ISOTOPE SEPARATION AT THE HERTZ INSTITUTE

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80-00810A004900090003-9
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 15
• Document Creation Date: December 20, 2016
• Document Release Date: May 29, 2007
• Sequence Number: 3
• Publication Date: January 1, 1950
• Content Type: REPORT

Approved For Release-2007/05/29: CIA-RDP80-0081OA004900090003-9
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
INFORMATION REPORT.
This material contains information affecting the Na-
tional Defense of the United States within the mean-
ing of the Espionage Laws, Title 18, U.S.C. Secs. 793
and 794, the transmission or revelation of which in
any manner to an unauthorized person is prohibited
by law.
COUNTRY USSR (Georgian SSR)
PLACE ACQUIRED
Isotope Separation at,.,the.Hertz
Institute
DATE DISTR. w yatr uaXy 195.E
NO. OF PAGES 15
REQUIREMENT NO. RD
REFERENCES
THE SOURCE EVALUATIONS IN THIS REPORT ARE DEFINITIVE.
THE APPRAISAL OF CONTENT IS TENTATIVE.
(FOR KEY SEE REVERSE)
STATE X ARMY X NAVY X AIR X I FRI AEC X
of the institute were hampered by the rivalry between the Academy of Sciences
and the MVD. No details of the rivalry were available.
SECRET - US OFFICIALS ONLY
plants. Soviet research activities in this field were conducted independently.
Hertz had to write a monthly report on the progress of his work. The activities
for isotope separation developed by Hertz could be adapted for use by large
1. The institute of Professor Gustav Hertz located near Sukhumi (see sketches on
gage .5 and.-') was:.:' subordinate . to :the: Nir}th,. DireCto.ratie ahd liat~r:.t~o;,th~uF3 rat::.
n -Moscow. ' The. two.! directorates , probdbjy., nebg?d.. ?. .
Directorate of) the-.MVD In.-Moscow.'
Physics Professor Nbvikov was the chief scientist of the First Directorate. A
Georgian metallurgist, General Kochlavashvili, was in charge of the institutes
of Hertz and Manfred von Ardenne as deputy to Zavenyagin (fnu), who had replaced
General Zverev (fnu) as chief of the Ninth Directorate ;-.Professor Hertz' group
was composed of 120 German PWs and 25 to 30 German experts. The remaining personnel
were either German PWs, who were skilled workers and laboratory assistants, or
Soviet students, most of whom were Georgians., who prepared their doctor's theses with
German assistance. In 19+8 the Germans were replaced by Soviets and transferred
to quarantine camps for two or three years before being released.
The development activities which began in 1945 and were scheduled for completion
by 1950 continued until about 1951 or 19552. Von Ardenne, chief of the institute at
Sinop, stated thatyafter completion of the projectsjone or both of the institutes-
would become quarantine camps. Von Ardenne believed that most experts would be
released in 1955. Tbilisi State University was greatly interested in the equip-,
ment of Hertz'institute and source believed that the institute or equipment might
be turned over to the university. Aside from the equipment procured in Germany,
necessary equipment was constwucted at the institute. Such equipment included a
mass spectrograph, Geiger counters?apdcavacuum soldering set.
3. Generallylthe German experts believed that the Soviets were primarily interested
in acquiring their knowledge. The Soviets wanted to learn whether the system
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4. In 191+5, Zavenyagin ordered uranium-235 isotope separation by the-method
developed by Hertz. The Soviets requested that glass instruments be re-
placed by metal instruments and ordered that existing diaphragms (barriers)
be enlarged. Source was. not sure which type of isotope separation was
involved. When asked whether gaseous diffusion or thermodiffusion -was: used,
he stated that it probably had been thermodiffusion. He repeatedly main-
tained that only uranium isotopes were separatedpand then uranium hexafluoride
25X1 (UF6) was mention he stated that that was the agent
charged to the diffusion box.
The scientific personnel at the institute included:
Hertz, in charge of the entire project.
Dr. Justus Muhlenpfordt, who made calculations for the 'ppumps". Stating that
Hertz had done the same, source used the term 'pump" when referring to the box
in which the diffusion took place.
Dr. Werner Schuetze, who designed the mass spectograph which was built by
Engineer Hottmann (fnu)..
Dr. Karl Zuehlke, who made corrosion tests with nickel,'copper, iron, and
pure alumix. He found that aluminum of an undetermined degree of purity
proved to be the most resistant material.
