A STUDY OF THE CONSTRUCTION AND THE OPERATION OF THE KUYBYSHEV METALLURGICAL PL

Created: 5/15/1961

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D.wmin'rOciAltitun Difelioi

Of" olInCelliftsn

R ERS

CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY Office o! Research and Reports

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FOREWORD

Photography of?rge industrial(later identified as the Kuybyahev Metallurgical Plant imenlcompletion in the Begymyanka suburb of Kuybyahev. plant came into operationime when the Soviet prosramof ICBM's was estimated to be expandinglinked Kuybyshev to some phase of tbe program for productionthie plant has bean suspected of containing aa ICBMin addition to known metallurgical fabrication proceeses. of this report is to analyse all available information onconstruction, equipping, and operation of the enterpriseto determine what operations take place In this plant andif any. this plant plays in the Soviet program for production

CONTENTS

5ummary and Conclusions

I. Chronology of Construction and Installation Work Plant Analysis

Plan

of Processes at-

Metallurgical Plant imeni Lenin

Smelting and Casting

Rolling

Presses

a. Horizontal Extrusion

h. Vertical Forging Press

Production of Bars and Rods

Production of Pipss ,

C Comparison with US Plants

III. Security

Appendixes

Appendix A.

Appsndtx B. Source References

Photograph*

Figure 1 USSR: Kuybyahev Metallurgical Plant imeni Lenin.9 following page . .

Figure 2 USSR: Line Drawing of the Kuybyahev Metal-lurgical Plant imeni Lenin following nags

Figure i. USSR: General View of the Foundationoff thePlaju imeni Lenin

Figure 4. USSR: Unidentified Building, Vsrkhnyaya

Salda following page

A STUDY OF THE CONSTRUCTION AND THE OPERATION OF THE KUYBYSHEV METALLURGICAL PLANT IMENI LENIN'

Summary and Conclusions

Tho Kuybyshev Metallurgical Plant imeni Lenin, **

* been reported in the Soviet press aehe USSR (or the fabrication of articles from lightumber of metal fabrication processes have been identified at this plant) including smelting, caecing. rolling, extrusion, forging,roduction of bars, rods, and pipes. These processes require all the available floor-space at thc plant and take up about the same amount of space as do similar processes at plants in the US.

Several buildings at the Ler.in Plant are physically large enough to house assembly operations for the IC3M, but their uses for otherhave been Identified- Although the assembly of ICBM's Is thereby precluded, this plant is equipped to turnout products such as extruded Stiffened Skin metal and large forged shapes and could be an important supplier of such parts and materials to the ICBM program in addition to its wo rk for lhe civilian economy. areful analysis of all data, however, has failed to indicate any positive evidence that links this plant with the ICBM program.

" Thc estimates and conclusions in this report represent the bestOf this Office a*

He/eafter referred tc as the Lenin Plant. (Sec the photograph.

F.gure I. following p. I. }

"* For serially numbered source references, see Appendix B.

i

Chronology of Construction and Installation Work

Excavation of the initial site and grading for the Lenin Plane andand support aroa may have begun as early2of the main industrial buildings probably began 7 the framework and foundations of the heavy or ess(possibly the most complex building of the enterprise)nd photography of8 indicates that thewere all under roof but that the plant was still underand not in operation, lthough thc installation of equipment The time lapse between7B photographsrapid but not unusual tempo of construction. Aerialress report,that the

plant was In partial operation in9 but that construction of

ancillary industrial structures and workers' housing and the installation

of equipmentwereTtoiyet completed.

Inormal commissioning of the Lenin Plant took place. The Soviet press gave front page coverage to this event,to the plantacility for the fabrication of light alloys.tatements of personnel working in the plan: indicated that, although completed, the plant was not then In full operation but was striving to attain that status. 8/

II. Plant Analysis

A. Site Plan

The ground plan of the buildings, railroads, and roads of the Lenin Plant (seendicates that there is no single production "flow" which is usually seen at an assemblyhe layout of the buildings, in parallel rows without direct interconnections between the rows, indicates that several processes take place, each of which resultsroduct which is shipped out directly.

The railroad network of the plant is bull; on the planingle transverse trunk from whichumber of perpendicular branches serving the parallel rows of fabrication buildings. The railroad is the chtef means of transportation for material inputs and product outputs, with aluminum ingots and alloying metals being delivered to the smelter and fabricated light alloys being shipped out from the various oroduction buildings. The intraplant roads Serve mainly to connect the smelter (Buildingand possibly the heavy press building (Buildingith the other buildings of the plant. Photographic analysis of the road network indicates that the major road traffic flow was betweenith much smaller flows to the other buildings.

1

Following p. 2.

Building numbers ir. this report refer to Figure 2.

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Building Number

9

:o

t ion

Smeller Dolling Mill

Pipe Mil', and Bod and Bar Mill

Heavy Press Building

Shop Building

Unidentified Storage 3uilding Storage Building

Length

210

to 65

to 79

to 65

7

553

to 71

38

(Square Feet J

0

0

0 [' 6

Line Drawing of the Kuybyshev Metallurgical Plant imeni L

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B- Identification ot Processes at the Kuybyshev Metallur gi zsl Plant Imsni Lenin

