STATE INSTITUTION FOR APPLIED CHEMISTRY (GIPKH INSTITUTE), LENINGRAD

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80-00809A000500770004-0
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 12
• Document Creation Date: December 16, 2016
• Document Release Date: January 13, 2003
• Sequence Number: 4
• Publication Date: May 22, 1954
• Content Type: REPORT

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SECRET
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
INFORMATION REPORT
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FORM NO. 51-4F
OCT 1951
PLACE
ACQUIRED
DATE
ACQUIRED
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SUBJECT State Institute for Applied Chemistry
(GIPKh Institute), Leningrad
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0
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NO. OF PAGES 7
NO. OF ENCLS. 4
(LISTED BELOW)
SUPPLEMENT TO
REPORT NO.
GIPKh Institute
1, In May 1947 the Chemistry Group was assigned to work at the
State Institute for Applied Chemistry (GIPKh) in Leningrad, USSR.
This Institute was attached to the Ministry of Chemical Industries
n-H d the directives for its work directly from Moscow,
The German personnel continued to live in
es rore s
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many buildings were renovated or newly constructed. In 1950,
approximately 1000-1200 people were employed at UIPKh (this
number includes eight German technicians).
Neva River, was surrounded by a high barbed wire fence Lee
Enclosure (B)--Layout of the GIPKh Institute7. The buildings
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and commuted daily to Leningrad.
2. The GIPKh Institute is located on an island, not far from the
Peter and Paul Fortress fs-ee Enclosure (A), point 17,; the
address is Vadni-Ostrov No 2. The Institute covere an area
approximately 600 x 300 meters and, on the side away from the
3. The Institute was divided into four main functional divisions
/ee Enclosure (C}--Organization Char:
(a) General Research Laboratories (for chemistry and
physics)
(b) A Pilot Plant (In which most of the German technicians
were employed)
(c)
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A Drafting and Design Office (employed about 120 people)
(d) The Plant Control Section
which was divided into a series ? workshops)
There were also some h were kept very secret
4. The Plant Control Section contained a large mechanical work-
shops, which by 194' was ;.Tell supplied with German tools and
machines. In addition, there were: a large electrical work-
shop, a glass blowing shop, one installation for the production
of compressed air and two boiler houses.
a small room to repair the measuring instruments which
had been disman e n Germany and brought to Leningrad. Most
of these were standard instruments, for example: temperature
recorders and regulators, quantity measuring instruments,
pressure gauges and pressure regulators, density recorders and
various instruments used for analyses. These instruments had
been seriously damaged in transit to the USSR. They had merely
been crated and shipped to Leningrad where they were distributed
was assigned ten hygrometers,, whereas, there were on two of
these instruments in the entire Leuna Plant. ify
such instruments and put them to more general uses.
noted, that as late as 1951, we found boxes containing critical
instruments which had never been unpacked.
5X1 5. task was keeping all instruments in good repair and
supply n the laboratories with instruments that were needed.
5X1 At first very little help from the Soviet workers who, by
German stan ards, were very poorly trained. Slowly, however, they
learned their trade and the work proceeded more smoothly.
Occasionally, a very urGently needed instrument could be procured
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went back to Leuna and brought the desired instrument by plane.)
By the middle of 1948, all the standard instruments used in large
chemical installations were repaired, procured or constructed,
and. calibrated. By that time, due to the increased demands
made on the Institute, the personnel had Increased
5X1 ,from the original staff of 15 to approximately one hundred. II
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i
Labe amatory 579
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5: - This laboratory designed and operated a pilot plant for the
synthesis of ethylamines from ammonia and ethyl alcohol. The
Soviets planned to use the results of tests conducted in this
laboratory in constructing a large chemical plant at
Dy'ez'zhinsk (500 09' N - 27? 56' E). The Soviet personnel at
Laboratory 579 included:
Servyelski A chemistry student from Leningrad who directed
research. He had previously worked in the SMA
laboratory at Leuna.
Yerchov Chief Technician and Servyelski's deputy.
Gennig. Technical Director.
Sklovaki Construction Engineer, who was apparently
destined to be the constructor in charge of
the Dzerzhinsk chemical plant.