Dr. Boris Ikert of the chemical laboratory, who rechecked Zuehlkets results.
who constructed counting tubes (Zaehlrohre). He later
Werner Hartmann
D
,
r.
made the analyses which had been done in Moscow before the counting tubes were
completed.
Kvartskhaya (friu), a Soviet supervisor who had his. own laboratory for private
research.
Dr. Reinhold Reichmann, who designed and constructed tube diaphragms which
were delivered to Moscow.
Vermin (fnu), a Soviet who continued this work after Reichmann's death.
Dr. Heinz Barwick, calculating expert for Hertz.
Dr. Helmut Bumm, who made physical analyses of the metals received at the
institute. As he was the soldering expert of the institute, he constructed
the vacuum soldering furnace.
Engineer Mauler (fnu), who undertook metallurgical analyses and galvanic
experiments., and who prepared the production of tube diaphragms designed by
Reichmann.
Professor Korshavin (fnu), a Soviet with a pro-Getman attitude who did private
work in the field of color photography.
Dr. Boris Ikert, who tested the corrosion properties of metals.
Graduate engineer Schimohr (fnu), who apparently worked in the field of fluoro-
compounds. (For a table of organization and further list of personnel, see
pages 8 to-10.)
6. Fellow workers stated that work at the institute began in Lg45/1946. Hertz and
his laboratory assistants assembled and put into operation the original diffusion
apparatus with 20 glass cascades developed by Hertz. Any analysis necessary
was done in Moscow. As soon as useful results were obtained, the first stage
of the research project was started. In order to increase experience in the field
of metals, glass instruments were replaced by metal equipment, e.g., nickel-
plated copper pumps were used instead of glass pumps. The dimensions and the
testing pressure of lo-7 Torr remained unchanged. No.other details were available.
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project to enlarge the pumps to an external diameter'of 100 mm;and.a
height-of 400 mm. Two of these pumps were series-connected in cascades.
All further experiments were conducted with twin-step cascades. Metal
cloth, 8 by 12 cm., was used as diaphragms. No further details were avail-
able. The equipment used effected an enrichment by 1.5 to four percet the
maximum value of four percent was rarely obtained. Analyses were made with
the counting tube designed by Hartmann. The new-spectrograph designed by
Schuetze was not ready for operation before late 1948 or early 1949.
t'h a ,enrichment process
involved lighter isotope.
7. The second work stage was started in winter-1947/1948.
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8. The third stage started in late 1948 with the construction of two pumps, each
with a diaphragm area of 15 by 80 cm. In spring 1949, this equipment was put
into operation and experiments with various types of diaphragms were made. The
box in which the diffusion took place, referred to as "pump'! by Hertz, was 100
to 120 cm long, 80 to 90 cm high, and-30 to 40 cm wide; it'was made of nickel-
plated iron parts which were Oacuum-soldered,using,soldering material with various
melting points, such as copper, sil er and gold, The interior'parts of the box
The entire se , nc u ng the
pumping unit, covere .an area,of about five by five meters. At first - the diaphragms
had 10,000 to 20,000 meshes per square cm or were even finer; Hertz had brought
them from Germany in 1945. After 1948, Soviet tissues made of thick, uneven
wire were used which were not as smooth or as regular as the woven German diaphragms.
Attempts were made to eliminate these faults by rolling the'material, by applying
nickel, etc. Source believed that these tissues were made of nickel wire. No
shipments-of materials from East Germany were observed.
9. The final concentration obtained in two such boxes was not more than 1.5 to
1.8 percent, presumably as a result of 'the irregular,arrangenent of the meshes.
Sheet-metal reflectors for the production of a laminar flow were not required.
For a process lasting several weeks, the unit had to be charged only once.
10. Simultaneously with the third work stage, the design and construction of a
four-stage pump was initiated as the fourth development stage. This unit had
two four-stage pumps connected in cascades. Each chamber'was six or seven cm
by 15-cm and was 60 cm high. The diaphragm area was about 60 by 6 by 15.cm.
Source stated thstUF6 Vapor heated to a temperature of 1500 C was pumped
through four tubes attached. to the long side of the box into four-chambers
and there against a diaphragm, extended at a right angle to the gas flow,
where separation was effected by suction.. The vapor was-cooled down to 150 C.
The UF& was heated by coils in the H-shaped tubes and'cooled by water. The
enrichment thus obtained was four percent.- The unit was charged once with about
240 '.cu cm' of UF6 for a process lasting about 12 hours.
