They were the primary armament of the Soviet Union's first cruisers built after the Russian Civil War.

This new class of cruisers was known as the Kirov-class and were armed with nine 180 mm/57 B-1-P Pattern 1932 (7.1 in) guns in three MK-3-180 triple turrets.

These included abnormally high muzzle velocity and poor barrel life.

Shot dispersion due to the guns being mounted too closely together on a common cradle and crowded turrets which hampered crew efficiency, ammunition handling and rate of fire.

These guns were deployed in defensive emplacements along the Pacific, Arctic, Baltic and Black Sea coasts.