BEADWIRE IN THE SOVIET BLOC (ORR PROJECT 22.167)

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP79S01046A000100060001-4
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 22
• Document Creation Date: November 9, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 17, 1998
• Sequence Number: 1
• Publication Date: October 15, 1954
• Content Type: RS

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US OFFICIALS `ONLY
RESEARCH AID: 2a
BEADWIRE IN THE SOVIET BLCaC
(ORR Project 22.16
15 October 1954
NTRAL INTELLIGENCE ~4GENCY
OFFICE OF RESEARCH AND REPORTS
US OFflCIALS ONLY
C r/^ n ~-r
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W.ARNLNG
This. -material contains- information, affecting
the ~ National Defense of the .United States
within the .meaning of the espionage :laws,
Title 18, USC, Secs. 793. and 784, .the trans-
~mission or. revelation of which in any manner.
'to an unauthorized person is prohibited.by law,.
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.-
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us a~,rICIALS ONLY
Rr~,sGARCH AzD
3'LAD4JIRE I!J 'i'I~E SQVIET BLCC
CIA/RR RA
(ORI~t ~'ra ject 22.167)
CL,~.'Rf:L I1~1'I':k~ZLIGE:(~C E ~GEATCY
(?:Cfice of IZesearc:n and ?deports
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Page
SUI7TRary ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? 1
I. Introduction 2
II. Production and Consumption ~
III. Trade 6
Appendixes
Appendix A. lanufacturing Methods and Technology 9
Appendix :3. Analyses of Available Soviet Bloc Beadwire 11
Appendix C . Methodology . 1~
Appendix D. Gaps in Intelligence 17
l ppendix E. Sources ... . 19
Fstima~ted Consumption of Beadwire in the USSR and the European
Satel7.ites, 1953-54 . 7
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czA/RR RA
(O~tR Project 22.167)
Summary
All Soviet Bloc countries, with the exception of Albania and
Bulgaria, have facilities to produce high-tensile steel wire. 'The
high-tensile steel wire used-for fire reinforcing and known indus-
trially as beadwire is produced in sufficient quantities to meet
Soviet Bloc ~tire requirements.
The Soviet Bloc consumed an estimated 21,679 tons~f of beadwire
in 19x3, and in 1954 will consume an estimated 23,231-tons. Although
.there are both surplus and deficit areas in the Soviet Bloc bead=
wire economy, the Bloc as a whole is self-sufficient in this com-
modity. The USSR, Kungary, Czechoslovakia, Poland,. and Rumania are
capable of producing enough beadwire for their own needs. East.
Germany is capable of fulfilling only 50 percent of its beadwire
requirements. Bulgaria is entirely dependent on imports for bead-
wire, and Albania. has no beadwire requirements.
The quality of Soviet Bloc beadwire, as determined by analyses
described below, equals that of US beadwire, although the technology
of its production varies slightly. For example, samples of bead-
wire manufactured in the USSR are not bronze or brass-plated as is
the case in the Free 1rlorld.
The Soviet Bloc has no apparent vulnerabilities affecting the
production of beadwire. Beadwire requirements made upon the steel
industry are so small that-ample allocation can undoubtedly be made.
Furthermore, since there has been to date no practical substitute
for high-tensile steel wires for reinforcing tiros, the allocations
to tire plants for this type of wire receive a high priority.
Because of the small demand that the tire industry makes upon the
steel industry and because of the strategic importance of beadwire
:? TTze estim~es and conclusions contained in this research aid
represent the best judgment of the responsible analyst as of
30 June 195..
%~: Throughout this research aid, tonnages are given in metric
tons .
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in both a military and a peacetime economy, wire plants i.ri the Soviet
Bloc are assured the raw materials, equipment, and skilled manpower
required, for the production of beadwire.
It is not believed that any shortage of steel within the Bloc
would curtail the production of motor vehicle tirE:s.a~
13ea.dwire is that component element of any motor vehicle tire
which is used as a reinforcing agent to~secure the `tire to the rim
of the wizeel. Beadwire is twisted': wire and appears as rubber-
impregnated, fabric-covered cables made of carbon steel.
