INDUCTION INTO THE SOVIET ARMY/ ISSUE OF CLOTHES AND EQUIPMENT/FIELD TRAINING AND PRACTICES

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP82-00047R000400670002-1
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: C
• Document Page Count: 4
• Document Creation Date: December 27, 2016
• Document Release Date: May 13, 2013
• Sequence Number: 2
• Publication Date: August 26, 1954
• Content Type: REPORT

ml~ Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release @ 50-Yr2013/05/14 : CIA-RDP82-00047R000400670002-1 CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY INFORMATION REPORT COUNTRY fl"USSR PLACE ACQUIRED DATE AC.QU I RED Induction into the Soviet Amy/ issue of Clothes and X guipma t/ ieL1 airing and Practices THIS DOCUMENT CONTAINS INFORMATION AFFECTING THE NATIONAL DEF[MBE OF THE UNITED STATEN, NITNIN THE MEANING OF TITLE It, 11111*11 701 AND 7D4 D! THE V.E. CO DC. AN AMENDED. ITS TRAN[MIEEION ON REAM. LOTION Of ITS COMTENTE TO ON R[C[IfT BY AM VMAU TNODIEED R[RBOH 11 PROHIBITED BY Lou, THE REPRODUCTION Of THIS FORM It PROMI NOTED. 50X1 50X1 50X1 50X1 50X1 50X1 50X1 50X1 50X1 50X1 50X1 50X1 DATE DISTR. ~6 Aug 1954 NO. OF PAGES 1 50X1 50X1 NO. OF ENCLS. (LISTED BELOW) SUPPLEMENT TO REPORT NO. THIS IS UNEVALUATED INFORMATION The Vo ncomat notifies eanl.j pie citizen on his 18th hirthdey to appear before it the foollo spring or fall draft, for examination and induc- tllean into the Ar ` d r a f t v.-L" i P reported to the Voyencoa ,t and underwent s, one-day examlri.ation before a cox .scion. consist- ing of a few + uors, p, t:>~, : ia;al advisors, and military ;kp ecialiat s a After the physical and political! ,fix&:IEation.s, the military specialists assigned the candidates to the varic,mg branches of the ill-tarp and indicated the dates on which they were t c, report for duty G The inductee surrendered (withouat receipt) all of his personal papers, including passport and birth certificate, at E his time, and received a railroad ticket and convoy per- mit, to the point of his ssisx ; ent given su i c i ;^e o~^ U. d for duty at the military school, in Odessa -L al medical examination., 0hair Clipped, and was issued clothing after submitting, to a general disinfection ecei?ved a set of lone-sleeved cotton derclothes, one green M: irv a (d one pair of green pants, t o, pieces of cotton cloth for wrapping feet in place of socks, a pair of boots vast::: ta. trher soles and ersatz leggings, a leather belt, a gar, wko tips a <~ ;'_ hel. ,mt, a drawstring; duck pack, two d ck c 1 I ge belts with, 100 b'a: e Us i a heavy woolen topcoat, and an Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release @ 50-Yr2013/05/14 : CIA-RDP82-00047R000400670002-1  Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release a 50-Yr2013/05/14 : CIA-RDP82-00047R000400670002-1 army kettle. (At the time of induction, one very seldom received the correct 50X1 - clothing size. Later on, after) assignment to a camp, the master sergeant 50X1 50X1 50X1 50X1' 50X1 30 clothing fit.) Each soldier carried in his pocket a capsule which contained a paper giving his name and home address. A soldier is required to take good care of his clothing and to make minor repairs'. The green uniforms were issued in alternate yee s, the heavy over- coat once during military service, shoes once a year. Sheets are laundered and changed twice a month, underwear laundered anal changed once a week. A soldier is also issued two metal containers, filled respectively with oil for oiling hip, rifle and a chemical for removing rust, and received periodic supplies for these containers. A Soviet soldier knows from his daily experience which grasses, berries, roots, mushrooms are edible and this knowledge is utilized in some of his field training. During certain summer maneuvers, special three-day.rations are issued. This package contains two lbs of dry bread, two i-lb packages of grits, 100 grams of sugar (not well packaged), two lbs of dried fish or sardines, two lbs of soup concentrate and one lb of canned beef. Soldiers are usually fed, however, from field kitchens while on maneuver. Since a Soviet soldier receives no pay, he is given each month a certain amount of pocket money, ranging from 8.5 rubles to 24-rubles for a sergeant. Some- times tobacco is :distributed in varying am ounts according to the soldier's rank. No special suer clothing is issued during. parachute training. An es- pecially warm coat with fur collar or hood was used during the winter. Some of these costs were f =-lined, others cotton-lined. Quilted trousers with cotton inner linings were worn over the standard -issue green uniform. Parkas with fur ear laps and (chin straps were also used. A parachutist was issued a single-lade knife: similar to a US hunting knife and usually a tommy-gran. Officers were given Tokaryevti Tulski (TT) pistols. The soldier who was responsible for the machine gun assigned to the unit was given a `TT pistol for his protection.. Regular army boots were worn by parachu- tists, but a special type of woolen footwear, called valenki, was worn during the coldest weather. The insignia of the paratroop corps was the crossed wings and propellers and paratroop officers wore parachute insignia on the left-. sleeve. Two types of parachutes were used In. training and actual jump operations. They will be identified hereafter by.-their code letters, PD6 and PD?