Major General of ITS N. E. Nosovsky

4. On a steep climb

But not only our factory in the first year of the third five-year plan dramatically increased the production of guns and successfully coped with the tasks of the government. In general, 1938 was the year of successful work of many defense enterprises, in particular artillery. The production of guns increased sharply and amounted to 12,687 units per year, while in 1935-1937 it averaged an average of 5,020 units per year1 .

Enterprise teams competed with each other and made high socialist commitments. Rolling red banners were established. They were awarded quarterly to advanced factories. The famous Bolshevik factory, which celebrated its 75th anniversary in 1938 and was headed by a prominent engineer, young and energetic director Dmitry Ustinov, became famous throughout the country for its labor successes. Before the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, D. F. Ustinov was appointed People's Commissar of Armaments of the USSR. During the war, the armament industry increased defense output many times over and fully met all the needs of the front. Now D. F. Ustinov-Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU, candidate member of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the CPSU. On February 8, 1939, the Bolshevik plant was awarded the Order of Lenin, and 116 of its best employees were awarded orders and medals. The young artillery company, whose director since 1938 was I. A. Mirzakhanov, also became famous. On February 5, 1939, this factory was awarded the Order of Lenin, and 78 of its best employees were awarded orders and medals. February 7, 1939 73 employees of one of the largest and oldest factories in the system of the People's Commissariat of Armaments, an enterprise with a huge metallurgical base (director - V. I. Barinov) were awarded. Following that, Boris Lvovich Vannikov, a former Deputy People's Commissar of the Defense Industry who became People's Commissar of Armaments of the USSR, was awarded the Order of Lenin for his achievements in the armament industry (by that time the Ministry of Defense was divided into four People's commissariats).

It is not by chance that I mention these enterprises here. Take for example the factory where I. A. Mirzakhanov was the director. Its procurement base turned out to be so powerful that it provided casting, forgings and other blanks not only to its machine shops, but also to other enterprises (including our factory). The team of its designers, headed by V. G. Grabin, created a number of brilliant examples of artillery systems that performed well during the Great Patriotic War. Or take the Bolshevik factory. It is no exaggeration to say that the artillery of our Navy was mainly produced by this enterprise. His highly skilled craftsmen in the production of steel, rolled products and forgings, his wonderful gunsmiths were famous throughout the country. No wonder heavy land artillery was also largely created and mastered by his people. Many people worked excellently in this team, and among them I would like to mention those awarded the Order of Lenin: plant director D. F. Ustinov, chief engineer L. R. Gonor (at that time he was already the director of the Barricades plant), chief designer I. I. Ivanov, locksmith-shaper N. P. Povalyaev, party secretary V. M. Ryabikov, steelworker D. P. Shchuchkin. Finally, I can't forget about the glorious employees of the factory, where the director

Ending. For the beginning, see Voprosy Istorii, 1970, No. 10.

1 " 50 years of the Armed Forces of the USSR (1918-1968)", Moscow, 1968, p.193; " The Great Patriotic War of the Soviet Union. 1941 - 1945". Brief History, Moscow, 1967, pp. 36-37.

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there was V. I. Barinov, such as designers F. F. Petrov, A. N. Bulashev, S. P. Gurenko, V. A. Ilyin, who together with the entire factory team created and mastered a large number of samples of powerful guns.

In order to meet the XVIII Party Congress, the staff of our factory assumed high obligations both to increase the production of artillery products, and to create and master new types of guns. By that time, the factory had formed a great team of designers. His soul was Mikhail Nikolaevich Loginov. He grew up at this enterprise from an ordinary locksmith to chief designer, Loginov died in October 1940, even before the Great Patriotic War. But all our anti-aircraft artillery that participated in the war was designed by a large group of people under the leadership and with the decisive creative role of Loginov. His role in the creation of anti-aircraft artillery (and not only anti-aircraft) is so great that he deserves to be mentioned among all our famous designers and artillery scientists, such as V. G. Grabin, I. I. Ivanov, F. F. Petrov, M. Ya.Krupchatnikov, B. I. Shavyrin. In March 1941, Loginov was posthumously awarded the title of laureate of the State Prize. He created a 45-mm naval anti-aircraft gun, under his leadership upgraded the 45-mm anti-tank gun, improved the 76.2-mm anti-aircraft gun, created on the basis of the latter a new 85-mm anti-aircraft gun (leading designer G. D. Dorokhin) and a whole range of small-caliber anti-aircraft automatic artillery (45-mm, 37-mm and 25-mm), as well as 37-mm automatic marine, twin deck and quad tower installations. At the factory training ground, these installations were demonstrated in front of the naval command-People's Commissar of the Navy N. G. Kuznetsov, his deputies, fleet commanders and other persons. Shooting from anti-aircraft automatic deck installations made a stunning impression. All said that the 37-mm anti-aircraft guns, which fire up to 400 rounds in a minute (from a quadruple installation), are a new and powerful means of combating enemy aircraft. Single 37-mm automatic anti-aircraft guns were later mass-produced and delivered to the Navy.

A major role in the creation of artillery was played by the deputy chief designer of the plant L. A. Loktev (who became chief designer after Loginov's death), assistant Chief Designer I. A. Lyamin, head of the department L. V. Lyulyev, assistant Chief Designer G. D. Dorokhin. The creators of small-caliber anti-aircraft artillery are also design engineers I. M. Radzivillovich, V. E. Baryshnikov, V. G. Astashkin, V. V. Radionov, N. S. Bavykin, V. A. Malkov, N. I. Ovodov, S.E. Rykovskov, V. V. Rumyantsev and others. In the creation of naval anti-aircraft artillery, the leading role was played by designers L. L. Raikov, A. G. Ginzburg, Ya. Sh. Hafizov, A. P. Barinov and others. Be sure to mention here the head of the department of the design bureau for serial production Ivan Nikolaevich Nikolaev, a modest worker who was our representative there during the Spanish Civil War and helped the Republican army anti-aircraft gunners to fire from 76.2-mm guns of our factory in the fire of hot battles.

Soon we began to put new facilities and additional capacities into operation, and the most important thing was the commissioning of the centrifugal casting housing. Senior " military representative and GAU were fully convinced of the quality of new products and agreed to accept barrels made of centrifugal castings on a par with barrels made of forgings. The centrifugal machines and all the equipment were manufactured by the chief mechanic and the repair shop (head of com. Gorin).

