MATERIAL SHORTAGES IN THE SOVIET ZONE OF GERMANY

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP81-01028R000100020002-6
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 4
• Document Creation Date: December 16, 2016
• Document Release Date: September 24, 2004
• Sequence Number: 2
• Publication Date: January 15, 1952
• Content Type: REPORT

Approved For Release 2004/12/012 RDP81-01028R000100020002-6
SECRET
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
INFORMATION REPORT
COUNTRY : Germany (Soviet Zone)
SUBJECT : Material Shortages in the
Soviet Zone of Germany 25X1
PLACE
ACQUIRED
DATE
ACQUIRED
25X11.
THIS DOCUMENT CONTAINS INFORMATION AFFECTING THE NATIONAL DEFENSE
OF THE UNITED STATES, WITHIN THE MEANING OF TITLE IS, SECTIONS 799
AND 794, OF THE U.S. CODE, AS AMENDED. ITS TRANSMISSION OR RAVE?
LATION OF ITS CONTENTS TO OR RECEIPT BY AN UNAUTHORIZED PERSON IS
PROHIBITED BY LAW. THE REPRODUCTION OF THIS FORM IS PROHIBITED.
DATE DISTR.)5 JAN 52
NO. OF PAGES 4
NO. OF ENCLS.
(LISTED BELOW)
SUPPLEMENT TO
REPORT NO.
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THIS IS UNEVALUATED INFORMATION
The industrial potential of the Soviet Zone of Germany is
seriously hampered by an inadequate supply of raw materials,,
standard stock items, and finished products.. Machinery and
other equipment is frequently inoperative as a result of
continual usage and improper maintenance. Needed machinery
is often completely lacking as a result of Soviet dismantling
operations, The Soviet practice of purchasing inferior
products for maintenance and repairs in Soviet Zone indus-
trial installations has contributed to the numerous
production breakdowns.
25X1'2, the most critical shortage in the Soviet Zone
is,
that of tubing and pipe. This shortage is due primaril
to the lack of pipe rolling mills in the Zone.
25X1 the Soviets,, when they realized how critical the pipe
shortage had become, returned the pipe rolling machinery to
25X1 Riesa, on the Elbe River, which they had previously dis-
mantled and removed. At present, satisfactory pipe is not
available for delivery to the Leuna Plant. As a substitute,.
Leuna found it necessary to install pipe fabricated from sheet
iron. Manufacture of this pipe entailed rolling sheet irons
approximately five mm thick, into a cylinder and buttwelding
the edges at 11000 C. Pipe manufactured by this method proved
to be unsatisfactory because it could not withstand the
pressures.Jn the high-pressure boilers. Chemical deterio-
ration of the oiler pipes is very rapid because of
insufficient maintenance. High-pressure boiler pipe is usu-
ally made of steels and in some cases, special alloyed steel
is needed because of -the extreme temperatures encountered.
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3. The supply of sheet metal in the Soviet Zone. is grossly inade-
quate, and that which is produced is generally of poor quality.
Where are few sheet metal rolling mills in the Zone, and
25X1 the Soviets are using most" of the output from
25X1 these mills for themselves. The deficiency of steel rolling
mills is so critical that the copper rolling mills at the
Hettstedt copper plant, on the.eastern slope of the Rare
Mountains, were used to roll sheet steel. As a result of this
use, the copper rolling mills were ruined, and the sheet steel
produced was of low quality. The shortage of sheet metal is so
severe at Leuna that In the last two years, four gas tanks have
been erected from scrap metal salvaged from gas tanks which had
been dismantled,
4. Special and alloyed .. steels are unava lable in the Soviet Zone,
and there is h6'p1.Ant in the Zone currently engaged in pro-
ducing such steel. The Soviet Zone of ' Germany is dependent upon
the imporpation of Soviet steel, which, however, does not have
the properties required for plant construction when special steel
is needed. For example, for the reconstruction of the. uuea.and
nitric acid_ ants at Leuuna the Soviets avve provided V-2-A
25X1 steel, ~ However the operation of-"these .._ two plants
will-be impaired the poor gal~.t of soviet steel. k.--steel
mil refit , near Dresden, rah ch + Sias` c?p t l dismantled in
1945, is to be reconstructed by the Soviets. to produce high-
5, Zinc, lead and brass are critical items in the Soviet Zone.
a large amount of lead is' used, in the pro-
25X1 duction of base parts for Soviet railroad cars, and that a great
amount of lead paint is supplied to shipbuilding plants for use
in the painting of accumulators for Soviet submarines. This may
25X1 explain the lead scarcity, although this resource should be
plentiful in the Soviet Zone.
