NEW SOVIET WEAPONS

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80-00809A000600360061-4
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 6
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: July 21, 2011
• Sequence Number: 61
• Publication Date: November 10, 1950
• Content Type: REPORT

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CLASSIFICATION SECRET s~
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE
INFORMATION FR
FOREIGN DOCUMENTS OR R.ADi
AGENCY R
OM
O BROAGCASTS C
EPORT
D NO.
5
0X1-
COUNTRY USSR
DA
TE OF
SUBJECT Scientific : Miscellaneous, mili
tary weapons IN
FORMATION 1948
nuW
PUBLISHED Weekly newspaper
WHERE
PUBLTSHED' Munich
DA
N0
TE DIST. ~ 0 Nov
. OF PAGES 6
1950
DATE
PUBLISHED Not available
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Die Neue Muenchner Illustrierte,
SUPPLEMENT TO
REPORT
THIS IS UNEVALUATED INFORMATION
NEW SOVIET WEAPONS
50X1-HUM
Thp following is a report of the experiences of a German scientist, Dr H.
Tellman, who was taken prisoner by the Russians in 1943 and who worked .:'or them
as a scientist until he escaped by airplane. Dr Tellman now lives in Argentina.
After my capture is 1943, I was interviewed 'in the Chakalov prieoneral
camp and offered a position as scientist in the service of the Soviets. After
having been given assurances that my work would not be directly connected with
the armament industry, at least Por the duration of the war, I accepted.
My first Job, to which I was sent 2 weeks later, was at Molotov, where a
huge aluminum plant was being, built. Its power supply was to come from the
h~lroelectric stations of the Central Urals. Work went on 24 hours a day,
weather permitting, moat of it?being carried out by women. M~~ task was the
supervision of the layittg of the high-power lines which went ell the way into
the Urals. The machines in the plant was nearly ell American made, and had
been brought in via Siberia.
a
At the beginning of 1944, I was requested to work for the Cosmic Ray Lab-
oratory at Tbilisi, which was operating ande^ the supervision of the Ministry
of the Armed Forces. The institute ~ot further identified was housed in a
former palace in Tbilisi, and was directed by a well-known Russian scientist who
had 'spent much time in, Germ :, and apdke~{}erman~ we}].:~ IThe altitude~~teboaslt
m tees, institutg was.,~.ocated ~~} .the, mouP~aizts, ~t?~~t~~u~ie o~,,more than,~,~~j0
T}~e work coneis~p$ of investi atign oP.tH ,~.a ure.of corm+c.'raysand
observ~l'~itin~-of'~the~ dh~nges'?in their in~ensity~ ~~~~t~e ~ho~se ~of~~one -year. ~~'
The institute was inspected by a commission of politicians and scientists
from Moscow. An old colleague of mine-who had studied with me at the University
of Berlin before the war turhed out to be a member of this commission, and of-
fered me a position in Moscow. Six weeks later I was called to Moscow by the
War Academy. At first I was busy only with conferences in the War Academy and
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in offices of political authorities. They seemed to be trying to get a good
p{cture of my scientific capabilities and political opinions. I wsa also given
indoctrination in Soviet ideology, and my friend told me confidentially that it
was necessary for me to attend party functions, but he added; "You can think
of whatever you liY.c while you are there." A few days after these preliminaries
I was assigned to a newly Pounded commission, charged with supervising develop-
ment in various special fields and with operating as a consulting authority in
the case of difficulties. The commission consisting of 14 scientists, nearly
all oP them trained abroad, either in Germany or in the US, who had been working
in these countries for very long periods of time, and who were all very capable
specialists.
My friend, Professor D. took me along on an inspection trip to Tomsk where
the Russians has built an experimental station for V-2 rockets. I met an old
acgt:aintance from Germany, Engineer P,, who was in charge of the technical work
of the entire installation. At first, the only experiments performed were the
same kind which I knew from my work ir_ Germany, but later, during my stay, new
designs with much higher power were developed. Work was also carried out in the
field of radio guidance of rockets. I saw the launching of several giant rockets
whose dimensions considerably exceeded those of the V-2. The measuring devices
recorded ceiling altitudes of 210 kilometers in these flights. Anew rocket is
still in the development stage. It weighs 40 tons and is expectev to reach an
altitude of more than 400 kilometers. I was also interested in the design of a
multistage rocket, whose first stage ?aas to be powered by nuclear energy.
To study the effect of the high accelerations on -she living organism, the
Russians placed into the warhead a parrot in an insulated cage. The warhead
otherwise housed the recording instruments. The parrot was found to have suf-
fered no ill effects.
