beginning to show its age. What was once a near-invincible beast on the battlefield now struggled to keep up with the newer, fiercer predators unleashed by the Wehrmacht.

In the industrial city of Gorky, under flickering factory lights and amidst the clamor of wartime urgency, a team of weary yet determined engineers sought a solution. They weren’t building a new tank—they didn’t have the time. Instead, they would breathe new life into an old warhorse.

They called it the ZIS-5—a refined cannon, born from the same lineage as the F-34 that armed the legendary T-34. Mounted onto the aging KV-1 chassis, it was a last attempt to keep the steel giant relevant. Armor stayed thick. Silhouettes stayed imposing. But beneath the riveted plates, the tank was slowly becoming a relic of another time.

Commanders still admired it—if only for the morale it carried. Soldiers would hear its thunderous engine crawling through the mud and feel reassured, like an old guardian had returned to the field. Its gun, while no longer top-tier, could still punch through Panzer III and IV armor if given the right angle.

But the enemy had moved on. Panthers and Tigers now stalked the forests and cities, and the KV-1 ZIS-5 found itself outmatched. Like a once-mighty knight wielding a worn sword against a new kind of dragon, it fought bravely, but its era was ending.

The Red Army used them where they could—holding lines, protecting supply routes, ambushing convoys. Some were destroyed. Others were repurposed. But all carried the same spirit: defiance, even in obsolescence.

By 1944, the KV-1 ZIS-5 faded from the frontlines, quietly replaced by the rising stars—the IS series, heavy tanks with new teeth and fresh armor.

Controls:
- AG1 - Lights
- AG7 - Enables ammo (rockets)
- VTOL - Gun elevation
- YAW - Turret rotation

Probably my second best tank after the Leopard 2 series.

Interior based on War Thunder KV-1 Zis-5 (Kinda)

Took me around 10 hours.