Switching the production of pipes and casings to centrifugal casting instead of forgings saved the state tens of millions of rubles. The scarce capacities of metallurgical production of other plants were released, metal consumption was reduced, and the time for mechanical processing of pipes and barrel casings was reduced. On March 14, 1941, the main managers and authors of the project, Boris Alexandrovich Lyubimov and Nikolai Ivanovich Podgorsky, were awarded the State Prize for inventing the method of casting cylindrical parts from alloy steel by centrifugal method.

Boris Lvovich Vannikov was very fond of walking around the workshops and the territory of the plant and noticing all sorts of innovations. He often visited the experimental shop and watched the outcasts.-

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I always talked to the designers, directing their creative activity to improve the combat qualities of the guns and at the same time demanding that the designs be technological and rational. He liked to go to the mechanical assembly and procurement shops, knew personally all the shop managers, many designers, craftsmen and workers. I often went to the blacksmith shop. The head of the shop, Vasily Maksimovich Mitko, was constantly preparing "surprises" for him: either he would show Vannikov a series of new forgings that delighted the commissar, or something else. Boris Lvovich, when he entered the shop, usually began with the question: "Well, Vasily Maksimovich, what will you show us today?" And Mitko always had a novelty in store. Perhaps, it was Vannikov's visits that helped the workshop to increase the production of stampings to 96% of all forging blanks. Vannikov also often visited the centrifugal casting shop. Boris Lvovich, talking with plant managers, shop managers and other employees, never emphasized his role as People's Commissar, kept himself simple, was able not only to advise, but also to listen to the statements of ordinary employees, often joked, cheerfully telling various episodes from his life. His visits were always very useful. The factory staff was more fit, cleanliness and order were observed everywhere, as everyone knew that Vannikov's eye would notice any deviation from the norm.

Sometimes on weekends, the plant's employees went to the rest house for a few hours and sometimes met Vannikov and his family there. And then one day his wife jokingly said:

- All vacationers complain that you don't let them sleep. You shoot guns every night.

Boris Lvovich immediately joined in the conversation.

"On the other hand, I sleep well. Since the guns are fired every night, it means that their assembly and testing are on schedule and the program is being implemented. For me, this shooting is like pleasant music...

At the end of the second and especially during the third five-year plan, not only the artillery factories listed above made significant strides forward. Other artillery enterprises, as well as many factories of other branches of the armament industry, such as small arms, optical-mechanical and ammunition, also worked very successfully at that time. This is evidenced by the fact that on June 8, 1939, by a decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, 681 industrial workers of the People's Commissariat of Armaments of the USSR were awarded orders and medals for performing government tasks, mastering new types of weapons and strengthening the combat power of the Red Army and Navy. Employees of 19 advanced artillery, rifle, opto - mechanical and cartridge factories, a number of institutes and design organizations, as well as employees of the People's Commissariat of Armaments were awarded. Among those awarded the Order of Lenin: famous mortar designer Boris Ivanovich Shavyrin, plant director Sergey Kirillovich Medvedev, plant director Abram Isaevich Bykhovsky, plant Director Ivan Aleksandrovich Uvarov. Among the awardees, special mention should be made of Ivan Antonovich Barsukov, Deputy People's Commissar of Armaments; Sergey Ivanovich Vavilov and Ilya Vasilyevich Grebenshchikov, academicians and scientific supervisors of the Institute; Vladimir Nikolaevich Novikov, Plant Director; Sergeyevich Elyan, Amo Plant Director; Sergey Ivanovich Freyberg, Chief Engineer of the 4th Main Department; Sergey Ivanovich Vetoshkin, Head of the 3rd Main Department; engineer of the Research Institute Leonid Shershny, chief designer of the plant Leonid Pavlovich Gulyaev, chief technologist of the plant Sergey Alekseevich Zverev (he later worked as chief engineer of a number of optical and mechanical plants), head of the department of the 1st Main Directorate Boris Abramovich Khazanov.

All of these comrades played a major role in arming the Red Army and Navy, and in developing technical progress in the armament industry both in the pre-war and war periods, as well as after the war. Some of them later became prominent statesmen of the country. So, Vladimir Nikolaevich Novikov is the Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR, Sergey Alekseevich Zverev is the Minister of Defense Industry of the USSR, Academician Sergey Ivanovich Vavilov became in 1945. President of the USSR Academy of Sciences.

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After the outbreak of World War II, and then in the midst of the Soviet-Finnish campaign, our production program was dramatically increased. Once I and the new party manager of the plant P. I. Ozhigov (former party manager A. V. Kuranov was appointed director of another plant) were summoned to the Moscow party Committee, Where many directors and secretaries of the party committees of the capital's enterprises gathered. It was explained to the audience that the Moscow Party Committee was instructed to produce several thousand all-terrain vehicles for the troops fighting on the Karelian Isthmus within a month by Moscow enterprises. Due to the impassability and severe winter conditions, these all-terrain vehicles were extremely necessary for the front. Each factory was scheduled to produce a particular part, which would then be sent to the assembly plant. Immediately, the directors received drawings of their parts. Our factory got a semi-axle. The dimensions of the semi-axle were very precise. Studying the drawings and estimating the processing technology, we found that the task can be completed in a month on about 120 machines by 400 people. Lathes and milling machines should be distinguished. And they were fully loaded at the plant and were already working entirely on the manufacture of defense products. Everyone had long since dispersed, but Ozhigov and I were still figuring out how to complete the task, and we came to the conclusion that completing it would involve a lot of risk and jeopardize the plant's already stressful program. What should I do?

Having learned of our doubts, the secretary of the City Committee of the CPSU(b) G. M. Popov immediately called a prominent party figure A. S. Shcherbakov, who was nearby at that time.

- Alexander Sergeevich, here I have a director and a party manager of the Kalinin plant. They doubt the ability to complete the task on all-terrain vehicles. May I come in with them?"

When A. S. Shcherbakov heard our opinion, he objected:

- And you thought that when we gave you this task, we assumed that it would be easy for you to do it? We know that this is a serious matter, and that you have a large defense program of your own. But your team is strong and qualified. Who else should I assign to make these semi-axles, if not your plant?

