VEB KABELWERK OBERSPREE (KWO) PRODUCTION AND PERSONNEL

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80-00810A002400420007-2
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 7
• Document Creation Date: December 16, 2016
• Document Release Date: June 22, 2005
• Sequence Number: 7
• Publication Date: September 29, 1953
• Content Type: REPORT

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CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
INFORMATION REPORT
COUNTRY East Germany
SUBJECT VES K.abalwerk Oberspree (WO)
Production and Personnel
25XQATE OF INFO.
As
is
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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29 September 1953
The Kabelwark Obaarapree 00) in situated at Berlin-Obersohoeneweide,
Wi1helminexahcfstraeea 76-77 (Tel, 630010 and 630646). , Up to April 1952, it
was under SAO Kaba1~ it was then handed baa.ok to German management and placed
under VVB IKA,
2. jW=ggj (see plan and key at the end of this report)
KW0 occupies a large mite,, on which are a six-story and a three-story
building and many workshops and halls, The main sections of KWO are
copper works, wire works, heavy current cable works, telegra,ph cable works,
,rubber works, and metal? pressing works.
3. Products of KWO
According to a. KWO pamphlet, the main products of KWO includes
(a) Copper workes Rolled Cu materials round, 0 6.35 -34 rmn.;
square croa+ss,ecticn up to 55 mm, sides;
rectangular pros a-me c t ion, breadth 14-100=,p
smallest width 5 mm. Copper wire to DD
(German industrial standards) 1766, 46431,
46433 9 431,41.
Hot rolled steels wire, 0 14, 12, 10, 8 and,
6 mm.? band, 40-50 nun., wide by 2,5 mm, thick,
and 60 mm. wide by 3.5 mm. thick.
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(b) Wire workes Varnished wire. Copper wires with glass fiber or
other insulation. Switch wire. Installation
leads. X-ray cable. Mining cable. Dredger cable.
(o) Heavy current cable worksa A ?s?kdbol. 3-lead cable, 1-10 KV;
3-coat cables 15-30 KV. Special cables for
potentials to 220 KV; pressure gas cable, 20-60 KV;
oil cable, 30-,220 KV; very high tension DC cable,
up to 220 KV. Mine cable and under-rater cable.
(d) Telegraph cable works% All sorts of cable, including carrier
frequency cable and 32-pair cable for carrier
frequency and radio combined. Hf cable for
receiver or transmitter cable use,
(e) Rubber workee Specialty; acid- and lye- resistant equip-
ment - tanks, filters, centrifuges, metal piping.
Pressed hard and soft rubber parts.
(f) Metal pressing worker Hot die-pressed parts of heavy and
light metals, including steel. Precision
pressed parts for turbines - e.g. complete
pressed turbine blades.
Almost the whole of KWO's production goes directly to the USSRs
a small amount goes indirectly to the USSR. Particular emphasis is placed
at the moment on heavy cables, like mining and dredging cables.
4. Rase ?h and diva.,
(a) Aluminum co rinks. In 1951, KWO received from SAG Kabel
csbe~covering ar a substitute for lead covering.
The task came ultimately from the Russian Chief
Administration for the Cable Industry Qlavkabel.
The task was understood in KWO to reflect the
USSR's shortage of lead. A press was ordered
from the Ernst Thaeltmnn Works, MLgdeburg. This
arrived at the end of 1951. Work proceeded
through 1952, using very pure aluminum (R+einst-
aluminum). The production of cables with
aluminum coverings went wells the reject rate was
very low. At the moment, however, work on the
further development of the use of the press is
at a standstill because no punches are available;
these must be worked from high quality steel.
There is now no hope of getting any. The main
difficulty is in the porosity.
(b) Conti?LC~LS vulgsni~zat~~;~ . Hitherto, cable has been vulcanized
after it has been wound on drums. A process has
been found, however, for the continuous vuloaniza-
tion of cable as it is produced and before it is
wound onto drums. KWO has not at the moment
enough money available to introduce this new
system into its own plant.
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(c) Pe? This is a parmagnetic iron powder from which the
magnetic cores for loading coils can be pressed.
It is a complete substitute for IG Ludwigshafen
carbonyl iron. P was developed on the
orders of SAG Kabel Headquarters,, by ECK Bitter-
field and KWO jointly. It is produced more
cheaply and simply than carbonyl iron, ,a tons
ofe have already been produced and used.
(d) Antenna cable. This cable., developed by KWO9 is now being
produced. for 10....20 ems use. The USSR is
the main customer. The cable is taken over by
Promsyrioimport and its ultimate d ctination
is not intern in KWO. A email quantity also
gs to the Saohe,zawrotrt Radeberg for the
Leningrad TV apparatus. A small alteration in
the manufacture of this cable hae recently
been madsa polyetyrol plates are being used
Inn-toad of trolitul belle. This improves the
l,earibility of the ~)a.bls,
(a) nh aaa,s is not now being
pay ucs , as the oe is nox^m l y no Barr nd for it in
Ee,;et ?,rmaxy? and there are at the mont no Orders
z :and from the USSR.
8. Ths US Rue as ? ? .lk_
3.
(a) The cable industry in t s USSR ham made groat advaancaa wince the war.