Baaed on US standards, several buildings at the Lenin Plant die physically large enough to house ICBM assembly operations. * To evaluate this possibility, It is therefore necessary to ascertain which metallurgical processes take-place at the plant and their locations in (he complex- fabrication processes could take place in Buildings 1. nd 7, and the remaining processes, although not specifically located, would take up the ftoorapace ofnd 5. Analysts of evidence bearing on the processes and their locations follows,

and Casting

Newspaper reports of the commissioning of the plantthe smelter, Its tall stacks, and the use of natural gass easily identified as the smelter because it IS

ing in the enterprise having tall stacks andarge nasuralpipeline can be seen leading to It (see Figure lUB). Addi ticnal evidence that smelting and casting operation* take place at the plant can be found in the published Job titles of some of its operating personnel, such as smelter, molder, core maker, and

The rolling mills of the Lenin Plant are located ir. Build-inghich Is thc only structure in the plan; large enough for theand ia connected to the smelteronveyor. These mills are reported to be "fully mechanised andnd pr'obably are among the most modern in the USSR. umber of people highlyand well known in thc field of rolling mill design, as well aS Opera;-ing personnel, have been connected with the Lenin

Two large heavy presses are knownave been installed in the Lenin Plant. These presses, together with their necessaryequipment, oquare feet of floorigh-bay area, and heavy overhead handling. 71 eets these criteria and has been identified as the heavy press building.

* Buildings 1, 2, , andre Isrge enougl. for ICHM assembly. Following p. bove.

ncillary equipment includes preheatingcalpinga compressor/accumulator section, footnote continued on p.

Horizontal Extrusion pre,

oundations wtri snstrue led in tha heavy presi buildinguniquei greatccording to Engineer L. V. Analyala of lhe plane Indicate! that theae founda-tlona were deeigned for an extremely large horizontal extrusion press Because the terms "unique" and "of great capacity' "ire used, it is estimated that the world's largest horizontal extrusion pressapacity0 metrichich was completed at Uralmsahsavodas referred to and haa been installed. These foundations are located at the endgh bayeet longeet wide, ltl Aa the foundations are moreeetotal building length of more thaneet is indicated. hotograph of the foundations (see Figurehows in the background the and view of the high-bay structureow bay. Photographic analysis Indicates that this picture was taken from near the south end oft the Lenin

Figure 3

USSH: General View of the Foundation Construction off the Kuybyshev Metallurgical Plant imeni Lenin

Vertical Forging Press

Pr

18the world's largest vortical forsir.r

f the Lenin Plant. Amongerenns who were nominated for rise, for their work in the "design, construction, and working

horiaontal heat treating furnaces, quench, lagtorage and loading area, and an extensive. leet or more) diemaklng shop.

out of production" of thisersons also on tho awards list for work On the Lenin Plant, including F. V. TulyBnkin, Chiefof the Lenin/

Indirect evidence indicatingarge verticalpress has been installed inl the Lenin Plant can bc gained from analysis of photography of an identical building at Verkhr.yaya Salda, Sverdlovskaya Oblast (see, which was in an earlier stage of construction. Through thc unroofed central section of the high bay of this latteroundation pit suitablearge vertical forging press car. be seen, Because of the identical design of the two buildings, it is estimated that they have been designed (or similarand, therefore)imilar foundation has been built in7. Furthermore, photographic analysis of the building at Verkhnyayandicates that the beams, roof trusses, craneways, and the like are identical with those seen in*

of Bars and Rods

In latebars and rods were

being produced at the Lenin The process, however, has no external identification features and cannot be specifically located in the plant.

of Pipe*

that

production of pipes Is included among the processes at the Lenin Plant. The process used, whether rolling, extrusion, drawing,ombination of them, cannot be determined, but the complex,tandard site planipe rolling and drawing mill.

C. Ccrn'Jrisor. with US Plants

The Lenin Plant was referred to by the Soviet press as "'the largest enterprise for the production of articles from lighthe plant contains aboutillion square feet of floorspace. of whichillion square feet are in the five largest buildings. umber of fabrication processes have been located at this site in order toommon source of alloyed metal, common utilities, common support installations,arge housing and communal support area. Theofarge project are obvious.

A physical comparison with an equivalent plant In the US is impossible, because all such processes generally are not locatedingle site. uperficial corrparison with several US plants, however, indicates that similar processes wouldloorspace of fromillion square Thus, the over-all sire of the Lenin Plant is consistent with expectations basedomposite of analogous

* Following p.O Pagebove.

i

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US plants. Furthermore, lhe sine of the Smelter at the Lenin Plant, which is large by US standards, can only be justified if the entireis devoted to aluminum fabrication, as indicated in the Soviet

III. Security

Photography indicates chat the Lenin Piant has the usual Security precautions found at most industrial enterprisesthatence around thc perimeter of the grounds and gates at all entrances. Thc plant has been widely discussed in the Soviet press, official press photographs of the housing area and main entrance were released.

Although none of the security indicators can be used to preclude ICBM assembly at the Lenin Plant, the open treatment accorded tc this plant by the Soviet government cannot be reconciled with thetight Security which would surround an ICBM assembly plant and which isirm indication of the relatively ncnsensitive nature of this enterprise.

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SOURCE REFERENCES

Evaluations, following the classification entryesignatedave the following significance:

Source of Information

ocumentary

ompletely reliable

sually reliable

airly reliable

o: usually reliable

o; reliable

annotudged

- Confirmed by other source*

- Probably true

- Possibly true

- Doubtful

- Probably false

- Cannot be judged

' Documentary1 refers to original documents of foreignand organ,cations; copies or translations of such document*taff officer; or information extracted from such documentstatf officer, all of which may carry the field evaluation"

Evaluations not otherwise designated are those appearing on the cited document; those designated "RR'- are by the author of this No RR" evaluation is given when the author agrees with the evaluation on the cited document.

Original document.

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