A. S. Shcherbakov had visited our factory many times and knew it well. Nevertheless, we tried to object, referring to the need to coordinate with B. L. Vannikov. But in response they heard:

"No, comrades, don't involve Vannikov here. We're not going to ask him to reduce your gun program, but we think you should do the job of the Moscow Committee. Frankly, we didn't expect you to even think about refusing a party assignment, especially since Nosovsky is a member of the Moscow party Committee. Isn't it your direct responsibility to help fulfill an important and urgent task for the government? And doesn't the MK of the party, in turn, help your factory?

Our conversation lasted about an hour. Alexander Sergeyevich showed great patience. He didn't push administratively. Moreover, we did not hear any "threats". On the contrary, he spoke very warmly and sympathetically, asked us and hoped that the plant would take up the task. He proved that we could find a way out and do the job. I had to say that the semi-axles will be made, and apologize for the time taken. A. S. Shcherbakov answered simply:

- Thank you! I believe that our time has not passed in vain. I sincerely wish you success.

An hour later, the chief engineer, the shop managers, together with the secretaries of the shop party organizations, the chief technologist, the head of the tool department and other comrades were sitting in my office. Ozhigov and I told the audience everything that had taken place in the MK, and stressed that, without disrupting the gun program for a single day, we should start giving 1/25 of the semi-axis program every day in five days. Immediately began to look at the drawings. Technologists and toolmakers undertook to prepare the technology and tooling in several sets, and on the sixth day it was decided to start regular production of semi-axles on schedule in three workshops and in the plant's technological laboratory (we had to take this step). Shop No. 2 (head of com. Olevsky, secretary of the party organization, com. Kuzmichev), who took the brunt of the task. Reliable Communists were released to their stations and shifts. We explained the task to everyone. We set up a premium piecework service

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payment. The blanks were fully delivered by car within three days. We agreed with the head committee on overtime and work on certain weekends. An exceptionally stressful, shock-filled month began at the plant. We tried to carry out the task without involving the Central Committee and the People's Commissariat. A week later, the secretary of the Moscow City Party Committee, G. M. Popov, unexpectedly arrived. He found out that the two-day "portion" of semi-axles had already been sent to the assembly plant of all-terrain vehicles, and went around all the shops and sites. Production was running at full speed. Here, without hiding his satisfaction, he warmly thanked all of us and promised to tell A. S. Shcherbakov that the plant's staff was conscientiously and successfully fulfilling the assignment. And, of course, it was completed on time.

5. First management

I had a chance to work as a director of the mentioned plant for only two and a half years. And in April 1940, I was appointed head of the 1st Main Directorate of the People's Commissariat of Armaments. Since 1939, I. A. Mirzakhanov was the head of the central office, now appointed deputy People's Commissar B. L. Vannikov. Vasily Mikhailovich Ryabikov became the first deputy. Former first Deputy Pyotr Nikolaevich Goremykin was transferred to a new responsible job in the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR. At the same time, Nikolai Pavlovich Karasev (Deputy People's Commissar for Personnel), Sergey Ivanovich Vetoshkin (head of the 3rd Main Directorate for the Cartridge Industry), Alexander Yevgenyevich Dobrovolsky (head of the 4th Main Directorate for the Optical and Mechanical Industry) and I were appointed to the board of the People's Commissariat. The board of the People's Commissariat headed by Boris Lvovich Vannikov included employees who already had extensive experience in the arms industry, major engineers and specialists who had passed a large school of management under Sergo Ordzhonikidze. These included, in particular, Deputy People's Commissars Ivan Antonovich Barsukov (for the production of small arms) and Illarion Avetovich Mirzakhanov (for the production of artillery), representatives of the older generation of defense industry workers. Since the creation of the People's Commissariat (1939) for more than a year, the first deputy was P. N. Goremykin, who also had extensive work experience and was a very qualified engineer. The majority of the board was made up of representatives of the younger generation. The Central Committee of the Party boldly and resolutely promoted them to leadership positions. All of them graduated, mainly in the 1930s, from Soviet military colleges, and were raised and educated by our party. A lot of them were appointed heads of factories and in the leadership of the People's Commissariat. Thus, the new first deputy People's Commissar V. M. Ryabikov was 33 years old at that time. Previously, he was the party secretary of the Bolshevik plant and Deputy People's Commissar of Armaments. Deputy People's Commissar N. P. Karasev was previously a party worker of the same plant and approximately the same age as Ryabikov. Just as young were the three heads of production departments: S. I. Vetoshkin, A. E. Dobrovolsky and I, who had passed approximately the same factory school. The entire staff of the board worked very amicably, the atmosphere was always businesslike, we all respected each other, were good friends, and always helped each other in everything. B. L. Vannikov skillfully created a creative environment in the work of the board. He took into account each of its members and all the employees of the People's Commissariat, supported their initiative, listened to the opinion of each person, and at the same time always strictly asked for work. A major technical figure of the People's Commissariat was the head of the Technical Department Eduard Adamovich Satel. The chief engineer of the 1st Main Directorate and my deputy was Boris Ivanovich Kanevsky, with whom we worked together smoothly both before the Great Patriotic War and during the entire military period. The management team to which I was assigned (about 75 people) was well qualified. The head of the production department was Arkady Osipovich Klippel, who had previously worked as the chief engineer of the plant, where I. A. Mirzakhanov was the director, and even earlier the Bryansk Arsenal, an old specialist who knew the production of guns very well. The chief technologist was Pyotr Ivanovich Kalinushkin, a thoughtful and collected engineer, very efficient, with great initiative.

