The heavy cruiser "Stalingrad" belongs to the type of ships of the Navy of the USSR, the construction of which was personally initiated by V. I. Stalin. Their basis was the ship "Luttsov", bought in Germany shortly before the Second World War. It was it that prompted the beginning of the development, and then the construction of heavy ships in the USSR. In this article you can see the photo of the cruiser "Stalingrad" project 82 and find out its difficult story.
Previous events
This began even before the attack of fascist Germany on the Soviet Union. As you know, V.I. Stalin had an inexplicable addiction to cruisers, so it was his increased attention to heavy ships and unlimited power that played a major role in deciding whether to start developing the so-called project 82.
In late August - early September 1939, negotiations were held between representatives of Germany and the USSR, which culminated in the signing of agreements on non-aggression, friendship and borders between states, as well as on trade and credit cooperation. A little later, the delegations of both countries met again, now to conclude a business agreement providing for the supply to the Soviet Union of a large number of engineering products, including weapons and military equipment, in exchange for raw materials.
With the start of the war unleashed by Hitler Germany in Europe, German shipbuilding campaigns were reoriented to large-scale construction of submarines, while programs to create surface warships were temporarily suspended. That is why the Soviet government had the opportunity to purchase several unfinished military cruisers.
The Trade and Purchasing Commission, which included specialists from the Navy and the NKSP and headed by the People's Commissar of the Shipbuilding Industry of the Soviet Union I.T. Tevosyan, reviewed the documentation and negotiated the purchase of two or three heavy Admiral Hipper type ships equipped with 203 mm artillery. These cruisers began to be built in series four years before the start of World War II. By that time, two of them had already been transferred to the German fleet, and three more were being completed afloat.
Such an acquisition would allow the USSR to replenish the fleet much faster with the necessary number of military units, without reducing the number of military ships already being manufactured or only planned for construction. The negotiations between the two sides ended with the fact that Germany agreed to sell one of the unfinished ships - the cruiser Lutzov, whose technical readiness was 50% complete. In addition, the Germans pledged to ensure the supply of not only weapons, but also equipment for its further construction. Also, a group of specialists from the shipyard-builder located in Bremen was to leave for the USSR for the period until all work on the ship was completed.
Identification of priority areas in shipbuilding
According to the economic agreement concluded with Germany, in May 1940 the cruiser Luttsov, which was renamed Petropavlovsk in September, was towed to Leningrad Plant No. 189 and left at the outbuilding wall.
Its acquisition made it possible for Soviet specialists to familiarize themselves with foreign models of the latest military equipment and, taking into account foreign experience, introduce a number of advanced technological solutions during the creation and construction of domestic ships for their Navy. Provided that the German side fulfills all its obligations, work on the cruiser should have been completed in 1942.
During the war, the design of a new domestic cruiser slowed somewhat. However, even before its completion, at the beginning of 1945, an order was issued by the People's Commissar of the Navy N. Kuznetsov to create a commission, which included leading experts from the Naval Academy. They had to analyze the experience gained in the war and prepare materials concerning both the type and the tactical and technical elements of the most promising ships, which over time would be included in the new program for updating the fleet in the USSR.
In September of the same year, at a meeting with JV Stalin, which was attended by the leaders of shipyards and the command of the Navy, he put forward a proposal to reduce the number of battleships and increase the number of heavy ships, such as the designed cruiser Stalingrad. Kronstadt and a number of other similar unfinished pre-war bookmark ships, which were morally obsolete by this time, in March 1947, it was decided to disassemble for metal.
Design history
In mid-1947, the ministers of armaments D.F. Ustinov, Armed Forces N.A. Bulganin, and the shipbuilding industry A.A. One of them suggested equipping the new type of cruisers with 220-millimeter guns, the rest with 305-millimeter guns of the main gun.
The officials explained the use of the same weapons in two reports by the fact that there was disagreement between the ministries regarding the thickness of the reservation for the hull of the designed cruiser Stalingrad. Bulganin supported the idea of a 200-mm shell of the ship, which could provide reliable protection of vital sections of the ship from 203-mm shells at a distance of more than 60 cable. As a result, such an armor thickness made it possible to improve combat maneuverability in the event of a collision with similar enemy cruisers, which would be one of the main tactical advantages.
Goreglyad, in turn, was of the opinion that a 150-mm armor belt was expedient, which would significantly reduce the displacement of the vessel, as well as increase the speed of full speed. The Ministry of Industry and Industry was confident that such improvements would provide the cruiser with the ability to carry out fire interaction with enemy heavy ships at distances of more than 80 cable. Therefore, this thickness of armor was quite sufficient to protect against 203-mm shells.
