Soviet Battlecruiser Kronshtadt

Soviet Battlecruiser Kronshtadt

The Kronshtadt-class battlecruisers, with the Soviet designation as Project 69 heavy cruisers were ordered for the Soviet Navy in the late 1930s. Two ships were started but none were completed due to World War II. These ships had a complex and prolonged design process which was hampered by constantly changing requirements and the Great Purge in 1937.

Kronshtadt was built by the Shipyard No. 194, Marti in Leningrad. She was laid down 30 November 1939 and judged 10.6% complete when the Germans invaded. Her building slip was too short for her entire length so her stern was built separately. Some of her material was used during the Siege of Leningrad to repair other ships and in defensive works, but she could have been finished after the end of the war. Proposals were made to complete her as an aircraft carrier and as a base ship for a whaling flotilla, but both ideas were rejected and she was ordered scrapped on 24 March 1947. Her dismantling began shortly afterwards and was completed the following year.

General characteristics (Project 69-I)
Type:	Battlecruiser
Displacement:	39,660 t (39,034 long tons) (standard)42,831 t (42,155 long tons) (full load)
Length:	242.1 m (794 ft 3 in)
Beam:	31.6 m (103 ft 8 in)
Draft:	9.7 m (31 ft 10 in) (full load)
Installed power:	12 water-tube boilers 210,000 shp (156,597 kW)
Propulsion:	3 shafts; 3 steam turbines
Speed:	32 knots (59 km/h; 37 mph)
Range:	8,300 nmi (15,372 km; 9,551 mi) at 14.5 knots (26.9 km/h; 16.7 mph)
Complement:	1,819
Armament:	3 × twin 38 cm (15 in) SKC/34 guns4 × twin 152 mm (6 in) guns4 × twin 100 mm (3.9 in) DP guns6 × twin 37 mm (1.5 in) AA guns
Armor:	Waterline belt: 230 mm (9.1 in)Main Deck: 90 mm (3.5 in)Lower Deck: 30 mm (1.2 in)Turrets: 305 mm (12 in)Barbettes: 330 mm (13 in)Conning tower: 330 mm Bulkheads: 275–330 mm (10.8–13.0 in)
Aircraft carried:	2 Beriev KOR-2 seaplanes
Aviation facilities:	1 catapult

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