ACTIVITIES AT SKB 143, LENINGRAD

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80-00810A001700650008-4
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 11
• Document Creation Date: December 16, 2016
• Document Release Date: June 14, 2005
• Sequence Number: 8
• Publication Date: October 6, 1953
• Content Type: REPORT

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CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
INFORMATION REPORT
Correct-Lon
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COUNTRY USSR (Leningrad Oblast)
SUBJECT Activities at SKB 143, Leningrad
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An information report with the above heading
This Document contains information affecting the Na-
tional Defense of the United States, within the mean-
ing of Title 18, Sections 793 and 794, of the U.S. Code, as
amended. Its transmission or revelation of its contents
to or receipt by an unauthorized person is prohibited
by law. The reproduction of this form is prohibited,
REPORT NO.
DATE DISTR.
NO. OF PAGES
REQUIREMENT NO.
REFERENCES
was imeued on 20 Aunat 1951,
arroneoul9 made reference
the body of
(Notor Washington Distribution Ird!?..,.1 By
"%"i Fldd Dlst:lb~;:~n By
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6 October 1953
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the report.
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CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
INFORMATION REPORT
USSR (Leningrad M ;last)
SUBJECT Activities at SKB 143, Leningrad.
25X1 DATE OF INFO.
This Document contains information affecting the Na-
tional Defense of the United States, within the mean-
ing of Title 18, Sections 793 and 794, of the U.S. Code, as
amended. Its transmission or revelation of its contents
to or receipt by an unauthorized person is prohibited
by law. The reproduction of this form is prohibited.
REPORT NO.
DATE DISTR.
NO. OF PAGES
REQUIREMENT NO.
REFERENCES
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20 August 1953
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V110 aLwtsemu-LY gag In . e ~f. ome/ Shipyard. this building all the actual
work of assethly of the prototype motor was, done by Soviet technicians. The
building of some of the parts and fittings was also performed by Soviets in the
Sudomekh machine shops. Dettke and Nathaui were called in occasionally to help
with the assembly. Either Krage or Sztatecsny was at the building every dav.
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Redrawing of designs and p1...nsa The Germans at Glueckauf used the overlay
system. The Soviets seemed to be unable to comprehend this method. The
Germans,therefore had to reorganize al. the overlays which had been made at
Blankenburg I and make separate drawings of each.
They became I pe sasly entangled in ' s project, and designs and plans piled
up until they were literally coming out of the windows. They eventually had
to request the Soviets to send to Blankenburg for their original rough plans
and diagrams and start all over again. The numbering of the drawings
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was not done aac ord.ing to any particular method.. Every.
drawing which arse.; .finished, was registered in a drawing
book which was kept in the archives. '.hest drawings
were given numbers as they were oztered in the book. Parts
or position numbers, which, began with one, were then assigned.
Following are two example 25X1
M10046
Part 1-4.2
Piping plans
M 10 049
Parts 1-16
Coupling
b? Translation of legends from German to Russian: This was a
difticult task,, since only a few= knew enough Russian
to o of any helps and the terminology was rather inadequate.
(1) Operational functioning,, The chamber was placed
in a pit in the yard with all the necessary con-
neoti.ons. It was then operated to see if it
would function, that the pipe fittings were
tight and that it did not blowup.
(2) Temperatures were taken with a thermocouple.
Opej ating to peratures ran somewhere around
450 C to 525 C.
(3) pressures were taken with an ordinary Bourdan
type gai..xgeo None of the German personnel were
allowed in the vicinity when these tests were
going on. The above information was obtained
through haphazard conversations with the Soviets
after the tests were over, and when the Soviets
were attempting to get hints as to how to over-
come difficulties which came up during the tests.
The %ombustion and dissociation chambers were
made (cast) in Leipzig by an unknown firm,
and finished by Wolff Buckau in Madgeburg.
All the mechanical fittings such as valves, etc.,
were made by Schumann Armaturen Werke in Leipzig.
in 1946.47, - U&te.rsray and a Soviet official
(officer) Made the rounds of all East Zone
firms which could make these various parts.
Orders were placed for delivery to Leningrad.
de Plans for tests of combustion and dissociation chamber
assembly: Chambers here set up in a special room with
expiosiou.. baffles. Tests stands were designed by the
group, Again, all pasty were made without any of the
Germans being present.
the H,Q 2 was brought into
the shipyard and"up to the! building iii a special railroad
tank care It was stored in white metal tanks which were
probably aluminum. special
fuel oil z r , was not acqu ted with
or assisted in its proourementleither in the East Zone
or the IJSSb't. fuel oil, and not alcohol was
used. Trompke
gave t e Soviets the necessary ermo.ynamic data from
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previous tasks which had been made by Walter at Kiel*
e. Installation and assembly of the prototype Walter motor:
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(1) Pirat, only the turbine was installed in the
mock-up engine room. The turbine was one
which had been captured from the Germans
or,rather, appropriated after the end of the
war. It had. been made by the firm of Brueckner
,and Canis, Dresdene 25X1
The turbine was 25X1
combustion and
dissociation chamber on the test stands. They
were still testing the chambers and apparently
still feared. an explosion which might damage
their one and only turbine of German manu-
facture.
