AUTOMOTIVE MANUFACTURING AND REPAIR PLANT AT GODOLLO

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80T00246A046100250001-2
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 11
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: June 25, 2010
• Sequence Number: 1
• Publication Date: December 19, 1958
• Content Type: REPORT

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REPORT I-NFORMATION . .
C 'NThA , INTTEE=GENCE AGENCY
This material contains information affecting the National Defense of the United States within the meaning 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.
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COUNTRY Hungary
SUBJECT Automotive Manufacturing and Repair
Plant at G3d8ll3
DATE OF
INFO.
PLACE &
DATE ACQ
REPORT
DATE DISTR. 19 DEC 1958
NO. PAGES 5
REFERENCES RD
1. The G8d8118 Automotive Manufacturing and Repair Plant is located in the a
Budapest-Miskolc railroad line, about 26 kilometers from Budapest, and on
the Isaszeg-G8d3l18 highway, five kilometers from Isaszeg and six kilometers
from GSd8115. It is situated in what was f oriaerly the royal pine forest.
The plant was built in 1954. Before the October 1956 revolution it was
guarded by about 150 members of the Factory Militia (Munkas Orseg) under
the coulmand of one Jozsef Safran, a nephew of the former Hungarian Minister
of Defense, Istvan Bata. The Militia barracks were located in so:ae woods
about 100 meters from the plant.
2. Before the October 1956 revoluTic_-_, Soviet T-34 tanks which were damaged
in World War II were brought to the plant for reconstruction. In addition,
prime movers of the type 800 G were manufactured. These are fully-tracked
vehicles with stick steering and an eight-cylinder 260 horsepower diese
engine. They can carry a load of seven metric tons and pull a load of
30 metric tons. They are capable of towing tanks. The vehicles have ;
torsion axles (see Attachment No. 2) which at the same time provide the
suspension. The axles are made of spring steel. The axles' angle of
inclination without load is 45?; with load it is 52? (see Attachment 1o. 3).
The new J-55 tank is to have this type of suspension also. The 800 G prime
mover has a top speed of 60 kilometers per hour. Its construction cost is
320,000 forints.
3. In the reconstruction of T-34 tanks at G8d8ll8 only the original armored
body was retained; all other components were replaced by rpw ones. The
engine blocks were procured from the Skoda plant at Prague. The cost of
reconstructing a tank amounted to about two million forints. Upon completion,
the tanks were provided with Hungarian army markings. The tool chests,
however, were labelled in Russian. Various GSd8118 workers reported that
they had seen the reconstructed tanks loaded on cars at the Hungarian-Soviet
border, and it was generally understood that the tanks and prime movers were
all intended for delivery to the USSR.
4. Every month 15 to 20 T-34 tanks were repaired and 30 to 40 prime movers were
manufactured. The manager of the plant before the October 1956 revolution
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was Mihaly K-pornai. He was believed to have attended a Party school
in Moscow.
5. The plant was divided into four sections:
a. Technical Section: The chief of this section was a lathe operator
from Csepel named Nemet (fnu), who was strictly a political appointee.
This section supervised the planning office, the production office,
and the technical testing office. The latter consisted of four engineers,
seven technicians, and six draftsmen.
b. Material Purchasing and Sales Section: This section was concerned
with the distribution of the plant's finished vehicles and the procurement
of raw materials. The plant manager supervised the work of this section
on the basis of directives from the Ministry of Defense. Twelve
employees worked in this section.
c. Fiscal Section and Payroll Office: This section, which employed about
25 persons, was in regular contact with the Hungarian National Bank
in Budapest.
d. Personnel Section: Chief of this section was Gyula Pernis, Communist
Party Secretary of the plant. He worked in close cooperation with the
AVH officers connected with the plant. One of these was Istvan Toth.
6. The following is the key to attached sketch (Attachment No. 1) of the
plant:
A. Control building. This contained two checking rooms, one for men and
one for women, where all personnel leaving the plant area wero searched.
B. Kitchen, dining hall, recreation room, and offices of the DISZ organization.
About 500 persons were fed in this building.
C. Paint shop. Here tanks and prime movers were first sprayed with an
undercoating (Minium) and then with grey-green paint. All painting was
done with spray guns. From 30 to 35 men were employed; chief of the
shop was Gabor Tihanyi.
D. Shop containing forget with hydraulic hammers and welding and chroming
apparatus. Welding was done electrically and with oxygen. Some 160 to
180 men were employed.
E. Warehouse: Here were stored the parts and materials delivered by
outside suppliers. An acceptance office tested the incoming material
for quality. The i olstery shop was also located in this building.
Belting and tool thels were manufactured here as well. About 100
men were employed in this building.