11. Serious difficulties were encountered in the manufacture of the boxes, especially
because of the-many edges. Since no leak detector was available, precise
material analyses and faultless soldering were necessary. As a result-of
these difficulties, the Soviets ordered the designing of a round box with an
external diameter of about 60 cm and a height-of 100 to 120-cm. The diaphragm
was planned to be fitted on the external wall of the unit. Plans were being made
for the construction of the unit by a siiecial factory in Moscow
12. The ministrylin Moscow requested the production of tube diaphragms, about 80
cm long, evenly permeable over the entire length. Various attempts failed
until a sintered diaphragm produced by Dr. Reinhold. Reichmanuta method finally
met the requirements. Nickel oxide was pressed-througha plodder and dropped
into an acetone bath.. The tubes, 80 cm long, 16 to 18 mm in diameter, and
two to ten mm thick, were pushed onto ceromic tubes and sintered. To eliminate
the wear of the plodder, a hardening process with chromium hydrogen was applied.
The production,which had started in 1949,reached a weekly output of 100 to 150
units by late 1950.
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13. Muhlenpfordt was ordered by the Soviets to design the equipment for a lar e-
scale separation of isotopes by the system in use at the institute. a
250 cascades, some as large as
a room, were projected. e az re installation was to be made of metal and
was to guarantee a density of about.10-7 Torr. The unit was-to have inter-
changeable parts. The diffusion process from-charging until the first tapping
was to last nine months. A vacuum soldering apparatus constructed at the
institute had the shape of a hemispherical bell, 1.20 to 1.30 meters in diameter,
and had an operating pressure of'10"4 Tom.
14. In 1949 or 1950, Hertz, Barwich Schuetze, and Muhlenpfordt were flown from
Moscow on a secret mission to some town in Siberia. It was rumored that they
went to "Kefir town", in an area which had many of the latest atomic installations.
Source believed, therefore, that the activities of the Hertz institute could not
be of great importance to the Soviets. The name "Kefir town" indicated that
this town was in an area where large. amounts of kefir (sour milk) were consumed.4
15.. Von Ardenne's institute, which was similar to that of Hertz, was located in the
Sinop Sanatorium near the Kelasuri railroad station. The activities of this
institute included von Ardenne'.s work on a cyclotron, foil diaphragm work by
Professor Thiessen (a rival of'Dr. Reichmann), and Dr. Max Steenbeck's work on
the ultracentrifuge.
16. Before he died in early 1947, Professor Heylandt worked in PW Camp in
Krasnogorsk on a 10,000 cubic meter set for the-production of liquid air which
was allegedly to be built in Magnitogrosk. The mobile American unit for liquid
hydrogen was replaced by a.stationary installation in.a single-story building.
The hydrogen was put in Dior-type bottles or in steel bottles, and the amount
not used for the sintering furnace was sold.
Comments:
1. According to available information, the Ninth Directorate of the NKVD (later
MVD) was established during World War II and took over the functions of the
Special Technical Bureau, which was concerned with technical questions, and
probably included all laboratories of the NKVD. After the establishment of the
First Chief Directorate, subordinate to the Council of Ministers, all those
laboratories and functions concerned with atomic energy were transferred
to this directorate from the Ninth Directorate. Lt. Gen. A.P. Zavenyagin was
appointed chief of the Ninth Directorate when it was established, in addition
to his position as Deputy People's Commissar of Internal Affairs. Maj. Gen.
Kravchenko was appointed Deputy Chief of the Ninth Directorate. Source's
reference to Zverev may have been to A.G.?Zverev, who was Minister of Finance.
Gen. Kochlavashvili has previously been reported as chief of the Hertz and
Von Ardenne institutes and was probably subordinate to Zavenyagin, although
not actually his deputy.
2. Torr is a unit of measurement indicating one mm of mercury per sq cm of
surface.
3.
For a schematic representation.of the diffusion process, see page 11. For
first sketch of source's impressions of the diffusion box, see page 13. For
a corrected sketch of source's impressions, see page 15. Source was not clear
about the structure of the unit.
4. Kefir was not located.
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I.OC.R~ If~l 'OF t~-~:RTZ
Sukkupt
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Shaded buildings were old; others were constructed after-1946.
1. Three-story institute building, about 80 by 100 meters.
2. Large experimental laboratory.
3. Workshop.
4. Workshop.
5. Power station with four diesel generators. The cable from Sukhumi,
which had been laid in 1948 or 1949, was seldom used.