The shortage of machine tools at Leuna is most mute; lathes,
shapers, and rolling machines were removed from the Material
25X1" Testing Department and the main repair sho when the Soviets die
mantled Leuna in 1946.
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The inadequate supply o screws,
Dolts, nuts and nails Is -so serious that the Soviet Zone plans to
manufacture these items. of cast iron rather. than steel.
7. sealing packing and insulating materials will
become __Indteaeing _y scarce in the Soviet Zone, For example,
25X1 gaskets capable of withstanding high pressures and"used for the
25X1 sealin-.11- I. ,.es are scarce, and those available' are of poor
atyb
25X1 the annual damage resulting from the use
of poor packing and sealing materials in the plant amounted to
DM 500 thousand. The Leuna 45-atmosphere boilers, purchased
during World War I and among the first of such boilers produced
in. Gerona
, require 2000 gaskets. The boilers are soon in dis-
repair if the gaskets do not seal welly and the repair of one 5-
atmosphere boiler costs DM 25 thousand.0
The asbestos' from which the packings are made is imported either
from the west or the USSR. Although the Soviets have good gjal-
ity asbestos, an insufficient quantity is Imported to the Soviet
Zone of Germany. The total amount of first quality as )'e ;x,,4,0
imported, which consists of two cm fiber with good sp Y Ling quali-
ties, amounts to 10?20 tons per year and. Is used almost e.-
elusively for Soviet conoumption, Most of it Is a;lon sat, to the
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Kabolwerk Oberasp (cable factory) in the Soviet: sector of Berlin, where
it is used to insulate transforzars which are shipped to the UA. The
sealing materials made of second quality are fair; the asbestos has good
spinning qualities, affil a fiber length of two cm, but is prickly and gaskets
made of it abrade the. pipe. Approximately 60 tons of second quality asbestos
are Imported annually. Second quality asbestos is used primarily for products
which are to be exported. Approximately 3000500 tons of third quality es-
be tos are imp, )r?ted annually from the USSR, and subdivided into categories U,
3B, and 30. It is an inferior product, consisting of 30.-40% cotton, and there-
fore will not withstand the presser in the steam boilers. Gaskets and
packings made from this asbestos are soft and unable to sustain high tempera-
ures. The lack of good asbestos sealing may severely damage the ammonia
ovens. The packings for ammonia and methanol productr must also asst as
electrical insu , cis $irezaeson, marst be free of grap-he`' and con-
tain minlp= amounts of rubber an4 pa~s on. such packings are virtually
vai?bt iaaeble n the~., done .. For the effgq-k ssce ,ling o the machines: in the
coppeaniam'aulfate plant and for sealing oxygen and methyl alcohol
prdth ets, & o6ia1: gsie, cet aneeded, having a lip with se coefficient of
elasticity differe=nt from that of the root of the ring. - Production of these
gaskets is impossible in the Soviet Zone, however, because the p~.aate cannot
solve h problem of manufacturin, a eke:t which is to have two different
elasticities. The best gas est' ? this tyke is made by the Freudenberg Plant
in the Wistern Zone. If Freadenberg should atop delivery, it would seriously
..........
impair production in the Soviet Zone of Germany. The asbestos pmokings
pr 6dnces in the Soviet Zone of "are made at mKautas'" (Rubber and As-
bestos Plant) at, Heidnaau, south of Dresden. The plant operates with machinery
confiscated from the Dankowiezl firm, which left the Soviet Zone and to now
operating at Bor d, in the Western Zone. OKautasm is incapable of
producing any of the specialized asbestos material needed at the Leuna Plant.
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The Leuna Plant is initiating production of superconcentrated hydrogen
peroxide. For this purpose, a sealing material must be used which it acid-
resistant. Before 1915, blue asbestos mixed with an oppanol resin was available
in sufficient quantities, but now the supply is limited in thee. Zone because it
must be imported. (Blue asbestos in a: product of South Africa and oppannol is
produced at Oppan, in the Western Zone.) The sealing products met be coarse,
hard, and have abrasive properties. They must also be able to wi thatand high
temperatures and be acid-resistant, especially resistant to sulfuric acid. When
the last asbestos shipment from the West arrived at Lean. approximately six
months ago, some blue asbestos was included. However, thee. blue asbestos was
used for other types of packing because the lack of proper packing material was
so critical.
