ESTIMATED FLOORSPACE OF MOSCOW/FILI AIRFRAME PLANT NO. 23

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP79S01046A000500090001-7
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 20
• Document Creation Date: November 9, 2016
• Document Release Date: December 2, 1998
• Sequence Number: 1
• Publication Date: October 25, 1957
• Content Type: REPORT

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N? 57
RESEARCH AID
ESTIMATED FLOORSPACE
OF MOSCOW / FILI AIRFRAME PLANT NO. 23
CIA/RR RA-20
25 October 1957
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
OFFICE OF RESEARCH AND REPORTS
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WARNING
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 794, the trans-
mission or revelation of which in any manner
to an unauthorized person is prohibited by law.
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RESEARCH AID
ESTIMATED FLOORSPACE OF MOSCOW/FILI AIRFRAME PLANT NO. 23
CIA/RR RA-20
(ORR Project 33.1731)
Office of Research and Reports
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FOREWORD
This research aid, one of a series evaluating current floorspace
of Soviet airframe plants of the Ministry of the Aviation Industry
(Ministerstvo Aviatsionnoy Promyshlennosti -- MAP), is based on
metrical analysis* of World War II German photography. Supplementary
intelligence data also have been used in an attempt to ascertain the
composition and functions of the individual plant buildings. An
effort has been made to determine the areas of the plant which are
multistory, and the latest information on new construction has been
included. This research aid will be reviewed and reissued periodi-
cally to include new intelligence information as available.
* Determination of measurements by the use of aerial photographs.
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CONTENTS
Page
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1. Location . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
2. History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
3. Description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
4+. Final Assembly Area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
5. New Construction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Appendixes
Appendix A. Composition of the Floorspace of
Moscow/Fili Airframe Plant No. 23 . 5
Appendix B. Methodology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Appendix C. Gaps in Intelligence . . . . . . . . . . 11
Appendix D. Source References . . . . . . . . . . . . .13
Illustrations
Following Page
Figure 1. USSR: Vertical Photograph of Moscow/Fili
Airframe Plant No. 23 . . . . . . . . . . 2
Figure 2. USSR: Layout of Moscow/Fili Airframe
Plant No. 23 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Figure 3. USSR: Sketch of Building No. 15,
Moscow/Fili Airframe Plant No. 23 . . . . 4
Figure l+. Types of Roofs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
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CIA/RR RA-20 S-E-C-R-E-T
(ORR Project 33.1731)
ESTIMATED FLOORSPACE OF MOSCOW/FILI AIRFRAME PLANT NO. 23*
Summary
Moscow/Fili Airframe Plant No. 23 in the USSR contains a minimum
of 2.8 million square feet (sq ft).of floorspace** and a final
assembly area of approximately 190,000 sq ft, about 7 percent** of
the total floorspace. The administration area of the plant comprises
about 140,000 sq ft, or 5 percent of the total floors ace. It is
estimated that the plant has at least 140,000 sq ft of warehouse
area,**** approximately 5 percent of the total floorspace. There are
no reported basement areas in the plant. Analysis of prisoner-of-war
reports and of current ground photography reveals approximately 410,000
sq ft of multistory area. New construction estimated at 420,000 sq ft
has been reported by reliable observers. The over-all area of the plant
site is estimated to be 8 million sq ft with a building densityt of about
35 percent.
* Based on atrial photography. (See Figure 1, following p. 2.) J
(For serially numbered source references, see Appendix D.) The estimates
and conclusions contained in this research aid represent the best judgment
of ORR as of 1 September 1957.
** All figures dealing with square footage which are used in the text
of this research aid are rounded to two significant digits.
** All percentages are computed with actual figures.
*xxx The term warehouse is applied to those buildings or areas within the
plant which have the primary functions of receiving materials from external
sources and of holding these materials in bulk quantities for subsequent
distribution to the processing points in the plant.
The term storage areas is applied to those buildings or areas, usually
parts of buildings which have primary functions other than storage, in
which materials are stored or maintained for the direct support of produc-
tion or service activities. These areas normally are located adjacent
to the activities which they support, and they receive their stores from
plant warehouses.
t The term building density represents the proportion of the total
roof area of an airframe plant to the total plant site expressed as a
percentage.