`Ib.ese wire bead cores vary in diameter with. tYie over-all cable
(number of wires), the diameter of the individual strand, and the
tensile strength in pounds per square inch (psi), depending on the
size and use of the tire. These weigh approximately 2.~ to 5 per-
cent oi' the weight of the tire. l~~-3~se The lar_gesi; percentage in this
ratio is found in twin-bead tires -- that is, heavy truck and air-
plane tires.
The proper beading of a tine helps to insure i;ire longevity.
Since a well-constructed truck tire carcass may be recapped as many
as three times, it is essential that beadwire quality be adequate. 2~
II. Production and Consumption.
There are 13 tire combines in the USSR. They are located
in Dnepropetrovsk, Kazant, Kirov, Leningrad, Lopasnaya, P~oscow,
?~ TTiroughout this research aid, the term motor vehicle tires in-
cludes airplane, automobile, and off-the-roac~ires.
~'~? The ~~beadsf~ or '"knots' which appear when the steel wires are
twisted together give beadwire its-name. These "beads" dive the
wire better adhesive properties.
Footnote references in arabic numerals are to sources listed
in Appendix E.
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Omsk, Riga,. Sverdlovsk Uktus, Ulyanovsk, Voronezh, Yaroslavl, and
Yerevan. 1 The estimated production of these plants in 1953 was
about 11 million sets of tires. 4/ Using the maximum average
weight of beadwire as described in Appendix C, the estitrk~.ted 1953
beadtzire consumption in the USSR was 17,400 tons, and it is estimated
that 1954 consumption will be 13,500 tons.
Beadwire cannot be stockpiled as are various other components
of the tire, hence it is either immedi~.tely delivered to the assem-
bly line or stored on barbed rods i.xi such a manner that each cable
will have no contact with another cable.
steel wire is usually beaded in installations which are
located in the tits plants themselves or in a part of the rubber
combines. This is done because the beaded cables cannot be readily
transported. Therefore, these cables must be stored either in the
tits assembly plant itself or in a shop in its immediate vicinity..
There is no available information accurately indicating
which wire plants in the USSR produce wire for beading. Plants w}iich
presumably produce wire suitable for tires also produce wire for
gther applications, such as far high-pressure hoses, industrial
beltang, and musical instruments.
Plants producing wire suitable far tire-reinforcing purposes
and located in near proximity to the tits combines are listed as
follows
Dnepropetrovsk
Komintern Steel Combine, Petrovski P~Zef,allurgical Plant,
Nizhnedneprovsk hire and Pdai1 Plant. (Region YII)
Ka~an~
Kutschu AC Acces Plant. (Region VI)
Leningrad
Krasn;ry Gvozdilshchik, Sevkable Cable r Factory.
(Region I)
3~ A "set" is o.ne tits and one tube.
c _,.?_n n n m
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Info s cow
Moskable-Cable Factory, Stalin MV Plaint, S. I. Molotov
.Steel Plant. (Region VII)
.Sverdlovsk
Verlchniye Sergi -Nail Plant. 5/ (Region VIII
Soviet motor vehicle tires which have been analyzed have
been found to contain wires with diameters ranging from .0.46 man to
1.02 mm. 6/ For this reason, any high-tensile-steel wire with a
diameter of over 0.l~6 mm may be considered usable by the Soviet
tire industry.
B. Albania.
labania has neither the facilities to produce steel wire nor.
a motor vehicle tire industry. 7/
C. Bulgaria.
-Tires are produced at the Georgi Dimitrov Tire factory in
Sofia. 8/ Bulgaria, however, has no wire-produci:ng plant and is
dependent upon imports for rec;uirements. It is estimated that
90,_000 sets of tires were produced in-.the factory in 1953. ~ Using
the average for beadwire of 3.75 percent of the weight of the tires,
107 tons of wire were required. The 1954 fire production is esti-
mated at 102-,000 sets, 10/ for which 121 tons of 'beadwire will be
required.