NM V machine ehw p a ro npletely mode'r ,aoaw P la: gel r with
American and J-Plait; 0orman tachino Tw'. That the i'i t Wstael,Asch*ro_
liebeno 'later V V3 SITS )l a1tme has MtitipplLsd more th 100 modern
twisti.Ag machi ea (Vereeilm+eechinea) ainos 1946k :era rep&rati,onaf a
large number of these went to the USSR's cable industry.
(b) The standard ~pec,i,fiostloas now applied in the USSR and also applied
by the Russians to 'WW, are lower than those in use before and
during the war, in that th ; ennisaibla safety margins have been
greatly reduosd.
(o) The leaders of Soviet cable firm appear to be very well grounded
in the thsor , of, their subject.
(d) There are cable works in Iscoaa, Lsningrad,g Riibyshev9 Yaroslavl.
Tallin9 and Tbilisi. It is _ clean . however. that there are other
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(e) Research is not oarried on in sections of the factories but
in separate research institutes,, subordinate to Glavkabel,
6. Russian personalities,
(a) Ing. Isaek K. i was Russian Chief Engineer in KWO from 1946-
1949.\
Iniz. Idnts and Malkin (f=) a KWQ from -
(d) Ing. P laa ovskiy (fnu) from Sloe,
19,6-1
(f) The "internationally km awn chemist" Klimenkov was in K WO for a
short tine after the were
(g) One Nikolaev (fnu) an employee of Promsyrioia port, was an
aooeptanoe affio,ial in EWO for a long time up to the end of
1952, He was then replaced by one Smirnov (fnu), a machine
cons aruc'tion engineer.
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(h) Zuet before Ghr,istmas 1952 9 a general and a civilian from USIG
(Administration of Soviet Property in teriany - Headquarters of
all SAQe) visited KWO. They were interested in the possibility
of producing cooling ventilators CXthl-vsntilatoren) for aircraft.
The visitorsy whose names were not learned,, were aware that
during the war KWO had produced such parts for the Heinkel works.
They spoke of 20 cm. ventilators the war-time dimensions an too
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that they were thinking of the possibilities of
procuo 40000050 oms parts. Nothing further has been heard
in KWO of this matter.
7. Complaints from the USSR.
Acceptance tests and inspections in KWO are very severe and,, in 1952,
.KWO received complaints about less than 1% of its wares sent to the USSR.
Even then,, complaints centered around the packing and handling of the
goods rather than their quality. Complaints come back to KWO through
Promeyrioimport or DIA (German, trade organization); the customer in the
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(b) Ing, Polushkin (fnu) was his successor from 1949-1951.
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USSR was thus not disclosed. It is remembered,, however,, that in the second
half of 1952 a complaint about a delivery of Karp
from the Groznyy Petroleum Depot
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Possibly VEB Maschinenfabrik and Eisengieseerei
n VVB ABUS is meant,
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Key to plan of KWO
1, Canteen. Admin. German Soviet Friendship Society rooms
2. Rubber coating section for all heavy cables.
2 a. Lab. of heavy current cable works.
3. EFEM and BEM (NTB-4 and NTB-1 respectively of SAG Kabel - independent
of KWO). KWO electro-technical workshop is in a part of this
building,
4. 3-story wire works, I floors Varseil Abtg. II floors Spinnerei.
III floors Fleckerei.
5. Connecting gallery.
6, 2-story buildings Lab, and test section of wire works.
7. Office of heavy current cable works.
8. Heavy current cable works shops,
9. Entrance No, 2 and check office,
10. Dootorp baths, Trade Union, SED, employment office.
11, Unused connecting gallery,
12. 3-story varnished wire works. Ground floors finished produce store:
despatohp fire brigade. I & Ili thin rubber connecting leads
production, III' varnished wire works and lab.
13. Chemical and metal lab.
14. AFO (Akkumixlatoren141Fabrik Oberspree -nothing to do with KWO) uses
most of this. In other rooms being rebuilt KWO has a store and the
rubber sections oonduct some production work.
15. Ground floors design office, It buying dept. Iii "technical"
admin. (library, postal services, office supplies p norms). Ills load-
ing coil factory. IVs telegraph lab. and experimental workshop.
Vs materials lab* and patents office, Vii apprentices' shop.
The middle pare of this building was burned out during the war.
16. Rubber works. Ground floors Rubber lab. Is raw material store.
II & Ills hard rubber section; rubber pressing. IVs assembly.
V & VI (one flocr)5 tinning section.
17. Villa of the directorate.
18. Garden.
19. Part of rubber works,
20. Boiler house.
21, Pressing and rolling works shops.
22. Gas generating plant.
23, Sheds,
24. ?
25. Former aluminum works. Not functioning. Partly empty and partly
used for stores, repair shops, eto.
26. Garages (7).
27, Former marine cable section, Destroyed in the war. Now partly
rebuilt and used by telegraph cable works,
28. Rolling section and wire-drawing section workshops,
29. Telegraph cable works. IV fl ors training section, Garnituren and
telegraph instrument section (Uber-trager and Verteiler der Telefon-
zentrale), Ills HF cable (Rillenkabel) manufacture. I & Its
Spulerei, Bespinnung, Verseilung.
30. Mechanical workshops.
31. Former loading point for marine cable. Now unused.
32. Drum casing section.
33. Loading point-actually only used occasionally for taking in coal
and drums.
34. Coal loading bridge.
35, Coal dump,
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