Munitions Production at the Skoda Works in Czechoslovakia

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP78-01617A000500110001-0
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: T
• Document Page Count: 12
• Document Creation Date: November 9, 2016
• Document Release Date: July 20, 1998
• Sequence Number: 1
• Publication Date: April 28, 1949
• Content Type: IM

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Document No.
L INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
179 CHANGE in class. n
DECLASTTFI D
:3S. C.IA ' :D TO: TS
DDA trio, Apr 77 28 April 1949
Muth: DMA 7G. 77/176
=1 A
~ Sys
INTELLIGENCE MEMORANDUM NO. 170
SUBJECT: Munitions Production at the Skoda Works in
Czechoslovakia*
1. Current Skoda Production (See also A pendix A.)
Current munitions production of the Skoda Works is confined
to the following principal types: (a) tanks and armored vehicles;
(b) artillery and mortars; and (c) artillery ammunition and ex-
plosive devices.
No quantity production of new tanks and armored vehicles, and
only very limited production of new artillery and mortars have
been undertaken by the Skoda Works since the end of World War II.
The principal activity in these types of production has been the
repair and modernization of existing tanks, vehicles, and guns;
Note: This report has not been coordinated with the intelligence
organizations of the Departments of State, Army, Navy,
and the Air Force. Appendix A and B were prepared by
the Intelligence Division, General Staff, US Army.
Skoda Works, as such, no longer exists as a combine in Czecho-
slovakia. As a result of nationalization, which was followed by a
series of reorganizations in the Ministry of Industry, the various
subsidiaries of large concerns, such as Skoda,were placed under
appropriate branches of the. Ministry of Industry for administra-
tion and operation.
In considering Skoda Munitions production, it should be borne in
mind that Skoda represents only a segment (approximately one-
third) of the total munitions production industry in Czechoslovakia.
However, the statements and estimates pertaining to the dependence
of Skoda on Swedish iron apply equally to the remainder of the Czech
munitions industry.
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and development and testing of new weapons. Current new pro-
duction consists principally of 210 mm guns for the Soviet Army
at a reported continuing rate of 20 guns every six months. The
reported 1949 program, however, calls for the pr&?luction of 1250
artillery pieces of 75, 105, 152, and 210 mm caliber.
Ammunition production by the Skoda Works in the 12 months
ending in February 1949 totalled 582,000 rounds varying from 37
to 300 mm caliber. Orders on hand from the Czech Army indi-
cate that ammunition production is steadily increasing. Skoda
is also engaged in developing new type land mines and hand gre-
nades.
20 Capacity and Production Limitations (See also Appandix B.)
Skoda's munitions production program for 1949 is not notably
above its normal peacetime level. Since ,Vorld War II and up to
the present time, Skoda's estimated annual wartime capacity of
840 large-caliber tank guns and 2,400 various artillery pieces
has been utilized to only a very minor degree. Even the program
for 1949, which calls for production of 1,250 artillery pieces, will
utilize little more than one-third of wartime capacity.
Most recent information on the Skoda concern indicates that a
speed-up in the reestablishment and reconstruction of armaments
facilities has been ordered. In view of the present heavy-industry
commitments of the company, it is felt that unless the international
situation compels complete conversion to war production, it will
not be possible to restrict to any further degree present non-
military production.
Principal factors limiting production of munitions at the pre-
sent time are: (a) Soviet demands on Skoda for heavy industrial
production; (b) shortage of certain types of materials; (c) some
dislocation of the industry resulting from transfer between plants
of armaments manufacturing equipment; and (d) inability of Czech
planners to make a final decision on the types to be manufactured.
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Shortages of iron and steel do not appear to have impeded arms
production to any serious extent up to the present time, as steel
apparently can be diverted from industrial production under the
priority now given to the defense industry. In the forthcoming
expansion of artillery production, it is expected that shortages
of high-grade steel will become increasingly serious.
3. Dependence of Skoda on Swedish Iron (See also Appendix C.)
Czechoslovakia imports a large amount of high-grade Swedish
iron ore which is blended with the tow-grace uzech ore. The
Skoda munitions plants use an insignificant amount of the raw
Swedish ore; most of this ore is first processed at Czech
steel mills and reaches the Skoda Works in the various forms
of semi-finished or cast products. All semi-finished and cast
products contain approximately 50 percent of metal originating
from Swedish iron ore. Thus, Skoda munitions plants are de-
pendant indirectly upon the imports of Swedish iron ore and
production of these plants would be seriously curtailed if
Swedish iron ore shipments to Czechoslovakia were stopped.