Three German specialists at Laboratory 579 were:
Ing Ernst Otto Directed construction.
-Dr Chemistry Georg Peinze Worked at Leuna in the production.
of amines until that section of
Dr Chemistry Karl Smeykal the plant had been destroyed by
bombing.
laboratory consisted of procuring the measuring
ins rumen s and the switches. Occasionally helped by
William Lorenz who had been foreman at Leuna and who was a
d
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l.le in Leningra
specialitithis kind of installation. ?Wh
Lorenz had been attached to the KhIMGAS institute.
T2ta laboratory was equipped with standard pressure equipment
brought from Leuna and which was designed for 250 atmospheres.
?he six contact ovens or reactors were made of N-8 steel. (This
15 high grade plated steel, very resistant to heat and
pressure.) These reactors were more than one meter high and 90 mm
it diameter. A sleeve or lining of V-4-A steel, V-2-A steel, or
other suitable non-corrosive metal was put into these ovens which
4!px d be used under 250 atmospheres at temperatures as high as
"1OO"`C. This lining was 40-50 mm in diameter. There were twn
Hofer high pressure compressors which had been brought from
Leuna. The laboratory had also set up two small distillation
columns. Soviet safety engineers checked the German pressure
tests before permitting operation of any high pressure equipment.
Originally the Soviets had estimated that the installation a? 3
preliminary testing would tare three months. Lack of proper
ater .als and poor training of the Soviet Dersonnel. caused so many
.delays that almost two years had passed before this installation
began to function in the spring of 1948. There were frequent
discussions co.icerning these delays between a German engineer,
--- - - Early in
19 Sklovski told Otto that the large Flan Being erected at
Dzherzhinsk was about one year behind schedule. Sklovski com-
p1,ai.ned in particular about some special pumps made at
Dzherzhinsk which had failed to pass the tests; he was ales,
arinoye21 because the foundations for these pumps had been made in a
faulty manner--and that because of this failure, the entire
inet.llation was being held up.
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Peinze and Smeykal filled the ovens or reactors with the catalyst
and then added the reactants which were liquids or gases. This
was done in a room that was closely guarded. At first, experi-
ments were made with pressures ranging between 50-250 atmos-
pheres. Most of the work was done at 50 atmospheres. Mono-
ethyl amine, di-ethyl amine and tri-ethyl amine were produced
by reacting ethyl alcohol and ammonia over kaolin and water
glass dehydration catalysts. The amount of liquid poured through
the reactors was about 100 cubic centimeters per hour. The first
tests were made with contact catalysts brought from Leuna. The
later testa, made with Soviet catalysts, were very unsatisfactory.
Many of the tests had to be repeated a number of times because of
mistakes made by the poorly trained Soviet workers. In the
beginning, this led to endless quarrels and disputes between the
people engaged in research. the tri-ethyl amine
was the most satisfactory as a rocket ue . Soviet engineer
Gennig, who at first worked in this laboratory, was later assigned
to work in the rocket fuel testing installation.
Labo2-cory 604 - Amine Fuels
9, This second research laboratory for amine fuels was entirely in
the hands of the Soviets. The personnel' included:
Servyelski Research Director?
Zarichev
Khakelson Constructors and
Technicians
Albitski
Krichevkov
Kolobev Measuring Instruments
The. equipment in this laboratory consisted primarily of pumps,
reactors and salt removers. Some of these had been built by
Ernst Otto. The processes used were different from those In
Laboratory; 579. The reaction was started in a coil, 30-40 meters
lor*g?and which had an inner diameter of about 20 mm. This
process had many technical drawbacks and repairs were very
i'"reciuent. Approximately 100-200 liters of the solution went
through the pipes daily. The pipes rarely lasted more than a
fern weeks and often only a few days, before they- had to be re-
paired due to* corrosion. Salt, deposited in the tubes,_ had to be
removed with a special a aratus which was more 'often in repair
5X1 ; than in use. the measuring instruments in this
laboratory--the instruments were serviced, after having been set
up, by a Soviet, Kolobev.
Laboratory 575 - Nitration
5X1 10. the names of the following personnel employed in.