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(2) Second, the dissociation and combustion cham-
bers were installed in the engine room, along
with all of the auxiliary equipment.
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I Sztatecsny 25X1
and Hon# elri were asked to stand outsi-de the
room when the tests were performed. This was
apparently a safeguard in case of trouble'
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There were 25X1
observation part in the walls of the engine
room proper, and it might have been possible
f or a-T,tateosn'y car Menesen to have surreptitiously
observed various dials or gauge. 25X1
ee diagram,, page J.Q., 1 a c 25X1
its a schematic diagram with legend of the m for
akascmbly as well as the auxiliary equipmen
A dyimmeter ,vas installed in the engine room.
It-occupied the exact space of the reduction
gear housing, whichyas yet, was not installed.
A:1.1 tests were,th'ussmade at this stage with-
out reduction gearing. This project was
stopped in December 1.950, when the group was
started on their "cooling off" period.
In the summer of 1950, during the initial turbine t'ests,
the Soviets forgot to start the water spray into the
combustion chamber immediately upon starting the re,
action. The steam thus became much hotter than other-
wise, and ruined some of the turbine blades as well as
damaging the turbine shaft. Many microscopically small
cracks appeared on the surface, which had been in con- 25X1
tact'with the steam, All the Soviet experts who were
called in on consultation were dubious about running
the turbine again. However, in November 1950
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fu7.1 power tests had been run, an
he o1r1e s had ordered a new turbine from a local
_rwnoy in ]"Jeningrado the final
acceptance of full-lod tens i a on gearing
must have been greatly delayed by this accident.
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g. Main turbine condenser tests: The p as:p,)X6 of these
tests was to see if all the turbine exhaust steam
was condensed to water. This was under the conditions
that the tu:trbine and condenser only were installed
in the engine room. Steam was furnished by the cham-
bers on the test stands. These tests determined the
proper flow of condenser cooling water so that the
above condition might be realized. They had trouble
With the 002 exhaust pump system. It was difficult
to prevent some of the condensate from getting into
the bysholm type 002 pumps and leaking out through
the pump housing packing. This water also decreased
the effiaieztay of the 002 p,a;mp's .
h. Condenser tests,, Ma:x:. ?.uroixre~ with combustion and
dissociation ahambers, .a* installed in the engine
room*
is 00 compressor testa: These tests were oovered in
it me g. and h. and in conjunction with those items.
Final tests on the completely assembled motor, tur-
bine, chambers, dynomometer, etc., were made about
July of 1950, during which time the accident described
previously occurred.
k. Each piece of machinery was built and tested separately.
After tests were made, the Germans were called in
and asked to make minor changes in the designs.
The Soviets could not follow a design and build the
part without getting something different from what
the design called for. The Germans then had to
incorporate these mistakes into a new set of plans.
In such matters as piping.,for instance, the finished
job, after the Soviet technicians finished with it,
bore little or no resemblance to the original plans.
1. Preparation for the installation of reduction gearing.
This entailed the relocation of the dynomometer and
the location of the gear housing base, which in turn
served as the cover for the reduction gear lubricating
oil reservoir.
3.. In the summer of 1950, the Soviets made their first and only
suggestion for a change in the design. They suggested that
a "heat trap" (heat capacitor) be placed between the dissocia-
tion chamber and the combustion chamber. This trap or heat
sink was to consist of a long steel cylinder filled with solid
steel spheres. m.:,w_w was only too glad, to have his group
make this change in design for the Soviets, but the German.
designers of the group, ieb, ,w, ;f, Sc;h w.her, Keppel, and Menssen,
refused to have anything t'o do with it. They felt certain
that there were great possibilities for an eventual explosion
if this change was carried out. The Soviets planned to pass
the steam and oxygen from the dissociation chamber through
this heat trap only during the first few minutes of each run,
and then, after the water spray into the combustion chamber
had been, started, to by-pass the heat trap during the re-
mainder of the run. The German designers felt sure that there
was great possibility of some undissociated H202 passing into
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I possibility of deliberate sabotage
by the Soviets 'Phis is a distinct possibility.