The third option using 220 mm guns was significantly inferior to the first two projects both in survivability and firepower. However, its advantage was a lower displacement of the ship by 25%, as well as an increased speed of another 1.5 knots.
In 1948, I.V. Stalin finally approved one of the options for further development. It was the project proposed by Bulganin, namely, a ship with a displacement of 40 thousand tons with 200 mm armor, with a speed equal to 32 knots, and 305 mm guns. Stalin ordered to maximize the pace of construction of such military vessels and later personally controlled the progress of its implementation. It is worth recalling that the heavy cruiser “Stalingrad” created in the USSR was also positioned as the main opponent to similar American ships of the Alaska type.
Bookmark and construction
By a special government decree, several teams of design bureaus, research institutes, shipbuilding enterprises and related industries were involved in the creation of the first heavy cruiser of the Stalingrad type, including Stalin Metallurgical, Izhora, Novokramatorsky, Kirovsky, Kaluga Turbine, " Bolshevik ”,“ Barricades ”,“ Electrosila ”and Kharkov Turbine Generator Plants.
The ceremonial laying of the battle cruiser "Stalingrad" was made on December 31, 1951 in Nikolaev, at factory No. 444, despite the fact that several sections of the bottom were installed on the slipway a month earlier. The fact is known that the workers of this enterprise promised to launch the vessel ahead of schedule, namely on November 7, 1953, coinciding with the 36th anniversary of the October Revolution. However, this was not the only cruiser of the Stalingrad type that they began to build in the USSR after World War II.
In the fall of 1952 in Leningrad, at the factory number 189 on the slipway "A", another cruiser "Moscow" was laid down. Around the same time, in Molotovsk, they began to build the third such warship, which did not receive its own name. He was called the hull number 3. This ship was laid in the slipway-boathouse at the factory number 402.
The construction of the Stalingrad Project 82 cruiser was the fastest. At the end of 1952, about 120 samples of various components were delivered for this ship, including weapons, heat exchangers, diesel and power generating sets, boiler turbines, cable devices, instrumentation and automation systems and other auxiliary mechanisms.
Test
During the design of a new type of cruisers, its creators carried out a number of experimental design and research works. Tests were conducted to determine the degree of durability of deck and side reservations by undermining and firing homogeneous and cemented protective plates. The prototypes of the main premises of the power plant, ammunition cellars, energy compartments and combat posts were prototyped.
An optimal version of the theoretical contours of the ship’s hull was found during tests of the seaworthy and running properties of the ship on scale models in experimental pools located on the territory of TsAGI named after N. E. Zhukovsky and Central Research Institute of Academician A. N. Krylov. In addition, numerous theoretical studies of a variety of issues related to the use of the latest technology were carried out.
Cruiser "Stalingrad": design description
Basically, the ship's hull had a longitudinal recruitment system with available gaps between the frames in the citadel area within 1.7 m and at the extremities about 2.4 m. In addition, it was divided from the lower deck to the bottom by transverse bulkheads having a thickness of no more than 20 mm, in 23 waterproof compartments.
The methods of sectional assembly of the hull provided for by the project, where both flat and volumetric segments connected by welding were used, significantly reduced the time allocated for the construction of the vessel.
Reservation
The wall thickness of the side cabin of the Stalingrad cruiser reached 260 mm, the crosshead bulkheads of the citadel - 125 mm (aft) and up to 140 mm (bow), the roof - about 100 mm. Decks had armor: lower - 20 mm, middle - 75 mm and upper - 50 mm. The thickness of the walls of the towers of the main caliber was: frontal - 240 mm, side - 225 mm, roof - 125 mm. As for the rear, it also served as a counterweight, as it was composed of three plates, the total thickness of which could vary from 400 to 760 mm.
The most important compartment of the ship, such as the ammunition cellar, the premises of the power plant and the main posts had anti-mine protection (PMZ), which consisted of 3-4 longitudinal bulkheads. The first and fourth of them were flat and had a thickness of 8 to 30 mm, and the second (up to 25 mm) and the third (50 mm) were cylindrical. For more reliable protection, additional plates up to 100 mm thick were put on the third bulkhead.
For the first time in the practice of shipbuilding in the USSR, the heavy cruiser Stalingrad was equipped with a triple bottom guard. For this, a longitudinal-transverse system was used throughout the citadel. Outside, the casing was made of 20 mm armor, the second and third bottoms had a thickness of up to 18 mm.