10. The Soviet Zone; of Germany has no good turbine oil of consistent quality. The
synthetic Leuna oil, 2A, which has performed well under test, is, still in the
experimental stage at Leuna. It does not attack metals: and has shown high
resistance to saponification; however, they durability of the oil has not yet
been established. This synthetic oil may prove superior to natural mineral oils,
but the cost of production is sstill prohibitive. The daily pilot plant
production of Leune 2A oil is approximately one ton; a synthetic oil plant i =use
not yet been constructed. Machine oils are of poor quality, but are not scarce In
the Soviet Zone; in fact, three months ago, machine and motor oils were removed
from the list of rationed goods. The synthetic rubber plant in Schkopau has
started producing mentor oils, buying the crude oil from the L4tzkendarf Plate
By preparing the: oil for Schkopau, L ,tzkendorf has seriously, impaired the, quality
of its own hot steam oily` .scenes, it diverted. saw ref the compo.es page of' the
hot steam oil for use: in the production of motor oils. Hot ate: ; ; .)4l for
asphalt on the pipe surfaces and cylinders, and attacks the pis `s,,)), rings. A plant
in G iz (Soviet Zone) pi, oduces a esthetic motor oil of poor ,anI ity which
foamed during teats in the L ana compressor plant. Then i n k : o' oils are uae ,
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at Louaa as they are delivered, without additives or chemical treatment.
Rollead oils are still used at Schkopau, but they miscibility of this oil with
other oils is poor,,
ll. Greases used in the lubrication of hot bearings are critically needed in the
Soviet Zone. The. viscosity of the base oils used for the production of such
Weasee should be a minimum of 8.5. The requirements established by the
isms of Standards of the Chamber of Technology called for a base oil
'with'; a viscosity of only 6.5. Soft coal plants particularly criticized this
grease because it ran out of the: bearings. A factory at Zeitz announced the
production of a synthetic grease which would contain a. base oil of a high
eri.scosity. Soviet Zones industry 'purchased the synthetic _, - erase but in actual
usage it proved to be very unssatisfactorys the'
viscosity of the base oil ranged from 108 ? n-.
121m The oil used an a binding agent for paints is wally a; linseed oil to *hich
small quantities of litharge (lead monoxide) is eddied. The oil is produced
at a plant in Magdeburg and shipped to a factory in Wi.ttenberge, where it is
boiled for use in paint. The linseed oil is adulterated by the addition of
non-drying oils, thereby destroying its quick-dryin.properties. The scarcity
of I.itharge in the Soviet Zone is attributed to the lead shortage. There in a
sufficient supply of allsydal in the Zone, but because of improper processing
of the raw materials, the alkydal is definitely inferior.
13. The saha tagee of paint pigments has become critical during the past year.
U'erdingen (British Zone) and Leverkaseu (British Zone) were the principal source
of pigments Imorted, in the Soviet Zones however, pig nts are produced in the
Soviet Zone at Wolfen, Hettstedt, Bisleben, and Ohrduff. They lead pigments
produced In the Zone are of" good quality, but very scarce; _ iron- and zifc oxides
25X1 are also in short supply and are of inferior grade. I Laumae
Plant will undertake large scale production of iron oxides; the pilot plant
production of red iron oxide has been initiated, but the present cost-of the
25X1 operation is prohibitive.
1l, : the Soviet Zone ,of. G rmany i. _ ilk . greact need of
rogenation catalysts.
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The is a Plant yi a1iy the sole manufacturer of catalysts in the Soviet
Zone,and the shortage of
hydresgemeitiou catalysts, is acute.
The scarcity of rail equipment has seriously affected the rail transportation
system in the Soviet Zone of Germany. In my travels throughout the Zone,
Bail is produced atWntere+lborn and
anigsdorf, but the output from these plants in for export to
the 11S exclusively. All of the railroads with one exception, were
single-tracked; the rails which formerly constituted the second track have been,,
removed.. The rails are so badly worn and the roadbeds are in such poor
condition that trains can average only 15?20 miles per hour on the heavily
traveled roads. Bolling stock is badly in need of repair, and maintenance is
neglected. Spare parts are frequently obtained by the cannibalization of other
equipts because the proper materiala are not available to manufacture new
pests. It is my belief that the Soviet Tone rail transportation system would
not enable* the Soviets to launch an attack through the Soviet Zbne, of Ge y,,
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