6. Chemical laboratory.
7. Store with loading ramp for light metals and materials.
8. Komendatura.
9. Hydrogen storage area.
10. Shop with metal saws.
11. Main depot and administration area.
12. Storage of sheet metal, tubes, and scrap.
13. Soviet guest house.
14. Villa of Professor Hertz.
Houses of the German personnel were located between the Hertz villa
and the komendatura.
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LRYOUT OF RRTL INSTITUH
ew-
w
13
O
f0T TO SCRL?.
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Table of Organization and Personnel of Hertz Institute
Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD)
Department 1
Chief: Zavenyagin (fnu)
Scientific. chief: Professor Novikov (fnu)
Assistant: professor Kalashnikov (fnu). The scientific chief and assistant
visited the institute four times a year.
Institute of Professor Hertz
Zavenyagin's deputy in charge: General Kochlavashvili (fnu) 1
Chief: Prof,. Dr. Gustav Hertz
Assistant directors: Dr. Werner Schuetze and Kvartskhava (fnu), a Soviet.
Soviet management
One independent office at the institute was directly subordinated to the
MVD. The assistant directors were in charge of the physics laboratories,
chemistry laboratories, workshops, and designing offices.
Physics Laboratories:
Laboratory un por.g~an"physicist, Gverdtsite1 (fnu).;
four Georgians
assistant. and Margarete Raedel, a German laboratory
Laboratory under Muhlenpfordt; a Georgian; laboratory inspector. Walter
Knable,who was still in Ilinskaya quarantine camp by late 1953; Engineer
Gerd Mueller; and others.
Laboratory under Schuetze: Mrs.. Ordzhonikidze (fnu), laboratory .assistant
Chernov (fnu), four Soviet laboratory assistants, Gerhard Saegel, aiprecision
mechanic, and other Germans.
Laboratory under Zuehlke: no information available.
Laboratory under Hartmann: a Soviet woman, Engineer Leo Senzky, and several
(bther Germans.
Laboratory under Kvartskhava; three Soviets.
Laboratory under Reichmann: a Soviet woman, two So'riet men, and three or
four German handicraft workers. After Reichmann's death, Yermin took over.
Barwich's office: A Soviet doctorate candidate.
Laboratory under Bumm: laboratory assistant Hans Loehr.
Laboratory under Mauler: One assistant.
Chemistry Laboratories;
Laboratory under Korshavin: about 20 Soviet men and "women .~ .!Geitman -experts
~-
Ikert and' Schitohr ) depended on Korshavin's personnel, even though they had
their own laboratorles.
Workshops:
Mechanical workshop under Kurochkin (fnu), a Soviet, with 50 to 60 C
German PWs,including: Gerhardt Hoenow,who worked for Hertz; chief mechanic
Bruno Striepling; precision mechanics Herbert Martschinske, Guenther Janosch,
Felix Per, Helmut Oehlschlagel, and Saegel (fnu); welder Rudi Milbradt; lathe-
operator Rudolf Pophal?, fitter Karl-Heinz Weber, and Helmut Dart, Kurt Juerges,
and Jungclaussen (fnu); a nephew of Hertz who might have worked at other shops
as well. These PWs were gradually replaced by Soviets.
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Electric workshop under Engineer Alfons Staudenmaier with German PWs, in-
eluding eledtromechariics~Erwin Wa1, , Friedrich4eck, Hermann Will, and
Hausch (fnu).
Glass blowing plant under foreman Max Saegeh with four or five PWs, among
them Rudolf Riessvwho was arrested.
Department for liquid air and liquid oxygen under Esche (fnu).
Department for liquid hydrogen, with e: Soviet woman engineer.
Designing Offices:
General designing office under Engineer Ernst Hottman,with two technical
draftsmen.
Designing officel with one draftsman working for Hertz.
Personnel of Von Ardenne's' In'stitut'
'.andO )Other -Institutes.
FriedrichLBair., a mechanic
Dr. Hans Bartel. .
Dr. Viktor Bayerl, probably stationed in the Moscow area
*W, Erwin Becker
Alexander Bergengruen, unskilled laborer
Dr. Karl Bernhard
Dr. Ludwig,, Bewilogua, who worked with Professor Vollmer in Moscow
Dr. Ernst Busse
Dr. Delvendahl (fnu)
Harry Dittwald, expert for photographic plates
Margarete Doevrient, a goldsmith
Herbert Doss
Gustav Fliegner
Herman Florek, son-in-law of Professor Thiessen
Erich Franke
Heinz Franke
Gaedicke (fnu), chief mechanic
Ursula Giering
Alexander Goldback
Hermann Hage;
Dr. Med. Harren (fnu)
* Henschel (fnu)'
Karl Hensinger
Helmut Hepp, chemist
Willi Hoefs and his son Hansi
Gerhard Jaegerr,. chief engineer
Mrs:. Felicitas Jahn
Frank Joachim, assistant master at a secondary school who worked with
Dr. Pose in the Moscow area
Ferdinand Kafka
Siegfried Klein, a precision mechanic
Margot Koerber.
