Stalingrad-class battlecruiser
The Stalingrad-class battlecruiser, also known as Project 82, was a Soviet battlecruiser design from 1941. It was a smaller and less-expensive counterpart to the Kronshtadt-class battlecruisers of 1939. The original role was for a light, fast ship intended to break up attacks by British fast-cruiser forces that might attempt bombardment of Russia's northern ports. In keeping with the battlecruiser design concept, they would have been able to outgun any ship with similar speed, or outrun anything more heavily armed. Design work had just started when the German invasion of the Soviet Union opened and the design was put on hold.
Side and plan views of the Stalingrad class
Kronshtadt-class battlecruiser
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.
Luftwaffe reconnaissance photo of Kronshtadt under construction in late 1941; her stern section is in the right midsection of the photograph
Luftwaffe aerial reconnaissance photo of Kronstadt under construction, 1 June 1942