Laboratory 575:
Soviets: Spak Research Director
Kvosiev Chemistry student and technician
Zarl c hev Constructor and technician
Germans: Dr Gerhardt Geiseler
Dip]. Ing Ernst Otto
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element, the uniform addition of acid caused great difficulty;
heard that Otto was planning some new a aratus to solve this
problem.
For safety reasons, this laboratory had been b;:;_lt in a ecnorete
room. The main equipment consisted of- containers of material,
pre-heaters, reactors and coolers. The work was dividau! Into two
separate operations--one for liquids and one for gases. After a
few explosions and unsuccessful experiments, the liquid phase
nitration worked ?rery well. The gaseous process was used in the
nitration of methane with nitric acid and operated at a pressure
of three atmospheres and at temperatures up to 430? C. The
reaction took place in a pipe which was about five meters long
and about 4 mm in diameter. After a few hours of operation, the
reaction tubes were so heavily corroded that work had to be
suspended. In order to decrease this heavy corrosion, all avail-
able materials for the reaction chambers were triea, but without
success. a gold-plated
reactor, constructed by Otto, was set up o not know the
results. Most of the nitro-methane produced was tested and then
used as a solvent in the laboratory. In addition to the corrosion
Labboratory 601
11. Gofmarl was the Soviet technician in charge of this installation
which consisted of four separate sections.
the many acid laboratories, which
existed in the Institute were torn down and
replaced by these new installations in 1949-50. Judging from the
instruments the Soviet technicians
were operating with some very corrosive products which may have
been hydrofluoric acid,and the end product may have been freon.
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in Laboratory 601,1 a
chemical process Is ; the nature of the end
product is unknown the final product may have
been freon the Soviets mention that name, which was
new ere was a supply of freon in the workshop of the
Plan anager and this supply was brought in from the vicinity
of Laboratory 601.
There were three containers, A. B, and C, and four receivers,
D. All containers and ece vers had a capacity of about 40
liters each. all of these containers were made
of V-2-A material an ha container B, a reactor, was lined
with lead. A liquid from container A, heated electrically, was
fed by gravity into reactor B. Another liquid, in steel
container C, was vaporized by heating with. water and steam.
The vapors were passed into reactor B which was maintained at
about 2000 C by an electric heating coil. Reactor B was
equipped with a 250? C thermometer and a metal float with an
iron staff, about one meter long, attached. The level of the
liquid in the reactor was indicated by a meter which recorded
changes in a magnetic field caused by the movement of the iron
staff into and out of that field. The reaction product distilled
from the top of reactor B, and the vapors were condensed by
passing them downward through a coil cooled to -27? C and
collected in receiver D. When the reaction did not proceed
properly, a white crystalline product formed in reactor Band
in the line between A and B, nut never in the 11ne between C
and B. This deposit had to be melted with a blowtorch applied
to the outside of reactor B. Sometimes the line between A and
B was disconnected at B and the solid producted removed from
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it. .hat this white crystalline product was,
nor the reactants and the final product were.
I I cylinder C may have contained hydrofluoric
acid or uor ne. The pressure gauge over this cylinder was
rapidly corroded and the outside of the cover glass to the
gauge w in about two days and had to be dis-
carded. _lexiglass for this use but it soon
became cloudy an a o be discarded also. Rubbing the
plexiglass with oil prolonged its usefulness slightly. The
thermometer, used for holding the condenser coil at-27o C, was
tested in freon. L~Chemical handbooks give a boiling point of
-280 C for difluorodichloromethane (freon).7 The corrosion in
nearly all the equipment used in this process was very rapid.
Valves and lines had to be repaired or replaced almost daily.
Once a drop of liquid fell from an overhead pipe onto a workerts
neck and the burn was so serious that it took six weeks to
heal.
Other Installations of the GIPKh Institute
1.3.?:There were three other installations at the Institute
the following in on
about them:
(a) Rocket Fuel Testing Installation:
This unit was entirely Soviet-operated. Spak directed
research; his assistants were engineer Gennig and
some Air -Force and Navy officers. Approximately 15
people were employed in this project which was housed
bunker on the banks of the Neva River.
particularly a pressure recorder, u
0-40 kg per sq cm and a chart speed of five seconds
per rotation. A Siemens oscillograph was set up
there in 1949. The tests which were conducted produced
a swishing noise, like steam escaping through a valve,
and varied in intensity. In some ways it sounded like
an ordinary rocket used for fireworks. The noise
lasted. approximately four-five seconds. Sometimes,
over half a dozen of these noises per hour could be
heard for eight hours; on other days, there was no
noise whatsoever.
fib) Acetylene Laboratory:
This unit was under the direction of Soviet technician
RyTabkov, but he worked there only part of the time.