D. Czechoslovakia.
Information available indicates that in Czechoslovakia there
is,na shortage of wire for bedding great enough to hamper the manu-
facture of tires. Before-1950, Czechoslovakia not only produced its
oVm beadwire but also exported-large quantities to East Germany. 11/
Tne Matador Rubber Plant in Petrz~lka received approximately
1 railroad car of steel wire (25 tons) monthly. It was packed on
reels, each weighing about 50 kg. .The wire came from the Coburg
Wire Products Factory at Trnava, Czechoslovakia, and was 2, 4, and
6 centimeters in diameter. 12,E Tne wire was then processed and
beaded at the Matador Rubber Plant.
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?Zith an estimated productian of 1, 860, 000 motor vehicle
tires far the year 1953, 13/ Czechoslovakia cansurned 2, 21"1 tons of
beadwire at the average weight of 3.75 percent beadwire per tire.
Cdith afire production estimated at 2 million sets in 195L~, ltd/
consumption of beadwire will be 2,378 tons.
E. East Germany.
Sources indicate that East Germany produces approximately
50 percent of its beadwire requirements and is dependent upon im-
ports .for the balance of its needs. 1,~/ Pirom November 1952 to
,?Yarch 1923, East Germany received from the USSR 391 tons of steel
wire ~Jhch could be used for beading. 16 I~~Iotor vehicle tire pro-
ductibn for the year 1953, in East Germany, was estimated at
SSO,000 sets. 17 Requirements for this amount would be 1,016
tons of beadwire. (See Appendix E.) Using this same method, 1,18Z~
tons of beadwire will be required for 195l~ production.
Available information, however, indicates that there is
still an over-all shortage of steel tiaire in East Germany. In order
to help alleviate this shortage, a project for making fire beads
(r~u_ndstahlwuste) from 10-mm steel rods has been in progress since
1950 at the Reifenwerk :~`urstenwalde in fieidenau. J.8
Experiments are being made here with a high-grade type of
steel, anci as of December "1953, 9,600 beads had been praduced for
truck tires which were then turned over to consumers with special
instructions for use. Only one fire had been returned because
of breakage (loosening of the welded seams). The oldest tire,
tested.an company-owned trucks, had already run over t~0,000 km.
The purpose of these experiments was to develop a bead in case the
import of materials should stop entirely. 1:9/
F`. ~iung~ ?
Hungaryrs requirements for wire for beading are produced in
the small wire s'~op of -the Ruggyanta Rubber. Products Plant in
Budapest. Copper-coated wire for beading is made there. The neces-
sary tiaire and fabric are adequately supplied by industrial plants. 20/
Estimated tire.praduction far Hungary for the year 1953 was
250,000 sets. 21/ Estimated production of beadwire to".fulfill.this
requirement was 297 tons. Estimates far 195l~ show that Hungary will
require 336 tons of beadwire.?
-5-
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Poland has an aclequate production of wire for beading. In
1950, approximately 55,000 tons of wire under 8 mm in diameter were
produced at the Y.osciuszko Iron and Steel 4lorks a,t Chorzo~r, 22/ -and
the wire mill at Novy Bytom produces approximately 7-,000 tons of
wire per year. 23/
.Estimated motor vehicle tire production i.n Poland for -the
year 1953 was 360,000 sets. 24/ Estimating the average amount of
beadwire required for this figure, 428 tons of wire for beading was
consumed. With an estimated production of 410,OC10 motor vehicle
tires in 1954, 25/ 487 tons of beadwire will be required.
~i. Rumania.
No information is-available concerning the production of
beadwire in Rzunania. 'vlire z~Yiich could be used in tires is manu=
factured at the Industria etalurgi.ca Danubia in_Brai7.a. This plant
eriploys 1,800 skilled workers on a 24-hour-a-day schedule, produces
finished iron and brass wire, and is equipped far the manufacture of
ti"wire for beading. 26/
Zrdith an estimated fire production of 13S?000 sets of motor
vehicle tires far the year 1953, 27/ the average weight of beadwire
required (3.75 percent) was 160 tons. 'rdi.th an estimated pro duction
of 152,-000 motor vehicle tires for the year 1954;, 28/ 181 tons of~
beadwire will be required.