The artillery industry was divided into groups of factories, so that the leadership of them in the People's Commissariat was not concentrated in one hand. Small and medium-sized enterprises

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medium artillery was subordinated to the First Main Directorate, large land artillery-to Deputy People's Commissar Mirzakhanov, naval and heavy artillery-to first Deputy Ryabikov. The head of the production department of naval and heavy artillery was B. A. Khazanov, one of the most energetic employees of the People's Commissariat. For about two months I continued to manage the former plant and worked simultaneously as the head of the central office. Then, having transferred the management of the enterprise to the new director B. A. Fratkin, he finally moved to the central committee, starting a new job with a detour of enterprises. I will allow myself to tell the reader about some of them. I have already mentioned two factories (the largest in the Glavka system). The Central Committee of the CPSU(b) and the government, paying exclusive attention to the development of the defense industry, in particular artillery, decided, along with the reconstruction and expansion of existing artillery factories and the construction of new ones, to transfer a number of factories from other departments to the People's Commissariat of Armament. Among them were the State Artillery Repair and Experimental Plant (GAROZ), Novocherkassk Machine-building Plant, and one of the Ural machine-building plants. The last two were subordinated directly to the leadership of the People's Commissariat of Armaments, and GAROZ was transferred to the First Main Directorate. At the time of transfer, this plant named after K. E. Voroshilov was a relatively small enterprise. He produced various military ammunition, paired and quadruple anti-aircraft machine guns and carried out repairs of various guns, including old and captured ones. During the transfer, the plant's director was Engineer-Colonel Vasily Fyodorovich Eliseev. He also held this post in 1933-1934, and from 1934 to 1937, the director of the plant was Georgy Dunaev, later head of the State Construction and Design Institute of the People's Commissariat of Armaments. Both directors did a lot for the development and improvement of the plant and its village, built a number of industrial buildings, housing, household facilities, including a garden, which still serves as a great place for workers to relax.

The government decided to organize at this plant the production of a 37-mm anti-aircraft automatic gun of the 1939 model, created by the team of the plant named after M. I. Kalinin. When I was still the director of this plant, I visited the Voroshilov plant together with Mirzakhanov and Kanevsky. In the same place, the necessary assistance measures were discussed on the spot. V. F. Yeliseyev was recalled to the GAU's disposal. The director of the plant was B. A. Kaganovich (former chief engineer of the small arms factory of the People's Commissariat of Armament). Pavel Moiseevich Lapchinsky, an experienced production worker who previously worked for many years at our plant as the head of shop No. 1 and the head of OTC, became the chief engineer of the plant. Pavel Ivanovich Kostin, who had previously worked as deputy chief designer at another plant of V. G. Grabin, was appointed chief Designer. In addition, a number of experienced employees were sent from our plant to the Voroshilov plant as heads of workshops and departments. When I arrived at the latter site as head of the main directorate (May-June 1940), it turned out that the plant had done a lot to master the production of 37-mm guns, but the situation with the development of serial production was still difficult, the program was not yet implemented. The 37-mm anti-aircraft automatic cannon proved to be a tough nut to crack. Such weapons were generally mastered for the first time in the USSR. Many of their components were different from the simpler components in non-automatic guns. Especially difficult were the magazine and the scope with a number of precise details. In less than a year, the plant organized a large tool shop, the production of steel and non-ferrous casting, ductile iron, barrel shops, sights, assembly and others. A testing ground for guns was created right on the territory of the plant. Thousands of devices and other types of equipment were made; hundreds of machine tools and other types of equipment had to be installed and guns were produced right from 1940. There wasn't enough staff yet, either.

Glavk provided additional assistance to the plant by sending qualified workers from other enterprises (more than 100 people). Soon, experienced and strong managers took over the head of workshops, departments and sections. The city committee and the regional party committee paid great attention to the development of the plant. And so the Voroshilov plant team began to produce all the components of the gun itself and within one year mastered the serial production of complex products. At that time, this was considered a great achievement. Red

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The army began to be supplemented with a new type of weapons, necessary in the conditions of modern warfare. By the beginning of 1941, the plant entered the ranks of the most important enterprises - first-class artillery factories in the country.

The Frunze plant, which I visited in the summer of 1940 , is one of the oldest enterprises established in the 1840s. Old and new buildings and buildings were everywhere. In 1934, our student group completed an industrial internship here. Since 1931, the plant has been producing front and loading boxes for guns, repairing artillery systems, revolver and vertical drilling machines, as well as textile machines; until 1936, it upgraded 76-mm divisional guns of the 1902 model, which were brought to the plant from the army for conversion. These guns were returned to the army as divisional guns of the 1902-1930 model. In the same year, the plant produced five hundred 76.2-mm divisional guns of the specified sample, having mastered the production of all components and parts, with the exception of barrels. This plant is the ancestor of the manufacture of metal wheels for guns instead of wooden ones, which significantly increased the speed of movement and maneuverability of guns. In addition, 82-mm battalion mortars, 50-mm company mortars, and since 1939 - 120-mm regimental mortars were produced here. They were created by the design department of the plant under the leadership and with the decisive participation of Hero of Socialist Labor Boris Ivanovich Shavyrin. In 1940, a workshop of installations for 45-mm pillbox guns was organized, and in 1939, mountain guns of the 1938 model were produced. They were created by the design department under the leadership of L. I. Gorlitsky.

Finally, this company completed a number of additional tasks during the Soviet-Finnish war, in particular, manufactured all the skis on which guns were moved in winter. At the time of my arrival, the director of the plant was Alexander Dmitrievich Kallistratov, and before him - F. G. Sukhomlinov and M. E. Melnikov. The chief engineer of the plant was M. S. Klavsut, later director of the Leningrad plant named after K. Marx. I was very impressed by the head of production, Roman Anisimovich Turkov, who was appointed chief engineer four months before the start of the Great Patriotic War. At the very first conversation with him, it turned out that he was a major specialist, a great connoisseur of technology and production. He answered all questions concisely, clearly, and with full knowledge of the case. With its help, it was easy to determine where is good and where is bad, and for what reasons. He knew by heart hundreds of names of parts; he knew in what condition they were in production; at the beginning of the month, he accurately reported all the figures for the production of mortars, cannons and other types of artillery products that would be delivered by the factory by the end of the month. Turkov, in turn, had reliable deputies-L. A. Lazarevich and M. N. Kononov. Nikolai Petrovich Antonov, a capable engineer, was in charge of the design work for all the artillery products produced. The plant's staff coped well with the implementation of state plans.

