Soviet KV-2 Tank No. B-4754 Destroyed in Battle for Ostrov, July 1941

November 28, 2025 - Reading time: 4 minutes

Soviet KV-2 heavy tank B-4754 destroyed in the battle for Ostrov, July 1941.

This wartime photograph shows a KV-2 heavy tank, serial number B-4754, from the 6th Tank Regiment of the 3rd Tank Division, 1st Mechanized Corps, disabled during the battle for the town of Ostrov in the Pskov region on 5 July 1941. The tank suffered a broken track, pierced side armor of the transmission, and damage to the steering rods and side clutches, rendering it immobile. Due to its position blocking a bridge and the severe damage, the crew could not extract the vehicle.

Captain Ivan Ivanovich Rusanov, the tank commander, reportedly remained in the vehicle to attempt to disable it, and his fate remains unknown. Other crew members — driver Zhivoglyadov, gun commander Osipov, radio operator Volchkov, and loader Khantsevich — survived and returned to their unit. Surviving documents indicate that the battlefield was quickly occupied by enemy forces, making evacuation impossible.

The KV-2, a heavy breakthrough tank armed with a large 152-mm howitzer, was intended to engage fortifications and enemy strongpoints. This image exemplifies the vulnerability of even heavily armored vehicles in the fast-moving battles of the early Eastern Front, where mechanical failures and concentrated enemy fire could quickly neutralize formidable machines. The destruction of KV-2 B-4754 highlights both the bravery and the tragic losses of Soviet tank crews during the opening weeks of Operation Barbarossa.

Technical Photo Data:

📍 Location: Ostrov, Pskov Oblast, USSR
📅 Date: July 1941
📝 Subject: KV-2 tank B-4754 disabled in combat; crew included Capt. Ivan Rusanov
📷 Photographer: Unknown

• Heavy tanks in early Operation Barbarossa
• KV-2 tank destruction USSR
• Soviet tank crew losses
• Pskov region WWII battles
• Soviet mechanized divisions 1941