Q&A · 44:03-45:58

Where would Soviet battleship machinery come from?

Licensed Italian and Yarrow-Normand machinery offers a quicker route than an entirely indigenous propulsion plant.

Naval Technology Ship Propulsion Shipbuilding Soviet Navy

Question

What kind of steam machinery could Soviet battleships use in the early 1930s?

Short answer

They would probably use licensed or copied foreign machinery, following the Italian and Yarrow-Normand pattern seen in the Kirov class.

Notes

Kirov's machinery provides the model for the first Soviet treaty battleships. Italian equipment and licensed Yarrow-Normand water-tube boiler designs could supply the initial plants. Soviet yards would then build copies or licensed variants for later ships.