Why the USSR failed to build a single aircraft carrier: what prevented it

Aircraft carriers are one of the most influential symbols of the military power of modern states. This is why the United States has actively used them as a key element in its strategy for many decades.

The Soviet Union also sought to achieve a similar level of influence at sea, but failed to build a single successful aircraft carrier. This was discussed in more detail by The National Interest.

During the Cold War, the confrontation between the US and the USSR reached an unprecedented level, where each sought to demonstrate its military power and technological superiority. However, the strategies of the countries differed significantly.

The U.S. military developed the concept of aircraft carrier battle groups, where the aircraft carrier was the centerpiece around which the rest of the military fleet was formed. The Soviet Union, however, took an alternative approach to demonstrating naval power. It developed heavy cruisers and other smaller ships, and relied on its submarine fleet.

Soviet Moskva-class helicopter carriers

This vehicle was much smaller than standard aircraft carriers. It was planned to be used to launch helicopters and fixed wing aircraft.

Although the Moskva-class helicopter carriers were innovative for their time, their designers faced numerous problems. This ultimately led to the project never being fully realized.

One of the main reasons for the failure was the Soviet engineers' decision to replace the planned gas turbine engines with steam engines. This decision, made with economy and simplification of production in mind, led to serious problems, so they had to be redesigned.

In addition, the Moskva-class ships proved to be too slow, greatly limiting their effectiveness in combat conditions. Therefore, by 1991, they were all decommissioned.

Other aircraft carriers of the USSR

In addition to the "Moscow", the USSR developed several other aircraft carriers, but none of them, except for the "Ulyanovsk" and "Tbilisi", were not even completed. For example, in 1965, there was an attempt to create a ship similar to the "Moscow", called "Leningrad". It was also dismantled for scrap before 1992.

The ships "Kiev" and "Minsk" were sold to China, where they were turned into tourist and entertainment complexes. The aircraft carrier "Baku" was sold to India in 2004, and the "Varyag" to China. There, after deep modernization, they were put into operation.

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