F. Administration building: On the ground floor were the purchasing and
procurement of fio"p . the b,_uliing custodian, the documentation office,
the labor union be"quarters., and the anti-sabotage section. On the
second floor..1re the payroll office, the finance office, a conference
room, the oft`ices of the manager and the chief engineer, the technical
section, the Party headquarters, and the calculating office. About 140
employees worked in this building.
G. This building, which bore the name "Mechanika,"' was the main building
where the prime movers were manufactured and the tanks reconstructed.
About 250 men vorlmad `here.
H. Assembly shop, `16 meters high, with a glass rrxf and ultra-modern
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equipment, including one four-ton and one seven-ton travelling crane.
The tanks and prir.,e ;.rovers were asseubled here and had their engines
tested. A brake-testing stand was also in this building. In the
cellar was the central plant for the entire __e tory; 300 (sic)
workers were eciployed in the heating plant.
J. Watch towers, three meters high, manned by the Factory Militia in
eight-hour shifts in the suiLmer and four-hour shifts in the winter. The
plant was surrounded by 35 to 40 towers.
K. Railroad barrier guardhouse
L. Barriers guarded by the Factory Militia
M. Poultry farm belonging to the Ministry of Agriculture
N. Large cement basin in which the water-tightness of the tanks w:.s tested.
The water reached over the top of the turret.
7. Description of Building H and the key to the sketch (Attachment No.4) of the
building's layout:
(1). Here the various parts of the Model 'O0 G prime mover were put together
on an assembly line basis. The room was eight to ten meters high, had a
glass roof and glass windows. The machinery, which was mostly new,
was of E_.3t German manufacture and consisted of the following:
65 lathes, 500 - 2,000 mm.
54 "Pitler" lathes
35 turret lathes
5 grinding machines
11 lathes with horizontal face plates
12 "Shaping" lathes
12 vertical gear cutting machines
5 milling machines
(2). Administrative office employing 18 employees
(3). Admirrsrrative office, including office of the ;Tanager of shop 15 (below)
(4), Sharpening shop for the lathe and milling machine blades, employing
6 - 8 workers
(5) Sharpening shop: only for the tools of shop 1 (above)
(6) Technical control office (Mflszaki Ellen8rz5 Osz!- r) for the testing
of finished products. Tests were conducted at various times during the
manufacturing process also. The office contained magnetizing and de-
magnetizing apparatus for the testing of torsion axles. Twenty to 25
employees were occupied with these activities.
(7) Another testing office; for the examination of products of shop 15 and
for the testing of the main axles of the T-34 tanks.
(8) Two-ton travelling crane which carried heavy parts from one machine to
another; operated by one man.
(9) Three-ton travelling crane; operated by one man.
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(10) Articles which had been tested in office 7 were loaded on cars here for
transportation into the plant.
(11) Same as above, for testing office 6.
(12) Office of Istvan Borso, chief of shop 1 (above). Borso, a Party member
and graduate of a Party school, was formerly a worker in the Jaszbereny
Machinery Factory.
(13) Office of Vince Urban, chief of shop 15 (below).
(14) Main entrance. The first door is of iron; the second leads to shop 15.
(15) Here the components of the-34 tank were mynufactured. The shop contained:
52 lathes, 1,500 - 2,000 mn.
21 turret lathes
6 lathes with horizontal face plates
8 radiator drilling machines
14 "Pitler" lathes
8. Description of Building G and the key to the sketch (Attachment No. 5) of the
building's layout:
(1) Assembly shop for Model 800 G prime movers.
(2) Engine testing shop, employing eight workers.
(3) Assembly testing station. Here four mechanics made a final check of the
prime movers.
(4) Travelling crane with a four-ton capacity.
(5) Office of the chief of the assembly shop, Laszlo Szabo, who served as
an engineer in the Hungarian array before coming to G8d8ll8.
(6) Assembly shop for the T-34 tanks.
(7) Seven-ton crane.
(3) T-34 engine testing shop.
(9) Final checking station for the T-34 tank, employing four to five persons.
(10) Exit from which the prime movers travelled under their own power to the
paint shop.
(11) Exit from which the tanks travelled under their own power to the paint
shop*
9. Description of Building D and the key to the building's layout (Attachment No. 6):
(1) Chromium plating shop.
(2) Riveting shop, where the vehicle bodies were riveted by means of compressed
air hammers.
(3) Riveting shop where T-34 tank parts were riveted.
(4) Electric welding shop.
(5) Here the round iron was cut into lengths.
(6) Oxygen welding shop.
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(7)
(8)
Shop containing hydraulic hammers and forges. This installation was
very modern and well-ventilated.
Work record office of the heating plant.
(9) Office of the heating plant.
(10) East German hydraulic hammers, two of 10 tons and two of 20 tons.
(11) Forge for the preparation of smaller parts.
(12) Four oil furnaces.
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