The experimental rockets in the development stage today are nearly power-
ful enough to fly from the Berth to the moon and to leave the earth's gravita-
tional field.
A second trip took me to Kalinin. A large rocket-aircraft-testing station
has been built there. The rocket aircraft developed there are based on the de-
sign of the German V-1. Essentially, they are nothing but manned rockets. The
wings are small and sweptback. The cockpit is hermetically sealed and holds a
two-man crew. The Soviets have also succeeded in obtaining the services of most
of the important German rocket experts, who have attained very high speeds wi:_1
their rocket aircraft; in one case, an aircraft equipped with three rocket en-
gines reached a speed of nearly 2,000 kilometers per hour.
During one test flight which I witnessed, the material did-not withstand
the terrific strain, Rnd the aircraft crashed, killing the German pilot. These
aircraft are started from catapults. Fuel consists of a hydrocarbon compound
and nitric acid. One of the German test pilots succeeded in reaching an alti-
tude of 25,000 meters with one of these aircraft. The immense power of the en-
gines was demonstrated to me when a rocket aircraft turned over during take-off
and exploded. The explosion made a crater of 15 meters in diameter and 3 meters
in depth, and the aircraft was torn into tiny fragments. These rocket aircraft
are still in the experimental stage. However, the USSR has many types of het
aircraft which are already i.n service. They were designed and b:dlt is a plant
near t~oronezh by former members of the Messerschmitt firm.
One of my inspection tripe took me back to the cosmic =sdiation institute
at Tbilisi. My former chief there told me that he had lost both his Qons as a
result of bacteria experiments. One of them was a bacteriologist, the other a
doctor. They ha.d been ordered to set up a laboratory on a small island near
Baku where dangerous bacteria were to be investigated and cultures grown. Gne
SECRE'P
3E~R~T
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of their colleagues infected himself with~a culture, and transmitted the disease
to the rest of the staff, so that all 40 members of the staff died within a feu
hours after terrible agony. The laboratory, I was told, now has a new staff,
but my friend did not know what work was being conducted there.
With Professor D., I witnessed a teat of anew weapon in the Caucasus. We
went to the edge of a deep valley, which had vertical walls almost 300 meters
high. Heavy smoke was generated i.n the valley by means of rocket projectiles
fired from an adjacent plateau, Then another type of rocket was fired into the
smoke> These second rockets generated a dense white vapor. As soon as the
vapor mixed with the smokE, a terrific thunderstorm broke loose below us. We
had to wear speclal gas masks. Lightning and thunder followed in uninterrupted
succession, and the entire area seemed to be a mass of flame. Whenever the
storm let up, new rockets were fired ar_d its intensity increased again. The
storm lasted for 2 hours.
When we investigated the area the next day, we found that nct one rock, not
one tree or shrub had been spared by the lightning bolts, Nobody could have
survived in that hell. It was obvious that the electric charges had always gone
from the cloud to the ground, a proof that the cloud must have been electrically
charged. These L:tifical thunderstorms are designed to take the place of artil-
lery bombardment in mountainous areas, where, as was shown during World War II,
the effectiveness of artillery is limited, because the terrain offers to much
opportunity for cover. However, there is no cover against this new weapon.
During a conversion with Professor D.., I stated once that I would like to
get out of the "golden cage" and rejoin my family in Germany, He answered that
it would be better if I had my family come to Moscow instead, since he had it
on good authority that none of the German scientists and workers'in the Soviet
Union would be allowed to leave the country, because they knew too much and the
Soviets would nit risk letting thie information out of the country, When I an-
swered that I would. simply escape from the country if I was not allowed to leave
legally, he warned me that the controls were very strict and that the frontiers
tied recently been heavily fortified, He further said that ~ would only be im-
prisoned or perhaps executed for my attempt.
Tne day after this conversation, D. and I went to Novorossiysk to attend
a special experiment. We went? :board a small cruiser. We could get no definite
information on the nature of the experiment, but the presence of a large number
of t.igh staff officers and political functionaries indicated that it was a test
of special importance. After we had put out to sea, we were met by a flotilla
of six large submarines which took us on a southerly course. After we had lost
eight of the coastline, the convoy spread out. The submarines submerged after
traveling another mile, surfaced again after half an hour, returned to the
cruiser to make a report, and then left for the north. Suddenly, about half a
mile in front of us, a steep wall of water rose from the calm sea, and moved
rapidly toward the south. The tidal wave was about 20 meters high, and would
have wrecked any vessel within its path, The weird part of the demonstration was
the fact that the wave did not expand, either laterally or to the rear, and rose
up out of the water like a solid wall without disintegrating, in contrast to the
phenomenon observed in underwater explosions where the water rises up in a foun-
tain. It was also peculiar that we noticed no concussion and no explosion, and
that we felt only a slight swell on our cruiser.
