In late 1943, Kliment Voroshilov, who had the honour of having the heavy tanks named after him, fell from political favour. Although a close personal friend of Stalin and a model party member, his incompetence knew no bounds, so the new line of heavy tanks was named after Stalin himself. The new tank was completely redesigned, with a different purpose in mind. The Red Army was beginning to go on the offensive, so the new tank was to have its armour concentrated at the front for a breakthrough role. The tank was armed with the 85mm D5T tank gun, the same as on the T-34-85, and the turret was a very similar design, though wider in the back to accommodate a ball-mounted machine gun. The turrets and guns for the new tanks were ready in time for deployment, but the hulls were not, so the first few turrets were installed on modified KV-1S hulls, resulting in the stop-gap KV-85.
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