Then I got acquainted with the plant named after S. M. Kirov. In June 1940, he turned 155 years old. Until 1929, he was engaged in the repair of artillery and made military ammunition, then he began to make charging boxes and wooden wheels for guns, and from 1932 - platforms for anti-aircraft guns. In terms of labor intensity, the anti-aircraft platform, roughly speaking, makes up 25% of the entire gun. Therefore, this plant can be considered to have produced anti-aircraft systems. There was a qualified team of designers on anti-aircraft platforms, headed by Tov. Beloostrom. The ZU-8 platform, created by them, improved the combat qualities of the 76.2-mm anti-aircraft gun of the 1938 model of the year. The same platforms were used for 85-mm anti-aircraft guns. Then the plant produced a re-barrel of 76-mm guns of the 1902-1930 model and 107-mm guns of the 1910-1930 model, made front ends and charging boxes for 45-mm anti - tank guns and various wheels, and later-82-mm mortars, repaired old artillery systems. At the time of my arrival, its director was Alexander Vasilyevich Kuranov, a former party manager of the Kalinin plant. He quickly gained authority in the factory staff, in the city party organization and among the entire population of the city, and soon was elected a deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR. Already at the plant, I got to know his deputy, Chief Engineer Alexey Sergeevich Spiridonov, a clear, businesslike and knowledgeable technical manager. I also remember the party manager Mikhail Vasilyevich Kornev, who worked as a deputy. head of the shop, head of the artillery department

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department and head of the OTC. He fought in Spain from 1937, and became a partorg in 1939. The head of production was Nikolai Nikolaevich Sobolev, a specialist who knew the business well and skillfully managed the workshops. The plant developed rapidly. New workshops have grown, and the equipment fleet has increased. The program was not always implemented, but after the established production nomenclature, creating high-quality drawings, drawing up a new technology, debugging it, and due to the growth of engineering personnel and the qualification of workers, the plant began to work more confidently and implement the program. The main nomenclature of its production remained anti-aircraft platforms.

Then I arrived at the Kiev Arsenal. It is located in a beautiful area. It is surrounded by green areas and beautiful streets. The walls of the enterprise resemble a fortress. Traces of past battles can be seen on the bricks of its walls. They are riddled with bullets and shells and serve as a monument to the revolutionary battles for Soviet power. In 1964, this plant turned 200 years old. It is the oldest arsenal in our country. Arsenal completed the first five-year plan in 3 years and 3 months. During the second five-year plan, the plant produced three times more products than during the first five-year plan. 32 of its employees were awarded in 1939 (among them the director Fyodor Kuzmich Chebotarev). When I was at the factory, there were 5 thousand people working there, including 1500 communists and 2 thousand Komsomol members. The plant produced a wide variety of products: agricultural machines, textile machines, lathes. Then civilian products began to be replaced by products of defense significance, and during the third five-year plan, it became an entirely defense enterprise. In 1940, it produced twin and quadruple anti-aircraft machine guns, 76-mm mountain guns, 107-mm mountain pack mortars, and repaired almost all types of guns. Its main product line was ZU-7 anti-aircraft platforms-wagons for 37-mm automatic anti-aircraft guns. Having familiarized myself with the company, I could not reproach its managers for anything serious. The program performed well. It was felt that the team was full of determination and energy and worked with great enthusiasm. The director at that time was a young engineer Grigory Pavlovich Shardin, the chief engineer-Alexander Dmitrievich Bakaev, the head of production-A. I. Krasutsky, the chief technologist-N. P. Sinaisky,the head of the SLE-G. O. Sklovsky, the chief designer-I. G. Kukushkin, the head of the most important shop-I. E. Khabat, the party committee. Teplitsky. The entire staff of engineering and technical workers was very strong both in terms of numbers and knowledge, and the Kiev Polytechnic Institute replenished the plant with qualified young specialists. Machine operators, blacksmiths, assemblers and other workers included many innovators of production. Entire proletarian dynasties worked at the factory. Such families as Naidenko, Maryanchenko, and Radchenko have worked there for generations since the 19th century.

6. On the eve of the Great Patriotic War

In the central office, it was necessary first of all to implement the promises that were made to the factories during their visit. It was necessary to solve the issues of financing, construction, production cooperation, supply and others. I reported on the results of the trip to B. L. Vannikov. He listened to me carefully, approved my decisions, and helped Glaucus himself. What was the main thing? Factories did not work evenly, and not all of them fulfilled their monthly plans. Business was pretty tight at the two plants. Only recently, A. S. Elyan was appointed as the new director of one of them. This plant was obliged in 1940 to hand over five hundred 122-mm howitzers of the 1938 model, which were first mastered in production. The howitzer was created by a team of designers under the leadership of F. F. Petrov. It was the best example of such a weapon, and any howitzers of foreign armies could not compete with it. But 9 months have passed, and the plant has not passed any yet. I had to urgently go to the enterprise. Big changes were revealed. In recent months, new workshops have been built and organized. A. S. Elyan paid special attention to the construction and development of capacities. Literally before our eyes, the roughing shop grew. Previously, roughing blanks (pipes, casings, breeches and other body parts) was a "bottleneck". It is precisely because of it that there was a lag in the supply of blanks to the machine shops of our and other factories. And suddenly, in a few months, a beautiful workshop with powerful cranes grew up,

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which were made by the factory itself. The shop was full of equipment. Lathes, roughing machines, deep drilling machines, planing machines, longitudinal milling machines and others were installed. They created a special workshop for machine tools and accessories, and put a very capable engineer Alexey Nikolaevich Gurikov at the head of it (after the war, he was promoted to the director of the milling machine factory). The thermal shop was reconstructed. The capacity of the open-hearth shop was increased with the introduction of a 75 - ton open-hearth furnace instead of a 50-ton one. Workshops were reorganized according to a closed cycle of production of components. Body parts began to be produced in a flow-by-flow manner, and the assembled components were submitted for assembly. Mechanization was carried out in the foundry, and powerful and small molding machines were fully operational. We were also pleased with the work in the design department and the experimental shop of V. G. Grabin. There were already produced samples of the 76-mm tank gun and 57-mm anti-tank gun, later mastered in production.