I tried to obtain some information on the experiment, but the answers were
evasive, and Professor D. finally put an end to my questions by saying: "It is
not good to want to know everything right away. In due time you will realize
how important it was fcr you to attend this test." 2 gsthered ;'rom the cottver-
eations among other observers that this had been a test of.a means of warfare
and that great results were expected from its further development.
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In the USSR, submarine construction, together with aircraft construction
further development of the V-2 rocket, and the development of a practicable
atomic bomb, is a priority prc,ject of the armament industry. Prior to the war,
the Russian built, at Leningrad only the standard? type submarine of 900 tons
displacement, not count=ng a few experimental types. Only after the war, when
the Russians had occupied Berlin and the Germatt Baltic parts and had obtained
the German design data end ships, did they take up submarine construction in-
tensively. In 1946, the Russians succeeded in getting a number of the members
of the staff of the Glueckat~f Engineering Office at Blankenburg in the Harz
Mountains -- during the war the central designing office for German submarines --
to return there by offering them high salaries, The construction of the German
Type 26 submarine, the so-caller'. Walther submarine, was then resumed. Some oP
the Blankenburg staff later went to Koenigsberg and to Leningrad, others returned
to the Western gone.
The captured U-boats were concentrated at Leningrad and at Kronshtadt. The
Russians are working on further development? of the German Type 21 submarine. In
the summer of 1948, about 15 submarines of this type were under construction at
the Leningrad Navy Yard. An interesting improvement instituted by the Russians
is the quick-loading mechanism of the bow torpedo tubes. The German quick-loading
vechanism did not function properly, but the Russians have improved it to such an
extent that all six tubes in the box can now fire three times wi;,nin 3 minutes.
The Russians are also experiment?!ng with the installing o'i rocket launchers
on Type 21 submarines. The launcher resembles a torpedo tube. It is set up in
front of the conning tower., and operated from inside the ship. It will still
Punction when the ship is submerged to half the height of the conning tower.
The rockets are powered by liquid fuel, consisting of a hydrocarbon -- nitric
acid mixture with automatic ignition. Fuel. feed is by compressed air. The
rockets have a range of about 7 kilometers, and their accuracy is adequate.
At Odessa, the Russians are building two-man submarines developed from the
German design. They are powered by a high-rim diesel engine. The captain of
the submarine can stand up on his seat when the ship is surfaced, and the upper
part of his body protrudes from the conning tower. The engineer sits in i'ront
of the engine, and can start the engine with a hand c_?ank, in case the battery
is run down and no longer has enough power to operate the self-starter. The
tower is equipped with ~, short periscope which is retractable. The submarine
carries two torpedoes underneath. the hull.. This type of submarine,ia manned
only by volunteers. It is capable of a speed of about 12 nautical miles.
The Russians are testing three new types of torpedoes. The first is the
well-known acoustic torpedo, which is automatically attracted to the target by
the noise of the target's propellers. This version has been developed to a
high degree of perfection, and possesses high accuracy. Of course, it still
suffers from the disadvantage that the target can tow noise-producing dummies
which wi'_1 deflect the torpedo, provided they operate in the proper frequency
range.
The second version used ultrasonic wide beams. The frequency is in the
range of 800 kc. The results obtained with this torpedo were very satisfactory
up to a distance o~ 3 nautical miles. The torpedo is not very susceptible to
,jamming unless the damming is tuned exactly to the oxide-beam frequency. At
large distances, the guidance becomes less reliable, because it is difficult
to produce ultrasonic waves at tk.st frequency with a sufficiently large range.
The third version employs infrared radiation for automatic steering, and
uses the principle of radar, This design was first developed by the Germans
toward the end of the war and then perfected by the German engineers for the
Russians. The torpedo is very accurate, even at long ranges, provided the in-
frared rah generator functions properly, Since this is not always the case,
35 percent .of the torpedoes misfire
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From the Black Sea, I was called to the Aral Sea to attend another experi-
ment. On reaching the Aral Sea, I wan fitte3 with arctic clothing. We net up
some measuring instruments and photographic equipment on a hill overlooking the
water. A squadron of bombers dropped about four 250-kilogram bombs about 2 kil-
ometers out into the sea, A few moments after the bombs hit/ the water suddenly
became very calm, and seemed to be freezing over, while the normal motion of the
water continued 3 or 4 kilometers further out, as we could observe through our
field glasses. The waves became bigger, obviously because a strong wind had
sprung up out there. The bay in from of us began to become foggy, and we went
closer, because visibility was getting poor.