I. Summary of Consumption.
Estimated consumption of beadwire in the USSR and the Euro-
pean Satellites, 1953-54, is shown in Table 1.#
III. Trade. "
Imparts of steel wire and steel rods which could be processed
into wire- are the strongest indication that a wire shortage -exists
within the Soviet Bloc.%~ Shipments from l~destern countries to the
;t Ta e o laws on p. 7.
~< Discussion of steel wire shortage does not i}nply shortage of
beadwire in-the USSR.
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Estimated Consumption of Beadwire in the USSR and the European Satellites
1953-54
Year
USSR
Albania
Bulgaria
Czechoslovakia
East
Germa'
Hungary
Poland
Rumania
Total
1953
17,l~30
0
107
2,211
1,016
-297
l~28
-160
21,679
1951
l8, 514
0
121
2, 378
1,18l~
336
l~87
181
23, 231
Bloc for 1953 indicate that Hungary received the .greatest amount
of steel wire (principally of alloy steel or high-grade carbon
steel). The other Bloc recipients, in order of quantit~.es of steel
wire received from the ~sdest, are East Germany,.&umania, the USSR
Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria, and Poland. Large shipments of steel
wire to Hungary confirm the statement of a recent defector who in-
dicated that a shortage of high-grade carbon steel exists in that
country. 29/ East Germany, which received the second largest ship-
ment from~h.e West, also has a serious steel wire shortage result-
ing from a decrease of shipments from Czechoslovakia in 1950 30/ and
a lack of raw materials.
Intra~-Soviet Bloc shipments further indicate shortages .and focus
these shortages on individual countries. East Germany received a
minimum of 6,?240 tons 31/ of steel wire from the USSR in 1953. fiad
this amount been used solely for beadwire in tires, this steel wire
would have been a sufficient stockpile, considering increased rates
in tire production, for at least ~. years. Since, however, there are
many industrial uses for wire, complete allocation to the fire in-
dustry was impossible.
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i~~ANUFAC'i'1JRING i~iE2H0DS AND TJ3;C1iPdOL?3GY
Technology in the manufacture of beadwire is essentially the
same the world over, although some manufacturing methods- may vary
slightly. Individual wires for the-production of beadwire are made
by drawing steel rods through dies. This is done on a machine
called a wire-drawing frame. The frame consists of a long table-
li.lce arrangement called the bench, a set of powered spools called
blocks, the die holders, and the dies themselves.
To-start a length of rod or wire through the dies, the rod `is
sharpened to a point and then is threaded through the die (sometimes
with the help of a powered drawbar) and hooked up to the block.
A horizontal shaft running through the bench supplies power to turn
the block. As it turns, the block pulls the rod through-the di_e,
reducing. its diameter and winding it on a coil for subsequent
finishing operations.
The wire drawer checlts the diameter of the wire and inspects it
for arty surface defects. .previously, frames could do only single-
draft drawing -- that is, they could make only one reduction at a
time and if wire had to be reduced several times, the operation had
to be repeated each tithe. ~-iany mills now have replaced wire-drawing
frames with continuous drawing machines which pull. a length of rod
through a series of successively smaller dies in one operation. 34/
!~ t this stage the tirire is rolled on spools weighing 50 to 100
kilograms a.nd is shipped to fire factories,. where it is then wound
into rings ar beads. Unlike fire cord, wire is beaded solely in
the fire manufacturing lolant.
udire designed for use in rubber products includes flat wire
braid,. Pierce tape, tubular wire braid, and fine wire rope. Flat
wire; braid is manufactured which consists of an odd number of wires
intert~roven to produce a flexible reinforcing member for use in rub-
ber and plastic products, including fire beads. T