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Moscow/Fili Airframe Plant No. 23 (55?45'N - 37?30'E) is located
in the USSR on a tip of land in a bend of the Moscow River approxi-
mately 3.7 nautical miles west of the Kremlin in Moscow. The plant
is approximately 3,000 feet (ft) east-southeast of the Moscow Hydro-
electric Power Plant, Karamyshevo. Moscow/Fili Airfield is immediately
adjacent to the north side of the plant site.
2. History.
Moscow/Fili Airframe Plant No. 23, originally called the Gorbunov
Plant, reportedly was built in the late 1920's or early 1930's. It
was Airframe Plant.No. 22 until 1941, when it was partially evacuated.
By late.1942, however, the plant had been restored sufficiently and
was reopened as Airframe Plant No. 23. Since 1942 the plant has produced
aircraft almost uninterruptedly. Reconstruction of buildings damaged
by World War II bombings was accomplished in the early postwar years.
New construction, the last of which was completed by early 1956, added
significantly to the floorspace totals of the plant. Currently the
plant is estimated to be 1 of the 5 largest Soviet airframe plants.
3. Description.
The plant site of Moscow/Fili Airframe Plant No. 23 is irregularly
shaped, with the main axis oriented in an east-west direction .(see
Figure 2*). The plant covers an area of roughly 8 million sq ft. Analysis
of World War II German photography (see Figure 1*) dated September 1942
reveals a total estimated roof area of approximately 2.1 million sq
ft. J Available-information indicates that as of April 1943 there
were, in addition, 280,000 sq ft of multistory area enclosed within
the plant. The total floorspace of the plant at the end of World
War II, therefore, is estimated to have been approximately 2.4 million
sq ft.
The first reports of noteworthy new construction were received in 1954
(see 5, below). This construction. is incorporated in three large build-
ings (see Figure 2*) in the western end of the plant site. It is esti-
mated that the new construction was completed by early 1956 / and added
approximately 420,000 sq ft of floorspace. The total floorspace of the
plant, therefore, is estimated to be about 2.8 million sq ft.** Of this
* Following p. 2.
** See Appendix A.
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Figure 2
USSR: LAYOUT OF MOSCOW/FILI AIRFRAME PLANT NO.23
1. Shop
2. Shop
3. Shop
4. Shop
5. Shop
6. Warehouse 1
7. Shop
8. Shop
9. Shop
10. Shop
12. Shop 1 \
13. Shop 1 1\
14. Shop 1 \
15. Shop
16. Shop 46
17. Warehouse 1 \
18. Administration
19. Hangar 1 \,
20. Hangar 1
21. Hangar
22. Unknown
23. Administration
24. Shop \\ \\
25. Warehouse 1 \ \
26. Warehouse
27. Warehouse 45A
28. Warehouse
29. Warehouse
30. Warehouse
31. Shop \ _Lt
32. Shop 1 T- 45B
33. Administration
34. Administration
35. Administration
36. Warehouse 1
37. Shop
38. Shop
39. Warehouse
40. Warehouse 1
41. Warehouse
42. Unknown
43. Unknown
44. Shop
45A. Shop and administration
45B. Hangar and administration
46. Shop and administration
47. Shop and administration
r---1 New construction
L--J since 1950
Zb221.2 9-5/
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total, both the administration area and the warehouse area account
for 140,000 sq ft each, or 5 percent, and the multistory area accounts
for 410,000 sq ft. The plant has a building density of 35 percent.
Significant expansion of the plant site appears to be restricted
by adjacent built-up areas, the factory airfield, and the Moscow River
(see Figure 1*). No evidence has been reported of construction begun
subsequent to the completion of the three buildings discussed under
new construction (see 5, below).
The majority of the buildings of the plant are of reinforced
concrete with slab or brick filler walls. Roofs are predominantly of
gable'design with monitor lighting (see Figure 4***).
The plant site is served by several good roads and by a rail spur
from the Moscow Circular Railroad, and river transportation facilities
are also available. Moscow/Fili Airfield is used as a flyaway field
for Airframe Plant No. 23-
4. Final Assembly Area.
Analysis of World War II German photography and of prisoner-of-war
reports indicates that until the late 1940's the final assembly area
of Moscow/Fili Airframe Plant No. 23 was located in Building No. 9.**
Reports from reliable sources, together with ground photography, J
indicate that at the present time final assembly of the aircraft is
being accomplished in Building No. 15 (see Figure 3***) in the center,
or double-arch, section. This area, estimated to be 480 ft long by
400 ft wide, J provides a final assembly area of approximately 190,000
sq ft, or 7 percent of the total floorspace. No information is
available from which the present internal layout of Building No. 15
can be determined and the probable final-assembly flow pattern estab-
lished.