Dr D.e er von der Horst, a chemist,. was the only
German worcing ere.
was a very small laboratory in which yew m
instruments were: used. I n acetylene
generator, a distillation column and a compressor were
located in this laboratory.
(c)
admitted into this nr?o ect
catalyst seetic
Secret Project:
This installation was classified top secret. Only one
man, Soviet worker Pitushin from Plant Control, was
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Security at the Institute
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14. at the GIPKh Institute in June
1947 until the end of , e premises were guarded by
women. A simple pass was sufficient to gain admission. At
the beginning of 1949, when the various laboratories were
finally ready to be in more intensive research, supervision
became very strict. passes were,. collected at the entrance
and checked z'eonnel working in the
Institute. guards were
replaced by men in civilian c o es.
however, that they all wore the same hind of black suits and
had pistols under their coats.IInot.permitted to
carry any sort-of papers out o . All Soviet personnel
pen prisoners of war in Germany were withdrawn.
they were all given menial fobs in less critical
places. A high barbed wire fence was erected on the side
opposite the Neva River. All of these security measures were,
after 1949, strictly enforced.
-end-
ENCLOSURE (A) Overlay of USAF Target Complex Chart of Leningrad
Showing GIPKh and KhII4GA$.Ipstitutes
ENCLOSURE (B) GIPKh Institute,
Part 1 - Layout
Part 2 - Legend
ENCLOSURE (C) C.?ganization Chart of German and Soviet Personnel
Employed at GIPKh
ENCLOSURE (D) Sketch of a Chemical Procesq Portormed in Laboratory
. 601 of the GIPKh Instit"
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OVERLAY of USAF 'TARGET COMP.LEx_"L r `~ :TCp -.
0155-51W-100 LEN U4GRAU ..77-_.. __-
ENCI,QSUP.E (A) Point 1 - GIPKh Institute
Point 2 - KhIMGAS Institute
SECRET
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a
Q)
0
ill dims are i"A m4crs,
ENCLOSURE (B)
Part 1 -. Layout of GIPKh Institute
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Point 1 Living Quarters for Soviet personnel
Point 2 Dispensary
Point 3 Main Building, containing Soviet laboratories
Point 4 Administrc.:tion Building
Point 5 Boi".er Building I
Point 6 Technical Installation
Point 7 Storage Building
Point 8 "Secret" Technical Installation
Point 9 Boiler Building II
Point 10 Laboratories of German and Soviet scientists
Point 11 Workshops (Electrical and Mechanical)
Point 12 Rocket Fuel Testing Installation
oint 13 Storage Building for electrical equipment
Point 14 Mess Hall
Point 15 Plant Control and Management Department
Point 16 Engineer Drafting and Designing Department
ENCLOSURE (,B)
Part 2 - Legend,
Accompanying Part 1, ENCLOSURE (B) - Layout
of GIPEh Institute
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DIRECTION
AD ISTRATIT DIBHCTOR
Prokofyev
ASS? Am IS TI DIB
TSGHBICLL DIR$C
CBBHICAL
Servy-
elski
JAB 604
Sorvyelski
Zarichav
t1hakelson
Albitski
golobev
%ritchevkov
PLET CQHT$Qb
Belousov
&ipl~af--.._
A ISTWIOH
HM OS PS$SOMSL.
Hlukov -
O$aiesa MBONnL
(Seoy of Trade Union)
Sakharorov
LAB 579
Serzyels
Yerchov
Oennig
Sklovski
Paine *
Smeykal*
Otto *
Lorenz *
HOIi HOWAS
m
0
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f
d
ENCLOSURE D)
Cl.\TM1CAL PI~OCE~~ PERFORM,EO I1J
LAS. 601 AT Ca11PKh TIJSTITUTE
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