Furthermore, if the supply of Swedish ore were cut off, pro-
duction of Czech heavy industry would come to almost a stand-
still. If operations were to be resumed, radical changes would
have to be made in blast furnace equipment, and such a change-
over would take an estimated two years.
4. Dependence of Swedish Iron Industry on Polish Coal (See
also .Appendix D.)
The Swedish iron industry is now dependent on Polish coal
and coke to only a minor degree. Metallurgical coke is essential
to the Swedish iron and steel industry. Although Sweden is im-
porting some metallurgical coke from Poland, her requirements
could be met from other sources. Most Swedish steel production
utilize3 electrically-fired furnaces, and the electricity is derived
principally from waterpower. Thus, while the Czech munitions
industry would be crippled seriously without Swedish iron ore,
the iron industry of Sweden would not be curtailed notably by
the loss of Polish coal and coke.
ls~s~er~
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APB Y NT)I A
SKODA P ODU~CTION
Current munitions production of the Skoda concern As confined
to the following principal types: ga.) tanks and armored vehicles;
(b) artillery and mortars; and (c); artillery ammunition and explo-
sive devices. A detailed description of each type of production is
presented below:
ao Tanks and Armored Vehicles:
The Skoda Works has not t;dertaken quantity production of
any new tanks or armored vehicli= s since the end of World N'Var 11,
The limited activities of the Sk - concern in this field appear to
be confined to the Pilsen plant. Current production in the armored
vehicle field consists of repair or modification of Gera and Soviet
tank's and the assembly of tank destroyers and half trace using parts
accumulated during the .r and -Men from derelict vehicles left in
Czechoslovakia by the Germans. Currently the plant Is developing
plans for a new Czech medium ta:tak In cooperation with Ceskomorav sl: a
IKblben Danek. The follow, ng protects are reported underway:
(1) anger ae ea? Ceraet 13 (German k Destroyers, equip ped
with 75 mm s : 150 or more of these Weapons, which were one
Skoda's principal wartime products, have been shipped to Switzerland
for the Swiss Army. About 100 were prepared for the Czech Army in
1947-1948. Another 150 are reported being prepared for shipment to
Israel. Complete equipment for assembly of the weapon is said to
remain at Pilsen with a capacity for five tank destroyers daily (peak
wartime production was 140 monthly). Current rate of repair and
assembly of these pieces is about three to four a week, or fifteen
monthly.
(2) Modernization of T-34 Tanks: Eight old Soviet T-34 tanks
were at the plant in 1948 undergoing modernization, probably for the
Czech Army. It was planned that a totem of 100 T-34 tanks would be
reequipped according to following specifications; Engines - 240 HP,
Weight - 45 tons, one half armed with 105 mm guns and the other half
with 150 mm guns.
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(3) I,iI, gh (i ton) 'Ranks: It was reported In 1948 that Skoda-
Pilsen would prepare seventy light tanks equipped with 88 mm guns,
fifty for the Czech Army and twenty for Yugoslavia. It is not known
whether these tanks were new or modified old types, but the Yugoslav
portion of the order Is believed to have been cancelled.
(4) Half-track Personnel Carriers: Approximately fifty of
these vehicles were being rehabilitated weekly in February 1949,
mainly for the Czech Army. The rate of production is believed to
be only temporary and is the result of a drive to bring in all. avaii-
able vehicles of this type from collection points throughout the
country to be used for supply of parts for newly assembled vehicles..
(5) Repair of 'lank Engines for Soviet Zone of Germany: Old
tank engines on hand at the Skoda plant are being repairer rapid
rate by a section of the works employing 200 workers and working
two shifts daily. These are stored until a considerable number bave
been collected and then shipped to the Soviet Zone of Germany.
(6) Development of New Tank Engine: Manufacture of tanks
in Czechoslovakia is believed to be -held p for lack of a satisfactory
tank engine. Skoda engineers are reported to be conducting experi-
ments with an air-cooled, Diesel engine to be employed in a new
medium tank. The engine is said to consist of two flat 8-cylinder motor
.blocks (total 16 cylinders) mounted one on top of the other in a hori-
zontal position. The engine power is to be 700 horsepower without
blowers and 1,000 horsepower with blowers. In this respect, three
US Sherman tanks are being used for testing the new engines. It is
not believed that final plans for the new medium tank will be com-
pleted before the end of 1949, and production appears to be several
years off.
