The Soviet Union Did Have Plans To Build A Supercarrier

Paul Richard Huard, War is Boring: The Soviet Union Tried To Build A Supercarrier

Had she ever sailed, the Soviet supercarrier Ulyanovsk would have been a naval behemoth more than 1,000 feet long, with an 85,000-ton displacement and enough storage to carry an air group of up to 70 fixed and rotary wing aircraft.

With a nuclear-powered engine — and working in conjunction with other Soviet surface warfare vessels and submarines — the supercarrier would have steamed through the oceans with a purpose.

Namely, to keep the U.S. Navy away from the Motherland’s shores.

But the Ulyanovsk is a tantalizing “almost” of history. Moscow never finished the project, because it ran out of money. As the Cold War ended, Russia plunged into years of economic hardship that made building new ships impossible.

WNU Editor: This Russian aircraft carrier was never built because they ran our of money .... that sounds like a familiar story.