Editing Kirov-class cruiser (section)

===Aircraft===
The ''Kirov''s were designed to carry two aircraft, but German [[aircraft catapult|catapults]] had to be imported. Two [[Heinkel]] ''K-12'' catapults were bought in 1937 for ''Kirov'' and ''Voroshilov''. They could traverse 360° and launch an aircraft weighing {{convert|2750|kg|lb|abbr=on}} at a speed of {{convert|125|km/h|mph|abbr=on}}, although no suitable aircraft were in service until the [[Beriev Be-2|KOR-1]] seaplane entered service in September 1939. They proved to be unsuitable for rough-weather landings and were disembarked when [[Operation Barbarossa]] began. ''Gorky'' and ''Molotov'' mounted Soviet-built ''ZK-1'' catapults of roughly comparable performance, but were destined never to use them for lack of suitable aircraft.<ref name=y89/>

The Project 26 ships landed their catapult during 1941 to make room for more AA guns, as did ''Molotov'' in 1942. A ''ZK-1a'' catapult was installed aboard ''Molotov'' in 1943, and she conducted successful experiments with a catapult-launched [[Supermarine Spitfire]] fighter.<ref name=y9/> The Project 26bis2 ships did not receive a catapult until after the end of the war, when a ''ZK-2b'' was fitted. The catapults, however, were removed from all ships by 1947.<ref name=y9/>