In the 1920s and 30s all major naval powers limited by
international treaties could not build new battleships
and started to lay down large batches of cruisers instead.
On October 22, 1935, cruiser Kirov was laid down at the Baltic Shipyard in Leningrad.
She incorporated the latest engineering achievements
of the time and became the pride of Soviet shipbuilding.
Kirov was the descendant of the Italian Condottieri-class cruisers.
Soviet engineers studied the documentation received from
Italians and created an original design named Project 26.
Still, you can tell by the cruiser's elegant silhouette that she is of Italian lineage.
The building of the first Soviet cruiser was declared a priority project.
Kirov was launched only a year after her keel had been laid down.
A number of new technologies were adopted during the construction of the ship,
which allowed engineers to accelerate the process.
For example, for the first time in Soviet shipbuilding, the
main power plant and a part of the auxiliary mechanisms
were mounted when the ship was still on the stocks,
while usually this kind of work was done after the
ship was launched and berthed at the moorage wall.
Cruiser Kirov was standing out among ships of
the same type for her performance characteristics.
Her length was more than 191 meters
width—more than 18 meters
and draft at a total displacement of more than 6 meters
The cruiser's total displacement was 9,436 tons.
Kirov was equipped with a boiler-and-turbine two-shaft main power plant.
During the delivery trials the cruiser was able
to produce more than 113,000 horse power
and almost reached a speed of 36 knots.
The citadel protecting the main mechanisms,
machines, artillery control posts, and magazines
consisted of the armor belt, traverse bulkheads, and lower deck, all 50 mm thick.
The primary armament turrets had the same armor.
The cruiser's primary armament consisted of nine
180-mm B-1-P guns mounted in three turrets.
The initial design intended for the cruiser to have
six main guns installed in three twin turrets.
However, Soviet engineers proposed an original turret design with three guns,
which allowed them to augment the firepower by 50% without increasing the ship's displacement.
The long range anti-aircraft artillery consisted
of 100-mm guns. The close range AA artillery
included six 45-mm dual-purpose semi-automatic 21-K guns and four DShK machine guns.
The ship was also armed with two triple torpedo launchers, with a caliber of 533 mm
The cruiser had two KOR-1 aircraft that were used for reconnaissance and spotting.
A catapult installed amidships helped them take off.
Kirov began service in the Baltic fleet in 1938.
On June 22, 1941, Nikolay Kuznetsov, Commander-in-chief of the Navy,
ordered all fleets to be put on alert.
And later the same day the antiaircraft artillery of
Kirov fought off an enemy raid near Riga's harbor.
The enemy experienced the full power of the cruiser's artillery for the first time
when they approached Tallinn, where the Baltic fleet was stationed.
Shells from the Kirov's 180-millimeter guns dispersed
the enemy infantry and destroyed armored vehicles.
The adversary didn't let this go unanswered:
during five days of battle, more than 500 shells were
shot at the ship and more than 300 bombs dropped,
but thanks to skillful maneuvering and intense
AA fire, Kirov managed to avoid serious damage.
A quick advancement of German troops towards Tallinn led to the decision
to evacuate the Baltic fleet, the troops, and valuable industrial equipment.
The cruise from Tallinn to Kronstadt took three days.
Soviet ships had to pass through extensive minefields in bad weather.
In addition, they were constantly attacked by enemy
aviation and torpedo boats and suffered enormous losses:
of the 225 vessels, almost a quarter sank.
During the Tallinn evacuation, cruiser Kirov repelled attacks from 32 aircraft, and
miraculously avoided hitting a mine or catching
one of the 80 bombs dropped on the ship.
After arriving in Kronstadt the cruiser was added to the artillery defenses, but due
to regular bombardment of Kronstadt's harbors she was transferred to Leningrad.
The ship's primary armament did not allow a moment's peace to advancing enemy troops.
In the spring of 1942, the German command planned operation "Eis Stoss" (Ice Strike),
which was aimed at destroying ships moored on the Neva river,
including Kirov, with one massive air raid.
However, the antiaircraft artillery of the ships foiled enemy plans.
After two days of attacks, German pilots managed to score only one direct hit.
A bomb pierced the deck and side of Kirov, and exploded in the water.
At the end of April, German aviation attempted a new
mass strike, during which Kirov was hit by three bombs.
They set the cruiser ablaze.
Sailors threw burning ammunition overboard while
some shells exploded right in their hands.
The loss of life among the crew was very severe that day: 86 people were killed and 46 wounded.
On the night of April 24, the badly damaged Kirov was towed to
repair docks and an old training ship Svir was put in her place.
The next morning enemy aircraft appeared again
over the cruiser's former moorage and sank Svir.
The repairs took two months, during which the
antiaircraft artillery of the cruiser was reinforced.
By the end of June, Kirov took up a position
near Universitetskaya Embankment in Leningrad.
In January 1944, the Soviet command began an offensive
to defeat German troops blockading Leningrad.
It was desperately awaited by all inhabitants and defenders of the besieged city.
Kirov, together with other ships, supported the advancement of the Soviet
army by unleashing her primary armament on pockets of enemy resistance.
For the successful combat actions and courage shown by her
crew, cruiser Kirov was awarded the Order of the Red Banner.
She was the first surface ship of the Baltic fleet to receive it.
In the evening of January 27, 1944, the cruiser's antiaircraft
guns fired blanks for the first time during the war.
This way Kirov saluted the end of the Leningrad blockade.
The hero of the Tallinn breakthrough and defender
of Leningrad, the legendary cruiser Kirov
was decommissioned in only 1974 with a service record that spanned almost four decades.
Her forward gun turrets, propellers, and anchors were preserved in Saint Petersburg
and served as the basis for a memorial to the defender of the city.