The ship's specifications become more important when placed against the surviving fleets of the 1950s. Hood, Renown, and Repulse were gone, most King George V-class ships were leaving service, and Vanguard could make only about 30 knots. A 35-knot Stalingrad could therefore keep pace with a fast carrier and outrun the principal British capital ship still available. Aircraft remained able to catch it, but the design was intended to operate with its own carrier rather than evade air power alone.
Notable Point · 18:43-19:44
The postwar gap Stalingrad would have entered
Stalingrad's danger depended on timing: most Western fast capital ships had sunk or been scrapped, while Vanguard was slower.