5. New Construction.
The first postwar report of noteworthy new construction at Moscow/
Fili Airframe Plant No. 23 was received from a reliable source in 1954. J
At the time of this report, Building No. 45A.-45B was completed. An
examination of World War II German photography of the plant reveals
* Following p. 2, above.
** Building numbers refer to the designations in Figure 2, following
p. 2, above.
*** Following p. 4.
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at least part of the outside walls of this building standing on the
date of the photography, 1942. Analysis of available information
indicates, however, that the building had not been completed before
1942. Prisoner-of-war reports reflect no construction activity
associated with this building as late as 1948. In this research aid,
therefore, it has been assumed that this building probably was
completed between.1950 and the date of the 195+ report cited above. J
New construction activity related to two other large buildings
adjacent to Building 45A-45B was revealed in the same report. These
buildings, Nos. 46 and 47, are estimated to have been completed by
early 1956.
Available reports do not provide information from which an
accurate determination of the functions of these three buildings can
be made. It appears,. however, that a tentative association can be
made between the construction of Buildings Nos. 16 and 47 and the
production of Bison heavy bomber aircraft at Airframe Plant No. 23.
The dates of reports revealing the initiation of Bison production and
the beginning of construction of the latter two buildings are nearly
coincident.
Pending receipt of information from which the functions of these
buildings. can be determined, an estimate is advanced that Buildings
Nos. 46 and 47 are being utilized in subassembly functions and that
Building No. 45A-45B is being used for wing and/or fuselage construction.
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COMPOSITION OF THE FLOORSPACE OF MOSCOW/FILI.AIRFRAME PLANT NO. 23 J*
* Footnotes for this appendix follow on p. 7.
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APPENDIX B
METHODOLOGY
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On the basis of available intelligence, an effort was made to
determine the function of the major buildings in Moscow/Fili Airframe
Plant No. 23, to identify multistory plant areas, and to account for
new plant construction. All buildings within the plant site, except
sheds with areas less than 700 sq ft, are listed in Appendix A.*
German vertical photographs of 19+2 were used to determine the
roof area and the physical layout of the plant. Metrical analysis
of this photography provided an estimate of the total roof area of
the plant. In the computation of this total, no allowance could be
made for multistory buildings. To compensate for this factor,
intelligence information, consisting chiefly of prisoner-of-war
interrogation reports and recent ground photographs, was used.
Whenever functions of buildings were unknown, the best judgment of
the analyst was used to provide an estimate. Estimates of new construc-
tion are based on observations
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* P. 5, above.
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APPENDIX C
GAPS IN INTELLIGENCE
The accuracy of the estimates of the floorspace of Moscow/Fili
Airframe Plant No. 23 is impaired because of a lack of current infor-
mation concerning the old areas of the plant.
Helpful information was obtained from interrogation of German
prisoner-of-war returnees. Unfortunately, significant hanges in
building functions and total floorspace have taken place since the
Germans were removed from the plant.
Information pertaining to the new construction is confined solely
to ground photographs taken by reliable observers. There is no infor-
mation available from which an accurate determination can be made of
the functions of the newly constructed buildings. -Details of the cur-
rent internal composition of major buildings within the plant site
likewise are not available.
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APPENDIX D
SOURCE REFERENCES
Evaluations, following the classification entry and designated
"Eval.," have the following significance:
S
ource of Information
Information
Doc. - Documentary
1
- Confirmed by other sources
A - Completely reliable
2
- Probably true
B
- Usually reliable
3
- Possibly true
C
- Fairly reliable
4
- Doubtful
D
- Not usually reliable
5
- Probably false
E
F
- Not reliable
- Cannot be judged
6
- Cannot be judged
"Documentary" refers to original documents of foreign governments
and organizations; copies or translations of such documents by a
staff officer; or information extracted from such documents by a
staff officer, all of which may carry the field evaluation "Documentary."
Evaluations not otherwise designated are those appearing on the
cited document; those designated "RR" are by the author of this research
aid. No "RR" evaluation is given when the author agrees with the
evaluation on the cited document.
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SECRET
SECRET
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