After the heat trap a been installed by the Soviets, Aantipin (feu)
called S ',t.,as s ~~,v t,,i, the assembly building and showed him
the motor operating. A,-at-'Pin then again tried to get SstatecsrW
to have his group "sponsor" the heat trap idea. Sztatecany
refused, since by now, his own group had apparently convinced
him of the danger. Now Col. A tipin was on the block, as it were,
baccaus of the accident with the turbine. It might have
been entirely possible that S~t,pol.s~:iy~ (f)` or B7ahmann (fnnu), or both,
could have suggested to . -tip :15 to ask the Germans to make
this change at the point suggested, hoping that eventually
another "accident" might occur. It would be necessary to
get the Germans to make the change in the design, since
Anntipi.n had no comeback otherwise, since his own men did all
the previous assem.'bling. He would then have someone . else to
blame. Of course, the original accident occurred before the
heat trap was added. How the Soviets would have got around
this difficulty is not known, but it is felt that their ingenuity
would have risen to the occasion. Colo An.tip?ln did not know
enough about the motor to have formulated this idea, if true,
by himself, since he was an administrator only, and not
technically knowledgeable.
change theme el
the trap and forming,, at some future time.,, a film on the steel
spheres and gradually collecting until itmrd.ght cause an ex-
plosion upon first starting the reaction. Sztateosry then had to
explain to the Soviets why his group would not carry out this
change in design. The Soviets then went head and made the
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6. In December 1950, when all the work on the project was stopped,
the reduction gears had not yet been installed. II tuo of
the reduction gear assemblies in their housings in the yard
next to the assembly building. They had been built by some.
ooppany in Erfurt. They were double reduction,. helical gears.
The Soviets had been instructed not to disassemble them upon
their delivery, but some of the high naval officers wanted
to see what they looked like, so they were taken apart. When
they tried to assemble them again, they used sledge hammers
and files, etc.
7? It December 1950, all work of the project was stopped.
nor were any of the test results ever available.
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such projects as measuring the shutter speed of the Soviet
oopies of the Leica or Contax cameras, and making their own
"sonic" washing machines from the hub caps of the Soviet
automobile.?obeda,and a speaker cai1, etc. There was a wekl-
developed black market of parts, tools, and equipment whiih
the Joviet workers had stolen from. various plants and fac-~
tories. Most of the electrical material and parts were of',
German manufacture. Some American material and parts were
available, and this always commanded the highest prices
At the end of the war, the Germans had thousands of
specially built Igelit (polyvinyl chloride) plastic
bags for containing H202. Some of these were to be
used in the prototype motor installation in Leningrad.
When the Germans arrived they found that the recesses
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in, the final hull design were not quite of the right
size to contain these bags. Also.,the supports :t'for the
bags were not as the bag design allowed. They then
had to design new bags and bag supports. They also had
to change the support design of a."racking" test tank
which they had brought to Leningrad, This tank was to
be used in testing the "seaworthiness" of the bags and
bag supports.
Proposed design for a ho"riz6ntal dissociation ohambere
the Germans wanted to suistitute welded construction
for cast construction on these chambers. The Soviets
were not interested and, stopped the work.
fe Design of dynomometer foundation$ to be located outside
th
e
the engine room. This would have been necessary at
time of the installation of the reduotiono
Proposed design of propeller shaft bearing location
when item f. above was to be effeotedo
he Proposed design of pipe connections to the dynomometer
when item f, above was to be effecteda
it,' Design of lubricating oil pump location for tests of
turbine and reduction gearing, which would have been
run after the reduction gearing assembly had been in-
stalled.
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90 haraoteristics or composition of
olor
ff i
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the Catalyst. It consists of cylinders light bu
abaw.t 10 to 12 millimeters long and five millimeters in diameter.
1fter removal from the chamber, they were covered with a whitish
deposits, Each cha a had a rid-&oulousl short life, which was 25X1
measured in hours.
After removal from the chamber, the cylinders remained un ro en.
Some tests were made. with the cylinders broken into pieces, in
ord;ar to increase the surface area.
1Lswits ;iakal~ was stationed at Oranienbaum, 25X1
ea~iee 40 miles east of Leningrad. witechka came frequently to
visit,gztatecsy. These visitB were social, but could easily
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'1,b was oO tlmori talk that prof. lirnst . uebke had been taken to
the TU$S by mistaken and had been kept sitting around with
'nothing to do for seven years.
ii.
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Diagram.of Mock-up Pressure Hullo
la omr,pra-`,a '7hILs zm,q- 4~p Kurt_.z,aawLt,c.hka or Lawitzka, Dipl. Ing.,
a a s, who , the Soviets on torpedoes, vascuum tubes, explosives,
and/or
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DIAGRAM o4 MOCK-UP PRf-SSORG. NULL
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