Project 26 machinery, armament, and thin protection

The design moved from four twin 152 mm turrets to three twin 180 mm mounts and finally three triple 180 mm turrets. With 113,500 shaft horsepower, the resulting cruiser was credited with 36 knots at roughly 9,400 tons full load, only one knot below the Italian promise despite nearly 700 additional tons. Six 100 mm guns, six 45 mm guns, two triple 533 mm torpedo mountings, mines, depth charges, and two KOR-1 seaplanes gave the class a broad weapons fit. Fifty-millimeter protection on the belt, deck, turrets, and barbettes left the ships lightly defended, while the conning tower received 150 mm armour. The result was an international naval hot rod built from Italian concepts, Anglo-French boilers, Soviet guns, and German aviation equipment.