The proposed ships would supply heavy gunfire to a carrier-centred task group in weather that grounded its aircraft. The force combined a carrier, Stalingrad, Sverdlov-class cruisers, and possibly destroyers, with the battlecruiser's guns driving off enemy surface ships. The plan called for at least four battlecruisers, enough to make this a repeatable fleet organization rather than a one-off experiment. Their mission made the design a companion to naval aviation rather than an isolated prestige capital ship.
Chapter · 6:44-8:42
A gun-armed escort for a Soviet carrier force
Stalingrad is presented as a 12-inch-gun battlecruiser meant to accompany carriers and cruisers when carrier aircraft could not operate.