Armament
According to the approved project, the ship was supposed to be equipped with 305-mm SM-31 guns, the total ammunition of which consisted of 720 salvoes, as well as 130-mm BL-109A turret mountings, designed for 2,400 rounds. The artillery fire control system provided for the availability of both radar and optical means.
In addition, the Stalingrad cruiser planned to deploy 45-mm SM-20-ZiF and 25-mm BL-120 anti-aircraft installations, designed for 19,200 and 48,000 rounds, respectively. SM-31 turret guns were supposed to be equipped with the More-82 launcher with the Grot radio range finder, while the Sirius-B was intended for the BL-109A.
Auxiliary equipment, communications and detection
As mentioned above, the cruiser was equipped with the main-caliber missile launcher More-82, which provided the SM-28 KDP with a range of 8 and 10 meters, and two Zalp radars. The second and third towers of the Civil Code were equipped with Grottom radio range finders. Supported by three SPN-500, the missile launcher had a standard Zenit-82 caliber. Stag-B radio range finders were installed in three towers of the Criminal Code. Three “Fut-B” radar systems provided firing from anti-aircraft guns SM-20-ZIF.
The armament of radio engineering consisted of radar stations for detecting surface objects “Reef”, airborne “Gyuis-2” and target designation “Fut-N”. As for electronic defense, it consisted of a Mast search radar, as well as a Coral used to create interference. In addition, it was planned to install a Hercules-2 sonar station and a pair of Sun-1p heat direction finders on the cruiser.
Construction cessation
Ship assembly was advancing rapidly. However, only a month passed after the death of V. I. Stalin, on April 18, 1953, the order of the Minister of Heavy and Transport Engineering I. I. Nosenko to stop the construction of three ships of Project 82 came out. The cruiser "Stalingrad" was almost half ready. Work not only on the manufacture, but also on the partial installation of weapons on the lead ship was in full swing. In addition, various ship devices and equipment were installed on it, including diesel and turbo-generating units, power plants, heat exchangers, an automation system and a number of other auxiliary mechanisms.
In June of the same year, the Navy Commander, together with the Minister of Heavy and Transport Engineering decided to use part of the Stalingrad cruiser’s hull, including its stronghold, to use at the training ground as an experimental full-scale compartment. It was planned that the latest models of naval weapons would be tested on it . The purpose of the exercises was to test the resistance of the mine and armor protection of the ship.
To develop documentation for the equipment and the formation of the compartment, as well as for its descent from the slipway and further towing to the test site, it was entrusted to the branch No. 1 of the bureau, which was based in Nikolaev at that time. K.I. Troshkov became the head of this project, and L.V. Dikovich, who was the lead designer of the project 82, became the chief engineer.
In 1954, the compartment of the heavy cruiser "Stalingrad" was launched. During 1956 and 1957, the power of cruise missiles, torpedoes, air bombs and armor-piercing artillery shells was tested on it. However, despite this, the compartment still remained afloat even in the absence of any special forces and equipment responsible for its survivability. This state of affairs only once again confirmed the extremely high efficiency of the protection of this ship.
As for the other two cruisers, their unfinished hulls were cut into scrap metal. These works were carried out on the territory of factories No. 402 and No. 189. In mid-January 1955, according to the decree of the Council of Ministers of the Soviet Union, it was planned to manufacture four 305-mm railway batteries on the basis of SM-31 tower installations left from cruisers of the unrealized project 82 for the needs of the coastal defense of the USSR.
The Stalingrad and other ships developed by TsKB-16 were highly appreciated by the Soviet government. Despite the incomplete project 82, it was quite interesting and very significant, given the fact that the ships were created in an extremely short time. Their design and further construction demonstrated to the whole world the highest technical and scientific potential of the country.
It is noteworthy that Project 82 and its facilities were the only artillery heavy vessels in the world that were laid down after the end of World War II. On the example of the model of the cruiser "Stalingrad", made in 1954, which is stored in the Central Naval Museum in St. Petersburg, we can now easily imagine the full power of this ship.
Computer games
The cruiser Stalingrad in World of Warships is the revived history of the Russian fleet. Despite the fact that the ship was not actually completed, it can be seen firsthand on the screen of your monitor. In mid-October 2017, the developers of World of Warships announced that only the best players could receive a Tier X cruiser Stalingrad. Already, there are a lot of people who want to take part in a virtual battle and become the captain of this ship.