(7) Manufacture of Tank Tracks for Soviet Army: An urgent
order from the Soviet Army for 40,000 tanE -tra has recently been
completed, using manganese steel furnished by the Soviets.
by Artillery and Mortars:
There has been little manufacture of new artillery weapons in
the various Skoda plants since the end of World War Ile However, in
the field of testing weapons, developing prototypes, and repairing
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existing weapons, many reports indicate that the Skoda Works have
been very active. The following tabulation lists all weapons which
have been reported hg the developmental or testing stages:
35mmAA 85 mm AA
40 mm AA 103 mm Mortar
45 mm AT 100 mm gun
75 mm AA 150 mm railroad gun
83 mm AA 210 mm railroad and wheeled mounts
The calibers of weapons on order or in production at the
Skoda "Works are as 'follows:
37 mm 120 mm Mortar
75 mm 152 mm
82 mm Mortar 210 nim
105 MM
The principal current activity is the manufacture for the
Soviet Army of 210 mm guns for mounting on railroad carriage or
wheeled mounts. Approximately fifty of these had been completed
up to the end of 1948, and production is reported to be continuing at
the rite of twenty every six months, Guns and ammunition for them
are both produced at the Skoda-Pilsen plant. In addition to new pro-
duction, and the development of prototypes of weapons listed above,
the Pilsen plant has been engaged in repair of German weapons of
which approximately 800 were overhauled in 1948, including 200
88 mm AA,AT guns.
A highly reliable source has reported that scheduled Skoda
artillery production in 1949 under the first year of the Communist
Five x'ear Plan calls for 1,250 artillery pieces, including 420 75 min
pieces,,285 105 mm pieces, 480 152 mm pieces, and 60 210 mm pieces..
It is believed that all weapons, with the exception of the 210 mm pieces,
will be produced at the Dubnicaykoda plant which is being prepared
for large-scale artillery production. In addition, the Skoda concern
is scheduled to repair about 700 German 88 mm 'and 105 mm pieces
in 19490
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,c. Ammunition and Explosive Devices:
The following types and quantities of artillery and mortar
ammunition were reportedly manufactured by the Skoda Works in
the 12 months ending in February 1949:
37 mm
75 mm
76 mm
82 mm Mortar
88 inm
105 mm
120 mm Mortar
122 mm
150 mm
152 mm,
210 mm
300 mm
30,000 rounds
230,004 rounds
138,018 rounds
23,400 rounds
on order
on order
117,000 rounds
12,000 rounds
22,434 rounds
10,000 rounds
740 rounds
experimental
The bulk of the 582,000 rounds listed was produced at the
Adamov Skoda plant which is the principal Skoda ammunition facility,.
Orders on hand from the. Czech Army indicate that ammunition pro-
duction is steadily increasing. The manufacture of a large quantity
of 210 mm ammunition - to accompany the Soviet order for 210 mm
guns - is presently under consideration and actual manufacture may
already have been scheduled. The Soviets have been testing a 210 mm
shell with an electrical fuze of an unknown type (possibly a proximity
fuze) at Hlboke in Slovakia. The Adamov plant is planning to produce
various calibers of shells using this fuze. In addition, the Skoda plant
at Pilsen is reported developing new type land mines and hand grenade'.
The ammunition and explosive devices are filled at the Zlegleruv Dul
shell filling plant,
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Some dislocation of the irtdu try has been apparent owing to the
transfer of the armaments mawdacturing equipment from the P l sere
works to the Adamov and Dubnica plants to the east. This move leas
been planned for some years to remove these vital facilities from
their exposed position on Czechoslovakia's western border area to
less vulnerable portions of Slovakia close to the Soviet ' iorw, The
move was initially scheduled for completion by the end of 1948 but
has been delayed by the difficulties encountered in the reconstructlcl:
of the Dubnica plant which was heavily damaged during the war. M.
present, approximately 80 percent of the equipment has been .oved.:
It has been reported that in order to get the 1949 program underway
the Pilsen plant Is preparing to drill the gun tubes and ship then ,i to
Dubnica and Adamov for finishing and assembly.