The plant was well prepared to fulfill not only the current program, but also new large tasks. The workers, foremen and all the employees of the workshops worked with great enthusiasm. Everywhere there was a large and bold scale. In the workshops, I was told about the new director with obvious respect. He knew everything very well. He would walk into a foundry, and everyone would get the impression that Elyan had been a foundry worker all his life. He would go into a blacksmithing and pressing shop, and there the impression was created that he had been a specialist in blacksmithing and pressing production all his life. And so it is everywhere. It was even more surprising that Elyan, not actually an artilleryman, was well versed in the design of artillery systems and their production technology. His main support in all matters was the chief engineer M. Z. Olevsky, a qualified specialist who knew the technology and organization of production well. He was always there when it was particularly hard. And if he goes to the shop that was in the breakout, he won't leave until he pulls it out. They worked well with Elyan and completely complemented each other. Deputy Chief Engineers V. D. Maksimenko and S. S. Spirin played an important role in solving production and technical issues.

I checked the execution of plans and schedules in the workshops. There was no denying that the blanks, parts and assemblies were moving at full speed and complete, that the assembly was starting to work at full load. But the lag behind the set schedules was also noticeable.

- Well, how did you find things at our factory? - Elyan and Olevsky asked me when I visited them after a three-day stay in the workshops. I answered:

"If it was August, I'd say things are going pretty well. But since it is now the second half of October, I will say that things are not going well.

"How?" Haven't you found any changes in the workshops, or have you met any doubts that the program will be implemented?

- There are certainly changes in the workshops. According to the schedules, you have painted everything correctly and even planned to finish all 500 howitzers on December 30. And the mood of the workers is not bad. But the fact of lagging behind the approved schedules is much stronger, and there is not much time left. Can I trust your promises?

They were clearly hurt by my words. "If you stay here," they say, " today we have a party and economic asset, then you will see for yourself."

- Do you want to convince me by having a good mood instead of following the given plans and schedules? I continued. - What is important is what I have seen and checked and what is actually being done in the workshops. Now it is unacceptable to have a backlog. If you only hope for the last few days, then you can simply choke on the assembly itself.

- Let's bet that the program will be executed! - said Elyan.

- Will you hand over all 500 howitzers? - I asked.

- Yes, everything!

- And complete the blanks for other plants?

- Yes, the entire annual program.

"How do you want to argue?"

"Let's both write the following on this piece of paper: "I, Elyan, declare that the program of 1940 will be fully implemented both in terms of howitzers and in terms of cooperative deliveries." And you write: "I, Nosovsky, declare that the program will not be executed."

"What's next?"

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"We'll both sign this paper and I'll put it in the safe." Let her lie there, and then we'll see.

Elyan was by nature a fervent, proud man. He loved betting. Is this acceptable in a serious case? And what will be the damage? Nothing! So I decided to sign a "contract". Yelyan put the paper in the safe, and we went to the factory asset. It was held in a combat manner. Amo Sergeyevich laughed heartily as he said goodbye.

When I arrived in Moscow, I told I. A. Mirzakhanov about it, and then B. L. Vannikov, who had previously been dissatisfied with Elyan and Olevsky for being behind on the program. I. A. Mirzakhanov also came to the end of my conversation with the People's Commissar. He noticed that I didn't come back for a long time and decided to come in himself. He didn't interfere with our conversation. When I had finished, B. L. Vannikov began to walk around the office and in about two or three minutes called a stenographer. He dictated to her with inner excitement. Here is the content of the text he dictated:

"To the Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR V. M. Molotov. The factory staff, headed by A. S. Elyan, despite the difficulties created with the implementation of the program for 122-mm howitzers, has now launched work in such a way that it will certainly fulfill the annual task and hand over all 500 howitzers. But the difficult situation at the plant is created due to the fact that the Nizhne-Tagil Carriage Building Plant does not supply the plant with front ends for completing howitzers and, apparently, will not deliver them until the end of the year. I ask your permission to hand over the howitzers without front ends, send the howitzers to their intended destination in the army, and oblige the Nizhne-Tagil plant to send the front ends separately to the destination addresses of the GAU. B. Vannikov."

Then the leadership of the People's Commissariat itself took measures to provide possible assistance to the plant. Its employees kept their word and handed over all 500 howitzers, as well as cooperative deliveries on time. B. L. Vannikov applied for awarding the plant for labor success. By decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of January 11, 1941, a number of employees of the plant were awarded orders and medals, including the Order of Lenin - director A. S. Elyan, chief engineer M. Z. Olevsky and steelworker I. I. Nabatov. As for my" contract " with Elyan, the reader can imagine how triumphant he was in his "victory" over me. He kept this paper in a safe for several years, and whenever I came, he would solemnly open the safe, take out our "agreement" and ask: "Do you recognize your signature?" I always looked confused, which gave Elyan great pleasure.

But the difficulties with the development and production of the 122-mm howitzer were not only in production difficulties. For more than the first eight months of 1940, not a single howitzer was handed over to the military representatives of the GAU at all. This circumstance caused serious concern in the Government. The issue was considered in the Kremlin by the chairman of the Defense Committee of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR K. E. Voroshilov (then the People's Commissar of Defense was S. K. Timoshenko). The meeting was attended from the People's Commissariat of Defense by Deputy People's Commissar and head of the GAU G. I. Kulik, his deputies Colonel-General of Artillery N. N. Voronov (there was a period when the post of chief of artillery of the Red Army was eliminated, and Voronov was appointed deputy head of the GAU; this erroneous decision was canceled at the beginning of the war, and N. N. Voronov again became chief, and then commander of the Red Army artillery), General M. I. Kayukov and others; from the People's Commissariat of Armaments-B. L. Vannikov, I. A. Mirzakhanov, A. S. Elyan and I. We, and then the leaders of the State Agrarian University, each in his own way, explained the reasons for the failure to produce howitzers. Vannikov said that the drawings of the first series needed to be corrected; that it was not possible, as practice had shown, to assemble the guns and hand them over strictly in accordance with the accepted drawings, with all the tolerances and taking into account the new production technology. GAU employees demand strict compliance with the drawings, although in practice, when mastering the first series, appropriate changes are always made. That's when this series is mastered, you should finally approve the drawings. And now there is such a situation that military representatives do not give the opportunity to introduce the necessary corrections. Production has stalled. Not only howitzers are not assembled. Production of individual body parts has stopped. This situation has been created at two very skilled factories.

The head of the GAU, G. I. Kulik, who understood little about the new technology, for his part, said that howitzers were thoroughly tested on landfills and military bases.

