After the end of the Russo-Japanese War of 1905, the Russian Naval General Staff decided that it needed a squadron of fast "armored cruisers" (Броненосный крейсер; bronenosnyy kreyser) that could use their speed to maneuver into position to engage the head of the enemy's battle line, much as Admiral Tōgō had done during the Battle of Tsushima against the Russian fleet.McLaughlin 2003, p. 244 This concept was very different from the primary roles for the battlecruiser envisioned by the British Royal Navy and the Imperial German High Seas Fleet, which consisted of scouting for the main battle fleet and attacking enemy reconnaissance forces.Roberts 1997, p. 18 The Royal Navy came to the same conclusion and developed the fast battleships that could force battle on an enemy fleet and had enough protection to attack any type of ship.Burt 1986, p. 251 However, World War I and the Russian Civil War interrupted the construction of the Russian Borodino-class ships and all were scrapped.
Twenty years later the Soviet Navy issued a requirement for a ship capable of dealing with enemy cruisers, but the design began to grow as it was modified to allow for combat with German pocket battleships on even terms, and later modified to gain parity with the s. Two ships were laid down in 1939, but development of their new guns lagged significantly behind their construction and six twin-gun turrets were ordered from Germany in 1940. The working drawings for the turrets and guns had not even been received when Operation Barbarossa began in June 1941. The incomplete hulls of both ships were ordered scrapped in 1947.McLaughlin 2004, pp. 99–117
The Navy revived its requirement for a "cruiser-killer" during the war, but the design process was quite lengthy as questions as to its armament, speed and size were debated. Joseph Stalin was the key supporter of these ships and made many of the important decisions himself, overriding the desires of the Navy. Thus, after his death in 1953, little time was wasted in cancelling the three ships that had been laid down. The hull of the most advanced ship was used as a target and the other two were scrapped on their slipways.McLaughlin 2006, pp. 102–23
In the 1970s, the Navy initiated a project to construct a nuclear-powered ship capable of accommodating anti-aircraft, anti-ship and anti-submarine guided missiles in a single hull. This type, classed as a "heavy nuclear-powered missile cruiser" by the Soviets, eventually emerged as the largest non-aircraft carrying surface warship built since the end of the Second World War, and was termed in the West as a battlecruiser.
Key + DefinitionsMain guns The number and type of the main battery gunsArmor Waterline belt thicknessDisplacement Ship displacement at full loadPropulsion Number of shafts, type of propulsion system, and top speed generatedService The dates work began and finished on the ship and its ultimate fateLaid down The date the keel began to be assembledLaunched The date the ship was launched The Kirov class was fitted with a primarily missile-based main armament; this is reflected in the table with "Main armament" given instead of "Main guns".
Borodino class
The four Borodino-class battlecruisers (also referred to as Izmail class) of the Imperial Russian Navy were all laid down in December 1912 at Saint Petersburg for service with the Baltic Fleet. Construction of the ships was delayed as many domestic factories were already overloaded with orders and some components had to be ordered from abroad. The start of World War I slowed their construction still further as the foreign orders were often not delivered and domestic production was diverted into things more immediately useful for the war effort. The ships were launched in 1915–1916, but the outbreak of the Russian Revolution in 1917 put a stop to their construction, which never resumed.McLaughlin 2003, pp. 247–249 The Soviet Navy gave consideration to completing the ships; initially, Izmail and Borodino were looked at, with a view to finishing one or both to their original design, but the lack of available guns, combined with the complexity of the originally designed electrical system, led to the idea being dropped.McLaughlin, p. 332 Subsequently, plans were raised to complete Kinburn and Navarin to a modified design with guns, which again failed due to the difficulty in either obtaining guns from overseas, or manufacturing them domestically. Subsequent ideas included converting some of the hulls for cargo or passenger use, which again failed. The Navy made a serious proposal in 1925 to convert Izmail, the ship closest to completion, to an aircraft carrier, but this plan was later cancelled as a result of political maneuvering on the part of the Red Army.McLaughlin 2003, pp. 332–337 Eventually, all four hulls were broken up for scrap; the second, third and fourth were sold to a German company in 1923, while Izmail was broken up in Leningrad in 1931.
