Borodino-class battlecruiser
Plan and right elevation drawings of the Borodino class
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| Class overview | |
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| Name: | Borodino (Izmail) |
| Operators: |
 Russian Navy
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| Preceded by: | None |
| Succeeded by: | Kronshtadt class |
| Built: | 1912–1917 |
| Planned: | 4 |
| Cancelled: | 4 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | Battlecruiser |
| Displacement: | |
| Length: | 223.85 m (734 ft 5 in) |
| Beam: | 30.5 m (100 ft 1 in) |
| Draught: | 8.81 m (28 ft 11 in) |
| Installed power: |
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| Propulsion: | 4 shafts; 4 steam turbines |
| Speed: | 26.5 knots (49.1 km/h; 30.5 mph) |
| Complement: | 1,174 |
| Armament: |
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| Armour: |
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The Borodino-class battlecruisers (Russian: Линейные крейсера типа «Измаил») were a group of four battlecruisers ordered by the Imperial Russian Navy before World War I. Also referred to as the Izmail class, they were laid down in December 1912 at Saint Petersburg for service with the Baltic Fleet. Construction of the ships was delayed as many domestic factories were overloaded with orders and some components had to be ordered from abroad. The start of World War I slowed their construction still further as the imported components were often not delivered and domestic production was diverted into areas more immediately useful for the war effort.
Three of the four ships were launched in 1915 and the fourth in 1916. Work on the gun turrets lagged, and it became evident that Russian industry would not be able to complete the ships during the war. The Russian Revolution of 1917 put a stop to their construction, which was never resumed. Although some consideration was given to finishing the hulls that were nearest to completion, they were all eventually sold for scrap by the Soviet Union. The Soviet Navy proposed in 1925 to convert Izmail, the ship closest to completion, to an aircraft carrier, but the plan was cancelled after political maneuvering by the Red Army led to funding not being available.
After the end of the Russo-Japanese War of 1905, the Russian Naval General Staff decided that it needed a squadron of fast "armoured cruisers" that could use their speed to engage the leader of an enemy's battle line, much as Admiral Tōgō had done against the Russian fleet during the Battle of Tsushima. Initially the Naval General Staff wanted a ship with high speed (28 knots or 52 kilometres per hour or 32 miles per hour), 12-inch (305 mm) guns, and limited protection (a waterline belt of 190 mm or 7.5 in); the Emperor approved construction of four such ships on 5 May 1911, but the Duma session ended before the proposal could be voted on. Preliminary bids for the ships were solicited from private builders, but the bids proved to be very high, leading to a reconsideration of the requirements. A new specification was issued on 1 July 1911 by the Naval General Staff for a ship with a speed of only 26.5 knots (49.1 km/h; 30.5 mph) and with armour increased to 254 mm (10 in). Armaments were increased to nine 14-inch (356 mm) guns in three non-superfiring triple-gun turrets, based on a false rumor that the Germans were increasing the caliber of their guns. The Russian Navy believed that widely separating the main gun magazines improved the survivability of the ship, and that under a superfiring arrangement, muzzle blast would hurt the sailors manning the gun sights in the lower turrets through the open sighting hoods on the turret roofs.
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