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after the first military tests, the howitzer and drawings were corrected according to the comments identified during the tests, and then the howitzer again passed the military tests and was put into service. How can you then allow changes to the drawings? Military representatives do the right thing. If the howitzers don't give up, the factories are entirely to blame. Probably, they use poor-quality equipment, do not observe technological discipline, and control at production sites is weak.

"We'll give the floor to the plant's director," K. E. Voroshilov said. - Tell me, Comrade Elyan, what are the reasons that prevent you from handing over your howitzers?

A. S. Elyan's explanations coincided with B. L. Vannikov's statements. He only added the following: "Our plant is in an even worse situation, since the military representative solves basically all issues only after the military representative of the parent company solves them. And since the military representative of the latter decides everything negatively, this affects the affairs of our plant to an even worse extent. If the Defense Committee allowed the plant itself to solve all issues under its responsibility, then the entire annual program on howitzers would be completed."

Then K. E. Voroshilov instructed N. N. Voronov as a representative of the People's Commissariat of Defense and me from the People's Commissariat of Armament to go to both factories, sort out the situation, make a final decision on the spot and start the production and production of 122-mm howitzers. Two days later, we flew to the main enterprise. Together with N. N. Voronov, there were seven other people from the GAU, including the deputy head of the GAU, M. I. Kayukov. I was alone from the People's Commissariat of Armaments, since our main support in resolving issues was the factory workers themselves, who knew the production and the essence of the matter well. It was discovered that the production life at the second of the mentioned plants was in full swing, In the building where the 122-mm howitzers were created, production was in full swing. Parts were made, but at the assembly, where many units were already assembled, howitzers, with the exception of a few pieces, were not fully assembled. The groundwork was great. It was as if he was asking for more progress. The assembly has already become crowded with idle parts and components. The picture is very unpleasant.

We gathered in the office of the director of the enterprise B. G. Muzrukov. The plant's chief engineer D. A. Ryzhkov and a number of other employees were also present. The whole day we considered the reasons for the delay in the delivery of howitzers. The GAU was mainly represented by a senior military representative of the plant, who reported on the essence of deviations from the drawings in various parts and components of the howitzer. Then we began to study every detail and every node. There were a lot of discrepancies between the military representatives and the plant: in the barrel, breech, lifting mechanism, bolt details, recoil devices, literally in all the nodes of the system. The military representative did not agree to accept howitzers with deviations from the approved drawings and specifications. In general, he reported confidently, demonstrating the essence of deviations directly on the drawings. It seemed that he was right. But the chief engineer of the plant, D. A. Ryzhkov, later turned out to be much stronger in all explanations, having an excellent understanding of the technique, design, technology and production of howitzers. He knew all the parts and assemblies with many dimensions and tolerances, equipment and tooling, said what, how and why it turned out during the processing of each part and at each operation, and did not look at any records, remembered by heart the essence of absolutely all deviations and controversial points, and on all issues very convincingly proved the correctness of the plant. The production technology was correct, and its equipment ratio was very high. Employees of the plant were very attentive to the case, studied every operation, every size and every tolerance. As a result, the designers and technologists found a common language and agreed on how to resolve all the controversial issues, so that the howitzers were of high quality and production went smoothly. Ryzhkov quickly managed to convince N. N. Voronov and others present. This became especially clear when the next day D. A. Ryzhkov showed everything that turns out right on the machines and at the workplace, demonstrated the practical application of tooling, parts, components and the work of the latter.

N. N. Voronov supported the plant, and the problem was resolved. After finishing our work at the enterprise, we all flew to another factory in the same train. At my request, D. A. Ryzhkov went with us, because it was useful to exchange experience with two qualified artillery companies that produced one of the most powerful weapons in the world.

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and the same howitzer. The same pattern was found at this plant. Then A. S. Elyan, M. Z. Olevsky and his other employees also managed to prove their case. N. N. Voronov quickly resolved the differences here as well. It became clear that the howitzers would now go. As for Nikolai Nikolaevich Voronov himself, I would like to take this opportunity to speak about him as a man of great internal culture, simple, who was able to treat with respect and trust the production workers who never failed the Red Army. The plant managers, for their part, greatly respected N. N. Voronov, who was always responsive to their needs and affairs. ..

The year 1941 arrived. On February 15-20, the XVIII All-Union Party Conference was held, which considered the issues of industrial work. Noting its successful development in the first three years of the third five-year plan, the conference set out to increase the output of industrial products in 1941 by 17-18% compared to 1940, including pig iron by 20%, steel by 23%, and machine-building products by 26 %. If in 1938 the gross output of the defense industry increased by 36.4% compared to 1937, then in 1939-by 46.5% compared to 1938. If the average annual increase in industrial output during the three pre-war years of the third five-year plan was 13%, then in the defense industry it was equal to 39%. I was lucky enough to attend this party conference, and I remember how mercilessly the shortcomings in the work of industry were revealed at it. The Conference called on all party organizations and People's commissariats to strengthen their leadership of the industry as a whole and of each enterprise separately; not to be complacent with the average figures for the industry, but to ensure that production plans are carried out by any enterprise; set the task of ensuring the rhythmic operation of each enterprise, workshop and site, while strictly following the daily schedule to fight the main evil; to restore order, cleanliness and culture in production; to work on improving new equipment and achieve the fastest development of new machine models; to dramatically raise production, drawing and technological discipline; to strengthen unity of command, raising the role of the director and master in production; to fight for improving product quality 2 . These decisions have helped dramatically raise the level of work in the industry.