+l. FD6 has the following charaeteristicsm It is a round, white silk para- chute with a hole in the ccenter, about 61 square meters, with a pull cord and draw parachute. Other features are similar to those of the parachutes used by the Army. The hanging system is also similar to that found in UJS parachutes . As an emergency measure during World War II when silk was unaYailabl , FD I. was made of percale and strengthened by strips of the Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release @ 50-Yr2013/05/14 : CIA-RDP82-00047R000400670002-1  Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release @ 50-Yr2013/05/14 : CIA-RDP82-00047R000400670002-1 JV/\ 1 same material. It was a four-angled parachute of approximately 70 square meters with one angle much larger than any other. The parachute was so de- signed for direction purposes. The parachutist faced the biggest angle and was blown in. that direction. The PD41 was equipped with a pull cord for the parachutist to manipulate. In addition the PD4+1 had at its. outside . center a short cord tied to a 7 - 10 meter rope with metal hook attached This device was used as the parachutist left. the plane, the body weight breaking the short cord and causing the parachute to open. Little stress was placed on cooking in the field. Reserve rations of,soup concentrate, grits,, and meat were supplied and the soldiers, did their own cooking over the fire, Sometimes -during. very-bad weather, mobile kitchens were in operation. Drinking water was taken usually from wells and streams in the maneuver area. Occasionally water was treated. chemically for drink- ing purposes. During battle positions, field kitchens dad issue drinking water. Bedding-down in the field was nothing mor?.e .than lying.down on the ground. In. very cold areas, the soldiers collected pine needles and bran- ches for bedding-down purposes. Each soldier was supplied with a triangular piece of heavy green canvas which could be used for waver or, when matched 50X1 with another, as a tent. the .supply division of each army go, its supplies from a central depot, or directly from the. factories 50X1 and thereafter distributed them to the corpa, division, regiment and . battalion levels. Each regiment had a special supply officer with a finance officer and accountant under him. Each battalion-had a supply platoon aid the cognizant officer was accountable to the regimental supply officer. Norms were established for the nu ber of months a pair of shoes must be worn, for exanale, and.thus furnish a way of checking on. supplies... Usually when new uniforms or supplies were issued, the old ones. were turned in. Checks were also made when inventories were taken twice a year. Concerning major repair4,. the soldier reported to the master sergeant. and through him to the 50X1 supply platoon officer and. regiment supply officer. Repairs were usually made at this level, if not at the d vision repair shop... the exi.sten<.,e of national eer eteries in the USSR. Burial prof: edures are the simplest in the USSR. Usually when a soldier is killed, one of his friends removes the identification. capsule, and all letters and personal papers . before burying him. on.the battlefield . The person who buries the soldier is responsible for notifying either the master sergeant, or the ecampany~ commander and for turning over all. docu- ments belonging to.the deceased. The company commander in turn sends all such company information and documents to the regimental officer who is responsible for notifying the next of kin but usually does not do it. In addition, each division has a special burial unit which is pressed. into service during heavy fighting.. The unit collects the bodies of the dead and buries them in mass graves, after removing all identification. Graves are not usually marked., If an officer is killed however, his grave may sometimes be, marked by a .re N plywood. sta.r e not aware of CCNFIIDEN?IAL Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release @ 50-Yr2013/05/14 : CIA-RDP82-00047R000400670002-1  Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release @ 50-Yr2013/05/14 : CIA-RDP82-00047ROO0400670002-1 CONFIDENTIA.L 50X1 50X1 50X1 50X1 50X1 9? 50X1 50X1 50X1 50X1 50X1 50X1 50X1 xzo. first aid equipment other than a tourniquet.. There. is a medic or ean.itar attached to each c.oupany. . He has a few aspirins and medi- cine in his kit and is..a bit better prepared to care for casualties requir- ing first aid .=did not, see any. medical personnel in combat wearing Red Cross bra;sards. Red Cross . signs axe prominently displayed, however,, on the tops of ambulances. There were only three types of airplanes used - TB3, TB7, and ps8k. The TB3 and 1B7 are four-motor transports.end?each one can accommodate about 40 paratroopers. the load capacity of the heaviest type of equipment transported in these planes was the unassembled cannon. or machine gym with ammunition. This was packed in a cotton sack and the various parts were intersticed with layers of protective cotton. Load, parachutes were attached. to-the sacks.. the weight of. such a sack to be about 500 kilograms. Food and a zunition was also transported in this manner. The P884+ is a two-motor transport patterned after a. Douglas passenger plane. It is lighter and can accommodate 20 paratroopers plus their, equipment. 'Each paratrooper carried a week's supply of food,., ammux4tion, weapons, and a change of underwear.=did not use gliders at any t ime . . The Air..Force was; responsible for dropping heav equipment,. .the heaviest equipment .~dropped..were the sacks con a ning unassembled cannon.. Sometimes when it was snowing heavily, this equipment or food packages could be dropped without parachutes, and with- stand the?fact with.the snow-covered earth. There were.no,equipment kits dropped with the paratroops. The only supplies of this kind were carried by the individual.p atrooper. and are given in .paragraph 9. Horses are used to pull 45 millimeter and 76 millimeter cannon in combat and. to transport food and supplies. from division to regiment, and from regiment to battalion. Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release @ 50-Yr2013/05/14 : CIA-RDP82-00047ROO0400670002-1