+ Specifications, construction and service data Ship Builder Main guns Armor Displacement Propulsion Service Laid downMcLaughlin 2003, pp. 248–249 Launched FateIzmail ()Baltic Shipyard, Saint Petersburg 12 × McLaughlin 2003, pp. 243–244 McLaughlin 2003, p. 252 4 screws, 4 geared steam turbines 19 December 1912 22 June 1915 Scrapped, 1931Breyer 1992, p. 114Borodino () Admiralty Shipyard, Saint Petersburg 31 July 1915 Sold for scrap, 21 August 1923McLaughlin 2003, pp. 332–335 Kinburn () Baltic Shipyard, Saint Petersburg 30 October 1915 Navarin () Admiralty Shipyard, Saint Petersburg 9 November 1916
Kronshtadt class
In the 1930s the Soviets began development of a large cruiser (; bol'shoy kreyser) capable of destroying cruisers built to the limits imposed by the Washington Naval Treaty, which the Soviets had not signed. Several designs were proposed, but rejected by the Navy before the concept was merged with the small battleship (Battleship 'B') then being designed for service with the Baltic and Black Sea Fleets after the Soviets agreed to follow the terms of the Second London Naval Treaty in 1937. The new design was significantly larger and was also tasked with dealing with Germany's so-called "pocket battleships". Four were ordered shortly afterward, but the beginning of the Great Purge in August 1937 hindered the completion of the design process and the project was cancelled in early 1938 after being criticized as too weak in comparison to foreign ships.McLaughlin 2004, pp. 100–105
The Navy, however, still had a requirement for a ship capable of defeating enemy cruisers and the original concept was revived as Project 69. The proposed size of the ship continually escalated as the requirement was revised to allow it to fight larger ships like the German s. The preliminary design was finally approved in January 1939 and two ships were laid down in November 1939, before the detailed design had even been approved.McLaughlin 2004, pp. 107, 109, 112
The Project 69 ships were intended to use a newly designed gun in a new triple turret, but they were both well behind schedule when Joseph Stalin asked the Germans in February 1940 if any triple turrets were available for purchase under the German–Soviet Commercial Agreement. When they said no, he then asked if any twin turrets were available instead. Krupp had six incomplete 380mm SK C/34 turrets available that had originally been ordered before the war to rearm the two vessels of the Scharnhorst-class, but which were not used when the plan was cancelled after the start of World War II. A preliminary purchase agreement was made to buy 12 guns and six turrets later that month, well before any studies were made to see if the substitution was even possible. It was later determined that they could be used, so the agreement was finalized in November 1940 with the deliveries scheduled from October 1941 to 28 March 1943.McLaughlin 2004, pp. 109, 111
"Project 69-I" ("Importnyi" – Imported) modified the two ships to use the German guns, even though they still lacked data for the turrets and their barbettes. The detailed design was supposed to be completed by 15 October 1941, but it was rendered moot when the Germans invaded the Soviet Union in June. Neither ship had progressed very far at that time and both had been damaged during the war, so they were ordered scrapped on 24 March 1947 after some thought had been given to completing Kronshtadt as either an aircraft carrier or a mother ship for whalers.
+ Specifications, construction and service data Ship Builder Main guns Armor Displacement Propulsion Service Laid down Launched FateKronshtadt () Shipyard No. 194, Leningrad 6 × McLaughlin 2004, p. 111 McLaughlin 2004, pp. 107, 112 3 screws, 3 geared steam turbines, McLaughlin 2004, p. 109 30 November 1939 — Ordered scrapped, 24 March 1947McLaughlin 2004, pp. 112, 114 Sevastopol () Shipyard No. 200, Nikolaev 5 November 1939 —
Stalingrad class
The Navy reissued its requirements for a large cruiser to destroy enemy light cruisers in 1943, but none of the designs submitted were acceptable. The requirement was reissued in 1944 for a larger ship and the concept was approved by the Politburo in 1945. However, the Navy and the Shipbuilding Commissariat disagreed about the feasibility of laying down any ships of new design before 1950, so a committee was appointed under the chairmanship of Lavrentiy Beria to resolve the issue. It mostly sided with the Shipbuilding Commissariat, but a program of seven large cruisers was approved later that year. Preliminary design work was not completed until 1948 and the size of the ship ballooned to . Stalin intervened several times during the design process and ordered the ship's displacement reduced to and speed increased to as well as specifying its armament as 305 mm guns, rather than the guns preferred by the Navy. All of these changes delayed approval of the detailed design until 1951.McLaughlin 2006, pp. 103–110
The first ship was begun in November 1951 and the other two followed in 1952; a fourth was apparently ordered from the Severodvinsk shipyard, but was cancelled before being laid down. By this time Stalin's support was the main impetus behind the ships and little time was wasted cancelling them after his death on 5 March 1953. Stalingrads hull was ordered to be used for weapons tests while the two other ships were scrapped where they lay. The hull was launched in 1954 after it was modified to suit its new role. It was towed from Nikolayev to Sevastopol in 1955, but it grounded at the entrance to Sevastopol Bay. Initial attempts to pull it off the rocks by brute force failed, and the capsizing of the battleship further delayed salvage work, so that she was not freed until mid-1956. She served as a target for the first generation of Soviet anti-ship missiles and a wide variety of armor-piercing weapons before she was scrapped in the early 1960s, probably 1962.McLaughlin 2006, pp. 116, 119–120
+ Specifications, construction and service data Ship Builder Main guns Armor Displacement Propulsion Service Laid down Launched FateStalingrad () Shipyard No. 198, Nikolaev 9 × McLaughlin 2006, pp. 110–111 McLaughlin 2006, p. 114 4 screws, 4 × geared steam turbines, McLaughlin 2006, p. 115 November 1951McLaughlin 2006, p. 116 16 March 1954McLaughlin 2006, p. 118 Hulk used as target and later scrappedMcLaughlin 2006, pp. 119–120 Moskva () Shipyard No. 189, Leningrad September 1952 — Scrapped, 1953 Kronshtadt () Shipyard No. 402, Severodvinsk October 1952 — Scrapped, 1953
Kirov class