The Central Committee of the Party and the Government systematically and daily paid attention to the development of the defense industry. They dealt in detail not only with each of its branches, but also with individual enterprises. Every new model that was put into service and put into production was considered. Plans and measures for the development of defense industry capacities and a plan for the mobilization deployment of defense production were approved. Many factories from other industries were transferred on the eve of the war to all four People's Commissariats of the defense industry. In addition, many machine-building enterprises of various People's commissariats have created special workshops for the production of defense industry products. And what was our artillery equipment like at the beginning of the war? Was it possible to fight with her? At what level was it compared to the enemy's artillery equipment? We can definitely say that the Soviet gunners, scientists and designers did everything necessary that was required for the war. Almost all types of artillery were created again, starting with battalion guns and ending with the artillery of the Reserve of the High Command. These systems were very technologically advanced in production, significantly unified, and many parts were interchangeable. All of them were already in production before the war (with the exception of the 25-mm anti-aircraft automatic gun) and almost all were produced in large batches. "By the beginning of the war," wrote D. F. Ustinov, "the Red Army was equipped with all kinds of modern artillery systems, which, as the experience of the war showed, were superior in their technical characteristics to the artillery systems not only of German factories, but also of other European countries occupied by the Germans, with which the German Army was equipped." 3
2 "History of the Great Patriotic War of the Soviet Union 1941-1945". T. T. M. 1960, pp. 419-424; "The CPSU in the resolutions and decisions of congresses, conferences and plenums of the Central Committee". 7th ed. Part III, pp. 425-436.

3 "Planned Economy", 1944, No. 3, pp. 14-15.

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A lot of new types of small arms were created: the Shpagin submachine gun (PPSH), the self-loading rifle, the Simonov anti-tank rifle, certain types of aviation weapons, and others. The second (at the time of awarding this title) Hero of Socialist Labor in our country was the famous designer - inventor of small arms, the creator of the famous light machine gun Vasily Degtyarev. The title of Hero of Socialist Labor was awarded to the oldest inventor - designer of small arms Fyodor Tokarev, artillery designers Vasily Gavrilovich Grabin, Ilya Ivanovich Ivanov, Mikhail Yakovlevich Krupchatnikov, Boris Gavrilovich Shpitalny. State prizes were awarded in early 1941 to Academician A. A. Blagonravov, V. G. Grabin, M. N. Loginov (posthumously), L. A. Loktev, V. A. Degtyarev, M. E. Berezin, F. V. Tokarev, G. S. Shpagin and others. A number of other creators of weapons were awarded State prizes a little later, but these designs were created before the war, and they were tested in the first months of the war.

During the first three five-year plans, the entire armament industry, including artillery production, was strictly specialized. Each artillery factory was developed, according to government decisions, to produce certain types of artillery systems. The nomenclature of production and the increasing rate of production of tools were determined in accordance with the capacity and nature of production of each enterprise. Large artillery factories were created and built, as a rule, with a full metallurgical production complex. The Party and the Government attached exceptional importance to the development of the metallurgical base in the armament industry, primarily in artillery factories. High-quality alloy steel has become the main metal for the production of artillery products. The Central Committee of the party set the task that the artillery industry itself, which has a rich experience in the production of gun steel (after all, it is not for nothing that the remarkable masters of the old artillery factories enjoyed a great and well-deserved fame for the production of alloyed gun steel), should provide itself with metal, forgings and casting. The Government spared no expense for the development of open-hearth shops, rolling and forging shops, steel and non-ferrous casting and ductile iron, powerful thermal shops with vertical furnaces and stripping shops, which provided all artillery, rifle and other factories of the People's Commissariat of Armaments with blanks and high-quality rental. Some artillery factories (mostly smaller ones), which did not have a large metallurgical base, nevertheless created their own so-called small metallurgy. They had blacksmith shops where smaller forgings and stampings were made, shops for small steel and non-ferrous casting, and in some places for ductile iron, thermal shops, shops for spring and welding production. Construction, reconstruction and development of capacities were carried out at all artillery enterprises. The construction and development of new factories was planned and carried out mainly in the East of the country, away from the western borders. The artillery factories were also well equipped with machine tools.

Tula and Izhevsk arms factories produced lathes, milling machines and other machines not only for the needs of the factories of the People's Commissariat of Weapons, but also for the whole country, and their machines were recognized as high-quality and cheap. This means that the technology of their production was at a high level. Many artillery factories have mastered precision injection molding, centrifugal castings, ductile iron parts, and more precise forgings and stamping of products. Cast and welded gun designs became widely used. Small and large molding machines were used in steel-frame foundries, and powerful productive manipulators were used in forging and pressing shops. Along with powerful cranes, small cranes (small mechanization) were also used, which made work easier and increased labor productivity. More productive equipment is widely used: automatic machines, semi-automatic machines, multi-cutter and multi-spindle aggregate machines, broaching and honing machines, revolver, longitudinal milling and boring machines. Multi-cutter heads, broaches and other equipment were used. Powerful tool and repair facilities have sprung up in the factories.

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High-quality drawings of artillery systems created by designers were of great importance for the success of production. Mass-produced guns had drawings of the letter "B", that is, tested, debugged and corresponding to advanced technology. Drawing and technological discipline has become the strictest law. The factories organized in-line production of many body (command) parts. The assembly line began to use a conveyor with full or partial mechanization. A major role in the creation of advanced designs and technological processes, in the development of plant capacities, was played by the creation of research, design, engineering, design and construction institutes in the system of the People's Commissariat of Armaments. But the most important achievement was the growth of qualified personnel - workers, craftsmen, as well as shop managers, designers, technologists, enterprise managers and other engineering and technical workers. The party paid special attention to the growth of cadres. F. E. Dzerzhinskiy Artillery Academy, N. E. Moscow Higher Technical School The Bauman Institute, the Leningrad Military Mechanical Institute, and other military higher education institutions of the country have raised thousands of designers, technologists, and production commanders who have mastered their craft perfectly. The Stakhanov movement and the multi-step movement were widely developed. Tens of thousands of skilled workers were trained in the Federal Law schools and vocational schools, as well as in production courses (individual and team apprenticeships). Women's labor was skillfully used. In the shops of small parts and normals, mostly only women began to work. Many of them worked as OTE supervisors.

On the eve of the war, following the decisions of the XVIII Party Conference, a number of artillery factories switched to a rhythmic, daily delivery of products. For several months before the start of the war, all artillery factories of the First Main Directorate of the People's Commissariat of Armaments carried out a monthly plan for the entire range of artillery products. Artillery, rifle and other enterprises were already operating almost in a military fashion, in three shifts, which was required by the pre-war situation. It is not by chance that in 1941 they awarded orders to the plant where A. I. Bykhovsky was the director, and again to the plant named after M. I. Kalinin. From all this, it is clear that the war did not take the workers of the armament industry by surprise. Artillery production on the eve of the war stood on firm feet, was a reliable arsenal of the USSR's defense capability.

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