Kretzig (fnu)
Professor Paul Kronenburg, who was in Osiauri, Georgian SSR, in 1949
Dr. Hans Krueger, who was transferred from Hertz to Dr. Pose
Gerda.?Langsdorf, librarian
Dr. Hans Lehmann, who was transferred from von Ardenne in 1950
Emil Loren7,, glass blower
Graduate Engineer Maydel
Kurt Meinhardt, allegedly Dr. Eng,,was messenger
Dr. Wilhelm Menke, biologist, was first with von Ardenne and later in the
Sverdlovsk area
Mrs. Ellen Mueller, von Ardenne's secretary
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Graduate Engineer Horst Nowak, technical draftsman with Dr. Pose
Engineer Hans Juergen von Oertzen, with Dr,. Pose
Dr. Johannes Pany, first with von Ardenne, later in Sverdlovsk area
Franz Heinrich Pottmeier, laboratory vorker
Dr. Herbert Reibedanz, von Ardenne's best-qualified man
Dr. Gustav Richter, worked for Vollmer in Moscow area
Dr. Phil. Karl Riewe, worked for Dr. Pose, was later arrested
Dr. Med. Kurt Rintelen
Rudolf Schefel
Ingrid Schilling, Thiessen's secretary
Engineer Hans Schlesing
Clemens Schichting
Hermann Schmal
Horst -Schroeder, laboratory .worker
Walter Schroeder, who died
Franz Schrottke
Karl Schulz, barber
Engineer Karl Schumacher, welder
Max Siegling, glass blower
Engineer Karl Sille
Dr. Wolfgang Stocke
Miss Elsa Suchland, von Ardenne's secretary
Prof. Dr. Peter Thiessen
Dr. Robert Trattner
Gustav Treff
Gustav Uhlmann, worked with Dr. Pose.in Moscow area
Maximillian Wied, store panager
Britta Wiedemann, librarian with Dr. Pose
Dr. Werner Wittstadt
Elfriede Zabel
Guenther Zawadil1
Ludwig Ziehl
Dr. Zippe (fnu)
Still in Ilinskaya quarantine camp by late 1953
Repatriated
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Schematics Representation of + 7,
Di ion Process
r O TO SCRLt
5. Diaphragm. The distance between No. 3 and No. 5 is two mm; the distance
Legend
1. Nickel-plated iron wall of box
2. Reflector sheets of nickel-plated copper
3. Cooling area (wall)
4. Rectifier diaphragm
between No. 5and No. k is five to eight mm.
6. Intake of UF6 vapor..
7. Suction aperture
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Legend to First-Sketch of Diffusion Box
1. Nickel-plated iron wall of diffusion box
2. Four nickel-plated copper partitions
3. Wire-cloth diaphragm, about 60 by 150 by 600 mm, so-called "rectifier"
4. Wire-cloth diaphragm, about 60 by 150 by 600 mm
5. Water-cooled wall, 150 C
6. UF6 kept in tube sealed at one end.'-At line 14 on the sketch, the tube
is turned about 900. Gas entry temperature: 1504 C
7. Heat-insulating coat
8. Coat with heating coils
9. Four gas-intake openings, each with tube as shown under No. 6
10. Heating agents
11. Suction of exhaust vapor
12. Suction of drops dropping down the cooling wall
13. Lid
a. Soft-soldered part
b. Hard-soldered part
14. See No. 6.
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10
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Legend to Corrected Version
The right side and the lid were the same as shown in previous sketch.
This sketch shows different subdivisions of the rear wall and a different
suction slot in the cooling ws; .1.
1. Projecting part with notch
2. Suction of vapor
3. Suction of liquid
4. Channels in cooling walls
5. Seals
6. Partition wall elongated by the eetifier diaphragm (Gleichrichter Diaphragm)
as far as the diaphragm
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CORRECTED WSroN of DIFFUSION BOX
SIDE VIEW
I3
I
I I
I I
I
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