At a distance of about 400 meters from the shore, we were hit by a very cool
flow of air, and the fog became pz?ogreasively denser. The fog began to move vio-
lently, resembling the smoke over a great fire. The temperature kept dropping.
While it had been +18? G before the start of the experiment, it had now dropped
to -26? C at a distance of 300 me?~r~ from the shore. We fPoze, despite our arctic
clothing. At another 100 meters closer to'the shore, it had dropped to -43? C, and
after only ten more steps, to -50o~C:~'There was no point in going further, because
the fog was now limitsng visibility to one meter. The..wind had become a gale.;l On
the way back to the hill, we got lost in the fog, and took a long time to find our
original observation point.
The fog lifted after 4 hours, and the temperature began to rise again, so
that we could finally go down to the shore., The entire bay was covered'by a thick
sheet of ice, extending over about one square kilometer. The ice was over half a
meter thick at the points of impact of the bombs. The waves created by the high
wind had solidified in the middle of their motion, and the sea resembled a ,jagged
arctic landscape. The temperature over the bay was still very low, and we were
told that it would not thaw out for several days. Such bombs or rockets, when
used against harbors, must have disastrous results.
A few days after my return to Moscow, I was taken to Peenemuende. The in-
stallation is operating full blast, and the region between Usedom and Greifswald
is one single armed camp. There is no trace left of the demolitions carried cut
in 1945. Over 150 German scientists are worki~ig around the clock developing
rocket projectiles and rocket-prcpelled fighter aircraft. I was able to deter-
mine that the Russians had obtained all German data for all the versions of the
V-2 rocket. Special attention was given tc the A-8 varsion of this rocket,
whi~:h can fire 6,000 kilometer across the B.tlantic with a flight. time of 42
minutes.
The tests with guided rockets at Peenemuende made a great impression on me.
Rockets were launched from sites in the Leningrad-]Croashtadt area, They landed
with almost dead accuracy on the island of Pol. The rockets are launched to an
altitude of 12,000 meters, and tiie propulsion unit of the rocket is cut in at
than altitude by radio signal. The rockets then fly in a straight line, con-
trolled by radio and radar signals from picket boats in the Baltic, until a mea-
suring station stops them over the island of Pol and breaks off. the flight there.
The rockets come down nearly vertically and land near the target. The tests were
repeated several times, and the results, in regard to accuracy, were always
eguAlly good. I am convinced now that the sensational reports once heard in Ger-
many about rickets over the Baltic were not ,just imagination, but that. rockets
from Leningrad sometimes flew as far as Swinemuende, and that some of them sup-
posedly got lost and flew to Sweden,
My work at Peenemuende consisted mostly in trying to persude the German
scientists there to go to work for the Wa.r Academy in Moscow. In 1945, the Rus-
sians shanghaied the scientists, but stopped this practice in 1948, since they
found out that they could not obtain good work from scientists wl~o were in the
USSR under duress. During my conversations with my colleagues there I found that
the research results obtained at Peenemuende should be a matter of great concern
to other countries, The accuracy attained with rockets over the comparatively
short range of 1,100 kilometers between Leningrad and Usedom was also attained
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over a 2,500-kilometer range. These tests were conducted between the Kron-
shtadt-Leningrad area and'"the great rocket-testing site at Omsk in Siberia.
On the basis of these tests, i' could easily be possible Por the RuBsian us-
ing rockets launched from the interior of the USSR, to reach any target in
Europa 8r in the US with great accuracy.
I had not given up my plans for escape. I could not bear working under
constant political pressure, an@ I wanted to spare my family Yrom moving to
USSR and did not want to expose them to an uncertain fate there.
I was helpeP by a coincidence. In July 1948 I was at Kharkov, where I
had to inspect equipment in the huge power plant. There I met a German en-
gineer named WintersdorfP, a former pilot, who had been shanghaied by the
Russians during a visii to Soviet Zone Germany in 1946, and who was plotting
ea escape by air to Athens where he had a brother-in-law. By luck, a high
official of the Ministry of War whom I met at Kharkov invited me to fly back
to Moscow with him in his private plane, and agreed to take Wintersdorff, my
"assistant" along. During the flight, with the aid of a revolver which Win-
tersdorff had obtained, we overpowered the official, the pilot, and the rauio
operator, put parachutes on them, and threw them Prom the plane. With Win-
teredorfP at the cotttrols, we flew to Athens, from where I reached Germany.
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