Another factor which has served to restrict arms production has
been the inability of Czech planners to make a final decision on the
types to be manufactured. Prier to the Communist seizure of power,'
one group believed that future arms production should continue to be
of Czech type weapons, while another believed that conversion to So1et
types of weapons should be made in view of the Increasing ties between
Czechoslovakia and the Soviet Union. Although no specific information
is available on the subject at present, it is believed that current plans.
of the armaments industry call for conversion to some types of Soviet
weapons and that such conversion could take place fairly rapidly at
any, time after 1 June 1949
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APPENDIX C
DEPENDENCE OF SKODA ON SWEDISH IRON
The Skoda plants use an insignificant amount of Swedish iron
ore. There are some blast furnaces. in the industry which use
Swedish ore directly, but most of the Swedish ore is first pro-
cessed at Czech steel plants (Vitkovice, United, Poldina, Trinec,
etc.) and the Skoda factories receive it in various forms of semi-
finished or cast products.
For years, the Czech iron and steel industry has imported
large quantities of Swedish iron ore, and the Czech blast furnaces
were specially designed and constructed to use the high-grade
Swedish ore blended with the low-grade ore mined in Czechoslo-
vakia. If the supply of Swedish ore were cut off, production of
Czech heavy industry would come almost to a standstill. Resump-
tion of operations would require about two years.
Requirements of the Czech steel industry for iron ore in metric
tons for the years 1948 and 1949 follow:
Source 1948 1949
Czech mined iron ore c 32% Fe
content) 1,425,000
Swedish iron ore (@ 60% Fe content) 1,025,000
Soviet iron ore (@ 48% Fe content) 400,000
1,500,000 (estimated)
885,000
800,000
Total Czech iron ore requirements: 2,850,000 3,185,000 (estimated)
In the negotiations preceding the formal signing of the 1949
Swedish-Czecho Trade Agreement, Czechoslovakia attempted to
increase the amount of Swedish ore imported to 1,300,000 metric
tons, but the Swedes offered initially only 670,000 metric tons.
When the final agreement was signed on 1 February 1949, valid
until 31 January 1950, the amount of high-grade Swedish ore agreed
upon was 885,000 metric tons. In partial compensation for the
reduction in the amount of Swedish ore, the USSR plans to export
800,000 metric tons of iron ore to Czechoslovakia in 1949, exactly
twice the amount shipped in 1948.
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The proportion of the total Czech semi-finished steel pro-
duction used by the Skoda plants in 1948 is not known. How-
ever, iron ore actually supplied by Sweden (figures based on
metal content of the ore) approximated fifty percent of all the
pig produced in Czechoslovakia last year, even though total
tonnage of ore shipped amounted to only thirty-six percent of
total tonnage needs. Therefore, all the semi-finished and cast
products used by Skoda munitions plants in 1948 also contained
fifty percent metal originating from Swedish ore. Thus, if
Swedish iron ore shipments to Czechoslovakia were stopped,
the munitions industry production, like that of all Czech heavy
industry, would be seriously curtailed, and production at the
normal rate could not be resumed until the blast furnaces were
modified to use the lower grade ore available domestically and
from the USSR.
Czech industrial planners, aware of the possibility that the
supply of Swedish ore might be reduced in the coming years,
formulated plans during 1947-48 to construct blast furnaces
in Slovakia, close to the iron mines, to utilize the low-grade
Czech ores. They hope, eventually, to supply fifty percent of
their total ore requirements from domestic sources and to
supplement their needs with Soviet ore. Little progress has
been made in realizing these plans.
At the present time, Czechoslovakia is still greatly depen-
dent upon imports of iron ore from Sweden to maintain heavy
industry at its present capacity.
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APPENDIX D
DEPENDENCE OF THE SWEDISI' IF.ON INDUSTRY ON POLISH COAL
Estimated requirements of metallurgical coke for the Swedish
iron Industry in 1948 were 500,000 metric tons. Only 185,000
metric tons of coke were imported from Poland in 1948. (A total
of 1,608,000 metric tons of coke were imported in 1948 of which
nearly one million tons came from the Ruhr anti Belgium; in
1949 Sweden expects to receive one million tons from the Bizone
alone.)
Requirements of the Swedish iron industry for solid fuels other
than metallurgical coke (and domestically produced charcoal) are
not significant; in the production of steel, electric furnaces are
largely used, and electricity is derived primarily from water
power.
In the future, the Swedish iron industry expects to use a some-
what greater proportion of metallurgical coke, and less of charcoal,
than is now the case.
It is concluded that the Swedish iron industry is currently de-
pendent on Polish coal and coke to only a minor degree.
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